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.
Anyways, here’s who you should start and avoid in Week 16 (8/8-8/14) 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 – If you consistently read this article and you see the Rockies listed first here, then you know what I’m about to say—the Rockies get to be at home in Coors Field all week, which means get them out there! They’ll have three games against the Cardinals, who own the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball, and three games against the Diamondbacks, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball, so even better, it’ll be six games in Coors against beatable pitching staffs. José Iglesias has been hitting well lately, slashing .388/.434/.510 over the past two weeks, and warrants a look. Same with Randal Grichuk, who’s slashing .311/.367/.578 over the past two weeks.
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – Speaking of the D’Backs, not only do they get three games in Coors Field this week, they also get four games against the Pirates to start off the week, a team that owns the seventh-worst team FIP in all of baseball. Daulton Varsho has been hitting well lately, slashing .281/.425/.531 over the past two weeks, and warrants a start this week. Same with Carson Kelly, who’s been hitting .280/.357/.520 over the past two weeks.
Chicago Cubs – The Cubs have a solid six-game week this week, starting with three games against the Nationals, who own the worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games against the Reds, who own the second-worst team FIP in baseball. If you’re looking for some power this week, Patrick Wisdom is always a solid choice. He might hurt you a bit in average, but he’s sporting a .314 ISO over the past two weeks.
José Miranda – While the Twins only have five games this week, it’s looking like all five will be against left-handed pitchers, which is good news for José Miranda, who’s been hitting really well so far this year and especially against lefties, slashing .282/.311/.549 against them.
AVOID
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies have a tough six-game week this week, starting with three games against the Marlins where they’ll face Sandy Alcántara, Pablo López, and Jesús Luzardo. Then, they’ll close the week with three games against the Mets where they’ll see both Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. All in all, a really bad week for your Phillies hitters.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have an odd week this week. They start off with two games against Atlanta, a team that owns the second-best FIP in all of baseball. Then, they’ll have one game against the Orioles, a game I’m not all that worried about in daily leagues. Then, they close the week with three games against the Yankees, who own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball. Really only one game worth taking advantage of this week for your Red Sox hitters, so in weekly leagues, I’d avoid them.
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins have a seven-game week this week, which would normally be exciting, but they’re going to be some tough matchups. They start with the aforementioned series against the Phillies, a team that owns the sixth-best FIP in baseball, and they close with four games against Atlanta who, as I mentioned earlier, have the second-best team FIP in the league.
Jorge Polanco – As I mentioned, the Twins are going to be seeing nothing but left-handed pitchers this week, which isn’t great for Jorge Polanco who’s been hitting like garbage against lefties this year, slashing .224/.286/.299.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)