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.
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 6 (5/8-5/14) 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
Kansas City Royals hitters – The Royals have a full seven-game week this week starting with four games against the White Sox, who own the third-worst team FIP in all of baseball. They will have one game against Dylan Cease in that series, so that could be tricky, but generally, this is a series worth starting your Royals hitters in. After that, they’ll have three games against the Brewers who own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball. That series will include a game against Corbin Burnes, but on the whole, I think there’s plenty of value to be had in this series. Edward Olivares has been hitting well lately, slashing .308/.386/.564 over the past week, and is worth a look this week.
New York Mets hitters – The Mets have six games this week, starting with three against the Reds where they’ll see Graham Ashcraft, Luis Cessa, and Hunter Greene. Greene is probably the only one in that series that would concern me and we’ve certainly seen him give up plenty of runs before. Then, the Mets will have three games against the Nationals, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in all of baseball. Brett Baty has been destroying the ball lately, slashing .367/.441/.667 over the past two weeks, so make sure he’s in your lineups.
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – The Pirates have six games this week, starting with three against the Rockies (unfortunately not in Coors Field), a team that owns the fifth-worst team FIP in all of baseball. Then, they’ll close with three games against the Orioles where they’ll see Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and Kyle Gibson, none of whom are particularly scary from a hitting perspective. Rodolfo Castro has been hitting fairly well lately, slashing .281/.368/.438 over the past two weeks and is worth a look in deeper leagues.
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants have a full seven-game week this week, starting with three games against the Nationals and their aforementioned bad pitching staff. Then, they’ll have four games against the Diamondbacks, who have the eighth-worst team FIP in the league. If you haven’t hopped on the LaMonte Wade Jr. train yet, you might want to, as he’s been hitting .333/.476/.818 over the past two weeks and is definitely worth a look this week.
AVOID
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox only have five games this week, which is the main knock against them. On top of that, their first two games will be against Atlanta where they’ll see Charlie Morton and Max Fried, which could prove to be a tough matchup. Then, they’ll have three games against the Cardinals where they’ll see Adam Wainwright, Steven Matz, and Miles Mikolas. I’m not all that worried about that matchup, but in a weekly league, only having three games worth starting your hitters in is tough, so unless you don’t have a better option, I’d avoid my Red Sox hitters this week.
Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers have six games this week, starting with three against the Guardians where they’ll see both Tanner Bibee and Shane Bieber, who should prove to be tough matchups. Then, they’ll end the week with three games against the Mariners, who own the best team FIP in all of baseball, making it a tough week to start your Tigers.
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres have six games this week, starting with three against the Twins, who own the second-best team FIP in all of baseball, and closing with three against the Dodgers where they’ll see Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Julio Urías, so I’d avoid my Padres hitters this week.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays have just five games this week, starting with two against the Phillies where they’ll see Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, and closing with three games against Atlanta where they’ll see Spencer Strider, Bryce Elder, and Charlie Morton. With just a five-game week and a good handful of really tough matchups, I’d avoid your Blue Jays hitters this week.
Feature image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) / Photography by Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire