We are now twelve weeks into the 2018 fantasy baseball season.

It was a rough week for the disabled list. Some elite fantasy players are due to spend a few weeks nursing injuries. On the flip side, there are some guys like Kevin Kiermaier who are getting back after healing injuries.

Which hot hitters are we suggesting to pick up this week?

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe a couple young guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on June 24th, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

Before I begin, let’s go over the F/M/K terminology. The guys that I list under “F*ck” are guys that are currently hot and you need to pick them up. “Marry”, are guys that you need to stick with the whole season, even if they are struggling a bit. “Kill”, are guys that need to be dropped for better players in the free agent pool.

 

SP Rich Hill – Los Angeles Dodgers – 53.0% owned – Hill has his blister issue resolved (for now) and should be owned in all leagues. Owning him does get a little annoying as he rarely makes it to the sixth innings these days. He was dominate enough in his last outing against the Cubs that you can swallow an early exit. The Dodgers are a good team when they have all their pitchers, but most have been on the disabled list. As long as Hill pummels the strike zone, he’s a good fantasy starting pitcher.

RP Sergio Romo – Tampa Bay Rays – 5.8% owned – Romo doesn’t have great peripheral stats, but he’s been getting saves for the Rays. Romo has been a Swiss Army knife for the Rays this season as they have even had him start a couple games, albeit for an inning or two. Romo has converted four of his five chances in June. He’s barely owned in leagues and should be owned in more. He has experience closing games and should do well in this role. The Rays aren’t giving Romo a ton of save opportunities, but he should get a half-dozen saves or more a month.

OF Michael Conforto – New York Mets – 52.0% owned – Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is a trendy pick-up, but I’m featuring Conforto in this section. He’s the player with the most upside and he has flashed it in the past. His bat is heating up and is getting wood on the ball. It’s only a matter of time before he gets some consistent power. Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce have been dealing with injuries, so Conforto is getting some time in the middle of the order. He’s a dark horse candidate to have a solid second-half.

SS/3B Matt Duffy – Tampa Bay Rays – 25.3% owned – Duffy has been a sneaky add this season. He’s batting .321 with four homers and 22 RBI this season. The Rays have a few underrated bats in their lineup and Duffy is definitely underrated this year. He is killing it in June and due to the lack of middle infielder depth, he’s becoming a must-add in all leagues. I had to add him here for another week as his ownership percentage should at least be near-50%. I’d take Duffy over Yoan Moncada or Eduardo Nunez.

OF Avisail Garcia – Chicago White Sox – 11.9% owned – When a player gets injured and they aren’t great enough to occupy your DL-spot for months, you often forget about them. Garcia was drafted in every league, but when he severely injured his hamstring in April, he was dropped by nearly everyone. He was activated this weekend and should be owned in most leagues. Outfield is deep, so there’s a chance Garcia will need to do something miraculous to be added in more than half of leagues. I think he will be a serviceable fantasy outfielder as he should hit for average and has some pop in his bat.

OF Kevin Kiermaier – Tampa Bay Rays – 8.6% owned – I wanted to add Kiermaier next to Garcia as they are in the same boat. Both were injured in April and are coming back after two months off. Kiermaier hasn’t been very good, but he did get his first hit on Saturday. He has a great glove, so he will get plenty at-bats. His injury was to his thumb, so it won’t hurt his speed. He still has time to be a double-digit homer and double-digit steals fantasy player.

SS Ketel Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks – 31.5% owned – Marte had a slow start to the season, but has been one of the most productive middle infielders over the last two weeks. He bumped his batting average up to .244 and has scored 35 runs this season. There is where his value will be this season. He was a run scoring machine in early June. I expected him to steal more bases up to this point, but he hasn’t had the green light. He also added two homers just last week. He is showing more power than I expected from him. Marte is a nice middle infield flex spot right now.

1B/3B/DH Ryon Healy – Seattle Mariners – 38.4% owned – Healy is one hell of a streaky player. He has ebbs and flows and they can often be drastic. He has leveled out a bit as he has been pretty consistent this month. He has hits in all but three games since June 9th. He has 14 homers on the season and is in a sprightly offense in Seattle. After starting the year in an awful slump, his batting average (.259) is nearing his career average. He’s worth an add as he has a lot of power upside.

C Yan Gomes – Cleveland Indians – 9.8% owned – If you’re not set at catcher by now, good luck. The position is so bad this season. Gomes is really only playing about three or four games a week, but he’s right on the borderline of being just productive enough to own. He has made most of his opportunities and has hit .306 in the last two weeks. Catcher is really thin in fantasy, so guys like Gomes become options there. If you’re struggling at that position or want to put Gary Sanchez on the bench for awhile and need a short-term replacement? Gomes would be a great guy for that. 

SP Tyler Skaggs – Los Angeles Angels – 68.3% owned – Skaggs has been on a tear in June. In three June starts, he has only allowed one run in 20 innings. He is 3-0 this month with 18 strikeouts. He has been very good at home this season with nearly all his poor starts coming on the road. He now has a 2.81 ERA on the year and 1.23 WHIP. He was scratched from a start last week, but should be ready to go on Monday. He will get two starts next week (Kansas City & Baltimore), which are great fantastic match-ups for him. I’d run to go add Skaggs right now.

SS Tim Anderson – Chicago White Sox – 54.8% owned – This week’s theme must be “good fantasy players on bad teams”…by the way, that’s not the theme. Anderson is well on the pace to be a 25/25 player this season. He hit his 13th homer on Saturday and stole his 15th base the same game. He does have a light batting average, but you can eat that for his other production. I don’t think why he’s barely owned in half of leagues. He’s a perfect SS/2B flex or bench middle infielder. His ownership percentage should continue to rise if he keeps stealing bases and hitting for power.

SP Mike Montgomery – Chicago Cubs – 20.0% owned – Montgomery is making a case for himself to stay in the starting rotation. He stepped into the rotation for the injured Yu Darvish has made five starts and has only allowed four runs in 29.2 innings. His next start is at the Dodgers, a team he only allowed a run in six innings on Tuesday. As long as he keeps throwing strikes, he should have a good start for the Cubs. He’s a two-start pitcher next week as his owner game will be Saturday at home against the Twins.

2B Daniel Murphy – Washington Nationals – 85.8% owned – Murphy was selected in the first eight or nine rounds in just about even draft this preseason. He was on the disabled list until mid-June. He hasn’t been putting wood on the ball and his ownership percentage is trending down. Why? He occupied your DL-spot for two months and you can’t be patient with him? He’s only hitting .135 so far, but the dude is going to turn it on soon. You’re going to regret dropping Murphy.

SP Mike Leake – Seattle Mariners – 32.7% owned – Leake was a consistent fantasy starter in May and early-June. His ownership was above 50% and was sticking around on teams. He had one bad start at home against the Red Sox and saw his ownership nosedive. He bounced back in his next start at Boston and went eight scoreless innings. His next start is Thursday at Baltimore, which is a nice match-up. I’d pick up Leake this week before that one.

OF Corey Dickerson – Pittsburgh Pirates – 83.7% owned – Dickerson had to deal with a family medical emergency this week and he missed three games. His ownership dropped below 90% for the first time in weeks. Fantasy owners may have just had enough of him as his production hasn’t been on the same level as early this season. He’s still getting plenty at-bats and usually just takes one game off a week. There is a bit of a logjam in the outfield, but it seems like rookie Austin Meadows and Gregory Polanco are the two it is affecting the most.

C/1B John Hicks – Detroit Tigers – 28.7% owned – Hicks was a nice add when Miguel Cabrera went down with a season-ending injury. He gained catcher-eligibility in fantasy just days before Miggy’s injury. Hicks is now the everyday first baseman, but you can slide him into your under-performing catcher slot. He wasn’t very good last week, but he’s a consistent hitter with some pop. He’s hitting better than all but maybe four catchers in fantasy. Hang in there and it will pay off. 

SP Chris Archer – Tampa Bay Rays – 87.5% owned – Archer’s ownership percentage took more of a hit after another week on the DL with an abdomen injury. His return date is tentatively set for early-July. He could get a rehab outing in the next week or two. You should hold onto him and let him occupy your DL spot. The Rays will be sellers at the deadline and Archer will be coveted by contenders. He could end up in a better situation on a good team. He’s been too good this season to throw him back on the waiver wire now.

1B Jesus Aguilar – Milwaukee Brewers – 71.1% owned – Now that Eric Thames is back, Aguilar’s full-time playing situation took a hit. Ryan Braun has been out with a thumb injury, so Thames has been able to slide into left field for a few starts this week. Aguilar’s still making the most of his playing time. He has hit five homers in his last six starts. He looks to be playing in two out of every three games. As long as Aguilar is hitting, I think the Brewers will be creative with ways to get both Thames and Aguilar in games. He may not play every single game, like he was when Thames was on the DL, but he still have relevance in fantasy baseball.

RP Blake Parker – Los Angeles Angels – 37.0% owned – Parker appeared to have the closer job in hand, but he gave up five runs in three outings. The Angels sent out Justin Anderson for a save after those bad outings, but Parker bounced back and picked up a save on Friday night. Parker was near-automatic before this recent blunder. I think he will be fine. As long as he converts his next couple attempts, Parker will hold onto the closer role.

3B Justin Turner – Los Angeles Dodgers – 88.8% owned – Turner suffered a wrist injury in Spring Training and he has landed on the DL twice because of it. His batting average is a huge perk of owning Turner, but you can’t be a consistent hitter with an injured wrist. He has hit safely in seven of his last nine games, but the power isn’t quite all the way back. He’s not making hard contact as often as last year. He should be fine as his track record shows what he can do when he’s healthy. I believe this is still a health issue and is just working himself back.

SS Andrelton Simmons – Los Angeles Angels – 89.1% owned – Simmons spent a couple weeks on the DL and was just activated on June 16th. He’s still finding his bat and he’s playing every day. He was hitting very well before injuring his ankle. There’s no reason to think he won’t get near those totals again. His bat has been improving every season since being traded to the Angels.

SP Luke Weaver – St. Louis Cardinals – 52.2% owned – Weaver had flashes of brilliance last season. It made fantasy owners salivate this preseason. He was taken in the mid-rounds and hasn’t been anywhere near the pitcher he was in 2017. He has allowed at least four runs in four of his last five outings. He is 3-6 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. His numbers are trending worse as he has a 5.50+ ERA over the last 30 days. It’s time to dump the young starter and look to add Jack Flaherty, Mike Montgomery or Mike Foltynewicz (who is returning from the DL on Monday).

2B Jonathan Schoop – Baltimore Orioles – 69.8% owned – I was all-in on Schoop this offseason. I fear that the entire Baltimore team has caught malaise. No one on the team is hustling and nearly everyone is hitting for their career worst. Schoop is a young player that had a breakout season in 2017. He’s hitting .208 with seven homers and just 19 RBI. Baltimore is broken in nearly every facet of the game. I hope the team’s overall condition isn’t a season-long issue. I really don’t want any Orioles player on my fantasy team right now.

1B/3B Max Muncy – Los Angeles Dodgers – 61.1% owned – Muncy gained playing time when Justin Turner was out with an injury and during Cody Bellinger’s slump. Turner is back and Bellinger is hitting as well as ever. Before last night’s game, Muncy was stuck in a 2 for 18 slump. He was able to hit a solo homer last night, but he’s not playing every day. He is playing four or five games a week. He never hit for power like this in the minors, so I’m skeptical that what he was doing can be duplicated for any substantial period. I think we’ve seen the best of Muncy. I’d sell-high in a trade and hopefully you can fill a need. 

RP Alex Colome – Seattle Mariners – 42.7% owned – Colome was traded to Seattle in May and was not expected to get many save chances as Seattle’s closer Edwin Diaz is entrenched in his role. Colome has been the setup man for Diaz and has done pretty well in that role. He hasn’t done well enough to be held onto in nearly half of leagues. His overall numbers aren’t fantasy worthy as he hasn’t even registered a strikeout in his last four appearances. If you’re looking to add a setup reliever that will help you in fantasy, I’d add Justin Miller, Jose Castillo or Seranthony Dominguez. Those guys pickup wins and strike out more batters.

C Jonathan Lucroy – Oakland A’s – 23.5% owned – I had high hopes of Lucroy on a new team. He had some moments early this season, but he has pretty much been a slap hitter. He isn’t making hard contact. He’s hitting .252 with just one homer. You need a little more production from your catcher position. The position is crazy thin, but you can do better than Lucroy. I’d look to add John Hicks or Yan Gomes in free agency.

OF Kevin Pillar – Toronto Blue Jays – 56.6% owned – Pillar has double-digit steals (10), but hasn’t added much to your fantasy team lately. He only has four hits, two runs and a stolen bases since June 12th. He has a great glove on defense, so the Blue Jays will keep trotting him out there. He’s a better ‘real’ baseball player than in fantasy baseball. There are better fantasy outfielders out there. I’d drop Pillar and look to add Delino DeShields, Stephen Piscotty or Gerardo Parra.

1B/DH C.J. Cron – Tampa Bay Rays – 43.1% owned – Cron has been hot and cold in his first year with a full-time role. He is only hitting .235, but has smacked 16 homers. The reinstatement of Kevin Kiermaier may throw a wrench in the DH rotation mix. Cron plays about five or six games a week as the DH, but Rays manager Kevin Cash may start to mess with that spot more. He has more quality bats at his exposure and Cron is mired in an awful slump. I bet Cash goes to Matt Duffy or Carlos Gomez more at DH. I don’t like Cron’s long-term prospects as the Rays full-time DH.

SP Steven Wright – Boston Red Sox – 43.4% owned – Remember when I said you should start Wright until his knuckleball stops dancing? Well, his knuckleball died on the dancefloor against the Mariners. He allowed ten runs on ten hits in 3.1 innings. It was his second start against the Mariners in less than a week. Did the Mariners study and were able to lay into him the second-time around…or did his knuckle refuse to wobble? I think it was more the latter. His next start is Thursday at home against the Angels. He may have a good start, but he has lost my trust right now. 

1B Greg Bird – New York Yankees – 33.0% owned – Big things were expected when Bird was finally healthy this season. He smacked a pair of homers soon after being activated from the DL, but has been mediocre since. It has gotten to the point where veteran Neil Walker is taking at-bats away from the young first baseman. I’m sure you added him in hopes of getting in early on Bird, but we have now seen enough from him. He has just one hit in his last 17 at-bats. You should drop Bird and look to add Jesus Aguilar, Matt Duffy or Yuli Gurriel

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.