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 7 (5/11-5/17) 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
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – The D’Backs have six games this week, kicking off with three games against the Rangers, where they’ll see Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, and Kumar Rocker.
Eovaldi could be a problem, but he’s also been knocked around a bit this year, so I’m not all that concerned about him, and I’m definitely not worried about Gore or Rocker.
After that, the D’Backs head to Coors Field for three games against the Rockies, who own the fifth-worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Kyle Freeland, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Michael Lorenzen, none of whom worry me all that much.
Ildemaro Vargas has been hot lately, slashing .356/.383/.511 over the past two weeks, and is worth a look this week. Also, Nolan Arenado has been hitting .267/.389/.500 over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers have six games this week, kicking off with the series I mentioned earlier against the Diamondbacks, who currently own the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Michael Soroka, Zac Gallen, and Ryne Nelson. Soroka’s been solid so far, but I’m not actively avoiding him just yet, so I think you should be good for that series.
After that, the Rangers get three games against the Astros, who currently own the worst team FIP in the entire league. There, they’ll see Peter Lambert, Tatsuya Imai, and Lance McCullers Jr. Lambert has been quite good so far, and if you wanted to avoid him in a daily league, I wouldn’t blame you, but I think overall you should be good for this week with your Rangers hitters.
Josh Jung has been hitting an excellent .354/.404/.479 over the past two weeks, so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups. Same with Ezequiel Duran, who’s slashing .324/.429/.559 over the past two weeks.
Kansas City Royals hitters – The Royals also get six games this week, kicking off with three against the White Sox, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Erick Fedde, Noah Schultz, and Sean Burke.
After that, they get three games against the Cardinals, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Dustin May, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante.
The matchup with Schultz could be tricky, but generally, I’m entirely unconcerned about these matchups, so I think you should be good to start your Royals hitters this week.
If you need some power, Jac Caglianone owns a .250 ISO over the past two weeks (not much of an average, but the power’s there). Meanwhile, Isaac Collins has been lights out, hitting .308/.417/.538 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week.
AVOID
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres get six games this week, starting with three against the Brewers, who currently own the best team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Chad Patrick, Brandon Sproat, and Jacob Misiorowski. I’m not worried about Sproat, but Patrick has been solid, and Misiorowski has been awesome, so that could be a tough series.
After that, the Padres get three games against the Mariners, who own the eighth-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo.
All in all, it looks like a tough week for your mid-tier Padres hitters, so I’d be looking elsewhere.
New York Mets hitters – The Mets also get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Tigers, who own the ninth-best team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Jack Flaherty, Framber Valdez, and Keider Montero. Flaherty doesn’t worry me, but Valdez could be a problem and Montero has quietly been quite solid so far this year.
After that, the Mets get three games against the Yankees, who own the second-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodón, and Ryan Weathers.
Another team where I’m just not seeing enough value to warrant starting my mid-level Mets hitters, especially in weekly leagues.
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies have a six-game week this week, starting off with three games against the Red Sox, where they’ll see Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, and Connelly Early. After that, they’ll have three games against the Pirates, who own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Paul Skenes.
There are a couple of matchups you could take advantage of in daily leagues (namely Chandler), but both Gray and Early have been solid, Ashcraft has been quite good, and Suarez and Skenes have been excellent so far this year.
In all, there’s just enough uncertainty in this week that I’d be looking for alternate options if I could.
