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 24 (9/15-9/21) 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 – It’s a good week for your Rockies hitters this week because they’ll get a six-game homestand in Coors Field, the best hitters’ park in baseball.
Even better, they’ve got some good matchups ahead too. They start the week off with three games against the Marlins, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Eury Perez, Ryan Weathers, and Sandy Alcantara, none of whom concern me enough to bench my Rockies hitters in Coors.
After that, the Rockies get three games against the Angels, who own the second-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Mitch Farris, Caden Dana, and Kyle Hendricks, making it a great week of matchups for your Rockies hitters.
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta has a full, seven-game week this week thanks to a doubleheader on Tuesday, which means there should be some value to squeeze from their hitters this week.
They start the week off with four games against the Nationals (including that doubleheader). The Nats own the third-worst team FIP in baseball and in that series, Atlanta will see Mitchell Parker, Jake Irvin, MacKenzie Gore, and Brad Lord, none of whom worry me.
Then, Atlanta will get three games against the Tigers where they’ll see Charlie Morton, Casey Mize, and whoever Detroit elects to use as their fifth starter this week. Morton doesn’t worry me at all and while Mize certainly can be a problem, he can also be a bit hit or miss, so I’m not actively avoiding him.
Ozzie Albies owns a .279/.311/.558 line over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a start this week.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox get six games this week, kicking things off with three games against the Athletics, who currently own the fourth-worst team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Jeffrey Springs, Mason Barnett, and J.T. Ginn, none of whom worry me.
After that, the Sox will get three games against the Rays in Tampa where it’s supposed to be pretty warm and humid, which is good hitting weather. Even better, the Rays own the 12th-worst team FIP in the league. In that series, the Red Sox will see Adrian Houser, Ryan Pepiot, and Ian Seymour, none of whom concern me all that much (Pepiot does a little but I think you’re still good to go).
Trevor Story owns a .302/.348/.535 line over the past two weeks so make sure you’ve got him in your lineups. And in deeper leagues, Romy González owns a .438/.424/.563 line over the same timespan and could have some value this week.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at the catcher position this week, Carlos Narváez owns a .321/.387/.571 line over the past two weeks and could be helpful if he’s out there.
AVOID
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – The Dodgers have seven games this week, which would normally be exciting, but they’re slated to matchup against two of the best pitching staffs in the league.
They start the week off with three games against the Phillies, the team with the best FIP in all of baseball, where they’ll see Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo.
Then, they Dodgers get four games against the Giants, who own the second-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Carson Seymour, and probably Kai-Wei Teng (unsure who they’ll use as their fifth starter).
In daily leagues, you could probably squeeze a little value out of the matchups against Seymour and (potentially) Teng, but in weekly leagues, I’m avoiding my Dodgers hitters (aside from the obvious ones like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, etc.) this week.
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – This entry is going to be pretty short and pretty simple.
If I’m telling you to avoid your Dodgers hitters because they’ve got games against the Phillies and Giants—the two best pitching staffs in the league by team FIP—then you also need to avoid your Diamondbacks hitters, because they’ve basically got the reverse of the Dodgers’ schedule this week but with six games instead of seven.
The D’Backs start the week off with three games against the Giants and close the week with three games against the Phillies. So for the same reasons I said avoid your mid-tier Dodgers hitters, do the same with your D’Backs hitters.
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Rangers, who own the fourth-best team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Jack Leiter, Merrill Kelly, and Tyler Mahle. Leiter is a bit hit or miss, so I’m not overly worried about him, but Kelly has looked great and Mahle looked great pre-injury. This will be his first start back, so we’ll see how he looks.
After that series, the Astros get three games against the Mariners where they’ll see Bryan Woo, George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert, which is a pretty tough stretch of three games right there.
Overall, I’m not seeing a ton of value to be had in weekly leagues from my Astros hitters given the matchups.
