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Sleeper hitters for Week 8 (May 12-18)
The Rays are scheduled to face nothing but righties in their six games this week, which means we should see plenty of Jonathan Aranda. That hadn't been true in recent weeks, which is why his roster rate has dropped below the 80 percent threshold, but we're still talking about a guy with a .342 batting average and .982 OPS who ranks in the 85th percentile or better in all the critical Statcast metrics.
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The speedy Reds leadoff hitter homered twice in Atlanta, but his fringy power is still going to play best at home in the Great American Smallpark, where the Reds are scheduled to play all six of their games this week. They have some good matchups, too, against pitchers like Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, Bryse Wilson, Luis Ortiz, and Ben Lively.
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Not only do the Nationals have the fifth-best hitter matchups, but they're one of just four teams scheduled to play seven games this week. Six are against righties, who Nate Lowe has handled to the tune of a .275 batting average and .882 OPS so far this year, hitting all six of his home runs against them.
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Kyle Stowers has cooled off since his walk-off grand slam May 3, but he's still playing every day and, apart from a high strikeout rate, still has strong numbers overall. With nothing but righties on the schedule this week -- including mashables like Colin Rea, Jameson Taillon, and Taj Bradley -- you should look for him to come bounding back.
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Andy Pages has been inching his way up the Dodgers lineup with his strong work since the end of April putting him in better position to reap the rewards of such a lineup. Not only are the Dodgers' matchups favorable this week, with Gunnar Hoglund and Yusei Kikuchi representing the toughest challenges, but all six of their games are at home, where Pages has hit .328 so far.
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After sitting more than anyone cared to see the first few weeks, Rhys Hoskins has now started 17 straight. He's batting .329 (25 for 76) with four homers and an OPS just shy of 1.000 over his past 23 games and will get to enjoy matchups like Ben Lively, Logan Allen and Simeon Woods Richardson in Week 8.
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While bouncing around the diamond, Josh Smith has assumed the role of leadoff hitter for the Rangers, leveraging his line-drive stroke and patient approach for a high batting average and even higher on-base percentage. The Rangers are one of just four teams playing seven games this week, which opens against the Rockies pitching staff.
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Lourdes Gurriel got off to a miserable start this year, but the expected stats have been about the same as always. It's not surprising, then, to see him bounce back with a .295 batting average (13 for 44) and three home runs in his past 11 games. There's still a long way to go, but a series against the Rockies staff to close out Week 8 should bring him further along.
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Javier Baez has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past two weeks, bringing him up to a .300 batting average and .791 OPS overall. While the underlying data doesn't really support it, depicting his usual poor plate discipline and some pitiful exit velocity readings, the Tigers' matchups this week, which rate as the fourth-best, are reason to see the glass half full.
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As a left-handed hitter, Gavin Lux doesn't play consistently against lefties, but fortunately, the Reds are only scheduled to play righties this week, against whom he's batting .330. The Reds also have the third-best hitter matchups, featuring three games against the Rockies pitching staff.
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