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.
If you’d like to learn more about when it becomes less risky to stream hitters (and pitchers) and when certain team stats start to stabilize during the year, check out this article.
So let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 5 (4/29-5/5) 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
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins get a full seven-game week this week, starting off on Monday with a game against the Nationals, finishing out their series from over the weekend. In that game, they’ll see Jake Irvin who, while he’s had his moments, is not someone I’m afraid of for my hitters.
After that, they’ll host the Rockies for three games. While it’s a bummer they don’t get to play in Coors Field, they’re still hosting the Rockies who have the third-worst team FIP in all of baseball, so there’s still value to be had there.
Then, they close out the week with three games in Oakland against the A’s, where they’ll see JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, and Joe Boyle, none of whom worry me much at all.
While he started off the season relatively cold, Jesus Sanchez has been heating up a bit lately, slashing .278/.297/.444 over the past two weeks. Not so great in OBP leagues, but I think there’s some value to be had there in deeper leagues.
St. Louis Cardinals hitters – The Cards get six games this week, starting off with three against the Tigers where they’ll see Kenta Maeda, Jack Flaherty, and Reese Olson, none of whom worry me all that much. Olson has looked solid, but I’m not sitting my hitters against him.
Then, the Cardinals will host the White Sox for three games, a team that owns the worst team FIP in the entire league. They’ll see Erick Fedde in that series, who’s looked pretty good so far this year, but similar to Olson, he’s not someone I’m specifically avoiding just yet.
If you’re in deeper leagues, Alec Burleson is slashing .288/.375/.500 over the past two weeks and could be worth a look if you need an outfielder.
Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins also have six games this week, and one of the main reasons they’re on the start side of this list is the same as the Cardinals—they get to face the White Sox who, again, have the worst team FIP in all of baseball. In that series, they’ll see Garrett Crochet, Michael Soroka, and Chris Flexen, none of whom really concern me. Certainly, Crochet has had his moments, but he’s also been pretty roughed up lately, so I’m not sitting my guys against him.
After that series, the Twins will see the Red Sox for three games where they’ll face Josh Winckowski, Tanner Houck, and Cooper Criswell. Houck might be an avoid in daily leagues unless you don’t have a better option, because he’s looked quite good, but Winckowski and Criswell don’t worry me.
Trevor Larnach has been on fire lately, slashing .375/.429/.708 over the past two weeks and is right in the middle of the Twins’ lineup most days, so he’s definitely worth a start this week. Also, Byron Buxton has started heating up a bit lately, slashing .306/.324/.556 over the past two weeks, and is worth a look this week, as is Max Kepler, who’s sporting a .400/.438/.533 slashline over the past two weeks, and Willi Castro, who’s hitting .300/.356/.500 over the same time period.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you’re in need of a catcher this week and he’s available in your league (which he is in some leagues), Ryan Jeffers might not be a bad call. He’s slashing .316/.400/.500 over the past two weeks and could provide some value in your catcher spot this week.
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians have a six-game week this week and are slated to have some pretty favorable matchups. They start the week off with three games against the Astros, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball right now.
In that series, they’re likely to see Hunter Brown and Justin Verlander. Verlander is probably an avoid in daily leagues, but Brown certainly isn’t. But that game in between Brown and Verlander is a bit uncertain. It might be J.P. France if they call him back up, it might be Spencer Arrighetti, it’s hard to say as of this writing. Either way, whether it’s France or Arrighetti, I’m not concerned about either of them.
After the Astros series, the Guardians will get three games against the Angels, who currently own the fourth-worst team FIP in the league. They will see Reid Detmers in that series, who’s looked really good so far this year, and if you want to bench your Guardians in daily leagues in that game, that’s fine. Otherwise, I think you’re good to go.
If you need some help at outfield, Will Brennan has been hitting well lately, slashing .296/.345/.778 over the past two weeks, and is definitely worth a look, especially since he’s pretty widely available. Similarly, Tyler Freeman has been slashing .279/.385/.545 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, as is Estevan Florial, who’s hitting .333/.364/.571 during that same time period.
CATCHER TO STREAM: This is solely a matchups-based thing, as Bo Naylor has been rough to start the year, but if you really need a catcher, he could have some value, especially in OBP leagues since he’s sporting a 14.5% walk rate on the year so far.
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – The Pirate also have six games this week, and they’re slated to basically have the reverse week of the Marlins that I mentioned earlier.
They kick off the week with three games against the A’s where they’ll see Joe Boyle, Alex Wood, and Ross Stripling—none of whom concern me at all from a hitting perspective—and then they’ll close the week with three games against the Rockies who, as I mentioned earlier, have the third-worst team FIP in the league.
If you’re in deep leagues and need some help, Andrew McCutchen is sporting a .243 ISO over the past two weeks and could have some value (again, deep leagues here), especially if he isn’t utility-only in your league.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you’re in need of a catcher this week, Joey Bart has been hitting pretty darn well lately, slashing .267/.421/.667 over the past two weeks. A .421 OBP and a .400 ISO aren’t too shabby, especially if you’re in a deeper league where Bart is available.
AVOID
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta has a six-game week this week and is poised to have some tough matchups ahead. They start the week off with three games against the Mariners, a team that owns the seventh-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo, and Emerson Hancock. Hancock doesn’t worry me all that much, but Miller and Castillo are both worthy of concern.
After that, they’ll have three games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow, and James Paxton. Similar to the Mariners series, Stone doesn’t concern me all that much but Glasnow always does and Paxton has looked great so far.
Ultimately, I’m not seeing enough value to warrant starting my middle-of-the-road Atlanta hitters this week, given their matchups. There are a couple of matchups you can take advantage of in daily leagues, but in weekly, I’d avoid.
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels have six games this week, starting with three games against the Phillies, a team that owns the best team FIP in the league. In that series, they’ll see Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola, all three of which are avoids for me.
Then, they’ll have the three-game series against the Guardians that I mentioned earlier, where they’ll face Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, and Carlos Carrasco. I’m kinda iffy on the Bibee matchup, he can definitely be a tough one, and Lively has looked good in his two starts so far (though I wouldn’t say two good starts makes him an automatic avoid).
In weekly leagues, there’s just not enough value for me to warrant starting my Angels hitters this week.
Seattle Mariners hitters – The Mariners also have six games this week, starting off with three against Atlanta where they’ll see Max Fried, Reynaldo López, and Chris Sale, all of whom can definitely be tough matchups for their hitters.
Then, they’ll have three games against the Astros, where they’ll see Ronel Blanco, Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not worried about a matchup against Hunter Brown, but Valdez is certainly a concern and Blanco has looked great so far this year.
Again, there’s just not enough value here to warrant starting my Mariners in weekly leagues. In daily leagues, go ahead and start your Mariners against Brown, but otherwise, I’m sticking my Mariners on the bench.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees have seven games this week, which normally would put them at an advantage, but they’ve got some tough matchups ahead.
Now, I want to preface this by saying there are definitely some matchups to take advantage of in daily leagues, but this is another one of those situations where the overall value makes it tough for weekly leagues.
The Yankees start the week off with four games against the Orioles, a team with the ninth-best team FIP in the league right now. In that series, they’ll see Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Corbin Burnes, and Cole Irvin. I’m not worried about the Kremer or Irvin matchups (though we’ve certainly seen Dean Kremer be a problem in the past, even this season), but Rodriguez and Burnes definitely concern me.
Then, the Yankees will have three games against the Tigers, where they’ll see Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Kenta Maeda. I’m not worried about Maeda at all, but Mize and Skubal are both concerns.
Again, in daily leagues, go ahead and start your Yankees in some of these matchups, but overall, in weekly leagues, I’ll probably be looking elsewhere.