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Here's a quick list of 15 players, some of whom are great sleeper candidates, while others were selected by readers like you that requested some analysis. As always, feel free to tweet me or email if you want us to take a look at anyone in particular!
There aren’t many hotter hitters than Carlos Gonzalez (COL – OF) right now, who has 8 home runs and 17 RBI while batting .381 in the last FOURTEEN days. Weekly owners have to be a bit upset that about one third of Cargo’s 2015 production has come in two weeks, but they’ll take it. I’m taking this opportunity to shop Cargo – while his production is great, let’s not forget that he’s an injury risk at any moment.
The 15 Quick List
Jonathan Lucroy (MIL – C) stole a base on Wednesday night. I’m taking whatever sign I can get from him that he’s fully healthy. If so, this is the best time to buy low. Lucroy was seen as the #2 catcher coming into this year, and he’s all but fallen off of everyone’s radars. The fact is that he had a strong July and looks to have a great second half. Buy in.
Billy Burns’ (OAK – OF) hot start (pun intended) has slowed quite a bit the last month. He has only 5 stolen bases the last 30 days, which are mortal numbers compared to what he did in the minors. We may have seen his ceiling already for this season.
Eric Hosmer (KC – 1B) just keeps hitting. He’s batting .385 over the last 30 days, and while my main gripe with him was the poor power numbers, he has two home runs over the last week while batting .522. First base is a deep position, but Hosmer makes for a great utility. His 24.9% LD rate is elite and will sustain his .300+ average.
Remember when everyone thought Clayton Kershaw (LAD – SP) was done? Me neither. His ERA over his last 33 innings is 0.27 with 45 strikeouts. Hopefully you acted on early advice and tried to pry him from an owner in May.
Preston Tucker (HOU – OF) has started to heat up again by going on a home run binge the last week. He’s worth a pick up to ride the hot streak, but I’m concerned how sustainable his success will be. His power in 2015 is for real, but his 18.0% LD rate will prevent him from maintaining a solid average.
We’ve finally seen the resurgence of Melky Cabrera (CWS-OF) after months of waiting! For the year, he’s batting .284 with a pedestrian .718 OPS, but through July, he’s batting .381 with a 1.060 OPS. That’s how bad he was the first three months of the season! Rest of season, I’d expect his performance to lie somewhere in the middle.
Erick Aybar (LAA – SS) is a sleeper candidate if you’re in need of a change at shortstop. He’s had a great July, but perhaps most promising is his low 2.5% HR/FB rate. He’s never been a power hitter by any stretch, but that number was nearly double last year. He’s bound to score runs in the Angels lineup, will reach double digit stolen bases, and could knock out a few home runs for you in the second half.
Alex Rodriguez (NYY – 3B) has yet to slow down. His resurgence is real, but given his age, he’s always an injury risk. Keep starting him if you were daring enough to draft him!
Troy Tulowitzki (TOR – SS) started his campaign as a Blue Jay in an incredible fashion, hitting a home run in his second at bat and finishing the game with three hits and a few great plays in the field. As a Tulo owner, a move to Toronto is probably the best case scenario for him leaving Colorado. He’ll feel the effects of leaving the friendly hitters park, but hitting in the Toronto lineup will certainly soften the blow. He’ll also get to beat up on Red Sox pitching the rest of the way.
With each passing week, I keep waiting for the power binge from Jose Abreu (CWS – 1B), but we’ve yet to see it. His 16 home runs are surely a decent number, but far from the 36 he hit in just 145 games last season. Hopefully Abreu will pick it up as the rest of the White Sox start to hit, but as of now, he’s hitting far too many balls into the ground (51.0%) to generate much power.
After one of the hottest starts of the season, Joc Pederson (LAD – OF) has cooled off substantially. He was dropped to 7th in the order on Wednesday night. Pederson’s low LD% of 16.4% has finally caught up to him as his average has dropped to .225. That was masked by his incredible power output early on, but he has just 1 home run in his last 30 days. I expect Pederson to pick it up a little bit, but he won’t get back to the pace he was setting early on this year.
Early on this year, Chris Heston (SF – SP) looked like a solid sleeper candidate. Now he’s nearly a household name after how well he’s pitched in the last month and a half. Heston’s skill set makes him a solid #3 guy in a fantasy rotation. His K rate is sub-par at 7.07/9, but his 56.5% GB rate is elite. Coupled with the fact that he plays in the spacious AT&T Park, and I expect similar results moving forward.
Mike Bolsinger (LAD – SP) is another guy that looks like a sleeper, but hasn’t reached the name value of Heston. Well it’s a good thing you’re reading this because many of Bolsinger’s numbers are actually BETTER than Heston’s. Bolsinger also boasts an elite GB Rate (55.7%) along with a 2.84 FIP. The knock against Bolsinger is that he walks 3.13 BB/9 which will get him into trouble, but he’s a great mid-rotation arm that should collect some wins on the Dodgers.
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