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 11 (6/8-6/14) 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
Seattle Mariners hitters – The Mariners have a full seven-game week this week with some good matchups, kicking off with a four-game series against the Orioles, who own the 12th-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Chris Bassitt, Trevor Rogers, Brandon Young, and Kyle Bradish.
I realize Young has looked decent lately, but he’s certainly not someone I’m actively avoiding right now, and while Bradish has his moments, he’s still beatable, so I wouldn’t be actively avoiding him either.
After that, the M’s get three games against the Nationals, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Zack Littell, Cade Cavalli, and Miles Mikolas, none of whom worry me all that much.
J.P. Crawford has been hitting well lately, slashing .333/.408/.643 over the past two weeks, and is definitely worth a start this week. Same with Dominic Canzone, who’s hitting .406/.424/.875 over the past two weeks.
Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Cubs, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, and Ben Brown. And even better, that series will be at home in Coors Field.
After that, the Rockies get three games against the A’s, who own the fifth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Kade Morris, Gage Jump, and Jeffrey Springs. And even though that series isn’t in Coors, it’s still against a pretty rough pitching staff, so you should be good.
Jake McCarthy owns a .327/.358/.531 slashline over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, as is Tyler Freeman, who’s hitting .308/.400/.462 over the past two weeks.
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros get six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Angels, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Grayson Rodriguez, Walbert Ureña, and Reid Detmers.
After that, the Astros get three games against the Royals, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Luinder Avila, Noah Cameron, and Stephen Kolek.
None of those pitching matchups worry me at all, so I think you should be all set to start your Astros hitters this week.
While Isaac Paredes is only hitting .250 over the past two weeks, that comes with a .340 OBP and a .591 SLG, so there’s some value to be had there if you need some power (and especially if you’re in an OBP league).
AVOID
Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles have a full seven-game week this week, which would normally be exciting for their offensive potential, but they’ve got some tough matchups ahead.
They start the week off with four games against the Mariners, who own the fourth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Emerson Hancock, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo.
After that, the O’s will have three games against the Padres, who own the 12th-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Griffin Canning, Randy Vásquez, and Walker Buehler.
I’m not all that worried about Canning or Buehler, though Vasquez has been pretty solid so far, but everything else looks like it’s slated to be pretty tough, so I’d be avoiding my Orioles hitters where I can.
Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox get six games this week, starting off with three games against Atlanta, who owns the ninth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Grant Holmes, Chris Sale, and Martín Pérez.
After that, the White Sox will have three games against the Dodgers, who own the second-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Emmet Sheehan.
There might be a couple matchups you could take advantage of in a daily league here, but in weekly leagues, I’d be looking elsewhere than my mid-level White Sox hitters this week.
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies also have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Blue Jays, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Patrick Corbin, Dylan Cease, and Max Scherzer.
After that, the Phils will get three games against the Brewers, who own the best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Jacob Misiorowski, Shane Drohan, and Kyle Harrison.
Again, you might be able to work a few of these matchups in a daily league, but overall there are too many red flags here to make me feel totally comfortable starting my mid-tier Phillies hitters.
