Hey everybody! Welcome to the new MLB season! I’m excited to be here writing this column for the eighth year (that can’t be right…..is it?)!
If you’re unfamiliar with this series, each week I highlight hitting matchups you should take advantage of in your fantasy baseball league and ones that you should try to avoid based on the pitching matchups those hitters are slated to face that week. I also try to highlight a catcher to two to stream because that position can be a real pain (especially in two-catcher leagues which are the bane of my existence).
If you’d like to learn more about when it becomes less risky to stream hitters (and pitchers) and when certain team stats start to stabilize during the year, check out this article.
So let’s take a look at the hitters you should start and avoid for Week 1 (3/30-4/5) of the fantasy baseball season.
Notes: All pitching matchups mentioned here are based on projections as of this post’s publication. It is entirely possible that the actual matchups could change for any number of reasons. Keep in mind, this article is geared toward middle-of-the-road players, meaning you should be starting top-of-the-line bats regardless of the matchup. Always start your studs.
START
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – One of the first things I do every week that I write this column is say, “Alright, who’s hitting in Coors Field this week?” Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but this week, it does.
The Phillies will close their week out with three games in Coors Field against the Rockies, who, it should be noted, had the worst team FIP in all of baseball last year (and I don’t anticipate that changing much this year). While in Coors, the Phillies will get to see Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, and Tomoyuki Sugano, which means there should be plenty of offense to go around.
And even better, the Phillies start the week off with three games against the Nats, where they’ll see Foster Griffin, Zack Littell, and Cade Cavalli, none of whom worry me all that much (also worth noting the Nats had the third-worst team FIP in baseball last year).
Make sure you’ve got your Phillies studs in your lineups this week, but also don’t forget about guys like Justin Crawford, who impressed in spring training and could snag you some steals, as well as guys like Alec Bohm and Adolis García.
CATCHER TO STEAM: This will, of course, depend on your league, but J.T. Realmuto isn’t all that widely owned (most likely because he was really bad last year and wasn’t worth drafting). He could have some value this week if you need it.
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta gets a full seven-game week this week, and on top of that, they’ll have some pretty good matchups ahead.
They start the week off with three games against the A’s, where they’ll see Aaron Civale, Jacob Lopez, and Luis Severino, and they close with four games against the Diamondbacks, where they’ll see Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez, Michael Soroka, and Brandon Pfaadt.
None of those are matchups that are all that concerning to me, so you should be good to toss your Atlanta hitters out there. One name to keep in mind: Mike Yastrzemski, who’s on the strong side of a platoon and is only slated to face two lefties all week. In deeper leagues, he could have some use, especially batting fifth in that lineup.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays have six games this week, all slated to be against pretty bad pitching rotations.
They kick the week off with three games against the Rockies, and while the series is unfortunately not in Coors Field, the Rockies’ rotation still isn’t particularly good, no matter where they’re pitching. A slate of Tomoyuki Sugano, Ryan Feltner, and Kyle Freeland doesn’t exactly have me shaking in my boots.
After that, the Blue Jays get three games against the White Sox, where they’ll see Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Davis Martin, another series where I don’t think your Blue Jays hitters will struggle all that much.
Make sure you’ve got your Blue Jays out there this week. If you’re looking for a deeper league guy who could have some value, Nathan Lukes is on a strong-side platoon and typically batting towards the top of the lineup. The Jays are slated to see two lefties this week, so for the most part, Lukes should be out there, and given where he’s batting and his successes in spring training, there could be some deep league value to be had.
AVOID
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians get six games this week and are slated to have enough tough pitching matchups that I’m not super thrilled about the idea of starting your middle-of-the-road Guardians guys.
They start the week off with three games against the Dodgers, where they’ll see Roki Sasaki, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Then, they’ll close the week with three games against the Cubs, where they’ll see Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, and Edward Cabrera.
Horton doesn’t worry me much, and certainly Sasaki can have his moments, but overall, there are just too many matchups this week that make me nervous to start my mid-tier Guardians hitters.
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels are in a similar circumstance to the Guardians—they have a bunch of matchups this week that make me a little too nervous to feel comfortable starting any of my mid-tier hitters on the team.
The Angels start the week out with three games against the Cubs, where they’ll see Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd. Then, they close the week with three games against the Mariners, where they’ll see Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, and Luis Castillo.
Sure, a handful of those matchups could swing the right way for your Angels hitters, but they could very easily swing the wrong way too, which makes me want to lean more towards other hitters than my mid-level Angels guys, if I can.
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats have six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Phillies, a team that owned the best team FIP in baseball last year, where they’ll see Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter, and Cristopher Sánchez.
Then, they’ll close out the week with three games against the Dodgers, where they’re slated to face Emmet Sheehan, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki.
Walker isn’t a guy that worries me all that much, but most of the rest worry me enough that I’d probably be looking elsewhere this week if I can.
