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Hitter List 9/11: Your Hitting Guide For The Playoffs

Your hitting guide for the fantasy baseball playoffs.

Scott Chu
Hitter List An Hour Ago

With the playoffs approaching for many and everyone in crunch time, this article will use a new format to guide you through the short-term decision-making that comes into play at this point in the season.

I will group players into tiers and go over each team’s lineup and outlook for the next three series. Players will be classified as Auto-Start, Solid Start, Streamer, and Desperate. If I don’t list a guy, it’s because you don’t need him.

All players have been added to updated tiers, and all comments will be updated by 7pm!

  • Auto-Start – Just leave them in all season. Don’t get cute.
  • Solid – A safe start at the moment, but if they’re struck by a slump, they could get moved down to Streamer by the next update.
  • Streamer – Worth considering in a 12-teamer due to a hot streak, a specific matchup (such as heading to Coors), or a specific tool (such as speed). It may also include players who I would usually consider a Solid Start, but are dealing with playing time issues due to either injury or platoons that might cause them to play in fewer than four or five games that week.
  • Droppable  – Players you might be too attached to based on early-season performance or name value. You can drop them for Streamers in a H2H playoff context or a very tight roto race, but you ought to keep them over Desperate options.
  • Desperate – For players in deep leagues or can provide one specific stat. Prospects waiting to be called up will usually be in this category.
  • IL – This will be limited to hitters who would actually make one of the tiers above immediately upon activation AND have a chance to be activated for two or more series.

 

And of course, the usual details still apply:

  • As a reminder, these rankings are geared toward a standard, daily, 12-team H2H redraft league, which is typically the most popular fantasy baseball format. They will only factor in the five standard categories: runs, RBI, home runs, batting average, and stolen bases.
  • These are not best ball or draft and hold rankings. The 12-team redraft format with daily moves is the fundamental opposite of that. Pure volume plays are not valued as much here as in those no-move formats.
  • I take rankings like this more as art than science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their biases, strategic philosophies, risk assessments, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. My way of evaluating and ranking players has worked well for me, but it might not be an excellent fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your leaguemates’ player evaluations, or your current waiver wire, and if I could, it’d be weird in a bad way.
  • This is a safe space for me where I answer to no one but myself…and you if you leave a comment.
  • I’m doing my best to use five starts or 10 appearances as the threshold for positional eligibility. I have not included presumed eligibilities based on likely new positions, but I’ll add them once those eligibilities are earned. This is just a maintenance thing, and we will update eligibility throughout the season. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing any!

 

Ranking Philosophy

 

To keep things in the same ilk, here are a couple of notes on how I generally evaluate hitters before we dive in:

 

  • In 12-team formats, I don’t see much value in guys who only provide stolen bases. It’s an important category, especially in Roto, but in shallower formats, there are too many other (and better) ways to get the steals you need without sacrificing production in the other categories.
  • No stat is an island, and they should all be taken in proper context. For ranking purposes, the primary starting points I use are plate discipline, wRC+, quality-of-contact metrics (also known as Statcast batted-ball data), lineup context, and the skills we can measure with tools such as our PLV Hitter Attributes (available to PL Pro members). I also use various projections (some free, some I buy) and dollar value generators.
  • Positional eligibility, specifically multi-eligibility, is neat but isn’t a huge factor in many 10- and 12-team leagues anymore due to the prevalence of multi-eligible players. It’s more valuable in deeper contests like the NFBC or in leagues with limited roster moves (draft-and-hold leagues, transaction limits/costs, extremely short benches, etc.). Still, the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.
  • Similarly, I don’t penalize players for only qualifying in the utility slot. At most, it is a mild inconvenience if a DH-only player is available at a great value and you already have filled your utility spots.
  • Regardless of true talent, anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 to 100 at-bats. It could even last over a month with no change in potential or skill. It also could be wildly meaningful. We can’t and don’t know which will be valid until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends can give us hints.
  • One of the most difficult things to account for in these rankings is the dynamic between low-ceiling players with clear roles and players with higher ceilings who lack a clear path to playing time. I try to note this in the blurbs as much as I can.
  • THIS IS NOT A TRADE CHART. Trade charts need to account for “market” value, which is largely perception-based.

 

Check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast featuring Scott Chu and Brett Ford, which also happened to be a finalist for Best Baseball Podcast of 2021 by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA)!

I also host an AMA in the r/fantasybaseball subreddit every Friday starting around noon ET that lasts through the rest of the day and into the weekend, so feel free to join the fun and ask questions or make comments.

 

Arizona Diamondbacks

Gabriel Moreno doesn’t strike out much, plays nearly every day, hits the ball fairly hard, bats third, and is a catcher. Don’t overthink it, even if the offense has been fairly slow lately.

Geraldo Perdomo is fine for points and has upside for ratios, but if you need any kind of power whatsoever, he might be more in the droppable space.

Corbin Carroll’s MRI came back clean, but these back issues can be pesky. In a shallow 10-12 team H2H playoff scenario, it’s hard to feel fully confident in a guy with a .578 OPS in his last 20 games who also got bumped to fifth in the order the last two starts. Carroll is still stealing bases, though, so in a five-outfield 12-team league or other deep format, the available options may not be enough to entice us to take action.

Tim Tawa remains a cromulent option, and it was nice to see back-to-back games with zero strikeouts.

Lars Nootbaar leads off but sits a few times a week, and the upside isn’t high enough to see him as anything more than a deep league flyer on the days he leads off.

Ryan Waldschmidt plays most days and gives you solid ratios, but those ratios will be fairly empty.

 

Athletics

The A’s are still in Sacramento, which is great, but they’re on the road next week ands are currently lined up to see three lefties.

Henry Bolte is on another heater so it’s impossible to bench him now, but I’d expect just a bit less when they hit the road next week. On the bright side, Bolte is one of the few A’s who can hit lefties (131 wRC+ so far this year), so seeing three lefties on the road should be far less painful for him.

Lawrence Butler has come to a screeching halt in September, with 13 strikeouts to a single walk and a .434 OPS. I think he can still be started for these three home games over the weekend, but he heads out on the road next week and also sees three lefties,

Zack Gelof has been swinging a hot bat of late, and does have three more games at home (albeit against some potentially tough pitching). The issue is that next week he’s on the road, and in 43 road games he’s hitting .209/.384/.386 with a strikeout rate over 30%. I know you don’t want to bench him and I’m not saying you HAVE to, but temper your expectations a bit. Also, it is worth noting that he’s one of the few

I like Jeff McNeil for this weekend, but not so much for next week. I suppose he’s fine for points, but like Butler, he’s bad against lefties and on the road.

Jonah Heim is a desperation play while still at home or against a lefty, but otherwise doesn’t bring much to the table.

Max Muncy is hot and should start regularly, but he’s super streaky due to his massive contact issues.

 

Atlanta

I suppose I’m being a little edgy putting Ronald Acuña Jr. in the Solid tier instead of Auto-Start, but he’s hitting .217/.289/.380 since coming off the IL at the end of July, and he has just one extra-base hit (a double) in his last 14 games. The strikeouts are up, the quality of contact is down, and he’s about to face some rough pitching matchups. Still, you’ve probably got to start him because he’s Acuña (unless it’s, like, an eight-teamer, THEN maybe you can bench him).

Matt Olson has been brutal in the 14 games since his last home run, with a  .332 OPS (a -9 wRC+!) in that stretch with just two runs and three RBI. He’s still hitting the ball hard because that’s what he always does, but he’s hitting a lot more on the ground and many of the fly balls just don’t have the authority we expect. This could be resolved at any time as I don’t think it’s some kind of injury or whatever, so as much as you want to bench him, I’m largely against it unless you have VERY good options with VERY good matchups.

Well, the batted ball quality for Michael Harris II took a steep drop with a lot of lazy fly balls in September. It’s not a great set of matchups over the next three series, either, but Harris has finished four of five months so far this season with an OPS better than .800, so consistency has been a strength. I’d likely leave him in and hope he turns this around.

Ozzie Albies is in one of his worst slumps of the season, and he’s about to face a bunch of righties (who he has struggled against this season) on the road (where he has struggled this season). In a one week playoff scenario, you may have better options. In a rest-of-season outlook, those options may be harder to come by.

Austin Riley just isn’t that useful outside of volume. I’d drop him for anyone labelled a Streamer and even some guys with the Desperate tag

Mauricio Dubón can be considered a Streamer in points.

Mike Yastrzemski is left-handed and will see righties this week.

 

Baltimore Orioles

Gunnar Henderson’s batted ball quality has taken a major tumble, and while he may be difficult to replace, I’m not entirely against it in a shallow one-week playoff situation if there are solid options available. I’d rather bench him, of course, but there are some scenarios I could see dropping as an option.

Coby Mayo has a great week and the strikeouts have come down, but I fear a big factor in his success was that five of the last six starting pitchers he has faced are lefties, and Mayo mashes lefties. Unfortunately, five of the next six opposing starters are right-handed, and Mayo has a .530 OPS against same-sided pitching this season.

Dylan Beavers is my preferred outfielder on this squad, and he should see plenty of playing time with the upcoming schedule.

Jackson Holliday should lead off for most of the week as they’ll see mostly righties.

Samuel Basallo is no longer DHing, which is problematic, and he’s definitely not playing against lefties. The fact he has just two extra-base hits since returning from the IL might be a sign that he’s not quite 100%, and catcher is deep enough that you might be able to stream a quality option. That said, there are plenty of righties on the docket coming up, so playing time should be less of an issue.

Colton Cowser should get a bit more action against these righties (Rece Hinds was stealing games against lefties) and could hit a home run or two, but he’s streaky and far too unreliable for me in a 12-teamer.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand isn’t likely to see much action or success against a mostly right-handed set of opponents over the next two series. If you’re still holding him for some reason, why?

Tyler O’Neill is done for the year.

 

Boston Red Sox

Baltimore got the best of Roman Anthony, and the strikeouts have spiked in September (38.6% in 44 trips to the plate). He’s still making solid contact when he connects, though, and should continue to lead off.

It was a bad week for Wilyer Abreu as well, though his spot in the heart of the order is as secure as it gets. Plus, his batted ball quality and plate discipline have been just fine, so I’m willing to chalk a lot of this up to bad luck.

Mickey Gasper has gotten on base five times in his last four starts, but they’re all walks. Bad luck has been a factor in this tiny sample for sure, so I’m OK with running him out there this week. If there’s one major caveat, it’s that he hit seventh on Thursday. If that holds true this weekend, he falls to a Streamer.

Adley Rutschman has a few home runs of late, but not a whole lot else. I’m mostly concerned about the elbow. He received a shot in it, but we’ve yet to see how well he can keep playing through it. This feels a bit too unstable for me and I’d be looking at the wire, though I suppose the most prudent thing to do would be to wait for more news?

Caleb Durbin is taking a bunch of walks, so points (assuming a strikeout penalty) and OBP players might still be squeezing some barely-replacement-level value out of him, but four runs, zero homers and RBI, and one steal in his last 17 games with a .192 slugging is not going to get us anywhere in standard leagues or any league using SLG or OPS.

Jarren Duran will likely sit three times in the next two series. Pass.

Trevor Story is all smoke and mirrors since his return from the IL (his .233 xwOBA since his return is in the bottom-10% of the league).

Nick Sogard gets volume at multiple positions. That’s all.

Eli White will get some playing time with the lefties coming up, and he’s cobbled together some hits of late.

Ceddanne Rafaela is unlikely to play more than 10 games for the rest of the season, so he’s droppable if you don’t have any room on the IL.

Willson Contreras is on a rehab and should be back soon. He’d be in the Solid tier on his return.

 

Chicago Cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Alex Bregman need to stay locked in.

Michael Busch finally got some production, so he moves out of the Droppable and into Streaming. Huzzah!

Ian Happ is nursing a knee injury and has just a 63 wRC+ in his last 10 games.

Pedro Ramirez, Michael Conforto, and Tyrone Taylor have put up numbers here and there, but mostly because the entire offense can run extremely hot. They’re 15-team streamers.

Dansby Swanson could be back by the end of next week.

 

Chicago White Sox

Miguel Vargas is walking less and hitting less of late, but he’s stolen four bags already this month. I still think the signs we’ve seen from Vargas in 2026 are special and I’m leaving him locked into my lineups.

Sam Antonacci, Munetaka Murakami, Andrew Benintendi, Colson Montomery, and Tristan Peters all get either a half or a full step drop this coming week as it’s loaded with lefties the next two series. None of them can hit with any consistency against same-sided pitching, and in a one-week playoff scenario, I don’t trust any of them.

Randal Grichuk will get extra plate appearances and will probably hit a random homer or two. That’s why teams are still willing to write him a check at age 35.

 

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds get seven games at home next week, though that four game set against the Dodgers features Skubal, Yamamoto, Snell, and Glasgow).

Sal Stewart and Elly De La Cruz are monsters and have no business anywhere near your bench.

Don’t look now, but Eugenio Suárez might be heating up! He has four home runs in his last 10 games with a 16.7% walk rate. Yeah, the strikeout rate is north of 30%, but he’s Eugenio Suárez and that just comes with the meal.

Tyler Stephenson will be back home next week and remains a solid streaming catcher.

Dane Myers is the leadoff guy against lefties, and there are six games against lefties over the next three series. That’s ALMOST Streamer-worthy, but he flat out rides the bench when righties are on the bump.

JJ Bleday gets even more lefties, so it’s a hard pass.

Matt McLain is a bit better against lefties, which is slightly redeeming, but outside of the back-to-back games with a home run last week, there’s nothing to see here.

Héctor Rodríguez sees more lefties over the next week, with two this weekend, two against the Dodgers, and two more against the Cubs.

 

Cleveland Guardians

Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter were better this last week and are still Solid options. Of course, Kwan won’t give you power, and DeLauter has been a major health risk in his career.

Jo Adell hasn’t hit a homer for 16 straight games, and the batted ball quality leaves a lot to be desired.

Being a rookie is hard, but Travis Bazzana has been great of late so you might as well keep rolling with it, at least until he hits a bunch of lefties next weekend. He’s sitting against lefties.

Nathaniel Lowe won’t play against lefties, but he’s been a bit hot lately and the righties on the docket aren’t at all intimidating.

Brayan Rocchio had a huge series against Detroit, with three homers, two steals, and 10 combined runs and RBI. He’s demolished my favorite team all season, really, with a 969 OPS against Detroit this season. His overall OPS is well below .700, though, and his batted ball quality has never been that good. He’s a deep league asset for the volume and steals, but in shallow leagues I’d be chasing more upside.

 

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are on the road for the weekend, but get a full seven games back in Coors next week.

Jake McCarthy and Hunter Goodman have been good enough that I think you start them regardless of where they play. Sure, they’re better in Coors, but they’re still good on the road.

TJ Rumfield is hitting the ball better than he has all season, is walking more than he has all season, and is striking out less than he has all season. Lock it in. I’m not sure there’s a top-50 hitter in this profile unless what he’s done for the last month becomes permanent, but he could get close if the team around him improves.

Kyle Karros is back, third-base eligible, and headed to Coors next week.

Cole Carrigg has earned some playing time back and has hit second against righties while playing a few games at shortstop.

Moniak isn’t usable in Detroit this weekend, but should only sit twice back home when lefties take the mount.

Connor Norby may get some extra time with Castro out.

Adael Amador was once a top-50 prospect and saw a ton of playing time on the road stand with solid production, though the batted ball data is far less encouraging (.412 wOBA, .273 xwOBA since his call-up). Still, if he gets regular time on the homestand, he’d be potentially valuable as a fill-in.

Willi Castro is likely done for the season.

 

Detroit Tigers

RFiley Greene and Kevin McGonigle are the truth.

Dillon Dingler still isn’t hitting well and Gleyber Torres has started to sit every few games. Let them go.

Max Clark isn’t hitting for a ton of extra-base power outside a recent game with three doubles, largely because two-thirds of his batted balls are liners or grounders. That said, he’s taken more walks lately and has two steals so far this month, so he’s not the worst back-end streamer.

Hao-Yu Lee isn’t hitting so much anymore, but he plays a lot and can cover second or third.

 

Houston Astros

Yordan Alvarez has been at his worst in September, but his worst is a LOT better than most people’s worst, and once he recalibrates, he’ll be a stud again. Don’t get cute.

I’m a sucker for Isaac Paredes, and he’s mashing in September so far with a .313/.421/.563 line while hitting third. Let it ride!

Jeremy Peña has just a single stolen base since June 26 and the strikeout rate remains far too high. In a points league, you need to move on. In a category league, his runs upside is still pretty solid, so making the move is more difficult.

Cam Smith is a hot again, but this never seems to last. Still, the matchups aren’t bad and there are dumber ways to try and go out with a bang.

Yainer Diaz can be streamed at catcher, but he’s struggled to stay consistent for any extended period.

 

Kansas City Royals

Bobby Witt is only 26, but it’s hard to see a path back to those back-to-back seasons with 30 homers. Still, despite an absolute dud of a month back in June, he’s shown he still has top-10 upside if the power picks up a bit or the team around him improves.

Carter Jensen continues to walk more, keep the strikeouts down, and score runs.

Vinnie Pasquantino keeps hitting and keeps showing great plate discipline. Rock on.

Salvador Perez is spiking up right now as his bat finds just about everything. He’s slashing .306/.359/.528 this month and the underlying batted ball metrics are even better.

Jac Caglianone has missed five games with an elbow issue. He’ll avoid the IL, but his extact return date is TBD. Once active and looking healthy, he’ll be in the Solid tier (assuming that he either keeps the strikeouts down or the ball in the air – just one of the two is fine).

Maikel Garcia started a rehab and should return next week. He’s in the Streamer tier on his return, and if he looks slow or doesn’t hit in the top three spots, he’ll be Droppable.

 

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Zach Neto is basically the whole offense right now, which ain’t much but it’s something.

Mike Trout has a double in three of his last four games and a hit in nine of his last 10. I refuse to say anything negative about the Millville Meteor.

Wade Meckler could be considered a Streamer in points leagues, but keep in mind that he sits against lefties.

Moisés Ballesteros is seeing time at catcher, first, and DH, and while his results in September are fairly luck-dependent (he’s performing both his expected batting average and slugging by well over 100 points), he is hitting the ball hard and playing against righties. Expect him to sit once in each of the next three series.

 

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers don’t have a day off for quite a while, and some pretty nice matchups on the horizon (including four games in Cincinnati).

It’s another late-season revival for Mookie Betts, who has gotten on base in 15 straight games while sporting a .971 OPS in that time. Even more impressive, though, are the counting stats of late. He has a run scored in nine straight, and 13 RBI over the last nine games. Those are certain to slow down even if he keeps hitting like this, but even a Dodger team missing Ohtani and starting a hobbled Freeman is still an offensive powerhouse.

Teoscar Hernández has been unbelievable over his last 10 games, with two homers, two steals (!!), 20 combined runs and RBI, incredible plate discipline, and a .514/.595/.829 line. The underlying stats, surprisingly, back it all up, as his expected stats are mostly in line with the actual ones. With a great set of matchups (including those four in Cincy) on the way, he’s got to be locked into lineups. He’s streaky as heck, but that’s working in our favor right now.

Tommy Edman has been the primary leadoff man in Ohtani’s absence, which is a great place to be. He had a slow home series against the Reds, but had great success near the top of the order in the two series prior. I’m going out on a limb and saying I want Edman to start every day, as this week of matchups seems too soft to keep him down, and the counting stats should pile up.

Max Muncy isn’t being platooned anymore, just moved down in the order, which does make a big difference. More importantly, he has an extra-base knock in each of his last four games with five runs and two RBI in that span. There are only three projected lefties over the next three series, so he’ll spend the vast majority of his time hitting fourth.

Josue De Paula brings a boatload of excitement with him from double-A after absolutely dominating the level. I mean, 58 combined homers and steals plus 210 combined runs and RBI with exceptional plate discipline is just silly. While I’d love to be even rosier on De Paula in his debut, he starts as a streamer because guys who skip triple-A can struggle with the adjustment, plus it’s not entirely clear whether he will sit against lefties (or just randomly every few games). Still, go ahead and scoop him if you have room for another outfielder.

Will Smith is getting plenty of rest, and while he’s hitting well, the missing playing time hurts. I’m fine with finding a Streamer with more plate appearances.

Kyle Tucker does have two home runs in his last six games, but there’s little else to talk about. He remains droppable.

Freddie Freeman has a knee injury, and you can see it in the exit velocities of late. In a playoff, I’m moving on.

Andy Pages is unlikely to return before the final week of the season, so he’s not listed above.

Shohei Ohtani, unlike every other hitter, is forced to use the 15-day IL due to his status as a pitcher, which means he won’t be back until the last week or so of the season. That’s a drop in playoff formats if your IL is full, and possibly even redraft roto since we don’t know if he’ll be on for the minimum.

 

Miami Marlins

Otto Lopez has picked things back up of late, though the power remains mostly out. Still, he’s gotten on base in 22 of his last 23 starts, and has shown a bit more power in his last five games.

Javier Sanoja was riding a ton of luck in the second half of August, but this success in September has a much more solid backing (though a lot of it is still driven by line drives that I don’t expect to carry into 2027). By hook or by crook, Sanoja has gotten it done, and you might as well ride it into the sunset.

Griffin Conine has pulled the strikeout rate way down of late and is about to run into a slew of right-handed pitchers. The stage is set.

Kyle Stowers will get a ton of righties this week, which bodes well for his production and playing time.

Jakob Marsee has multiple hits in four straight and has scored a ton of runs due to this hot Marlins offense, though the steals are still sporadic. I like him best in points leagues, where he might be in the Solid tier, but he’s useful everywhere (unless you need pop).

Heriberto Hernández will see a lefty (Snell) today, and then all righties. That’s far less appealing than what we were looking at a week ago (not that he did a lot with the opportunity).

Graham Pauley is getting playing time and is left-handed, so the week’s matchups line up well for him if you need volume.

Xavier Edwards is worth holding onto in your IL spot if you need some ratios and steals, but otherwise, you can cut him loose.

 

Milwaukee Brewers

Jackson Chourio remains one of the hottest hitters on the planet. He has six homers and four steals in his last 14 games and is only getting hotter.

William Contreras only has 13 home runs this season, which is a significant disappointment, but he’s been much better of late, getting on base at least once in 14 of his last 15 games with 267 combined runs and RBI and an OPS of 1.080. He should finish the season with 15 homers along with 80+ runs and RBI, though his ceiling may be a bit lower than we’d like due to his slumps and ground ball issues.

This is why, despite the terrible results, we hemmed and hawed about letting Brice Turang go. Yes, he hasn’t stolen a base in weeks and he has just one homer since the start of August, but the hits and runs are happening again and the rest is just a matter of time.

Jake Bauers is nursing a shin injury, but the walks and batted ball quality were fantastic so I don’t want to let him go.

Christian Yelich has continued to hit the ball hard in September, though some of the heat has died down in terms of production and he’s taking more days off.

Andrew Vaughn is playing more with Bauers hurt, but he hasn’t done a lot with it quite yet.

Cooper Pratt is a points league Streamer but doesn’t have the pop or speed to do much in category leagues, despite a recent stretch where he somehow managed a boatload of runs and RBI. Those would be reliable if he hit in the top half of the order, but he’s in the bottom-third every night.

 

Minnesota Twins

Luke Keaschall continues to lead off, though the results have lagged of late. I’d keep starting him, but do note that he’s slugging .348 against lefties on the season (the average and OBP are good, though).

Kody Clemens has not been awesome against lefties and a bunch are on the way, but the improved discipline is keeping me on board for now.

Royce Lewis is on the bad side of his streakiness for the moment, though he’s better against lefties than righties, so you can feel free to run him out there this week. If you want to drop him, that’s probably fine too.

Ryan Jeffers is on the border of Solid and Streamer for me, as he’s strong against lefties, especially in terms of plate discipline. In OBP or Points, it’d be an easy call as Solid.

Kaelen Culpepper has been much better against lefties so far in his young career than righties, so this week could border on Solid.

Walker Jenkins likely will sit quite a bit this week with all the lefties.

Byron Buxton is right on the border of droppable, as he won’t be back until the final one or two weeks of the season. In roto, I might be inclined to hold until I get a date, but in a H2H playoff I’d likely be willing to move on if I didn’t have room on the IL.

 

New York Mets

Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor looked a lot better this week (as did the whole offense).

Carson Benge is my preferred Mets rookie this year for the long haul, but he’s slumping again and AJ Ewing had a fantastic week. I don’t trust Ewing’s production much, at least to this extent, but he’s streamable if you need a hot bat with speed.

Bo Bichette is on the upswing at the moment and might as well stay in your lineup.

Marcus Semien is still a second baseman, and he’s hitting .300 over his last 12 games. That said, he’s only slugging .325 in that stretch, so it’s more of a points play than anything else.

I’m not falling for Brett Baty again, at least not in a 12-teamer.

 

New York Yankees

If you have Aaron Judge, you start him. He’s a bit rusty, obviously, but that won’t take long to shake off.

Spencer Jones drops a tier in leagues with a strikeout penalty, but he continues to show that he can cobble together enough zone contact to make this work with his power.

Anthony Volpe reappeared with a bang, but keep in mind that his upside was never the issue, it was the floor and the consistency. That game does nothing to erase my worried over either of those things.

Really not much to say about the rest of the lineup. The matchups this week are pretty good, and no one is really changing roles.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is effectively out for the year.

 

Philadelphia Phillies

I’m not worried about an off week from Bryce Harper.

Big week for Trea Turner after so many games of being awful. Since this was last published, he has a .921 OPS! So much for being Droppable. Still, he only moves up one tier because the underlying batted ball numbers are more good than great, and he’s headed to the road where he’s been unusually terrible this season (.582 OPS vs .771 at home).

Luis Arraez is no longer Droppable in any format, though he still isn’t going to give you pop or speed.

Bryson Stott can go much more easily after such a bad week.

JT Realmuto plays a lot and isn’t awful, if you need a second catcher or something.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

San Diego Padres

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

San Francisco Giants

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Seattle Mariners

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

St. Louis Cardinals

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Tampa Bay Rays

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Texas Rangers

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Toronto Blue Jays

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Washington Nationals

Above tiers are updated, comments to come by 7pm ET!

 

Photo by Icon Sportswire | Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)

Scott Chu

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Scott Chu is a Senior Fantasy Analyst here at Pitcher List and has written about fantasy baseball since 2013. He's also the inventor of Fantasy Curling (as seen the Wall Street Journal) and co-host of the Hacks & Jacks Podcast on the PL Podcast Network, and 4x FSWA Award nominee for Best Fantasy Baseball Podcast. In addition to being a fantasy analyst, he's a dad of three, animal lover, Simpsons fanatic, amateur curler, a CODA, and an attorney.

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