What’s up everyone!
If you’re unfamiliar with this 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. I’ll also be focusing on catchers you can stream each week since we all know that catcher can be an especially tricky position in fantasy.
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 to start and avoid in Week 12 (6/17-6/23 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
Colorado Rockies hitters – This kind of week happens a couple times a year and everytime it does, I feature it in this article. The Rockies get a full seven-game week and every single one of those games will be in Coors Field.
During that week, the Rockies will see the Dodgers for four games, and normally that would worry me slightly. But they’re slated to face James Paxton, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller (in his return from the IL), and Gavin Stone. Really the only matchup I’d be worried about would be Stone since he’s looked pretty good. Paxton’s been okay, Buehler hasn’t looked great, and who knows what we’ll get from Miller in his return from the IL. And the games are all in Coors! So who cares!
After that series, the Rockies will see the Nationals, and that doesn’t necessarily worry me much at all. While the Nats do have the seventh-best team FIP in the league, nothing about DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker, or Jake Irvin in Coors would stop me from starting my Rockies.
So get your Rockies out there! Seven games in Coors doesn’t happen all the time. Charlie Blackmon is slashing .378/.429/.578 over the past two weeks and is still pretty available in most leagues, so make sure you snag him.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at catcher, Jacob Stallings is catching for the Rockies now while Elias Díaz is on the IL. While Stallings isn’t as good of a hitter as Diaz, he’s getting seven games in Coors Field. For a dart throw at the catcher position if you’re desperate, you could do worse.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – A rising tide lifts all boats and a full week in Coors means you should not only be starting your Rockies hitters, but their opponents too (especially since the Rockies own the worst team FIP in all of baseball).
The Dodgers don’t get a full seven-game week this week, unfortunately, but the six games they’ll have will still be very useful. After their four-game series in Colorado, they’ll have two games at home against the Angels, a team that currently owns the third-worst team FIP in the league.
Andy Pages is slashing .333/.455/.528 over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a start this week (and he’s still relatively available in most leagues, so go pick him up).
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Diamondbacks, a team that owns the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Slade Cecconi, Brandon Pfaadt, and Ryne Nelson, and while Pfaadt could potentially be a bit difficult, all in all I’m not worried about those matchups.
After that, the Nats get the three games in Coors Field against the Rockies that I mentioned earlier, so that plus three games against the D’Backs means you should get your Nats out there this week.
Lane Thomas is sporting a .289/.340/.467 line over the past two weeks, so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups this week.
CATCHER TO STREAM: He hasn’t been hitting the best lately, but Keibert Ruiz is likely available in your league and certainly has the potential to hit very well. He’s another guy who, if you’re desperate for help at the catcher position, could be a decent dart throw given the matchups.
Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins get six games this week, starting with three against the Rays, a team that currently owns the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball. In that series, the Twins will face Aaron Civale, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell, none of whom have been particularly impressive this year.
After that, the Twins get three games against the A’s, a team that has the 11th-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Joey Estes, JP Sears, and Hogan Harris, none of whom scare me much at all.
Carlos Santana is sporting a .316/.350/.553 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look this week if you need some help in first base or corner infield.
AVOID
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have six games this week, starting off with three games against the White Sox where they’ll see Jonathan Cannon, Garrett Crochet, and Chris Flexen. In daily leagues, I think you can go ahead and start your Astros in the Cannon and Flexen matchups, but I’d avoid Crochet.
After that, the Astros will have three games against the Orioles where they’ll see Grayson Rodriguez, and Corbin Burnes (not sure who the third Orioles starter they’ll see is, depends on how the Orioles adjust their rotation with Kyle Bradish now on the IL).
Like I said, in daily leagues, you can probably take advantage of a couple matchups but in weekly leagues, I’m not seeing enough value to warrant starting my Astros.
Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Twins where they’ll see Pablo López, Joe Ryan, and Simeon Woods Richardson. I’m not all that worried about the game against SWR, but Lopez and Ryan could definitely pose problems.
After that, they’ll have three games against the Pirates where they’ll see Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, and Bailey Falter. Similar to the Twins series, I’m not worried about Falter, but Jones and Skenes can definitely be a problem, making this week a tough one to start your Rays hitters in a weekly league.
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels only have five games this week, which immediately puts them at a disadvantage for weekly leagues. On top of that, they’re slated for a few tough matchups.
They start the week off with three games against the Brewers, where they’ll see Carlos Rodríguez, Tobias Myers, and Freddy Peralta. Rodriguez and Myers are fine matchups to start your Angels in daily leagues, but Peralta could definitely be a problem.
After that, they’ll have two games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, which are both definite avoids.
So all in all, there are really only two games where I feel totally comfortable starting my Angels hitters, which isn’t worth it in weekly leagues.