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 catchers can be an especially tricky position in fantasy.
Also wanted to note that PL Pro member LarryV, who is a former meteorologist at the National Weather Service, has been kind enough to lend his expertise to provide insights on which teams are likely to have the best/worst weather this week, so I’ll be including that where it’s relevant (and thanks Larry!).
Now, let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 20 (8/18-8/24) 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 get a full seven-game week this week, kicking off with a four-game homestand in the most hitter-friendly park in baseball, Coors Field, against the Dodgers, who currently own the ninth-worst team FIP in baseball.
In that series, they’ll see Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani (for however many innings he pitches), and Clayton Kershaw. Normally I’d be concerned about a few of those, notably Yamamoto (and maybe Kershaw too), but given it’s a four-game series in Coors Field, I think it’s still worth it.
After that, the Rockies will have a three-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, where they’ll see Mike Burrows, Andrew Heaney, and Paul Skenes. Obviously I’d be avoiding the matchup against Skenes in daily leagues where I can, but the other two don’t really concern me.
With a full seven-game week, four of those in Coors, and two more games that should be fairly hitter-friendly, all in pretty good hitting weather, you should definitely get your Rockies out there this week.
Tyler Freeman hasn’t had much power lately but he’s hitting .302 with four stolen bases over the past two weeks and is generally hitting leadoff for the Rockies, so there could be some value there in deeper leagues. Kyle Karros could also have some value in deep leagues, as he owns a .321/.406/.429 line over the past two weeks. And make sure you’ve got Hunter Goodman in your lineups, as he’s sporting a .263/.333/.658 line over the past two weeks.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – As I always say, the Coors Field advantage flows both ways, which means it’s not a bad week for you to be starting your Dodgers hitters, especially considering the Rockies own the worst team FIP in all of baseball. Four games in the best hitters’ park in baseball against the worst pitching staff in baseball? Sign me up.
After the Rockies series, the Dodgers will get three games against the Padres where they’ll see Yu Darvish, Nestor Cortes, and Nick Pivetta. Cortes has looked fairly good lately, but he’s not someone I’m actively avoiding, nor is Darvish. Pivetta, on the other hand, is someone I’d be avoiding in daily leagues.
While Andy Pages hasn’t had much in the power department lately, he does own a .282 average and .364 OBP with four steals over the past two weeks, so he could have some value.
Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins have six games this week against two pretty bad pitching staffs, starting off with three games against the Athletics who own the second-worst team FIP in all of baseball. In that series they’ll see Jacob Lopez, J.T. Ginn, and Jack Perkins, none of whom worry me at all.
After that, the Twins will have three games against the White Sox who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Sean Burke, Davis Martin, and Yoendrys Gómez, again none of whom worry me, making this a really solid week of matchups for your Twins hitters.
If you need some power, Trevor Larnach owns a .334 ISO over the past two weeks (though the average hasn’t been great). Luke Keaschall could also have some value as he’s been hitting .317/.349/.537 over the past two weeks.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at the catcher position, Ryan Jeffers owns a .310/.408/.452 line over the past two weeks and could help out.
Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers (and the Cubs too) have one of those rare, eight-game weeks this week, which automatically puts them at an advantage in weekly leagues and makes their hitters worth considering.
They start the week off with a five-game series (which includes a doubleheader) against the Cubs, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, and Shota Imanaga. Boyd and Imanaga are probably worth avoiding in daily leagues but otherwise I think you’re good.
Then, the Brewers will have three games against the Giants and normally I would say you should avoid a series against the Giants given they have the second-best team FIP in baseball. But with an eight-game week, it’s hard to not start your Brewers hitters regardless. And even in that Giants series, while they do see Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, they’ll also face Kai-Wei Teng, who should be a favorable matchup for your Brewers hitters.
Sal Frelick is worth a start this week as he owns a .333/.455/.481 line over the past two weeks. Joey Ortiz is also worth a look as he’s hitting .390/.444/.512 over the same timespan—same with Andrew Vaughn who’s hitting .302/.362/.535.
Chicago Cubs hitters – I went back and forth on whether or not I should recommend the Cubs this week. They also have an eight-game week this week thanks to that doubleheader with the Brewers and that’s really hard to ignore in weekly leagues.
Here’s the potential problem: There are a number of tough matchups for the Cubs against the Brewers. In that series, they’re slated ot see Freddy Peralta, DL Hall, Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, and Quinn Priester. Now, Hall and Priester I’m not worried about at all, but Peralta, Woodruff, and Misiorowski have all been pretty tough matchups.
It gets easier after that though, as the Cubs will then have three games against the Angels who own the third-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Tyler Anderson, José Soriano, and Victor Mederos. So I think I lean more towards starting my Cubs hitters in weekly leagues despite the potentially tough matchups against the Brewers than not starting them. The potential value of an eight-game week in weekly leagues is just too good to ignore (and in daily leagues, you can just play the matchups).
Make sure you’ve got Dansby Swanson in your lineups, as he owns a .293/.310/.463 line over the past two weeks. Same with Matt Shaw, who’s slashing .292/.357/.917 over the past two weeks.
AVOID
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats have a six-game week this week, kicking off with three games against the Mets, who own the seventh-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see David Peterson, Kodai Senga, and Sean Manaea.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Phillies, who own the best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker, and Aaron Nola.
On the whole, it’s a pretty tough week for your Nationals hitters given the matchups, so I’d be looking elsewhere if I could.
San Diego Padres hitters – While the Padres have a seven-game week this week, they’re slated for some fairly tough matchups. They start the week off with four games against the Giants, who own the second-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Robbie Ray, Kai-Wei Teng, Landen Roupp, and Justin Verlander. There are a couple of matchups there you could take advantage of in daily leagues, but generally facing the Giants has not been great for hitters (it’s also worth noting the weather isn’t supposed to be great for this series either).
After that, the Padres get three games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, which is a very tough slate of matchups, making this a tough week for your middle-of-the-road Padres hitters.
San Francisco Giants hitters – Speaking of the Giants, their hitters are slated for some pretty tough matchups this week as well.
They start the week off with the four-game series against the Padres I mentioned earlier, all of which will take place in pitcher-friendly Petco Park, against a Padres team that owns the third-best team FIP in baseball.
In that series, they’ll see Nestor Cortes, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez, and Dylan Cease. Vasquez doesn’t worry me all that much, but the others do for the most part.
After that, the Giants have three games against the Brewers where they’ll see Jose Quintana, Freddy Peralta, and Brandon Woodruff. Quintana doesn’t concern me, but Peralta and Woodruff sure do, making this a tough week on the whole for your Giants hitters.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have six games this week with some tough matchups. They start the week off in Fenway with a two-game series against the Orioles in what is slated to be the chilliest games of the week, which isn’t great for hitters. On top of that, they’ll see Trevor Rogers in one of those two games, who’s been absolutely lights out so far this year (the other game is against Tomoyuki Sugano, who’s fine but not someone I’m avoiding).
After that, the Red Sox get four games against the Yankees where they’ll see Luis Gil, Max Fried, Will Warren, and Carlos Rodón. Overall, it’s a handful of tough matchups and some chilly weather early on that makes me hesitant to start my Red Sox hitters this week.
