Listen up, fantasy baseball managers! Batters are heating up! It's been easy to get lulled into the idea that pitching can carry your team this year. No-hitters seem to be coming at a weekly pace, and the league ERA is the lowest since 2015.  But, league batting average is already creeping back up- it's now .237, as opposed to .233 a week ago.  As the weather warms and batters start to groove, you'll want to make sure you weren't sleeping on bats. Here are some hot May hitters that look legit and may still be available in your league.

May is Austin Riley month. You may recall his red-hot rookie May back in 2019 when he hit .356 with seven home runs and 20 RBI. Well, with his second two-home run game over the weekend, Riley looks primed to keep the trend going.   Over the first three weeks of May, Riley has six home runs, 14 RBI, and is batting .342.  He has been working on the plate discipline, swinging less at the first pitch and working the count, and it's finally combining with his power. Riley is pummeling both off-speed pitches and fastballs. He now has career-highs in max exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and walk rate. He's an everyday player, the Braves are surging, and it's time to get Riley into your fantasy baseball lineups.

Kyle Schwarber has been cooking, slugging .554 with six home runs, 17 RBI, and a stolen base in May. Two of those home runs have a  revenge game narrative vs. his former club, the Chicago Cubs, and seven of his eight home runs on the season have been vs. righties.  Schwarber is still only 58% owned in Yahoo leagues, and as the weather heats up, you won't want to leave him on the wire. Schwarber's hard-hit rate is in the 96th percentile of the league, and his max exit velo is in the 99th percentile. His batting average should continue to improve, and it will almost certainly be better than the current .237 league average. Go get this bat.

Brandon Crawford . The oldest team in baseball is turning back the clock a la Phil Mickelson, and I don't know about you, but I love it.  Crawford has a nearly 15% barrel rate in 2021. That's a career-high. He also has a 42.6% hard-hit rate and an expected slugging of .509. Crawford has batted in the fourth most runs in the league this month with 19, he's gone yard seven times, and he's batting .321. What's more?   He's done all of this with a home ballpark that doesn't particularly favor lefties. Crawford's eleven home runs would be twelve or more in eleven other ballparks. In Houston, Seattle, or New York, he would have thirteen. Crawford is only 65% rostered in Yahoo, and I'm buying in.

Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux is slugging .500 with three home runs and 16 RBI in May. He's striking out less and walking more, and he's been getting this production from the bottom of the order. Dodgers are looking better after this weekend, and Lux is someone that should be on your radar.

Joc Pederson is batting .350 during May, with one home run and eight RBI. On the season, his average exit velocity is in the 87th percentile, his max exit velocity is in the 81st percentile, and he has a 50% hard-hit rate. He's available in 76% of Yahoo leagues.

Adam Duvall is batting .262 with four homers, two stolen bases, and 16 RBI this month. He has a career-high 52% hard-hit rate, a blistering max exit velocity in the top 8% of the league, and he's clutch, slugging .674 with a runner in scoring position in 2021.

And finally, Avisaíl García is still available in 73% of Yahoo leagues, despite slugging .574 with a .976 OPS so far in May. Avi's four home runs, fifteen RBI, two stolen bases, and .328 batting average this month tell me he should continue seeing nearly everyday at-bats. Garcia has a career-high hard-hit rate and an average exit velocity in the 85th percentile of the league. Statcast says his expected batting average is .275, and his expected slugging is .500, while his sprint speed is in the top 12% of the league.   

Don't sleep on power. Go get some bats.