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 24 (9/7-9/13) 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 get six games this week with some pretty great matchups, arguably the most favorable set of matchups of any team this week.
They kick things off with three games against the Rangers, a team that owns the 13th-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Cody Bradford, Cal Quantrill, and Kumar Rocker.
After that, the Mariners get three games against the A’s, who own the worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Jeffrey Springs, Gage Jump, and Jacob Lopez. And even better, they’ll be playing those games in Sutter Health Park, which is the most hitter-friendly park in the league outside of Coors Field (cause, you know, it’s a minor league stadium).
That’s a very solid slate of matchups for your Mariners hitters, so I think you should be good to get them out there this week.
Brandon Nimmo is slashing a very solid .295/.365/.432 over the past two weeks, so make sure he’s in your lineups this week, same with Ezequiel Duran, who’s been red hot, slashing .341/.442/.659 over the past two weeks. Jake Burger could have some value too, he’s slashing .256/.362/.487 over the past two weeks, which is probably a bit more helpful in OBP leagues than standard leagues, but there’s some value to be had there if you need some power.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at catcher this week, Elias Díaz has looked pretty solid, slashing .250/.343/.571 over the past two weeks, and he’s pretty widely available.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Jays also get six games this week, kicking off with three games against the A’s who, as I mentioned earlier, have the worst team FIP in the league right now. In that series, they’ll see Jacob Lopez, Joey Estes, and Kade Morris, once again all in Sutter Health Park.
After that, the Jays get three games against the Orioles, whose pitching staff has been pretty middle-of-the-road on the year. There, they’ll see Chris Bassitt, Kyle Bradish, and Trevor Rogers. Bassitt doesn’t worry me at all, and while I’d normally be a bit more hesitant to face Bradish or Rogers, neither has looked particularly sharp lately. Over the past month’s worth of starts, Rogers owns a 4.71 ERA while Bradish owns a 5.00 ERA, so I’m not actively avoiding them for now.
While he hasn’t hit for power, Brett Bateman is generally leading off for the Blue Jays and is slashing .342/.422/.368 over the past two weeks with two stolen bases. There could be some value there in deeper leagues. Nathan Lukes is also worth a look, as he’s hitting .306/.359/.528 over the past two weeks and is also pretty widely available.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Angels, where they’ll see Grayson Rodriguez, Reid Detmers, and Ryan Johnson. After that, they’ll get three games against the Royals, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Seth Lugo, Randy Dobnak, and Noah Cameron.
The only matchup of that group that worries me is Detmers, as he’s been lights out lately, not allowing more than one run in his last five consecutive starts. The rest of the group should be fine though, so in daily leagues, if you can avoid Detmers, I’d do that, but in weekly leagues, I still think there’s going to be enough value here that it’s worth it.
Wilyer Abreu has been hitting .257/.336/.466 with eight steals over the past two weeks, so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups this week.
CATCHER TO STREAM: Mickey Gasper has been hitting lights out since coming back from the IL, sporting a .378/.525/1.000 line since he came back in mid-August. He’s pretty widely available and I think you’ve got to grab him while he’s hitting this well.
AVOID
Cincinnati Reds hitters – The Reds get six games this week with some pretty tough matchups, kicking off with three games against the Dodgers, who own the fifth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Justin Wrobleski, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tarik Skubal.
After that, the Reds get three games against the Brewers, who own the second-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Shane Drohan, Dustin May, and Kyle Harrison.
Overall, it’s just not a great week for your Reds hitters. The Brewers matchups could definitely be worse (at least they miss Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson), but they’re still not great and they’ll be at American Family Field, which is a pretty pitcher-friendly park. I’d be looking elsewhere than my Reds hitters this week.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs also have six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Brewers who, as I mentioned earlier, own the second-best team FIP in the league. And they’re not as lucky as the Reds, because they do get to face both Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson in that series, as well as Robert Gasser. And on top of that, the series will also be at American Family Field, just like the Reds series, which again is a pretty pitcher-friendly ballpark.
After that, the Cubs get three games against the Pirates, who own the seventh-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Braxton Ashcraft, Paul Skenes, and Bubba Chandler. Obviously Skenes is almost always trouble, Chandler has looked pretty solid, and Ashcraft owns a 1.61 ERA over the past month.
Again, not a great week for your Cubs hitters, so I’d be dodging them if I could this week.
New York Mets hitters – The Mets get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Marlins, whose pitching staff has been fairly middle-of-the-road so far this year in team FIP. However, the matchups aren’t great, as the Mets will see Eury Pérez, Sandy Alcantara, and Janson Junk.
While Pérez’s last two starts were pretty awful, he can turn it on real quick and is often pretty hard to hit. That said, in daily leagues, if you wanted to start your Mets hitters against Pérez, I wouldn’t be totally against that. But Alcántara has been pretty solid, posting a 3.00 ERA over the past month, and Junk has been pretty fantastic, not allowing more than two runs since July 26.
After that, the Mets get to face the Yankees in the Subway Series. Unfortunately for the Mets, the Yankees own the best team FIP in all of baseball, and they’ll be facing off against Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole, and Cam Schlittler.
Overall, a pretty tough week for your Mets hitters, so I’d be avoiding them if I could.
