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 22 (8/24-8/30) 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
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats get a full seven-game week this week with some pretty solid matchups ahead.
They start the week off with four games against the Rockies, who currently own the second-worst team FIP in baseball. Unfortunately, this series is in D.C. and not in Coors Field, but still, the Rockies pitching staff is not good. In that series, the Nats will see Ryan Feltner, Kyle Freeland, Tanner Gordon, and Gabriel Hughes, none of whom worry me.
After that, the Nats will get a three-game series against the Marlins where they’ll see Eury Pérez, Janson Junk, and Tyler Phillips. There, the matchup against Perez might concern me a bit, but otherwise you should be good to go.
The batting average hasn’t been great, but Abimelec Ortiz is likely available in most leagues and owns a .342 ISO over the past two weeks, so there could be some value there.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at the catcher position, Keibert Ruiz owns a .375/.423/.500 line over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta gets a six-game week this week, kicking off with three games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Eric Lauer, Roki Sasaki, and Tyler Glasnow, luckily dodging (pun intended) the worst of the Dodgers’ rotation (aside from Glasnow).
After that, Atlanta will get three games against the Rockies, who as I mentioned earlier, own the second-worst team FIP in baseball. Just like the Nats, it won’t be in Coors Field, but that’s still not a very good pitching staff, so you should be good. In that series, Atlanta will face off against Tomoyuki Sugano, Ryan Feltner, and Kyle Freeland.
I’d probably avoid the Glasnow matchup in daily leagues if I can, but otherwise I think you’re good to go here.
Michael Harris II owns a .320/.333/.440 line over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week. Dominic Smith is worth a look too, as he’s slashing .306/.370/.449 over the past two weeks.
Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Athletics, who own the worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Jeffrey Springs, Gage Jump, and J.T. Ginn.
After that, the Twins get three games against the White Sox, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Luis Castillo, Erick Fedde, and José Urquidy.
None of those matchups really concern me, so you should be good to get your Twins hitters out there this week.
Luke Keaschall owns a .357/.440/.571 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a start this week. Also, Josh Bell is worth a look this week, as he’s hitting .279/.380/.465 over the past two weeks, as is Kody Clemens, who’s hitting .333/.400/.583 over the same timespan, and Brooks Lee, who’s slashing .318/.348/.591 over that same timespan.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants get a full seven-game week this week despite being off on Sunday thanks to a doubleheader on Saturday, and luckily they’ll have some solid matchups.
They kick things of with three games against the Reds, who own the fifth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Chase Burns, Brady Singer, and Nick Lodolo.
After that, they’ll get three games four games against the Diamondbacks, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Michael Soroka, Mitch Bratt, Merrill Kelly, and Zack Littell.
There are a couple of matchups where things might get dicey (specifically the matchups against Burns and Soroka), but overall I think there’s some solid value to be gotten from your Giants hitters this week.
Drew Gilbert owns a solid .250/.317/.556 line over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, as is Willy Adames, who’s slashing .345/.424/.586 over the past two weeks.
AVOID
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Guardians, who own the seventh-best team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, and Joey Cantillo.
After that, the Angels get three games against the Phillies, who own the fourth-best team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler.
I’m not all that worried about the Painter matchup, but otherwise I’m not super thrilled with the matchups this week for the Angels’ hitters, so I’d be looking elsewhere if possible.
Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers get six games this week with some pretty tough matchups ahead.
They kick the week off with three games against the Rays, where they’ll see Drew Rasmunssen, Ian Seymour, and Freddy Peralta.
After that, the Tigers get three games against the Dodgers, who own the ninth-best team FIP in the legue, where they’ll see Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, and Blake Snell.
Again, a matchup or two you could utilize maybe, but all in all, not enough value here for me.
St. Louis Cardinals hitters – The Cards have six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Orioles, where they’ll see Chris Bassitt, Kyle Bradish, and Trevor Rogers.
After that, the Cardinals will have three games against the Pirates, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Jared Jones, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Braxton Ashcraft.
There are a couple of matchups there you could potentially exploit in a daily league, but in a weekly leauge, I don’t think the juice is going to be worth the squeeze.
