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 let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 12 (6/19-6/25) 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 – The Rockies have six games this week, starting with three on the road against the Reds, a team with the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games at home in Coors Field against the Angels. Generally, if the Rockies are in Coors, I’m starting most of their hitters, but even better, the Angels have the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball (and they’ll miss Shohei Ohtani in that series).
If you haven’t hopped on the Nolan Jones train yet, you might want to, as he’s been raking, hitting .349/.440/.605 over the past two weeks. Also, I want to note, there’s one exception here, and that’s Ryan McMahon. Of the six pitchers the Rockies are slated to face, four are left-handed, and McMahon is a career .238/.312/.405 hitter against lefties, so I wouldn’t start him in weekly leagues.
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians have six games this week, starting with three against the A’s, who own the worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three against the Brewers, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league, making it a solid week to start your Guardians.
Josh Naylor is worth a look this week, as he’s been hitting .400/.396/.489 over the past two weeks. Josh Bell has also been heating up, slashing .278/.297/.528 over the past two weeks, and is worth a shot, as is Will Brennan, who’s hitting .341/.372/.537 over the past two weeks.
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – The D’Backs get a full seven-game week this week, starting with three games against the Brewers who, as I mentioned, have the sixth-worst team FIP in baseball. Then, they’ll have one game against the Nationals, who own the second-worst team FIP in the league, and they’ll close with three games against the Giants. In that Giants series, they will see both Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, who can prove to be tricky, but in a seven-game week with just two matchups that worry me, I think there’s enough value there to start your guys.
Christian Walker has been hitting well lately, slashing .295/.385/.500 over the past two weeks and is worth a look. Same with Jake McCarthy, who’s hitting .316/.357/.474 over the past two weeks with six steals.
Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have six games this week, and the main appeal of this week for the Rays is their four-game series against the Royals, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in the league. They’ll also have a two-game series against the Orioles where they’ll face Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells. Wells has been pretty awesome lately, so I might avoid him in daily leagues, but Bradish can be really hit or miss, so I’m not worried about him. In a weekly league, even with one bad game, five good games are enough value to make it worth it to me.
AVOID
Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles have just five games this week, starting with two against the Rays where they’ll see Tyler Glasnow and Taj Bradley, and closing with three against the Mariners where they’ll see Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, and George Kirby. That’s a long list of pretty tough pitching matchups and that on top of only having a five-game week makes your Orioles hitters a definite avoid this week.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – Speaking of five-game weeks, the Dodgers also have a five-game week this week, starting with two games against the Angels where they’ll face Shohei Ohtani, and closing with three games against the Astros, who own the third-best team FIP in the league. Bad matchups + a five-game week = avoid. Obviously, you’re still starting Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, but any of your middle-of-the-road Dodgers, I’d avoid this week.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have seven games this week, starting with four against the Twins who own the second-best team FIP in all of baseball. Then, they’ll close the week with three games against the White Sox. In that series, they’ll face Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Jesse Scholtens.
I’m not worried about Scholtens, nor am I particularly worried about Lynn because he’s generally been pretty bad (though who knows what you’re going to get from him), but Giolito should prove to be a tough matchup. So in a seven-game week, that’s just two games where I’m comfortable starting my Red Sox hitters, meaning in weekly leagues, there’s not enough value here to justify putting them in my lineup.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees have six games this week, starting with three against the Mariners who own the best team FIP in baseball and closing with three games against the Rangers, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league, making this a tough week to start your Yankees hitters.