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 15 (7/6-7/12) 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
Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers get a rare week this week. Thanks to a doubleheader on Tuesday, they’ll get a whopping eight games this week.
Now, the matchups are a little hit or miss, which limits the value a little bit. They start off the week with five games against the Cardinals, who own the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball (that’s great), and they close with three games against the Pirates, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league (that’s not great).
That Pirates series will include a matchup against Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft, which isn’t ideal, but given they balance that out with five games against the Cardinals and their middling pitching staff, I think you’re good to bet on the volume of an eight-game week.
And before you ask, yes, the Cardinals also have an eight-game week, but they’ll be against the Brewers and Atlanta, which are two good-to-very-good pitching staffs (the Brewers have the best team FIP in the league), so I won’t be recommending them.
Anyways, back to the Brewers. Garrett Mitchell owns a .313/.405/.625 line over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, same with Sal Frelick, who’s hitting .393/.452/.536 over the past two weeks.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – The Dodgers have six games this week, all against pretty bad pitching staffs. They kick off the week with three games against the Rockies (not in Coors, unfortunately), who own the second-worst team FIP in all of baseball. After that, the Dodgers will have three games against the Diamondbacks, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in the league.
They’ll be facing off against Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, Ryan Feltner, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, and Zac Gallen, which should all be decent to good matchups.
CATCHER TO STREAM: While it’s been a small sample size in the past two weeks, Gabriel Moreno owns a .333/.457/.333 line. That’s virtually no power, but given the matchups this week, Moreno could be a decent play if you need help at the catcher position.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs get six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Orioles, where they’ll see Shane Baz, Dean Kremer, and Trevor Rogers.
Rogers would be one to avoid the way he’s been pitching lately, but Baz should be fine (he’s usually either brilliant or horrible, so we’ll see), and while Kremer had a great game back from the IL against the White Sox, I’m not suddenly avoiding him.
After that series, the Cubs will get three games against the Reds, who currently own the worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott. Similarly, I’d be avoiding Greene, but otherwise I think you’re good to go.
Michael Conforto owns a .308/.357/.692 line over the past two weeks and could have some value this week. Also Dansby Swanson owns a .370/.375/1.000 line over the past two weeks, so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups.
AVOID
Colorado Rockies hitters – Well, it was fun while it lasted, right? The Rockies got a full week at home last week, but now they’ll spend the whole week on the road with some tough pitching matchups.
They kick the week off with three games against the Dodgers, who own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Eric Lauer, Justin Wrobleski, and Roki Sasaki. Then, they’ll close the week with four games against the Giants in the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the league where they’ll see Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, Landen Roupp, and Trevor McDonald.
Some of those matchups are workable, some are pretty tough. Given the overall week, I’d be avoiding my mid-level Rockies hitters this week.
Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays get a full seven-game week this week, but against some pretty tough matchups. They kick the week off with four games against the Yankees, who own the third-best team FIP in baseball, and close with three games against the Mariners, who own the best team FIP in baseball.
It’s a lineup of Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Logan Gilbert, Emerson Hancock, and George Kirby this week for the Rays, which is bad news all around.
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins have a six-game week this week with some tough matchups slated ahead.
They kick off with three games against the Mariners, who, as I mentioned earlier, own the best team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Luis Castillo.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Guardians, where they’ll see Parker Messick, Tanner Bibee, and Joey Cantillo. I’m not overly worried about the matchup against Cantillo, nor does Castillo worry me, but all the other matchups should prove tricky, so I’d be avoiding this week.
