Week 13 DFS Hot/Cold Report

As I often like to do, let’s review some hot hitters (and cold this time) going into the weekend. These hitters can be considered (or avoided) when constructing your lineups; perhaps you have a hole that needs to be filled and one of these guys can be that bat that gives you a shot at not posting a zero for that position. Note, this article is being compiled while Thursday’s action is being played so things may look a little different come Friday, however, that doesn’t mean someone whose hit streak ended at 12 games is now cold, or someone who was batting .350 the last 7 days is all of the sudden ice cold because they went hitless Thursday, for example. Good luck this weekend!

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Who’s Hot

Hit Streak Leaders (Top 10)

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There are some familiar faces on this list, but some others that stand out to me:

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• Ezequiel Tovar – before this streak of 11 games he had a streak of 5 games, and before that streak, he had a streak of 4 games, and before that streak he had a streak of 4 games, and before that was a streak of 6 games. In other words, since 5/20 he’s had at least one hit in 30 of his last 34 games, including 11 doubles, a triple, and 4 HR. He’s hitting .318 in June with 14 RBI and 11 runs scored.
  • Update: Tovar was 1-for-4 Thursday with a stolen base
• Bryan de la Cruz – there’s room for more than one hot hitting de la Cruz in this league, and there’s a reason why the Miami Marlins have the second-best record in the National League. Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler are good, maybe even great in Arraez’s case, but you need a cast around you to have a winning baseball team. One of those cast members is Bryan de la Cruz. With this latest streak, he’s now batting a very respectable .281 on the season and can provide a little pop (17 doubles, 9 HR) and peripheral value (43 RBI, 35 R, 3 SB). 
  • Update: de la Cruz went 1-for-4  Thursday
• Patrick Bailey – Joey Bart, who? Bart was supposed to be the Giants’ next great catcher, but that hasn’t panned out for Bart, and that’s not what this little story is about; it’s about Patrick Bailey. He was called up in mid-May and hit .333 in that month (13-for-39). Did he slow down in June? Nope. He’s hitting .309 in June (21-for-68), sharing catching duties with Blake Sabol, but Bailey is the superior offensive option, not just because of his counting stats but due in part because he’s a switch hitter which can provide some additional opportunities to get some ABs. 
  • Update: Bailey went 2-for-4 with a double Thursday
• Garrett Cooper – another cog in the Miami machine, Cooper clearly has been hitting well of late. In addition to the streak, he’s got 5 HR in June (76 AB) after hitting 5 combined in March, April, and May (149 AB). Cooper actually had an amazing June last year too, hitting .378 (90 AB), however, he fell off the statistical cliff the following months, hitting .133 in July (60 AB) and .106 in August (47 AB), eventually finding his swing again in September (.290 in 69 AB). Use him while you can, it may not last, although hopefully, he doesn’t hit the same lull as last season.
  • Update: Cooper was scratched with an illness Thursday

Highest Batting Average Last 7 Days (15 at-bats min.)

• Joey Wendle – I’ll be honest with you, I looked up the Rays roster looking for Wendle and couldn’t find him. Well, that’s because he’s no longer with them, and hasn’t been since 2021, apparently. Guess who he’s with?! The Miami Marlins, of course! Yet another cog and another reason why they’ve been winning. AND vibrantly illustrates the purpose of this list — to find a diamond in the rough, someone you weren’t even thinking of using, someone you swiped right past when you were looking for that cheap shortstop to complete your lineup. Well, Wendle is that shortstop, and he’s collected 9 hits in his last 20 at-bats. He’s got 3 straight games with multi-hit efforts and 6 multi-hit outings in June, batting .365 (27-for-74) during the month.
  • Update: Joey Wendle went 2-for-4 Thursday

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• Henry Davis – get called up, get your first hit in your first game, this is going to be easy, right? Nope, 0-for-7 the next 2 games. This guy’s a bust now, right? Nope, the next act is a 6-game hit streak where you go 9-for-23 (.391), including 3 multi-hit efforts, a double, and your first big league home run. Ain’t baseball fun to try and forecast!? The 2021 first-overall draft pick has the pedigree to continue to perform, so keep him on your radar, and perhaps in your lineups. 
  • Update: Davis was 3-for-4 Thursday, all singles
• Anthony Volpe – this name landed just outside the top 10 here which is why he’s not listed in the table, but wanted to highlight him because, after a pretty rough start average-wise, he’s picked up the pace of late. He’s got a little 3-game hit streak going, during which he’s gone 6-for-11 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base. He’s got 16 swiped bags so far on the year, and is on pace for a 20+ HR season — not too bad for a rookie. 
  • Update: Volpe was 2-for-4 Thursday

Highest ISO Last 7 Days (15 at-bats min.)

What is ISO? Well, per MLB.com, it is a statistic that attempts to measure the raw power of a hitter by focusing only on a hitter’s extra-base hits. Many DFS users swear by it, especially when it comes to high-risk high-reward contests where you need to score a bunch of points in order to win. How do you score more points? By collecting extra-base hits — doubles, triples, and home runs. Here are the hitters with the highest ISO over the last 7 days:

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• Matt McLain – no one is really going to be surprised by names 1 through 9, however, Matt McLain might stand out to you. He’s having a really sensational season for a rookie, and he’s hitting for more than just singles lately. Over the last 7 days, 7 of his 9 hits have been for extras (4 2B, 3 HR). So while others in the Reds’ lineup may be getting more fanfare, McLain deserves an extra look too.
• Ha-Seong Kim – he was outside the top 10, but due to 3 of his last 7 hits going for home runs, he was up there. Overall, he’s 17-for-47 (.361) since 6/15, raising his average by nearly 20 points in the process.
  • Update: Kim was 2-for-3 Thursday, with a double and an HR
• Jose Siri – another one that came outside the top 10 that caught my eye was Jose Siri. Of his last 6 hits, 3 were long balls. He’s got 15 such on the year, so could be a sneaky power producer if needed.

Highest SLG for Catcher Last 7 Days (15 at-bats min.)

Slugging percentage is similar to ISO, but while ISO focuses on extra-base hits, slugging does have a component of singles included in it, albeit small. Anyway, this table isn’t just the Top 10, it’s the full list, but it was somewhat eye-opening — not just because of the names near the top, but more so due to a couple bigger names listed toward the bottom (i.e. Adley, J.T.). I’m always looking for a cheap catcher, maybe you are too:

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Who’s Cold

Lowest Batting Average Last 7 Days (15 at-bats min.)

Maybe steer clear of these batters until they’ve proven they’ve turned it around:

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Power Outage: Lowest ISO Last 7 Days (20 at-bats min.)

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This report was increased to 20 at-bats to whittle down the list a bit, but some surprising names are listed here, i.e. Bryce Harper. Harper has 5 walks during this stretch, so he’s still getting on base, but if it’s power you’re looking for, it won’t be found here. Others have a decent batting average over the last 7 days, but they’re just singles, such as Ty France and Steven Kwan:

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