It’s Week 12 for Category Targets and as always, I’ll be using ownership percentages from ESPN leagues to give you mostly available options who can help in each of the 10 standard fantasy baseball categories. If you’re desperate for steals or saves, there’s no need to waste time, go ahead and scroll down to see my recommendations in your category of need this week.
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Batting Average
Scott Schebler (CIN): 22.2%
Derek Dietrich (MIA): 21.1%
Schebler and Dietrich’s numbers on the season are so close it’s remarkable. Dietrich’s hitting .283 for the Marlins. He also has eight home runs, 30 runs scored and 25 RBI. Schebler is hitting .284 for the Reds and has eight home runs, 29 runs scored and 25 RBI. Schebler has been hot lately, though, as he’s hitting .404/.446/.673 with three home runs and seven RBI in 56 plate appearances over his last 12 games. I prefer Schebler because he’s so hot right now, but both are worthwhile adds.
Home Runs
Joc Pederson (LAD): 32.9%
Pederson has been crushing the ball lately as he’s hit seven home runs in his last nine games. Despite his struggles last season when he hit .212 with only 11 home runs, Pederson is still only 26 and has hit at least 25 home runs in a season twice already. He’s a reliable power threat while he’s hot, though he’s best used in daily formats where you can take him out against left-handed pitching.
RBI
Teoscar Hernandez (TOR): 44%
Jake Bauers (TB): 9.8%
Hernandedz is heating up lately as he has three home runs and seven RBI in his last nine games. I’m surprised his ownership percentage hasn’t surpassed 50% yet. Jake Bauers was recently recalled by the Rays after they traded Brad Miller. Bauers hit .279/.357/.426 in 222 plate appearances at Triple-A this year before he was called up and he has a home run, three doubles, and three RBI in seven games in the majors. He has a sweet swing and I’d add him if Hernandez is already taken your league.
Runs
Leonys Martin (DET): 32.4%
Martin is hitting .258/.327/.462 with nine home runs in 245 plate appearances for the Tigers this year. He also has 39 runs scored and is entrenched atop the lineup against right-handed pitching. While Miguel Cabrera is now out for the year, he wasn’t exactly carrying the Tigers’ offense anyway, meaning I don’t think Martin’s run scoring potential is impacted at all. He’s scored 10 runs in his last 10 games. Detroit’s upcoming schedule includes a trip to Chicago, where Martin will face three right-handed starters.
Stolen Bases
Jose Iglesias (DET): 9.9%
It felt silly to recommend players with three or fewer steals here so we’re going with Iglesias again. He already has 11 steals, tying a career-high set in 2015. While the Tigers aren’t going anywhere and have lost Miguel Cabrera for the season, the remaining players have plenty left to play for. Iglesias is a free agent after the season and could be a trade candidate before the July trade deadline so there’s still plenty of incentive for him to go out and produce.
Wins
Mike Leake (SEA): 34.7%
Leake was probably dropped in your league after getting off to a rough start this season, but he’s regained some ownership recently as he’s won three of his last four starts and has seven wins on the season. The Mariners have a good bullpen and have been great in close games all year. Seattle is 5-0 in Leake’s last five starts as he’s had a 1.77 ERA and 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk in 35.2 innings. His next start comes on Sunday at home against Boston.
Strikeouts
Dylan Covey (CHW): 8.9%
Covey won his second straight game with each coming against a team that made the playoffs last year in Boston and Cleveland. He allowed two runs on 10 hits and no walks over seven innings to beat the Indians. Wins probably won’t be this easy to come by going forward with the White Sox, especially against good teams. He struck out five, though, giving him 19 strikeouts in his last 18 innings. He faces the Indians again in his next start in Cleveland on Monday.
ERA
Steven Wright (BOS): 34.9%
Wright hasn’t allowed a run in his two starts for the Red Sox, making him an obvious choice for the ERA category. He also has 11 strikeouts in the 13.2 scoreless frames. Wright’s ERA out of the bullpen this year is 2.25 so he’s having a good year. Don’t forget this guy put up a 3.33 ERA in 24 starts for Boston back in 2016. He even made the All-Star team. His next start is Saturday at Seattle.
WHIP
Frankie Montas (OAK): 43.8%
Montas has had three pretty great starts and won them all since his debut. He’s allowed just three earned runs over 22.2 innings in that time, though he has a Thursday matinee meeting with the Astros. He’s also struck out 14 batters and only walked three leading to his 0.88 WHIP entering Thursday. The Athletics have been better than most people expected, which helps his win potential, and Montas gets to pitch half of his games in a big park so he has that going for him.
Saves
Hector Rondon (HOU): 21.3%
Ken Giles got the save for the Astros on Tuesday night. It was the first time in four save chances that Giles was the man manager A.J. Hinch picked for the opportunity to close the game. The previous three chances all went to Hector Rondon, who has a 1.50 ERA and 1.08 WHIP on the season. It appears that Hinch was telling the truth when he said he was merely giving Giles a break last week, but of course he could always change his mind if Giles were to start blowing saves, which he hasn’t done yet this season.
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Nick Shlain is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nick, check out his archive and follow him @electricsnuff.
