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 13 (6/26-7/2) 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 – It’s one of those weeks again—a week where the Rockies have a bunch of home games. Six, to be precise, starting with three against the Dodgers and ending with three against the Tigers. In what might be a surprise to some (or at least, a surprise to me who’s used to the Dodgers having a killer pitching staff), the Dodgers own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball so far this year. Now, that series will feature a matchup against Clayton Kershaw, but six games in Coors Field is hard to turn down. Ezequiel Tovar is still hitting well (well, in non-OBP leagues), slashing .289/.282/.474 over the past two weeks and is worth a look, as is Ryan McMahon who is hitting .293/.420/.610 over the past two weeks.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – As I mentioned above, the Dodgers have three games in Coors Field this week which, on its own, is pretty great. It’s even better when you learn the Rockies own the second-worst team FIP in all of baseball. Then, the Dodgers will have three games against the Royals, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in the league, meaning it’s a great week for your Dodgers hitters.
Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox have a full seven-game week this week, starting with four games against the Angels who own the 10th-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games against the A’s, who own the worst team FIP in the league. Now, that Angels series does include a game against Shohei Ohtani and one against Patrick Sandoval, which could prove tricky, but the overall value for this week is too good for me to ignore. Definitely make sure Eloy Jiménez is in your lineups as he’s been hitting really well lately, slashing .289/.308/.605 over the past two weeks.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants have six games this week, luckily all on the road away from their pitcher-friendly home ballpark. They’ll start the week off with three games against the Blue Jays, who own the ninth-worst team FIP in the league, and they’ll close with three games against the Mets, who own the fourth-worst team FIP in baseball. Now, that Blue Jays series will include a matchup against Kevin Gausman, which could be tricky, and the Mets series will include a matchup against Justin Verlander, though Verlander hasn’t exactly been his typical intimidating self so far this year, so I’m not all that worried. All in all, I think there’s pretty good value to be had here for your Giants hitters.
Make sure you’ve got LaMonte Wade Jr. in your lineup, as he’s been hitting well lately, slashing .357/.455/.536 over the past two weeks. And in deeper leagues, it’s worth noting that Blake Sabol is hitting .364/.400/.455 over the past two weeks, though his playing time hasn’t been the most consistent thing in the world, so he’s more of a deep daily league play where you can take him out if he’s not starting. Also for deeper leagues, if you’re looking for a catcher to stream, Patrick Bailey is hitting .382/.421/.618 over the past two weeks and is worth a look.
José Abreu and Chas McCormick – José Abreu hasn’t exactly been incredible so far this year, but the Astros are slated to see four lefties this week in six games, and Abreu is a career .299/.371/.535 hitter against lefties, so if ever there was a week for you to start Abreu, it’d probably be this week. And speaking of lefty mashers on the Astros, Chas McCormick is a career .293/.361/.530 hitter against lefties and is worth a look this week.
AVOID
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats get six games this week, starting with three against the Mariners, who own the best team FIP in all of baseball, and closing with three against the Phillies, who own the fifth-best team FIP in the league. We’re looking at matchups against Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, and Zack Wheeler all this week, so there’s not a lot of value to be had from your Nationals hitters.
Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have six games this week, three of which will be against the Mariners who, as I mentioned above, have the best team FIP in baseball, and one game this week will be against Zac Gallen in their series against the Diamondbacks. That means out of six games, there are basically two where I’m comfortable starting my Rays hitters, which works fine in daily leagues and does not work well in weekly leagues.
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta has six games this week, starting with three against the Twins, who own the second-best team FIP in baseball, and closing with three against the Marlins, who own the third-best team FIP in the league. Atlanta’s looking at matchups against Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Sandy Alcantara, Sonny Gray, and Joe Ryan, and that’s a tough-looking week for your Atlanta hitters.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have a similar situation to the Rays this week. They’ve got six games and there are really only two that I feel comfortable starting my Red Sox hitters in. They start the week off with three games against the Marlins who, as I mentioned, have the third-best team FIP in baseball, and they close with three games against the Blue Jays where they’ll face Kevin Gausman. They’ll also face Yusei Kikuchi who’s been pretty good lately. I’m not saying Kikuchi is a definite avoid, but he’s certainly looked good lately.