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 15 (7/14-7/23) of the fantasy baseball season. Important to note that this is post-All-Star break, so I’m grouping the Friday/Saturday/Sunday into the normal Monday-Sunday week. If you’re in a weekly league, I’d assume that’s probably what your league does too, but double-check to make sure.
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
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees have a nice series of matchups this week, starting with three games in Coors Field against the Rockies, followed by three games against the Angels where they’ll likely miss Shohei Ohtani, and finishing up with three games against the Royals, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in baseball. Anthony Volpe is definitely worth a start this week, as he’s been hitting well lately, slashing .327/.353/.571 over the past two weeks coming into the All-Star break.
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have a pretty full week with just one day off between Friday and Sunday, and some pretty favorable matchups. They’ll start off with three games against the Angels, though they’ll likely see Ohtani in that series so in daily leagues, I’d avoid that. But after that, they’ll get two games in Coors Field against the Rockies and end the week with four games against the A’s, who own the second-worst team FIP in baseball. In deeper leagues, Chas McCormick is worth a look this week as he’s hitting .286/.359/.486 over the two weeks coming into the All-Star break and will hopefully keep it up after.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs have a full 10-game week this week, which already puts them at an advantage. On top of that, they’ll have three games against the Red Sox, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in baseball, and three games against the Nationals, who own the third-worst FIP in the league. They finish off the week with four games against the Cardinals, who have posted pretty middle-of-the-road stats from their pitchers, so all in all, with 10 games and plenty of good matchups, it’s worth starting your Cubs.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants also have a full 10-game week and a bunch of solid matchups too. They’ll start the week off with three games against the Pirates, who own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball, followed by four games against the Reds, who have the fourth-worst team FIP in the league, and ending with three games against the Nationals, who own the third-worst FIP in the league. So lots and lots of great hitting matchups for your Giants hitters and on top of that, all of the games will be on the road away from the Giants’ pitcher-friendly home park.
AVOID
Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles are playing all 10 days in a row this week, which sounds awesome on paper, until you see who they’re up against. They’ll start the week with three games against the Marlins, who own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, then they’ll have three games against the Dodgers, and they’ll close with four games against the Rays, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league. The Dodgers are more middle-of-the-road from a pitching perspective, but certainly have some starters who could prove tricky. All in all, I’d avoid my Orioles hitters this week.
Seattle Mariners hitters – The Mariners also have a full 10-game week, starting with three games against the Tigers, and in a daily league, you’re good to start your Mariners in that series. It’s after that where things get dicey. They’ll then have four games against the Twins, who own the best team FIP in baseball, and they’ll close with three games against the Blue Jays, who own the 12th-best team FIP in the league. In weekly leagues, I don’t think there’s enough value to warrant starting your middle-of-the-road Mariners hitters.
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres have Monday off but thanks to a doubleheader on Saturday, they’ll still have 10 games this week. Unfortunately, the first four of those come against the Phillies, who own the third-best team FIP in baseball and the next three games come against the Blue Jays who, as I mentioned earlier, have the 12th-best team FIP in the league. They’ll close with three games against the Tigers so, similar to what I said earlier about the Mariners, in daily leagues you’re fine to start your Padres hitters there.
Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox have nine games this week, starting with three against Atlanta, who owns the sixth-best team FIP in baseball, followed by three games against the Mets where they’ll likely face Justin Verlander, and closing with three games against the Twins who, as I mentioned earlier, own the best team FIP in the league. In those two Mets games not against Verlander, I think you’re fine starting your White Sox hitters in daily leagues, but otherwise, I’d avoid this week.
Featured image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photo by Brian Rothmuller/con Sportswire