Top 5 Hitter Streamers For Week 14: Waiver Wire Targets

June 29, 2014

Kyle Braver analyzes the top 5 waiver wire hitters who should be picked up and owned for week 14. These sleeper hitters can provide a huge boost for your team.

Something that readers of this column may or may not know about me is that I'm a huge Giants fan. Knowing that, I only have 3 things to say for this introduction to my weekly streamers column:

1. Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter
2. Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter
3. Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter (somehow it just never gets old to say)

Now that every Padres fan on this site officially hates me (don't run away though because I'll be giving one of your players some love today), let's move on to the meat of this article. Just like every week, below are 5 players who I think have the potential to make an impact for fantasy owners in weekly-move leagues next week. Some of these hitter may be waiver wire sleepers, depending on your league size including NL-Only and AL-Only formats. I've tried to highlight a variety of positions in the process so that hopefully everyone can find someone who'll help out their team.

1) Steve Pearce, 1B/ OF/DH, Baltimore Orioles

2014 Stats: .331 BA, 16 Runs, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 2 SB

Ownership: 45.3%

Schedule: Rangers, (at) Red Sox

Scheduled Games: 7

Steve Pearce has been a very pleasant surprise for the Baltimore Orioles and fantasy owners alike. He's hitting for average (.331 BA), for power (7 home runs with an incredible .569 slugging percentage), and now that he's getting consistent at-bats in the number two hole in the Orioles lineup, the runs are going to follow. Hitting in front of Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz, and Chris Davis will do that to a guy after all.

Yes he is posting an unsustainable high .391 BABIP, but he's also hitting a career high 25.3% line drive rate without sacrificing any of the fly balls that make him such a interesting power threat. Essentially what Pearce has been able to do over the course of this breakout season is turn what used to be ground balls and pop-ups into hard hit line drives. He's simply taking better swings and driving the ball more. That BABIP is going to come down, but it's not going to crater his batting average if he can keep up that kind of  approach at the plate.

I'd give Steve Pearce a good hard look as a long term solution if you've got a spare utility spot and need some help in power or batting average. For a short term roster patch he's a no-brainer must-add player for next week.

2) Brad Miller, SS, Seattle Mariners

2014 Stats: .208 BA, 29 Runs, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 3 SB

Ownership: 9.2%

Schedule: (at) Astros, (at) Sox

Games Scheduled: 6

Brad Miller was a player that I loved in the preseason. I had visions in my head of a shortstop who could bat .275 with a 15/15 type season so you can understand how disappointed I was when he decided to spend the first half of the season batting under the Mendoza line.

There are some very real signs however that he's begun to turn things around. The sample is admittedly small, but he's hit .311 over 26 at-bats this June. What's even more encouraging is how he's managed to make this turnaround at a fundamental level. Compared to his performance in May, Miller is making far better contact on the balls he puts in play, slashing his pop-up rate by 4.4% and increasing his line drive rate by 7.8%. He's upped his fly ball rate and cut his ground ball rate from a power sucking 51% to a much more manageable 40%. It's not surprising then that he's managed to hit more home runs in June than he'd hit during the entire prior season.

Brad Miller was caught in the middle of a terrible slump, but it's not like his talent just went away. Now that he's got his plate approach back in order, he can make the most of that talent. He'll play six games in two excellent hitters parks next week as an added bonus. He's my number one play at shortstop if you're looking for help at that position.

3) Colby Rasmus, OF, Toronto Jays

2014 Stats: .228 BA, 22 Runs, 10 HR, 25 RBI, 0 SB

Ownership: 46.7%

Schedule: Brewers, (at) Athletics

Games Scheduled: 6

We all remember what Colby Rasmus was doing in May before getting sidelined for the better part of the next month with an injury. In just 11 games he hit .286 with 5 home runs and all the RBI and run opportunities a player could hope for considering he hit in the same lineup as Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

He's back now and honestly considering the skill set he possesses and the lineup he's a part of, I think he's worth a look for next week. The batting average hasn't been great so far, but that says a lot more about poor fortune than poor approach considering he's boasting a mindbogglingly high 33.3% line drive rate. You don't generally post sub .300 batting averages while hitting that many line drives. As far as power goes he's already hit a home run even though he's only been back for nine games.

Frankly it's rare to find this kind of power/average threat in fantasy free agency. He'll face some very tough pitchers when he goes into Oakland next week, but I like the skill set enough that it doesn't deter me away. Rasmus would be the first outfielder I’d turn to for help next week.

4) Seth Smith, OF, San Diego Padres

2014 Stats: .290 BA, 30 Runs, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB

Ownership: 17.7%

Schedule: Reds, Giants

Games Scheduled: 6

As I've talked about in a recent column, Seth Smith has some of the largest platoon splits of any player in the game. Against right handed pitchers he's hit .301 this season with eight home runs. Against lefties those numbers are .190 with 0 home runs. This makes him a difficult play in fantasy because of the fear of him being benched or putting up an 0-4 when the Padres face a leftie.

Next week however is different. Starting on Monday these are the pitchers the Padres are currently slated to face: Mat Latos (righty), Mike Leake (righty), Johnny Cueto (righty), Matt Cain (righty), Tim Hudson (righty), and Tim Lincecum (righty). Not a leftie in the bunch.

Granted there are some tough matchups there (hello Johnny Cueto), but they're all home games and even more so Smith isn't a push over himself. He's got a great approach at the plate and knows how to draw a walk in a tough at-bat. I trust Smith next week. I think you should as well.

5) James Loney, 1B, Tampa Rays

2014 Stats: .289 BA, 29 Runs, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 2 SB

Ownership: 30.8%

Schedule: (at) Yankees, (at) Tigers

Games Scheduled: 7

By now everyone pretty much knows what to expect out of James Loney. A good batting average that can be great while he's in the middle of one of his hot streaks, some RBI, and some runs. He's on a tear right now, hitting .429 over the past seven days and he'll be walking into Yankee Stadium next week, one of the best parks a left handed hitter like Loney can hope for. In a very weak 1^st/3^rd base market, Loney is about the only readily available corner infielder I would feel safe trusting next week.