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 or two to stream (if there are catchers worth streaming) because that position can be a real pain.
So let’s take a look at the hitters you should start and avoid for Week 20 (8/10-8/16) 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
Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers get a full seven-game week this week (a good handful of teams do actually), and they’ve got maybe the best set of matchups in the league for their hitters.
They kick the week off with four games against the Angels, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Reid Detmers, Ryan Johnson, George Klassen, and Walbert Ureña.
After that, the Rangers will get three games against the Athletics, who own the worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Gage Jump, J.T. Ginn, and Jacob Lopez.
The matchup against Ureña could be a difficult one as he’s been pitching great, but otherwise you should be good to go with your Rangers hitters this week.
Brandon Nimmo owns a .326/.396/.558 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look this week, as is Ezequiel Duran, who’s hitting .310/.367/.595 over the past two weeks.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs get six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Nationals, who own the third-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Jake Irvin, Miles Mikolas, and Cade Cavalli.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Cardinals, who have been pretty middle-of-the-road as far as pitching goes, where they’re slated to face Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, and Hunter Dobbins.
Honestly, none of those pitching matchups worry me all that much. Maybe the matchup against Cavalli could be a tricky one, but it’s not enough that I’m actively avoiding the whole week.
Seiya Suzuki owns a .313/.421/.521 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a start this week, as is Nico Hoerner, who owns a .360/.385/.560 line with three steals over the past two weeks. And in deeper leagues, Pedro Ramirez is worth a look, as he’s been hitting a very solid .313/.389/.438 over the past two weeks.
CATCHER TO STREAM: There hasn’t been a ton of power, but Carson Kelly is hitting .286/.324/.371 over the past two weeks, so if you need some help at the catcher position, you could do worse.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants also have a six-game week this week with some pretty solid matchups. They kick the week off with three games against the Astros, who currently own the sixth-worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Hayden Wesneski, Hunter Brown, and Ronel Blanco.
After that, the Giants get three games against the Rockies, who own the second-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, and Gabriel Hughes.
The matchup against Brown would be one to avoid in daily leagues, but otherwise I’m not concerned about any of these matchups. That said, the Giants will be at home in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park all week, so I’m not as psyched about this week of matchups as I would be if they were on the road, but you should still be able to get some good production out of your Giants hitters.
Jung Hoo Lee owns a .317/.370/.561 line over the past two weeks and is worth a start this week. And in deeper leagues, Osleivis Basabe owns a .333/.346/.750 line over the past two weeks and could be worth a look, as he’s pretty widely available.
CATCHER TO STREAM: Daniel Susac owns a ridiculous .458 ISO over the past two weeks and has generally been hitting in the middle of the lineup for the Giants, so if you need some catcher help this week, Susac might be a worthwhile option.
AVOID
Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers have a seven-game week this week, which normally would be exciting, but they’re slated for some tough matchups.
They start the week off with three games against the Padres where they’ll face new Padres Casey Mize and Robbie Ray as well as Walker Buehler.
After that, they’ll get four games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Justin Wrobleski, and Tarik Skubal.
I’m not all that worried about the matchups with Buehler or Sasaki, but the rest all range from a little to very concerning. Obviously we know Yamamoto/Skubal/Mize have all been excellent, Wrobleski has been solid, and while his first start with the Padres didn’t go great, Ray has been solid this year as well.
Given all of that, there are just too many potential problems for me to feel comfortable starting my mid-tier Brewers hitters this week in weekly leagues.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Jays also have a seven-game week this week but are slated to face two of the better pitching staffs in baseball.
They kick the week off with four games against the Red Sox, who own the third-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and Jake Bennett.
Then, they’ll get three games against the Yankees, who own the second-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler, and Ryan Weathers.
That’s a whole lot of names that make me say “no thank you” for my Blue Jays hitters. I’d be looking for different hitters this week unless their last name is Guerrero.
St. Louis Cardinals hitters – The Cardinals get six games this week with some difficult matchups ahead. They start things off with three games against the Phillies, who own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler.
After that, the Cards will get three games against the Cubs, where they’ll see Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, and Matthew Boyd.
I’d be fine starting my Cardinals hitters in the Painter matchup, but otherwise this is likely to be a tough week for your mid-tier Cardinals hitters, so I’d be looking elsewhere.
