Fantasy Baseball 2018: Three Hitters to Pick Up

This article looks at some hitters that can help your Fantasy Baseball team make a potential championship run.

Matt Chapman– 3B Oakland Athletics

Matt Chapman has been a defensive wizard since making his debut last year, and before this season, defense was all that he was really known for. If Fantasy Baseball included points for defense, he would probably be 100% owned in all leagues and formats. In 2018, he has significantly improved his offense, and is one of the reasons the Athletics own the second wild card spot in the American League. He has made jumps in batting average, OBP, slugging %, OPS, homers, walks, and doubles from 2017 to 2018, and is 8th in all of baseball in WAR. He has been great in the month of August, hitting .356 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in 11 games. His OPS in August is 1.121, the highest he’s ever had in any month while in the majors. He has also been hitting the ball hard much more often this season, as he has increased his hard hit rate from 36% to 45.4%. He is currently 72.6% owned in ESPN leagues and 71% owned in Yahoo leagues, so I would add him soon before someone else scoops him up.

Harrison Bader– OF St. Louis Cardinals

With the way that Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna Jr. have been bashing baseballs this season, you would think that either one of them is currently leading all rookies in WAR. However, it is actually Cardinals rookie Harrison Bader. While Bader may not have the overall talent or future potential of Soto or Acuna, he has been a solid bat for the Cards and looks to be a big piece for them going forward.

Bader only played in 32 games last year, in which he hit .235 with 3 homers and 10 RBI. He didn’t really have a consistent spot in the Cardinals lineup, but he got his chance when Tommy Pham was traded to Tampa Bay. In 96 games, Bader is hitting .273 with 8 homers and 21 RBI. He’s had a solid August, with a slash line of .310/.362/.524, and has 13 hits in 13 games. I would especially start him against lefties, as he is hitting .317 and has a .942 OPS against them, as opposed to a .250 average and a .671 OPS against righties.

Willy Adames– 2B, SS Tampa Bay Rays

Willy Adames was the Rays’ number two prospect and number 19 overall according to Baseball America headed into 2018. He’s been moving between the majors and Triple A throughout the season, but now seems to have cemented a spot with Rays. After a really rough July, in which he hit .157 with 18 strikeouts in 16 games, Adames is having a fantastic August. He is hitting .410 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in 12 games, and he has only struck out seven times. He also has four steals in five attempts, whereas in July he didn’t even attempt a steal. His most recent highlight was a bomb off Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, who hadn’t given up a home run since May. Overall, his plate discipline needs to improve, but that’s a common trend among rookies, and his overall talent and upside is too high to be ignored.

Best of luck this season, and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all the latest Fantasy Baseball news and analysis!