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USATSI

When Royce Lewis went 0 for 5 Tuesday, he said he just knew there was no way it would happen again. He told Twins hitting coach David Popkins before Wednesday's game, "Hey, I don't do that slump thing. That's not a real thing for me."

And wouldn't you know it, Lewis went out Wednesday against the Rays and went 3 for 4 with a 109-mph homer off the previously red-hot Taj Bradley. That's not eight homers in 14 games this season for Lewis, who is also hitting .380. There's no way this is a sustainable pace, and yet, I don't exactly feel comfortable betting against Lewis at this point.

And that's kind of how I feel about him from a Fantasy perspective. Lewis is still just 84 games into his major-league career, but he's hitting .314/.370/.594 with 25 homers, 53 runs, 68 RBI, and six steals – a 46-homer pace with 236 combined runs and RBI. There's no way he can keep that up, right? His underlying numbers don't quite back it up, though it's not like they're bad – his career .275 expected batting average and .517 expected slugging percentage are basically in line with what Gunnar Henderson has produced this season. 

Still, by all logic, Lewis should be a sell-high candidate. He's hit like an MVP candidate in the majors, but he's also missed a ton of time with injuries – as I wrote a week ago, he has played just 133 games since his age-20 season, and Lewis just turned 25 two weeks ago. He's hitting over his head and has about as lengthy an injury track record as anyone in baseball. So, sell high, right? 

I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it. I try to pride myself on being as logical as I can be, and I'll admit, this isn't an entirely logical position. Logic would suggest we should be trying to sell Lewis for a safer thing. By my latest Trade Values Chart, you should move Lewis for someone like Vladimir Guerrero or Ozzie Albies, but neither feels like enough of a clear win to justify it, so I'd have to aim higher. C.J. Abrams or Corbin Carroll? Yeah, I'd probably do both, but I have health concerns about the former and performance concerns about the latter to make it tough to pull the trigger on. 

Am I saying you shouldn't sell Lewis? No! I am, in fact, explicitly saying it might be the most logical thing you can do. But Fantasy Baseball doesn't always have to be about doing the most logical thing. Sometimes you want to do what's fun. And what's fun right now is riding the Royce Lewis Comet. If I'm moving him right now, I'm trying for a legitimate second-round-caliber player in return. And if I can't get it? I'll ride with Lewis to the moon. 

Thursday's top waiver targets

Miguel Andujar, OF, Athletics (25%) – I truly can't believe that Andujar has been Fantasy relevant even for the three or so weeks this has been going on for. Do I believe he'll keep it up? Oh, almost certainly not, but he's not entirely without merit. Andujar is making a ton of contact right now, striking out just 13.5% of the time, and while he isn't exactly crushing the ball, his .273 expected batting average suggests that there could be a useful player here. Not a difference maker, certainly, and probably not even someone you want to start regularly even in five-outfielder leagues. But his contact-heavy approach could keep Andujar Fantasy relevant moving forward. 

Jesus Sanchez, OF, Marlins (6%) – I think we pretty much know what Jesus Sanchez is at this point: He's a streaky hitter who can get red-hot in an instant and provide a nice boost for your Fantasy team before he inevitably goes cold. Sanchez has now homered in consecutive games and actually has pretty tremendous underlying numbers that suggest a hot streak could be looming. I don't think his .289 xBA and .506 xSLG are actually good barometers for what to expect from him moving forward, but I do think Sanchez can be useful for the next few weeks until the next slump comes along. 

Tyler Black, 3B, Brewers (15%) – Black is back with the Brewers, but I'm just not sure how much of an impact he's likely to make. Partially, that's because I don't necessarily buy the skill set – he's put up really solid numbers in the minors, but his power seems marginal, and that makes it hard to buy him as the terrific OBP guy he has been in the minors. But there's speed here, so if the Brewers give him a chance, it'll be interesting to see what he can do with it. For now, give him a look in deeper leagues, especially categories leagues with OBP. 

Andrew Heaney, SP, TEX (19%) – We go through this every once in a while with Heaney, where he'll look like a useful Fantasy option before turning back into an also-ran, and I suspect that's what we'll see moving forward. But Wednesday was a very nice start from Heaney, who struck out nine over six innings against the Mets, with 15 whiffs on 89 pitches, fueled by increased slider usage as well as a little velocity boost. He's been better since the start of June, and has two starts next week – I don't love the matchups against the Brewers and Orioles on the road, but in H2H points leagues, I could see rolling him out there. 

Kyle Hendricks, SP, Cubs (5%) – I think the likeliest explanation here is the Giants were just taken by surprise by Hendricks, who relied on a surprisingly high number of fastballs up in the zone that didn't get crushed (this time). Stil, he re-emerged as a very useful Fantasy option for much of last season, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him go on a similar run here. The margin for error is razor thin here, but Hendricks is worth a look in deeper leagues.