Hey everybody!
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 (if there are catchers worth streaming) because that position can be a real pain.
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 10 (6/1-6/7) 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.
Additional note: I want to give a shoutout to Ben Solow for covering for me last week while I was officiating/attending a family wedding!
START
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs get six games this week, starting with three games against the A’s, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Gage Jump, Jeffrey Springs, and whoever replaces Luis Severino while he’s out on the IL.
After that, the Cubbies get three games against the Giants, who own the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp, and Trevor McDonald.
Roupp could be a problem as he’s looked pretty good this year, but otherwise, I’m not concerned about any of these matchups for your Cubs hitters.
Michael Busch has been hitting .261/.426/.500 over the past two weeks and warrants a start this week.
CATCHER TO STREAM: He hasn’t had virtually any power lately, but Carson Kelly does own a .290/.353/.323 slashline over the past two weeks, so he could provide some average and OBP help if you need a catcher this week.
Athletics hitters – Speaking of the A’s, they’ve got six games this week and some pretty favorable matchups.
They start the week off with the series against the Cubs that I mentioned earlier. The Cubs own the sixth-worst team FIP in baseball, and the A’s will face off against Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, and Shota Imanaga while in Chicago.
After that, the A’s get three games against the Astros, who currently own the second-worst team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Peter Lambert, Tatsuya Imai, and Lance McCullers Jr. Jr.
The matchup against Imanaga could be a concern, but generally speaking, I think you’re good to start your A’s hitters this week in some pretty solid matchups.
Carlos Cortes has mostly been leading off for the A’s and has been slashing .313/.488/.438 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week. Also, Henry Bolte is slashing .294/.400/.353 with three steals over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Angels, who own the ninth-worst team FIP in the league. Unfortunately, they won’t be in Coors Field, but they’ll be facing off against José Soriano, Grayson Rodriguez, and Walbert Ureña, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem (save for maybe the Soriano matchup).
After that, the Rockies get three games against the Brewers, and while the Brewers do have the best team FIP in all of baseball, all three games will be in Coors Field and they’ll get to face Kyle Harrison and Chad Patrick (and, you know, also Jacob Misiorowski, so maybe dodge that one).
Normally, I’d be dodging the Brewers’ staff, but I think Coors Field will mitigate some of that risk, and Harrison and Patrick don’t worry me all that much, so I think you’re good.
Tyler Rumfield owns a solid .306/.405/.444 line over the past two weeks and could have some value this week. Same with Willi Castro, who’s hitting .389/.425/.500 over the past two weeks, and Ezequiel Tovar, who’s hitting .293/.362/.561 over the past two weeks.
AVOID
San Diego Padres – The Padres have six games this week against two pretty good pitching staffs.
They kick the week off with three games against the Phillies, who own the third-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler.
After that, the Padres get three games against the Mets, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Christian Scott, Nolan McLean, and Sean Manaea.
There are a couple of matchups you could take advantage of in a daily league (for example, I’m not all that scared of Sean Manaea), but in a weekly league, there’s just too much working against you to warrant starting your mid-level Padres hitters.
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Yankees, who own the fourth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón.
After that, the Guardians get three games against the Rangers, where they’ll see Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter, and Jacob deGrom.
The matchups against Rocker and Leiter should be fine in daily leagues, but in weekly leagues, there’s just not enough value here to warrant starting your mid-level Guardians hitters.
New York Mets hitters – The Mets get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Mariners, who own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Emerson Hancock, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Padres, who own the ninth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Michael King, Griffin Canning, and Randy Vásquez.
There are a couple of matchups you could take advantage of in daily leagues, but in weekly leagues, there’s not enough value here to warrant starting your mid-level Mets hitters.
