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Sleeper hitters for Week 12 (June 9-15)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand returned from an IL stint for a sore back by homering in all three games this weekend and hitting seven balls 103 mph or harder. In doing so, he regained a foothold in the Reds lineup and positioned himself to get the most out of their favorable hitter matchups, the fourth-best in the league.
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Joshua Lowe has performed splendidly since returning from an oblique injury, and his career-best strikeout and pull air rates hint of possible growth. His biggest issue is that he rarely plays against left-handed pitchers, but the Rays don't have a single one of those on the schedule this week, with the toughest righty being Clay Holmes.
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Michael Busch has been scorching of late, not just in terms of results but also contact quality, with his average exit velocity climbing to the 73rd percentile. He's likely to sit against the two lefties on tap, but since the Cubs are one of just four teams scheduled for seven games, his share of at-bats this week should be comparable to most anyone else.
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Agustin Ramirez's rostership has stalled at around 65 percent even though he has one of the most impressive hitting profiles of any catcher and plays more often than most, too, splitting his time almost evenly between catcher and DH. He's in my top 10 at the position for the rest of the season, and you may not get another chance at him given the matchups the Marlins are looking at this week.
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I've mentioned the Marlins' favorable matchups already, but to be more specific, they include pitchers like Mike Burrows, Bailey Falter, Mitchell Parker and Trevor Williams. Xavier Edwards is another good bet to take advantage, having gone 10 for 23 in seven games since returning from a strained back. He should have second base eligibility by the next lineup lock, too, at least in standard CBS Sports leagues.
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With a couple more stolen bases Thursday, Matt Shaw is up to seven in 18 games since returning from the minors and is batting .323 (21 for 65) in that time. Of course, he still isn't hitting the ball all that hard, with an average exit velocity of 83 mph during that same span, so you're just hoping he comes through with more singles and steals in a seven-game week.
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Jo Adell is one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now, batting .351 (13 for 37) with five homers over his past 12 games, and while you may be fearful of using him given his overall numbers, note that his .277 xBA and .544 xSLG suggest even more correction is still to come. Plus, the Angels have the second-best hitter matchups this week.
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Lourdes Gurriel is the sort of tweener hitter that's easy to put in an article like this when his team has favorable matchups, which is the case for the Diamondbacks this week with some of the opposing pitchers being Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller, Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. The splits don't exactly favor him given that all six games are against right-handers and at home, but that's more an explanation for why he's not even higher on the list.
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You know who does benefit from a schedule of righties and home games is Pavin Smith, who's batting .301 with an .895 OPS against the former and .288 with a .900 OPS at the latter. His platoon status has cost him more playing time of late, putting him out of sight and out of mind for Fantasy, but that obviously won't be the case this week.
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Andrew McCutchen has begun June on a down note, but he finished May on such a high note that he's now batting second in the Pirates lineup. The Statcast data for him is pretty respectable, actually, and he's as available as any hitter I've featured in this space all season long. The Pirates have the fifth-best hitter matchups this week, being one of just four teams scheduled for seven games.
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