What’s up, everyone!
If you’re unfamiliar with this article series, each week I take a look at some hitting matchups you should take advantage of and some hitting matchups you should avoid, based on who the hitters will likely be facing on the mound.
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 here’s who you should start and avoid in Week 10 (6/20-6/26) 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
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels are set to have a pretty nice week this week, starting off with three games against the Royals, who own the third-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games against the Mariners, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball. A lot of the hitters in the Angels’ lineup (not named Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani) have been struggling lately, so this might be a good week for guys like Jared Walsh and Brandon Marsh to start picking things up again.
Oakland Athletics hitters – The A’s have exactly the reverse of the Angels’ schedule this week, starting off with three games against the Mariners and closing with three games against the Royals. So naturally, if I’m recommending you start your Angels, you should start your A’s too! In case you haven’t noticed, Christian Bethancourt has been crushing the ball lately, slashing .324/.324/.676 over the past two weeks and is absolutely worth a grab if he’s still out there on the waiver wire.
Washington Nationals hitters – Normally I don’t love recommending teams with five-game weeks, but these are five games I think you can take advantage of for the Nats. They start off their week with two games against the Orioles where they’ll face Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer, two guys that aren’t particularly scary for hitters. Then, they’ll close the week with three games against the Rangers where they’ll see Jon Gray (who can sometimes be good), Taylor Hearn, and Dane Dunning. None of those matchups worry me much at all, so get your Nats out there. Over the past two weeks, Josh Bell has been crushing the ball, slashing .302/.407/.791 and is absolutely worth a start.
Whit Merrifield – It’s been a tough season for Whit Merrifield to say the least, but this week could be a week in which Merrifield picks things up just a little. Half of the Royals’ games this week are slated to be against left-handed pitchers, and on his career, Merrifield has hit pretty well against lefties, slashing .297/.340/.465 against them.
AVOID
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta’s got a seven-game week this week, which would normally be awesome, but it’s a tough slate of games for them. They start off with four games against the Giants, who own the second-best team FIP in all of baseball, and they close with three games against the Dodgers, who own the fourth-best team FIP in baseball, so it’s a week to avoid your Atlanta hitters.
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have six games this week, starting with two against the Mets where they’ll see Trevor Williams and Carlos Carrasco. I’m not overly worried about those two (though Carrasco can be tough), but then the Astros close their week with four games against the Yankees, who own the best team FIP in all of baseball. So that’s just two games for your Astros hitters that are maybes, meaning I’d avoid them this week overall.
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies have a similar situation to the Astros this week. They’ve also got six games, starting with two against the Rangers. Generally, I’m not worried about a matchup against the Rangers, though one of those games will be against Martín Pérez, who’s been pretty good so far this year. But the real drawback for Phillies hitters is their four-game series against the Padres, who own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, making this week an overall avoid for your Phillies hitters.
Bobby Witt Jr. – As I mentioned, half of the Royals’ games this week are against left-handed pitchers, which isn’t great news for Bobby Witt Jr., as he’s been slashing just .175/.213/.333 against lefties so far this year.
Photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)