Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 6 (5/5-5/11)

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.

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!).

So let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 6 (5/5-5/11) 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 six-game homestand for the Rockies this week, and you know what that means—get those Rockies hitters in your lineups, cause six games in Coors Field is hard to resist.

They start the week off with three games against the Tigers, where they’ll see Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, and Tarik Skubal, and they finish with three games against the Padres, where they’ll see Randy Vasquez, Nick Pivetta, and Michael King. Obviously, Skubal is a concern, but given you’ve got six games all in Coors Field, I think it’s worth it (and honestly, in total, the pitching matchups aren’t too bad).

One thing worth noting, though, is that the first game of the series on Tuesday is projected to be cold and windy with a chance of rain, so keep an eye on that in daily leagues. The rest of the week should be good, though.

Jordan Beck is worth a look this week, as he’s been hitting .325/.378/.775 over the past two weeks. And in deeper leagues, Adael Amador is sporting a .250 ISO over the past two weeks and could have some value.

CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at the catcher position and he’s out there, Hunter Goodman has been hitting .313/.377/.479 over the past two weeks and could have some value.

 

Kansas City Royals hitters – The Royals have a full seven-game week this week, starting off with four games against the White Sox, the team with the fourth-worst FIP in all of baseball. They’ll see Shane Smith, Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon, and Davis Martin in that series, none of whom concern me at all.

Then, they’ll get a three-game series against the Red Sox where they’ll see Brayan Bello, Garrett Crochet, and Lucas Giolito. Obviously, Crochet is someone to avoid in daily leagues, but outside of him, I’m not worried about Bellow or Giolito, so I think there’s plenty of value to be had this week.

Make sure you’ve got Maikel Garcia in your lineups this week as he’s been hot lately, hitting .333/.378/.452 with five steals over the past two weeks. Drew Waters could also have some value, as he’s been hitting .350/.381/.575 over the past two weeks.

CATCHER TO STREAM: Another potential streaming option at the catcher position if you need some help: Freddy Fermin is slashing .360/.385/.400 over the past two weeks, and given the matchups, could have some value.

 

Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Dodgers, where they’ll see Ben Casparius, Tony Gonsolin, and potentially Landon Knack (maybe Bobby Miller), none of whom worry me much at all.

After that, they’ll get three games against the White Sox, who, as I mentioned earlier, have the fourth-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Bryse Wilson, Shane Smith, and Sean Burke, who, again, don’t concern me at all.

Kyle Stowers is worth a look this week, as he’s been slashing .394/.417/.697 over the past two weeks.

CATCHER TO STREAM: It’s going to depend on your league whether he’s available, but if you haven’t hopped on the Agustín Ramírez train just yet, this week would be a great time to do so. He’s been hitting .286/.324/.686 over the past two weeks and should have some value this week.

 

Atlanta hitters – Atlanta gets a full seven-game week this week with some pretty favorable matchups ahead. They start the week off with four games against the Reds, who currently own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Brady Singer, Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo. Certainly, there are a couple of guys in there that could turn in some good performances and make life tough for your Atlanta hitters, but on the whole, I’m not overly concerned.

Then, Atlanta will get three games against the Pirates, where they’ll see Bailey Falter, Andrew Heaney, and Carmen Mlodzinski, none of whom worry me at all.

Alex Verdugo could have a bit of value. He hasn’t had much power, but he’s hitting .289/.357/.368 over the past two weeks. Eli White could also have some value this week, as he’s been slashing .323/.344/.710 over the past two weeks.

 

AVOID

 

Cincinnati Reds hitters – While the Reds have a seven-game week this week, they’re slated for some tough pitching matchups. They start the week off with the four-game series against Atlanta that I mentioned earlier, where they’ll see AJ Smith-Shawver, Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, and Spencer Schwellenbach.

After that, they’ll get three games against the Astros where they’ll see Hunter Brown, Lance McCullers Jr., and Ronel Blanco. There are a couple of matchups in there that you could take advantage of in daily leagues, but on the whole, it’s not worth it to me for weekly leagues.

 

Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Rangers, who currently own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, and Jack Leiter.

After that, they’ll have three games against the Royals, who own the ninth-best team FIP in the league, and face off against Michael Lorenzen, Cole Ragans, and Seth Lugo. Again, there are a couple of matchups you could take advantage of in daily leagues, but generally, there are more tough matchups than easy ones, so I’d avoid my Red Sox hitters this week.

 

Tampa Bay Rays hitters – Tampa gets six games this week, starting off with three games against the Phillies, who currently own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo.

Then, they’ll close out the week with three games against the Brewers, where they’ll see Jose Quintana, Freddy Peralta, and Tobias Myers. I’m not too worried about a couple of these matchups, so you can pick and choose in daily leagues, but on the whole, it’s a generally tough week for your Rays hitters, so I’d avoid them in weekly leagues.