Fantasy Baseball Possible Pickups-Sleeper Central-June 27

It was a jam-packed Tuesday night of great fantasy baseball and as long as you didn’t miss your call like a certain umpire in New York did. As always, there were a number of surprising contributors across the league that we try to highlight in our daily post at sleeper central.

All the players listed below in our sleeper starting lineup are owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues (percentage of ownership in percentages). Whether you need an upgrade at a position or in a certain category, these names should give you a great place to start if you’re looking to make a big acquisition from the waiver wire.

Sleeper Starting Lineup

C– Michael McKenry – Pit: (0.0%) McKenry played in his third game in a row for Pittsburgh and went 3-3 with a double, home run, run scored, and two RBI. He’s gone 6-14 in the last three and brought his average to .224 on the season. Rod Barajas left Monday’s game with a bone bruise in his left knee and if he misses any time McKenry will be the beneficiary. He does have four home runs and four doubles in 76 at-bats so he has a little pop and may be worth a bargain add in the short term if you are in a deep format or need a super-cheap catcher in Draftstreet or other daily leagues.

1B– Anthony Rizzo – CHC: (33.6%) What a year for callups to the Major Leagues. With Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Will Middlebrooks already joining the Bigs this year, Rizzo becomes the latest big bat added to a roster as he steps up for the Cubs. In his first game for Chicago he went 2-4 with a double and an RBI while hitting third. Look for him to play everyday and contribute on a regular basis for his fantasy owners as well as the Cubs for the rest of the season.

2B-Yuniesky Betancourt – KC: (1.1%) In a tie ball-game, Betancourt connected for his fifth home run of the year to give the Royals the lead for good against the Rays. He has six RBI in his last three games and 22 on the season despite playing just 32 games. He’s hitting .252 and starting everyday at 2B for the Royals while Chris Getz is on the DL.

3B– Jeff Keppinger – TB: (1.4%) The 3B the Rays are really waiting for-Evan Longoria-is still at least a few days from resuming baseball activities, but Keppinger has been a nice boost to the Tampa offense sine his return four games ago. He’s gone 8-16 after a 2-4 last night and has raised his average to .327 for the season through his first 104 at-bats. He has positional versatility and looks to be in the Rays lineup everday for the foreseeable future. He doesn’t offer much in the areas of power or speed, but his average and countables (RBI, runs scored) can be useful in deep leagues.

SS– Andrelton Simmons – Atl: (7.3%) A less-heralded call-up who has paid dividends for Atlanta, Simmons went 2-4 with a double and RBI to bring his average up to .338 in his 21 games this season. He’s driven in 11 and scored six runs with eight extra-base hits since taking over as the Braves starter. His numbers indicate this is a hot streak and a correction could be coming soon, but he’s definitely an option if you need a short-term fill-in at SS and are willing to ride a hot bat.

OF– Jon Jay – STL: (33.7%) By going 2-5 yesterday, Jay raised his average for the year to .333. He’s hitting second in a potent lineup as indicated by his 21 runs scored in 32 games and should continue to be a solid outfielder as he works to rediscover his stroke after a month on the DL. If you find yourself in need of OF help, he’s a good option if you can live with less power numbers and more average, steals, and runs scored.

OF– Tyler Moore – Was: (0.2%) Moore is forcing his way into the Washington lineup in the outfield as well as at 1B and last night got the start in LF going 2-5 with a run, 3 RBI, and his third home run of the year. He has eight RBI, seven runs scored, and three steals in just 47 at-bats and could be worth a speculative add in NL only leagues. If he starts getting daily playing time, he’ll be worth a look in all leagues.

OF– J.D. Martinez – Hou: (18.2%) After starting the season red-hot, Martinez struggled through much of May and the early part of June, but may be starting to turn things back around. Last night he with 1-4 with a two-run home run and is now 5-16 in his last four games with three home runs and eight RBI. On the season, he’s hitting .235 (although he does have a nice .322 OBP) with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, and 22 runs scored. If you can sacrifice average and speed for power and RBI, Martinez makes a good add where his previous owner may have decided to move on too soon.

AL Starting Pitcher– Phil Hughes – NYY: (40.0%) Hughes had a nice bounce-back performance after getting knocked around by Atlanta his last time out. Last night he held the Indians scoreless for eight innings striking out four and allowing six hits and a walk. He picked up the win to move to 8-6 on the year and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine starts. He’s been a good spot starter except for a couple outings and is worth holding onto with the Yankee lineup behind him helping him to 7th in the AL in wins.

NL Starting Pitcher– Jordan Lyles – Hou: (0.1%) Lyles had one of his best starts of the year shutting down the Padres to earn his second win of the season. He allowed one earned run on six hits while striking out four. It’s a good step forward, but he’s only a fringe spot starter going forward.

Relief Pitcher– Josh Collmenter – Ari: (0.1%) With Trevor Bauer set to start on Thursday and Joe Saunders already on the DL, Collmenter may get another spot start. He came on in relief of the injured Daniel Hudson and went four shutout innings but did allow six hits and two walks against the Braves. Stay tuned to see what the D-Backs plans for Collmenter are after he’s allowed just one earned run in his last six appearances spanning 16.1 innings.