Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 7 (5/13-5/19)

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 7 (5/13-5/19) 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

 

Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have a full seven-game week this week, starting with four games against the A’s where they’ll see Ross Stripling, JP Sears, Osvaldo Bido, and Paul Blackburn, none of whom I’m concerned about from a hitting perspective.

Then, they’ll have three games against the Royals where they’ll see Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Brady Singer. Ragans is definitely an avoid in daily leagues, and Lugo has looked pretty good, but I think overall in a seven-game week, there’s enough value here to warrant starting your Astros in weekly leagues.

If you need some power and can stomach a low average, Jon Singleton is sporting a .353 ISO over the past two weeks and could provide some value.

 

Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox also have a seven-game week this week, with some pretty good matchups for their hitters.

They start the week off with four games against the Rays, a team with the eighth-worst team FIP in the league. In that series, they’ll see Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell, and of those, which are all matchups that range from good to fine, nothing overly scary.

Then, they’ll have three games against the Cardinals where they’ll see Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, and Matthew Liberatore, none of whom worry me in the least.

Make sure you’ve got Jarren Duran in your lineups this week, as he’s sporting a .302/.375/.558 line over the past two weeks and should have a good week this week too.

CATCHER TO STREAM: If you’re in need of some help at the catcher position this week, Connor Wong is slashing .435/.458/.565 over the past two weeks and could provide some value. His playing time isn’t the most consistent thing in the world as he does get benched sometimes for Reese McGuire, but if you need some help, he could still be worth a pickup given the schedule ahead.

 

Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Guardians where they’ll see Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, and Carlos Carrasco. Bibee could be a difficult matchup, but I’m not worried at all about Lively and Carrasco.

After that, they’ll get three games against the Angels, a team that currently owns the seventh-worst team FIP in all of baseball right now. They’ll see Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, and José Soriano in that series, and that doesn’t concern me much at all.

Josh H. Smith is still somewhat available in leagues and has been hitting well lately, slashing .273/.415/.485 over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week.

CATCHER TO STREAM: He may not necessarily be a “stream” this week in the sense that he’s widely available, but at the catcher position, make sure Jonah Heim is in your lineup given the matchups this week. He’s hitting .385/.444/.462 over the past two weeks and should continue to hit well.

 

Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers have six games this week, starting with three games against the Marlins, who currently own the fourth-worst team FIP in the league right now. In that series, they’ll see Sixto Sánchez, Ryan Weathers, and Trevor Rogers, none of whom worry me.

Then, they’ll get three games against the Diamondbacks where they’ll see Ryne Nelson, Zac Gallen, and Jordan Montgomery. Gallen is definitely an avoid in daily leagues, but otherwise, I think you’re good to go with your Tigers hitters this week.

Wenceel Pérez has been hitting well lately, slashing .308/.386/.564 over the past two weeks, and is definitely worth a grab if he’s out there. Similarly, Kerry Carpenter has been hitting .280/.387/.640 over the past two weeks and is also worth a start this week.

CATCHER TO STREAM: Jake Rogers has been quietly hitting really well lately, slashing .345/.387/.552 over the past two weeks, and is worth a grab if you need a catcher this week.

 

AVOID

 

Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies have their entire six-game week on the road this week, which already puts them at a bit of a disadvantage. On top of that, they’ll have three games against the Padres where they’ll face Dylan Cease and Michael King, and then three games against the Giants in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park where they’ll see Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks.

On the road in some pitcher-friendly parks with some difficult matchups ahead makes it a tough week to justify starting my Rockies.

 

Chicago Cubs hitters – Normally I’d be excited by the fact the Cubs have a seven-game week this week, but they’re slated for some pretty tough matchups.

They start the week with three games against Atlanta where they’ll see Reynaldo López, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton. Then, they close the week with four games against the Pirates where they’ll see Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter, and Mitch Keller.

Lopez and Sale are certainly potentially tough matchups, Jones has looked awesome and is likely going to be a headache, Skenes looked great in his debut and could also be a problem, and Keller has the potential to be difficult as well.

In daily leagues, you could put your Cubs in against Morton and Falter, but in weekly leagues, I’m just not feeling great about the Cubs’ potential given their matchups.

 

Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats have six games this week, starting with three games against the White Sox. Normally, a matchup against the White Sox would be pretty good, but in that series, they’ll see both Erick Fedde, who’s been pretty darn solid, and Garrett Crochet, who’s looked pretty good lately too.

Then, they’ll have three games against the Phillies where they’ll see Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Aaron Nola, all of whom should be pretty tough matchups for your Nats hitters.

All in all, I’m not seeing enough value to warrant starting my Nats this week.

 

Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have seven games this week and are slated for some pretty tough matchups.

They’ll start the week off with four games against the Red Sox, a team that currently owns the third-best team FIP in all of baseball right now. In that series, they’ll see Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, and Cooper Criswell. I’m not all that worried about Pivetta, but Crawford, Houck, and Criswell have all looked great this year and could prove difficult for your Rays hitters.

After that series, the Rays will get three games against the Blue Jays where they’ll see Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, and José Berríos. I’m not worried about Manoah or Berrios, but certainly, Gausman is always a tough matchup.

Overall, in a seven-game week, there are maybe two games where I feel comfortable starting my Rays hitters. In daily leagues, go ahead and take advantage of those games, but in a weekly league, I’m not seeing enough value.

 

Feature image by Michael Packard (@artbymikep on Twitter) / Photo by Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire