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.
So let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 23 (9/4-9/10) 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
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays have six games this week, starting with three against the A’s, who own the third-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three against the Royals, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in the league. That series against the Royals will include a game against Cole Ragans, who has looked pretty awesome lately, but I’m still fine starting my Blue Jays this week. If you want to ride a hot streak in deeper leagues, Davis Schneider has been starting a good bit lately with Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman out, and he’s been raking, slashing .476/.577/1.095 over the past two weeks. The hot streak will come to an end at some point, but you might as well ride it out until then.
Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles also have six games this week, starting with three against the Angels, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in the league, and closing with three against the Red Sox, who have the ninth-worst team FIP in baseball. Austin Hays has been hitting well lately, slashing .290/.405/.484 over the past two weeks and is worth a start this week, as is Anthony Santander, who’s hitting .378/.395/.865 over the past two weeks.
Detroit Tigers hitters – It’s another six-game week this week, this time from the Tigers, who start their week off with three games against the Yankees, who own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball and close with three games against the White Sox, who own the fifth-worst team FIP in the league. Kerry Carpenter has been hitting well lately, slashing .295/.354/.523 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week.
AVOID
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres have six games this week: three against the Phillies and three against the Astros, with some tough matchups in store. This week, they’re slated to face Taijuan Walker, Michael Lorenzen, Zack Wheeler, Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and JP Sears. There are really only a couple matchups there that I’m not all that worried about for your Padres hitters (Walker and Sears). The rest range from not great to very bad, and in a weekly league, I’m not seeing enough value to warrant starting my middle-of-the-road Padres hitters.
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats only have five games this week, which automatically puts them at a disadvantage. They’ll have two games against the Mets, and in daily leagues, go ahead and start your Nats hitters there. But after that, they’ve got three games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Emmet Sheehan, Bobby Miller, and Clayton Kershaw. Again, just not enough value to warrant a start in weekly leagues.
New York Mets hitters – It’s a similar story with the Mets as it is with the Nats this week. The Mets only have five games this week, with two against the Nats and three against the Twins. In daily leagues, go ahead and start your Mets in the Nats series, but the Twins own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, meaning there are really only two games I feel safe starting my Mets hitters in this week. In weekly leagues, that’s not enough value for me to justify it.