It’s the last week before the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, marking the unofficial end to the first half of the season. And as we reach the first full week of July, several unheralded hitters have begun to get hot. With Week 15 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season approaching, here’s a look at five hitters to target, starting with an All-Star from 2023.
Elias Diaz
We’ll start our Week 15 hitters to target on the waiver wire list with Elias Diaz. Diaz returned from the IL on June 30 and the 33-year-old, who batted .305 as of July 6, has done what he normally does at the plate. The Rockies catcher notched a hit in his first seven games back, and multi-hit games on June 30 and July 2.
Diaz won’t provide much power; his career-high in home runs is 14 and he’s a savvy hitter with a short swing and will often go inside out on pitches effectively. However, one interesting note on Diaz’s fantasy value beyond July is the Rockies catcher is a free agent after 2024. Colorado could re-sign him after the season or look to move him at the Trade Deadline.
Colt Keith
It’s been an up-and-down rookie season for Tigers rookie Colt Keith. Keith batted .342 in May and looked to have turned a corner, before the 22-year-old hit .220 with five extra-base hits (2 HR) over 84 June plate appearances. Thus far in July, Tigers fans have seen more of the May version of Keith. Through his first 18 plate appearances of July, Keith batted .353 and hit more home runs (3) over the first five days of the month than all of June.
Keith, along with Riley Greene, is expected to be a big piece of the Tigers’ future. That doesn’t necessarily mean he was going to be a hit, despite his prospect stock and Detroit’s long-term commitment to him. But even though Keith has a .644 OPS on the season, he’s shown flashes of a very good hitter.
Brooks Lee
For those who listened to our advice for Week 14 and picked up Jose Miranda, good job. Miranda went on a rampage this past week, notching a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats, tying former Tiger Walt Dropo and two others for the MLB record. This week, another Twins infielder is garnering our attention.
Brooks Lee, who made his MLB debut this past week after Royce Lewis landed on the IL, has been hitting well thus far in the Majors. An advanced hitter with hand-eye coordination and power, Lee went 7-15 over his first three MLB contests, including a home run on July 6. Don’t expect him to hit at a .467 pace but the 23-year-old has the tools to be an effective big league hitter.
Lars Nootbaar
We’re still waiting for the breakout season from Lars Nootbaar. Nootbaar has been on the IL since May 31 with an oblique strain but the 26-year-old has been working his way back. The Cardinals outfielder spent the last week in Double-A Springfield. On July 5, Nootbaar went deep as part of a multi-hit game against Northwest Arkansas.
From an analytics standpoint, Nootbaar holds tremendous value, both for the Cardinals and fantasy players. The 26-year-old gets on base and puts himself in a position to score runs and he’s posted above-average Hard Hit% and Barrel% rates over the last three seasons. Still, he’s yet to play more than 117 games in a single MLB season.
Ben Rice
With Anthony Rizzo on the IL, Yankees C/1B Ben Rice has taken advantage. The 25-year-old Rice has played 17 MLB games thus far and the results have been impressive. Rice has 15 hits in 17 games, including seven extra-base hits, and he’s walked eight times compared to nine strikeouts. On July 6, Rice exploded for three home runs and seven RBI.
While Rice’s three-home run game proved he’s got pop, what interests us more is that the Yankees have slotted him in the leadoff spot as of late. It makes plenty of sense, given Rice sported a .383 OPS after his monstrous game on July 6. If he sticks there, he’ll have ample opportunities, provided he continues to get on base, to get driven in by either Juan Soto or Aaron Judge.