Hey everybody!
If you’re unfamiliar with this series, each week Ben Palmer highlights 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. This week, I’m pinch-hitting while he’s on the road; I’ll 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 9 (5/25-5/31) 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 are one of 8 teams to play 7 games this week. The Rangers host Houston for four games at the start of the week, then have the Royals visit for the remaining three games.
Against Houston, the Rangers are scheduled to get Tatsuya Imai, Jason Alexander, Mike Burrows, and Spencer Arrighetti. Imai has struggled in his adjustment to the majors, striking out nearly 11 batters per nine innings but walking nearly as many. Imai has also given up over 2 HR/9, including 4 in his past two starts covering just 9.2 innings. Alexander is a soft-tossing righty with a career 5.20 FIP. Burrows has pulled an Inverse Cole, taking a big step back in his first season after leaving Pittsburgh for Houston.
Arrighetti is the best of the Astros starters the Rangers will face, and he’s extremely volatile. While Arrighetti has maintained a 1.32 ERA over his first 7 starts, nothing points to a dominant pitcher. He has an 8.6% K-BB. He has a BABIP of .223 on a team that normally allows a .298 BABIP. He’s given up a singular homer (2.3% HR/FB) despite 2.5 expected home runs according to Statcast. In 2025, Arrighetti gave up 5 runs in three of his seven starts and 2 or fewer runs in the remaining four starts. I don’t think he’s bad, but would anyone be that surprised if the Rangers hung 5 on him in a short start?
In the second half of the week, the Rangers are scheduled to face Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and potentially a fresh-off-the-IL Cole Ragans. Ragans is the most intimidating pitcher here if he’s healthy. Lugo and Wacha are doing their contact management thing, but a healthy Ragans is a different animal. The Rangers also struggle vs lefties with an 81 wRC+ on the season. Against righties, however, the Rangers are 12th in MLB with a 105 wRC+. If you’re in a daily league and Ragans looks good in his rehab start on Sunday (and gets the call for Friday’s game), you might sit some of your Rangers. If Ragans needs a second rehab start or gets pushed back, it looks like Stephen Kolek would get the nod, and he’s another pitcher who doesn’t intimidate me. He threw a 9-inning shutout on Saturday, but it came with just 2 strikeouts and a .154 BABIP.
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians play six games this week. First, they host the Washington Nationals, who rank 28th in FIP. Later, the Boston Red Sox visit, ranking 17th in FIP.
The Nationals should send Zack Littell, Cade Cavalli, and Miles Mikolas to start in their series. Littell and Mikolas have had a really tough start to the season. Littell has posted a 5.83 ERA; while his FIP and SIERA are roughly in line, his xFIP and xERA say he’s been a run and a half lucky. Mikolas’s underlying numbers are a bit better, with all of his ERA estimators agreeing he’s been unlucky. Unfortunately, they all agree that he’s a mid-4’s to mid-5’s ERA pitcher. Cavalli has been solid and is clearly the best of the Nats pitchers that the Guardians will face. If you wanted to dodge him in daily leagues, it’s not a bad idea.
In the second half of the week, the Guardians get Brayan Bello, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez. Bello has had an awful start to the season. He did go 5 innings and only gave up 2 runs (neither earned) against the Twins on Saturday night, but he also conceded 8 hits and a walk. Even after the successful appearance, Bello sits at a 6.43 ERA (5.61 FIP). Gray has had much more surface-level success this season with a 2.93 ERA. His K-rate has collapsed to just 18.4% of batters this season, though, and his ERA estimators sit in the 3.8-4.4 range.
Suarez is by far the best performing pitcher the Guardians will face, with a 2.40 ERA and estimators capping out at 3.40. Cleveland is better against lefties, however, with a 106 wRC+ vs lefties and a 98 wRC+ vs righties. Even so, if you’re in a daily moves league, this is a week with three exceptional, two average, and one tough matchup for Guardians hitters.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees play six games this week, starting with three in Kansas City against Michael Wacha, Bailey Falter, and Noah Cameron. The Royals are 20th in MLB in FIP this season despite the solid efforts put forth by Cameron (3.62) and Wacha (3.89). Falter has not looked good at all in his four appearances with the Royals, three of which came in relief.
The Yankees are especially good vs lefties, hitting .244/.335/.458 vs southpaws. That line is good for a 122 wRC+, second in the majors. In addition to the two Royals lefties, the Yankees will get a third later in the week, giving them half their games with the platoon advantage.
The Yankees close out their week with three games in Sacramento. They’re expected to face JT Ginn, Jacob Lopez, and Aaron Civale in those games. The A’s are 27th in FIP in MLB, and that’s too optimistic for this matchup. In Sacramento, A’s pitchers have a 5.52 ERA and a 5.55 FIP. They’re allowing 1.6 HR/9 and walking nearly 5 batters per 9 innings. On the road, those numbers drop to 1.1 HR/9 and 3.26 BB/9, generating a 3.48ERA and 4.10 FIP.
Ginn and Civale have been pleasant surprises for the A’s this year, but I wouldn’t start either of them at home. Civale has made it work thus far thanks to an 89.4% strand rate despite giving up 1.57 HR/9. Ginn has been legitimately solid, but he’s still a bit over his skis with a .239 BABIP and 80% strand rate. Yankees hitters should feast this week.
CATCHER TO STREAM: This looks like a week for Hunter Feduccia to hit your lineups. Tampa Bay gets 5 righties in 6 games this week. Kyle Bradish has looked better of late, but Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, and Jack Kochanowicz are all on the slate, too. Since May 1st, the lefty-hitting Feduccia is hitting .348/.360/.565. For his career, he has a 122 point split in wRC+ (91 wRC+ vs righties and a wild -31 vs lefties). The lone lefty the Rays face is Reid Detmers, and he’s actually been pretty good this year, with ERA estimators pointing to the low-3’s instead of his 5.07 ERA. Not a matchup you’ll be too upset about Feduccia sitting for.
AVOID
Athletics hitters – The Athletics have a six-game week, with all of their games at home. It’s tempting to set-and-forget any A’s hitters in Sacramento, but the matchups this week are rough.
The A’s start the week with a three-game set against the Mariners, where they’re scheduled to get Bryce Miller, Emerson Hancock, and Logan Gilbert. The Mariners overall pitching staff is 8th in MLB in FIP, and the A’s won’t get to face the struggling Luis Castillo. Gilbert hasn’t been his vintage self thus far this season, but it’s a tough ask when he’s the worst-performing pitcher they’ll face in the week.
The second half of the week has the A’s hosting the Yankees, who rank 2nd in FIP. The Yankees are currently scheduled to throw Gerrit Cole, Ryan Weathers, and Will Warren. Cole sat 96 and was effective despite poor command in his first MLB start since 2024. Weathers has been excellent all season except for some continued struggles with the long ball. The A’s rank 23rd in MLB with a .118 ISO vs lefties, though, so they might not be able to make him pay.
The A’s have large platoon splits as a team (108 wRC+ vs righties, 88 vs lefties) and are obviously much better in Sacramento, so this isn’t a hard no on every A’s hitter. I wouldn’t be counting on the start of the Lawrence Butler bounce-back or running out more marginal A’s hitters this week, though.
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins are on the road for all six of their games this week. That’s the good news for their hitters. The bad news is that they face Toronto and the Mets, two teams that rank 5th and 6th in FIP, respectively.
In their first three games in Toronto, the Marlins are scheduled to face Trey Yesavage, Spencer Miles, and Kevin Gausman. Yesavage has been unreal in his first five starts, with an xERA of 1.79 and a FIP of 1.87 underlying his 1.07 ERA. He’s posted a 20.8% K-BB and a 111 Stuff+. Miles is a short-term visitor to the Blue Jays rotation. He threw 3.0, 3.2, and 4.1 innings in his last three appearances as he’s not fully built up to a starter’s workload. He’s been excellent in his normal multi-inning reliever role, with all of his ERA estimators between 2.82 and 3.15, supported by an 18.1% K-BB. Gausman is a reliable stud.
Perhaps surprisingly, given all the Mets’ calamities this season, their pitching staff has not been to blame. The Marlins should see Freddy Peralta, Christian Scott, and Nolan McLean in the second half of the week.
Peralta hasn’t reached the same peaks he has with the Brewers, but he’s had a solid first season in New York. Scott has been wild, walking 13.3% of batters he’s faced, but he’s struck out 27.8% of batters, leaving him with a 14.4% K-BB. The Marlins aren’t particularly well-positioned to exploit his wildness either, ranking 20th in walk rate as a team. McLean is as close to an ace as one can get without Nick giving him the official title. He’s 11th on The List this week.
St. Louis Cardinals hitters – The Cardinals play six games this week, beginning with a visit to Milwaukee and ending by hosting the Cubs. Milwaukee currently leads MLB with a 3.29 xERA and a 3.24 FIP, while ranking second with a 3.12 ERA. In this series, the Cardinals can expect to see Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Logan Henderson.
Misiorowski is a monster, Nick’s 5th-ranked pitcher in all of baseball. He throws a billion miles per hour. He strikes out 39.3% of batters he faces. He’s only walked 8% of batters. Opponents are hitting .159 off him despite a .257 BABIP. Harrison has broken out this season, combining outstanding command with an improved arsenal. He’s maintained a 24.6% K-BB and kept the ball inside the yard (0.59 HR/9). Henderson has also dominated in his return to the majors, posting a 26.7% K-BB in five starts. His 2.74 ERA is right in line with all of his ERA estimators.
In the second half of the week, the Cardinals face a Cubs team that has struggled a bit from the mound, ranking 21st in FIP. Not that they’ll get to see those pitchers, though, as they’re lined up to face Shota Imanaga (3.39 FIP), Ben Brown (2.37), and Edward Cabrera (4.45). Cabrera is the obvious target here, and it’s fine to put your marginal Cardinals hitters in against him in daily leagues. Otherwise, I’d try to dodge every starter matchup the Cardinals face. The Cubs’ bullpen has been pretty poor outside of Daniel Palencia (and Brown, now in the rotation), so if you roll with your Cardinals, it’s time to hope for late-game heroics.
