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Fantasy Baseball Week 26 Preview: Top 10 sleeper hitters feature Jakob Marsee, Leo Bernal

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CitrixNews Staff
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Fantasy Baseball Week 26 Preview: Top 10 sleeper hitters feature Jakob Marsee, Leo Bernal

Whether you're in need of an injury fill-in or just a hot-hand play, Scott White has you covered with 10 sleeper hitters for the upcoming scoring period, all rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. They're not must-starts by any estimation, but they're often the best you'll find off the waiver wire.

All information is up to date as of Sunday evening.

Sleeper hitters for Week 26 (Sept. 14-20) team logo team logo player headshot Ty France 1B SD San Diego • #25 • Age: 32 Matchups @COL4, MIA3 Rostered 56% Ty France is expected back from the paternity list Monday, which makes him an easy choice to top these rankings with the Padres having the second-best hitter matchups this week. I'd expect his .294 batting and .873 OPS to go up in a four-game series at Coors Field. team logo team logo player headshot Cole Carrigg CF COL Colorado • #16 • Age: 24 Matchups SD4, SEA3 Rostered 71% The Rockies are looking at not just four games at Coors Field but a full week there. Cole Carrigg is among the players most impacted, seeing as his batting average is about 100 points higher and OPS about 200 points higher at home than on the road. He's capable of contributing in a wide enough variety of ways to be of interest in all formats. team logo team logo player headshot TJ Rumfield 1B COL Colorado • #7 • Age: 26 Matchups SD4, SEA3 Rostered 74% TJ Rumfield is one of the few Rockies hitters who's playable even on the road, but you certainly don't mind him having a full week at home, where he's batting .307 with an .890 OPS. He's been cooking so far in September, too, batting .395 (15 for 38) with two homers. team logo team logo player headshot Leonardo Bernal C STL St. Louis • #13 • Age: 22 Matchups SF3, WAS3 Rostered 7% I'm normally hesitant to recommend catchers here since nobody is looking to use one in a utility spot. Still, Leonardo Bernal might be an exception given that he's started all 12 of the Cardinals' games since arriving from Triple-A. They like his bat enough to slot it at first base or DH on his "off" days, and it's come through to the tune of a .292/.346/.521 slash line so far. His six-game slate against the Giants and Nationals is looking pretty favorable as well. team logo team logo player headshot Griffin Conine RF MIA Miami • #18 • Age: 29 Matchups @ARI3, @SD3 Rostered 25% Griffin Conine has emerged as a legitimate slugger in the second half -- and with the exit velocities to back it up -- but because he's a strict platoon player, the opportunities to use him can be few and far between. Clearly, one exists this week, with the Marlins scheduled to face nothing but right-handers, which include mashables like Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Walker Buehler. team logo team logo player headshot Jakob Marsee CF MIA Miami • #87 • Age: 25 Matchups @ARI3, @SD3 Rostered 42% Jakob Marsee has shown himself to be not such a big deal in Fantasy this year, but he's also in a good position to take advantage of this week's favorable hitter slate just by virtue of him batting .429 (12 for 28) in his past seven games. team logo team logo player headshot Tommy Edman 2B LAD L.A. Dodgers • #25 • Age: 31 Matchups @CIN4, SF3 Rostered 64% Another favorable schedule is the Dodgers' seven-game slate against the Reds and Giants pitching staffs, which rates it as the fourth-best for this week. Tommy Edman seems like the best bet on the waiver wire to take advantage because you know he's going to be in the lineup against both the lefties and the righties (unlike, presumably, Josue De Paula) and because he's getting the chance to bat leadoff with Shohei Ohtani out. team logo team logo player headshot Christian Encarnacion-Strand 3B BAL Baltimore • #32 • Age: 26 Matchups @NYM3, MIL3 Rostered 29% You know the drill with Christian Encarnacion-Strand by now. He may not play quite every day, but if enough left-handers are on the schedule for the Orioles (three in six games in this case), then his .317 batting average and 1.064 OPS against lefties are enough to justify a look, particularly at third base. team logo team logo player headshot Coby Mayo 3B BAL Baltimore • #16 • Age: 24 Matchups @NYM3, MIL3 Rostered 32% I could say almost the exact same thing for Coby Mayo that I said for Encarnacion-Strand. He seems more volatile because of his 31 percent strikeout rate, but he's been even more productive versus lefties, having hit more home runs against them (16) than any other big leaguer this year. team logo team logo player headshot Kyle Karros 3B COL Colorado • #12 • Age: 24 Matchups SD4, SEA3 Rostered 29% Newly back from the concussion IL, Kyle Karros has started five of the past six games for the Rockies, confirming that he remains the primary third baseman, and he hit a home run Thursday, confirming that his swing is in good form. He's another strong bet to take advantage of the Rockies' full slate of home games, seeing as he's batting .282 with an .827 OPS at Coors Field this year.

Best hitter matchups for Week 26

1. Tigers @TOR3, @CHW4 2. Padres @COL4, MIA3 3. Rockies SD4, SEA3 4. Dodgers @CIN4, SF3 5. Guardians CHW3, ATH3

Worst hitter matchups for Week 26

1. Pirates MIL3, KC3 2. Nationals PHI2, @STL3 3. Athletics @TB3, @CLE3 4. Reds LAD4, CHC3 5. Giants @STL3, @LAD3

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Originally reported by CBS Sports. Read the full story at the original source.