Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 26 (9/25-10/1)

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 26 (9/25-10/1) 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.

Also worth noting: we’re coming up to the end of the season, meaning some of these pitching projections could be wrong as teams may change things around as they prepare for the playoffs, so just keep that in mind.

 

START

 

Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins have a great week for their hitters, starting with a three-game series against the A’s, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league. Then, they’ll close their week with three games against the Rockies in Coors Field. So that’s six games against two of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, and half of those games will be in Coors Field, so make sure your Twins hitters are in your lineup. If you’re in an OBP league, Edouard Julien could be a worthwhile play this week. While he’s been sporting a .222 average over the past two weeks, he’s also got a .417 OBP and a .278 ISO.

Colorado Rockies hitters – This isn’t as enthusiastic of an endorsement of Rockies hitters this week as it would normally be. The Rockies get six games in Coors Field, which is awesome. Unfortunately, those games will be against the Dodgers and the Twins. While the Dodgers have more of a middle-of-the-road pitching staff, the Twins own the fourth-best team FIP in the league. But, it’s six games at Coors, three of which are against a middling pitching staff, so it’s hard for me not to recommend your Rockies hitters. Nolan Jones is definitely worth a start this week, as he’s slashing .310/.453/.524 over the past two weeks.

Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles have six games this week, starting with two against the Nationals, who own the second-worst team FIP in baseball, and they’ll close with four games against the Red Sox, who own the ninth-worst team FIP in the league. Ryan O’Hearn is hitting well, slashing .333/.360/.542 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, especially since the Orioles are only slated to face one lefty all week.

Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies have six games this week, starting with three against the Pirates, who have the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games against the Mets, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in the league. Nick Castellanos is definitely worth a start this week, as he’s been hitting .306/.340/.714 over the past two weeks.

 

AVOID

 

Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays only have five games this week, which immediately puts them at a disadvantage. On top of that, three of those five games will be against the Blue Jays, who own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball. The other two games are against the Red Sox, who don’t worry me, so in daily leagues, feel free to start your Rays hitters there. But for weekly leagues, I don’t see enough value to warrant starting my Rays this week.

Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats also only have five games this week, and on top of that, they’re slated to have some difficult matchups. Their first two games of the week are against the Orioles, who own the seventh-best team FIP in baseball, and they’ll close with three games against Atlanta, who owns the eighth-best team FIP in the league. Here’s who the Nats are slated to face this week: Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Wright, Spencer Strider, and Bryce Elder. Not a great week for your Nats hitters.

Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have six games this week, with two against the Rays, who own the best team FIP in the league, and four against the Orioles, who as I mentioned, have the seventh-best team FIP in baseball. All of that makes it a tough week to justify starting my mid-tier Red Sox hitters.

Cleveland Guardians hitters – Like a couple of the other teams on this list, the Guardians have just five games this week. Two of those games will be against the Reds where they’ll see Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, and the other three will be against the Tigers where they’ll see Joey Wentz, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Reese Olson. All in all, that’s like two games I feel comfortable starting my Guardians hitters in, making it tough to start them in weekly leagues.