Weekly Planner: Corey Dickerson picks up slack for Rockies' offense

When Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer went down with long-term injuries in short order, the Rockies offense appeared to take a big hit. Instead, Corey Dickerson has cashed in on the opportunity and has potentially turned himself into a mainstay for Walt Weiss and company.

Dickerson became an everyday starter for the Rockies on May 28. Entering play that day, he was hitting .347/.372/.653 in limited duty. That season-long slash line is up to .354/.410/.667 thanks to a June in which he has hit .365/.420/.667 with four homers and 15 RBI. Dickerson has at least one hit in all but three of his starts in June, and has seven multi-hit games.

While he has been scorching of late, Dickerson has performed any time he has been given a chance this year. Even though he has primarily been a backup, his batting average has been north of .300 since April 21, his OBP has been better than .350 since April 20 and his slugging percentage has eclipsed .600 since May 10. Despite his recent surge and everyday spot in the lineup, though, he has yet to receive widespread notice from fantasy owners. That needs to be rectified immediately.

Dickerson has proven himself a commodity in fantasy leagues, and with Gonzalez and Cuddyer each on the shelf for at least another month, he's going to find his name in the lineup every single day for the foreseeable future. Even when they come back, Dickerson has done more than enough to warrant regular playing time. He should be owned in all leagues, regardless of size.

Roster Trends

Most added
Corey Dickerson, Rockies -- Even though he isn't as widely owned as he should be, Dickerson is the most added player in fantasy leagues in the last three days. He has been unstoppable at the plate recently, going 17-for-39 with three homers and 11 RBI in his last 10 games. He's now hitting .354/.410/.667 with 10 homers on the season.
Steve Pearce, Orioles -- Pearce is one of the hottest hitters in baseball, posting a .424 batting average (14-for-33) with two homers in his last 10 games. Given his recent production and safe spot in the lineup, he's worth consideration in most fantasy leagues.
Scooter Gennett, Brewers -- Gennett has six multi-hit performances in his last seven games, running his batting average to .311 from .289 in that stretch. With second base forever shallow, Gennett should be owned in most mixed leagues.

Most dropped
Jon Singleton, Astros -- Singleton is 0-for-10 in his last three games, and is now hitting just .203/.288/.422 in his brief time in the majors. Still, his power makes him a fantasy asset.
Jason Grilli, Pirates -- After a handful of rough outings all within a week of each other, Grilli lost his job as the Pittsburgh closer. If you have the roster space to keep him around, however, you should do so. This move may just be temporary.
Yangervis Solarte, Yankees -- Solarte has come crashing back to earth, and is slashing just .160/.288/.220 in 59 plate appearances in June. Feel free to get rid of him in even deeper mixed leagues.

Two-start pitchers
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Felix Hernandez
3. Chris Sale
4. Zack Greinke
5. Jeff Samardzija
6. Jordan Zimmermann
7. Tim Hudson
8. Alex Cobb
9. Andrew Cashner
10. Gio Gonzalez
11. C.J. Wilson
12. Chris Archer
13. Mark Buehrle
14. Yovani Gallardo
15. Jake Arrieta
16. John Lackey
17. Matt Cain
18. Lance Lynn
19. Shelby Miller
20. Homer Bailey
21. Nathan Eovaldi
22. Andrew Heaney
23. Marcus Stroman
24. Matt Garza
25. Bartolo Colon
26. Kyle Gibson
27. Jorge De La Rosa
28. Jose Quintana
29. Aaron Harang
30. Drew Smyly
31. Scott Feldman
32. Jeremy Guthrie
33. Alfredo Simon
34. Wei-yin Chen
35. Colby Lewis
36. Jhoulys Chacin
37. Edinson Volquez
38. Chase Whitley
39. Roberto Hernandez
40. Dallas Buchanan
41. Jeff Locke

Teams playing seven games
Orioles
White Sox
Cubs
Reds
Rockies
Dodgers
Marlins
Brewers
Pirates
Giants
Cardinals
Blue Jays
Rays
Nationals

Teams playing five games
Diamondbacks
Indians
A's

Teams playing eight games
Phillies

Weekday day games
(all times Eastern)
Wednesday
Pirates @ Rays, 12:10
Nationals @ Brewers, 2:10
Cardinals @ Rockies, 3:10
Padres @ Giants, 3:45
Thursday
Braves @ Astros, 2:10
Twins @ Angels, 3:35
Friday
Rays @ Orioles, 1:05
Nationals @ Cubs, 4:05

Favorable matchups
Angels (vs. Minnesota, @ Kansas City) -- Any week that includes the Twins is a good one for an opposing offense, and the Angels also have the good fortune to avoid James Shields when they visit Kansas City over the weekend.
Braves (@ Houston, @ Philadelphia) -- Not only do the Braves spend the entire week in good parks for hitters, they won't face either Houston's or Philadelphia's best pitchers. They are not scheduled to face Dallas Keuchel or Cole Hamels.
Tigers (@ Texas, @ Houston) -- Other than Keuchel, the Tigers have strong matchups for the entire week. They'll face Colby Lewis, Nick Tepesch, Joe Saunders, Brad Peacock and Scott Feldman. Playing six total games in the state of Texas helps, too.
Mets (vs. Oakland, @ Pittsburgh) -- The Mets begin their week with a tough matchup against Scott Kazmir, but then things get considerably easier. They are slated to see Brad Mills, Vance Worley, Brandon Cumpton, Edinson Volquez and Jeff Locke.
Mariners (vs. Boston, vs. Cleveland) -- The Mariners are a light-hitting bunch, but they could change that, at least for one week. They will see John Lackey, but Jake Peavy and Clay Buchholz have struggled this year, and they do not have to go up against Corey Kluber.

Unfavorable matchups
Diamondbacks (vs. Cleveland, @ San Diego) -- The Diamondbacks only play five games this week. Three of those are in San Diego, and they have to face Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and Corey Kluber.
Orioles (vs. Chicago White Sox, vs. Tampa Bay) -- The Orioles have a very rough week ahead, as they're scheduled to face Chris Sale, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Cobb and Chris Archer.
Red Sox (@ Seattle, @ New York Yankees) -- The Red Sox have to deal with Felix Hernandez and Masahiro Tanaka, who are likely running first and second for the AL Cy Young award, this week. They'll also go up against Hisashi Iwakuma in Seattle.
Cubs (vs. Cincinnati, vs. Washington) -- The Cubs have an especially tough weekend with the Nationals coming to Chicago for four games. On the plus side, they won't see Stephen Strasburg. On the down side, they will have to deal with Doug Fister, Tanner Roark, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann.
Royals (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, vs. Los Angeles Angels) -- Los Angeles heads east this week, with the Dodgers and Angels visiting Kauffman Stadium. Unfortunately for the Royals, they start the week by facing Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw.