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.
So let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 20 (8/12-8/18) 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
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – The D’Backs have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Rockies. Unfortunately that series won’t be in Coors Field, but the Rockies still own the worst team FIP in baseball, and even though some of that is owed to being in Coors Field half of the time, their pitching staff isn’t especially impressive either way, so I think you’re good to start your D’Backs there.
After that, the D’Backs will head to Tampa Bay for a three-game series against the Rays, a team that currently owns the 13th-worst team FIP in the league. In that series, they’ll see Tyler Alexander, Jeffrey Springs, and Taj Bradley. Bradley is definitely a tough matchup, so he might be an avoid in daily leagues, but I’m not especially worried about Alexander or Springs, so all in all I think it’s a good week for your D’Backs hitters.
Josh Bell has had some nice power lately, sporting a .379 ISO over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look this week, as is Eugenio Suárez, who’s slashing .341/.380/.795 over the same time period. And in deeper leagues, Geraldo Perdomo might be worth a look as he’s been on a bit of a hot streak lately, slashing .366/.395/.537 over the past two weeks.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees also get six games this week, starting off with three games against the White Sox, who currently have the second-worst team FIP in all of baseball. And as a bonus, they’ll miss Garrett Crochet in that series, so it should be pretty favorable for your Yankee hitters.
After that, the Yanks will have a three-game series against the Tigers where they’ll see Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, and Tarik Skubal. Obviously, the matchup against Skubal is a tough one and definitely one to avoid in daily leagues, but outside of that, I think you should be set this week—Hurter and Montero don’t worry me for a matchup, so that’s basically one matchup in six games that’s a potential problem.
Anthony Volpe is slashing .310/.310/.595 over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look this week in your lineups, despite the fact he keeps hitting toward the bottom of the lineup.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you’re in need of some help at the catcher position this week, take a look at Austin Wells. Over the past two weeks, he’s slashing a pretty solid .324/.368/.441. It’s not a ton of power, but you could certainly do worse.
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Pirates where they’ll see Marco Gonzales, Luis Ortiz, and Mitch Keller. Ortiz and Keller can definitely be tough matchups, but Gonzales should be a good matchup for your Padres hitters.
After the series against the Pirates comes the real reason you should be starting your Padres hitters this week—they’ll get a three-game series against the Rockies in Coors Field, and that’s hard to turn down. In daily leagues, I might avoid the games against Ortiz and Keller in the Pirates series, but in weekly leagues, the appeal of a three-game Coors series plus some decent matchups against the Pirates is worth it to start your Padres hitters to me.
David Peralta has been on a bit of a hot streak lately, slashing .280/.357/.520 over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look as he’s pretty widely available. He might get benched in the two games the Padres will have against lefties, but still worth a look in deeper leagues. Also, Jackson Merrill is definitely worth a start this week, as he’s slashing a ridiculous .389/.415/.889 over the past two weeks.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at catcher this week, Kyle Higashioka might be worth a look. He’s slashing .250/.348/.550 over the past two weeks, which is especially useful in OBP leagues (and a .300 ISO is nothing to sneeze at) and could provide some value at the catcher position.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have a full seven-game week this week with some pretty favorable matchups ahead. They start the week off with a three-game series against the Rangers, a team with the fifth-worst team FIP in all of baseball, and they’re slated to dodge both Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer in that series.
After that, the Red Sox will have a four-game series against the Orioles where they’re slated to see Zach Eflin, Corbin Burnes, Albert Suarez, and Trevor Rogers. Obviously, Burnes is an avoid in daily leagues and Eflin could be tough, but outside of that, you should be good to start your Red Sox hitters.
Masataka Yoshida is sporting a .325/.364/.550 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a start this week, as is Wilyer Abreu who’s hitting .300/.382/.667 over the same time period. And in deeper leagues, Dominic Smith is sporting a solid .273/.294/.576 line over the past two weeks (well, solid except in OBP leagues) and is worth a look this week.
AVOID
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins only have five games this week, which puts them at a pretty significant disadvantage for weekly leagues. On top of that, they’ll have two games against the Phillies, who currently have the third-best team FIP in baseball, and then three games against the Mets where they’ll see Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Paul Blackburn.
Now, none of those three pitchers are aces or anything, but the combination of a five-game week and a series of matchups that are kind of borderline could-be-tough-could-be-okay, I’d personally be avoiding my Marlins hitters in weekly leagues.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants have six games this week, and there’s really only two of them that I think could be decent matchups for your Giants hitters.
They start the week off with a four-game series against Atlanta, the team with the second-best team FIP in all of baseball right now. And even better, all four of those games will be at home in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park.
After that, the Giants will have two games against the A’s where they’ll see Osvaldo Bido and JP Sears. I’m fine starting my Giants hitters in that one in daily leagues, but in weekly leagues, there’s not enough value here to warrant starting my mid-tier Giants hitters.
Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers have six games this week and are slated for some pretty tough matchups.
They’re playing the Mariners and Yankees this week, and yes I could mention the Mariners own the best team FIP in baseball and all that, but here’s a list of the pitchers the Tigers are slated to face this week:
George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman. Those all range from “absolutely not” to “ehhh I don’t feel great about that,” meaning it’s not a great week to start your Tigers hitters.
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – The Pirates also have six games this week and also get to face the Mariners who, again, own the best team FIP in all of baseball. They’ll see Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby in that series to end the week and that’s a big no thank you from me.
But to start off the week, they’ll get three games against the Padres, who currently have the sixth-best team FIP in the league. So all in all, it’s a tough week for your Pirates hitters and one I would avoid.