There are just about six weeks left to the fantasy baseball season and several of your league mates are focusing on fantasy football right now. This is your chance to either pull away from your competition or gain ground on them. Let’s look back over the past month or so at some of the unsung batters and pitchers who’ve been high-performers and should be on your radar as you seek out the player or two who can help you make that final push toward your league’s fantasy baseball playoffs.

Cardinals’ second baseman Kolten Wong is batting .363 with a .411 wOBA over the past 30 days. Overall, he’s stolen 17 bases, a category that has vexed fantasy baseball players over the past couple of seasons. Season-long players seeking to bolster their team should note that he’s owned in just 18-percent of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues. DFS players who find themselves looking to target a specific southpaw on a given day should know that Wong has a .297 batting average against left-handed pitching.

You never know where Reds’ rookie Josh VanMeter is going to show up next. He’s played a majority of his games in the outfield but has played first base, second base, and third base. If you own VanMeter and play in one of those Yahoo fantasy leagues with liberal position requirements you’ve got lots of options. He’s available in 85-percent of those leagues. He’s batting .342 with a .409 OBP and .544 slugging percentage over his last 26 games. Ride him while he’s hot but sit him against lefty pitching; He’s batting just .143 vs. southpaws.

Giants’ outfielder Kevin Pillar has already matched his career-high in home runs (19) and has stolen 10 bases thus far. He’s batting .323 with seven home runs and 17 runs scored and driven in 17 runs in his last 26 games. As is always the case with Pillar, he hasn’t walked much this season (2.8% walk rate) and that hurts his value in OBP leagues, but the good news is that he also doesn’t strike out much (14.3% K rate).

Nationals’ outfielder Adam Eaton has batted either first or second for the majority of the season and has been a very productive table-setter. He’s smacked 13 homers, stolen 13 bases and gotten on base at a .377 rate. He’s posted a .323/.412/.583 triple-slash over his last 32 games.

Asdrúbal Cabrera is also swinging a hot bat for the Nationals. Ever since he was signed by the Nats after the Rangers waived him 11 games ago, he’s been batting .324 with two home runs and 13 RBI. 

Diamondbacks’ shortstop Nick Ahmed has been enjoying a mini-breakout. He’s set a career-high in home runs with 17 while batting .271 and stealing seven bases. In his last 10 games, he’s batting .353 with five home runs and 13 RBI.

Rangers’ outfielder Willie Calhoun has made some adjustments that have helped his overall stats and it looks like he’s in the big leagues to stay. He’s having good success against both left- and right-handed pitching and he’s batting .327 with a .615 slugging percentage over his last 15 games.

Hunter Pence is another Rangers outfielder who has been swinging a hot bat of late. He’s been back from the IL for a while and quietly getting it done. Over his last 25 games, Pence is batting .333. Unfortunately, his power numbers have been lacking lately but he has 18 home runs on the season. 

Speaking of young players with a strong hit tool, the Mariners recently called up outfielder Jake Fraley. He’s had his issues with injuries in the past but he has hit for average in his minor league career. He has burgeoning power potential along with the ability to steal bases. Fraley is an intriguing long-term option who is probably available on your league’s waiver wire. Don’t overspend.

On the pitching side, the once slumping Indians have successfully brought themselves back from the brink. If the season ended today, they’d be one of the AL’s Wild Card teams. José Ramírez has bounced back from his long slump and Yasiel Puig has been swinging a hot bat, but the fact that the Indians have been able to get quality innings from a starting rotation that has missed Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco for a big chunk of the season is truly impressive. Shane Bieber has an 11.1 K/9 rate and 1.8 BB/9 rate. Mike Clevinger missed time due to a back injury but has been pitching like an ace, posting a 13.06 K/9. Last week, we spoke about how good Aaron Civale has pitched recently. If Kluber or Carrasco can contribute in the playoffs the Indians will be a force to be reckoned with.

Other pitchers that have been dealing over the past month or so include Reds’ starter Sonny Gray who just seems to get better as the season rolls along. He has nine wins and six losses and a 2.92 overall ERA. However, he has a 1.44 ERA with a .167 BAA in his last nine starts. Reds’ pitching coach Derek Johnson was also Gray’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt University. Johnson’s back-to-basics approach has helped make Gray fantasy viable again.

Rays’ pitcher Ryan Yarbrough has been pitching in and out of the starting rotation, however, his last two appearances have been as a starter and he hasn’t given up a run in his last 15 IP. He’s struck out 18 batters and posted a BAA of .122 during that time frame.

Cubs’ starter José Quintana has been frustrating fantasy players for years, but for now, he’s one of baseball’s hottest pitchers. In his first four August starts, he’s pitching to a 1.38 ERA while striking out 33 batters in 26 IP and posting a .202 BAA.

Brewers’ starting pitcher (Yo) Adrian Houser , has given up more than one run in just one of his last five starts. He’s pitching to a 2.54 ERA during that time frame and has 31 strikeouts in his last 28.1 IP.

All stats that were quoted in this article are accurate as of the morning of August 22nd, 2019.