Fantasy sizzlers and fizzlers: Lorenzo Cain enjoys power surge

Summer is upon us, with some of the goofy weather and storms that are sure to hit. 

Likewise, we have players whose performances can get hot or cold in a flash.

Sizzlers

OF Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals: The Royals may have struggled early, but the team is now two games under .500 and just 3 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians. Much that resurgence lies on the shoulders of Cain, who over the past two weeks has hit .327 with seven homers, 12 RBI, and a pair of swipes.

3B/SS Eduardo Escobar, Minnesota Twins: In deeper leagues, Escobar has been a valuable chit over the past few years with some pop to go with position flexibility. But over the past week his hot bat has kept him in the lineup everyday by hitting .520 with a pair of homers, six RBI, and an insane 1.396  OPS. 

1B Tyler Moore, Miami Marlins: The Fish seem to come up with quiet corner guys who quietly produce, which means you might not have noticed Moore's bang-up week: .417, with two big flies and five RBI in four games.

C Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners: With a career .201 batting average over 396 games, it seems like Zunino would never make this list, but his line of last week, hitting .429 with three homers and nine runs batted in certainly changed that. And, if it took a while, remember Zunino was a first-rounder in 2012, who was pushed to the Show the following year. He is still just 26, so the backstop might indeed finally be coming into his own.

OF Austin Slater, San Francisco Giants: San Francisco is another club at the whim of the DL whammy, but the arrival of Slater, a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2014 seems to have brightened things a little at AT&T. Over just 13 games, Slater is hitting .354 with a homer and eight RBI. Plus, Slater played 96 games at second in the minors, and with the Giants has filled in at third once in addition to his outfield duties.

Fizzlers

OF Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds: No question Hamilton’s speed — he has 29 swipes this season — is an asset, but that is all the outfielder brings to the table, posting a career .297 OBP, which exactly mirrors his on-base total for 2017. And if he's not running, he's doing some serious damage to his fantasy teams. Until his steal of second base on Sunday, Hamilton had gone a career-long 13 games without a theft. 

SP Johnny Cueto, San Francisco Giants: Seasons like Cueto’s can push a fantasy GM to the brink, throwing him out there 34 times a year. And, that is tough when his last three starts have meant an 0-2 mark, with a 5.40 ERA and 1.86 WHIP.

SP Amir Garrett, Cincinnati Reds: Garrett wowed with a 12-strikeout game in mid-April, but since then has been up-and-down, suffering the woes of a rookie hurler. While the left-hander had a good start against the Padres last week, he was knocked out of the box before getting out of the third inning his two previous games, allowing nine hits and 10 runs over 3 1/3 frames.

SP Matt Shoemaker, Los Angeles Angels: Perhaps being moved to the DL Saturday was the act of an Angel of mercy, as poor Shoemaker has been pounded his last two starts, going just 10 innings while allowing 13 hits and eight runs.

SP Jeremy Hellickson, Philadelphia Phillies: Hellickson has always been a pitcher who needs pinpoint control, and as a result lives on the edge of the zone. Well, it appears the zone has won the battle at long last with the Phils hurler 0-4 over his last five starts, posting an ERA of 7.57, and a WHIP of 1.87.

You can follow Lawr on Twitter @lawrmichaels and read more of his writing at mastersball.com.