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 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 3 (4/13-4/19) 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
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – The Pirates have a full seven-game week this week with some pretty good matchups ahead.
They start the week off with four games against the Nats, who own the worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Cade Cavalli, Miles Mikolas, Jake Irvin, and Foster Griffin. Then, they’ll close out the week with three games against the Rays, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Nick Martinez, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane McClanahan.
McClanahan can certainly be a problem, though he isn’t pitching deep into games as of yet and seems pretty vulnerable at times, so I’m not overly afraid of that matchup, nor am I worried about virtually any of the others.
The Pirates will only see two lefties this week, so make sure you’ve got Ryan O’Hearn in your lineups as he’s been hot to start the year, slashing .326/.411/.565 so far.
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians also have a seven-game week this week, kicking off with three games against the Cardinals, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league so far, where they’ll see Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, and Dustin May.
Obviously, Liberatore has been pretty good so far, but I’m not 100% sold on it just yet, so he’s not someone I’m actively avoiding (though if you’re in a daily league and decided to bench your Guardians against him, I’d get it).
After that series, the Guardians close out the week with four games against the Orioles, where they’ll see Chris Bassitt, Cade Povich, Trevor Rogers, and Kyle Bradish.
Bassitt and Povich should be great matchups for your Guardians hitters. I’d avoid Rogers in daily leagues, and while I’m personally still a believer in Bradish, he’s certainly been knocked around a bit to start the year, so I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad matchup.
Chase DeLauter has been off to a hot start so far this year, slashing .273/.340/.659 so far, so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups. And in deeper leagues, Juan Brito has looked pretty solid in limited action so far and could have some value, same with Angel Martínez, who’s hitting .333/.421/.485 with three steals to start the year.
Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox have just six games this week, but they’ve got some pretty solid pitching matchups to take advantage of.
They kick the week off with three games against the Rays, who, as I mentioned earlier, have the seventh-worst team FIP in the league so far, where they’ll see Shane McClanahan, Joe Boyle, and Steven Matz.
Same comments from earlier on McClanahan apply here, but I’ll also add that Boyle and Matz don’t worry me at all.
After that, the White Sox will get three games against the A’s, who own the fourth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Aaron Civale, Luis Severino, and Jeffrey Springs, none of whom worry me.
Obviously, his average hasn’t been great (which was to be expected), but Munetaka Murakami owns a .266 ISO on the year so far and is hitting towards the top of the White Sox lineup, so he could have some value if you need power.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants also have six games this week, kicking things off with three games against the Reds, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, and Chase Burns, none of whom concern me all that much.
Then, they’ll have three games against the Nats, who, as I mentioned earlier, have the worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Zack Littell, Cade Cavalli, and Miles Mikolas.
Casey Schmitt is off to a hot start to the year so far, slashing .333/.412/.500, and is worth a look this week in deeper leagues, especially since he’s generally been hitting in the middle of the lineup.
AVOID
Los Angeles Angels hitters – While the Angels have a seven-game week, they’re slated for some pretty tough pitching matchups, which is going to make this week a rough one.
They kick things off with four games against the Yankees, who currently own the best team FIP in all of baseball right now. There, they’ll see Will Warren, Ryan Weathers, Luis Gil, and Max Fried.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Padres, who own the third-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Germán Márquez, Nick Pivetta, and Michael King.
There are maybe a couple matchups you could utilize in daily leagues (namely the one against Marquez), but in weekly leagues, I’d be avoiding my mid-tier Angels hitters.
Kansas City Royals hitters – The Royals have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Tigers, where they’ll face Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, and Justin Verlander.
Then, they’ll have three games against the Yankees, who, as I said earlier, have the best team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers.
You could probably start your guys against Flaherty and Verlander, but honestly, in a weekly league, I’m just not seeing enough value here to warrant starting my mid-level Royals hitters unless I don’t have a better option.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs also have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Phillies, who own the second-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, and Jesús Luzardo.
Then, they’ll close the week out with three games against the Mets, who own the fifth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Kodai Senga, Freddy Peralta, and David Peterson.
This is another one of those weeks where, in a week with so many teams playing seven games with decent matchups, I’d be looking elsewhere than my mid-tier Cubs hitters if I can, given the week they’ve got ahead.
