Week 4 Fantasy Baseball: 5 Sticks That Are Heating Up

Escobar went 5-30 (.1667 BA) in the first nine games of the season. The shortstop has really heated up recently, though. Escobar has gone 14-33 in the last 10 games alone (.424 BA), including five doubles and one homer. He is quickly emerging as a low-end fantasy stopgap.

Castro recorded has just two hits through his first 17 at-bats this season, and as a result, he was dropped by thousands of owners. Since that point, though, Castro has been on fire. The shortstop has posted an unthinkable .350 batting average (21-60) and the once-coveted prospect has regained the confidence of the fantasy community.

Hosmer’s average dropped down to .243 in the middle of April, but he has since turned his season around. In the next eight games, Hosmer has raised his batting average up to .311 by going 13-33 over that stretch. He is finally starting to hit the ball like he did in the final months of the 2013 season.

Beltran started off slow in the Bronx, by posting a .185 batting average (5-27) through the first seven games. Luckily, Beltran has really started to swing the bat, as has smacked five long balls in the last 11 games. He is seeing the ball very well and his average is on the verge of hitting the .300 mark (.296). Consider Beltran an ideal OF2 in all fantasy formats from here on out.

After a disastrous 2013 season (17 HRs/64RBIs), Pujols has exploded this month. Pujols has incredibly smashed eight homers in the last 13 games alone and has been putting up vintage Pujols numbers. The Machine is automatic at the plate right now and the veteran seems primed to have another 30-HR season.