Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Preview: Top 10 sleeper hitters include Dansby Swanson, Esmerlyn Valdez

July 3, 2026 No Comments

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. Be sure to check back Sunday for the recent updates.Sleeper hitters for Week 16 (July 6-12)

Dansby Swanson

CHC

Chi. Cubs

• #7

•

Age: 32

Matchups

@BAL3, @CIN3

Rostered

77%

Matchups aside, Dansby Swanson has been the hottest hitter in baseball, homering eight times and driving in an astonishing 26 runs in his past 10 games. He probably shouldn’t qualify for this list anymore, but he does.

Luis Garcia

WAS

Washington

• #2

•

Age: 26

Matchups

HOU3, NYY3

Rostered

80%

Luis Garcia has enjoyed his own power surge, having recently homered seven times over a nine-game span. Recommending him can be difficult since he tends to sit against left-handed pitchers, but there’s only one of those on the schedule this week.

Bryce Eldridge

SF

San Francisco

• #8

•

Age: 21

Matchups

TOR3, COL4

Rostered

75%

Right about the time we noticed Bryce Eldridge was striking out less while hitting the ball as hard as advertised, his production took a dip, causing him to be dropped in enough leagues to qualify for this list again. His strikeout rate has only continued to improve during that time, though, making him a quality play with the second-best hitter matchups this week.

Jake McCarthy

COL

Colorado

• #31

•

Age: 28

Matchups

@LAD3, @SF4

Rostered

63%

The Rockies actually have some pretty good matchups this week, but only a few of their hitters are trustworthy on the road. Jake McCarthy is one, batting .292 with a .767 OPS away from Coors Field, and the three lefties on the schedule also shouldn’t bother him, given his .377 batting average and .924 OPS against them.

Heliot Ramos

SF

San Francisco

• #17

•

Age: 26

Matchups

TOR3, COL4

Rostered

39%

Heliot Ramos has looked good since coming back from a quadriceps injury, going 4 for 14 (.286) with two homers and a triple. His second-ranked hitter slate includes matchups like Tomoyuki Sugano, Tanner Gordon, Kyle Freeland and Michael Lorenzen.

Lars Nootbaar

STL

St. Louis

• #21

•

Age: 28

Matchups

MIL5, ATL3

Rostered

25%

Lars Nootbaar has continued with his modest production even as he’s stung the ball to the tune of a 94.0 mph average exit velocity. Among the Cardinals who might actually be available in your league, he seems like the best choice to take advantage of their rare eight-game schedule.

A.J. Ewing

NYM

N.Y. Mets

• #9

•

Age: 21

Matchups

@ATL1, KC3, BOS3

Rostered

55%

A.J. Ewing has picked up the pace of late, batting .298 (17 for 57) with three homers and a steal over his past 17 games. He has some pretty favorable matchups this week, particularly early on, and is scheduled to face six right-handers, against which he’s batting .296 with an .804 OPS.

Esmerlyn Valdez

PIT

Pittsburgh

• #55

•

Age: 22

Matchups

ATL3, MIL3

Rostered

28%

Another who’s on here more for his hot hitting than his matchups, Esmerlyn Valdez has demonstrated massive power with four home runs, two doubles and a triple in his past seven games. His swing-and-miss is likely to catch up to him eventually, but you should take advantage while he’s seeing the ball well.

Tommy Edman

LAD

L.A. Dodgers

• #25

•

Age: 31

Matchups

COL3, ARI3

Rostered

33%

Tommy Edman has all but stopped running the past couple years, and seeing as that was always his best trait, he probably doesn’t need to be rostered much more than he is. He’s been swinging a hot bat since rejoining the Dodgers, though, and they happen to have the fifth-best hitter matchups this week.

Chase Meidroth

CHW

Chi. White Sox

• #10

•

Age: 24

Matchups

BOS3, ATH3

Rostered

37%

The White Sox have some pretty good matchups upcoming, particularly their three games against the Athletics pitching staff to close out the week. What works most in Chase Meidroth’s favor, though, are the four lefties on the schedule, against which he’s batting .322 with an .862 OPS.

Best hitter matchups for Week 16

1. Padres ARI4, TOR3
2. Giants TOR3, COL4
3. Brewers @STL5, @PIT3
4. Orioles CHC3, KC3
5. Dodgers COL3, ARI3

Worst hitter matchups for Week 16

1. Marlins SEA3, CLE3
2. Angels @TEX3, @MIN3
3. Rays NYY4, SEA3
4. Athletics @DET3, @CHW3
5. Reds PHI3, CHC3

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Best hitter matchups for Week 16

Worst hitter matchups for Week 16

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