Championships are won by making the right little decisions through the season and micromanaging your lineup well can be the difference maker. Each week, I’ll be taking a look at five hitting matchups you should take advantage of this week, and five hitting matchups you should avoid this week. Here are the batters you should start and avoid for Week 7 (5/15 – 5/21) of the fantasy baseball season.
Note: 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
Justin Smoak - The Blue Jays play seven games this week, with four against the Atlanta Braves (two in Atlanta, so they'll lose their DH. Just a warning to Kendrys Morales owners) and three against the Baltimore Orioles. Smoak has been (wait for it.....) on fire lately, slashing .326/.370/.558 with nine runs, three home runs, and 11 RBI through his past 12 games. He's kind of changing things up, his plate discipline has gotten better. He's brought his strikeout rate down from 32.8% last year to 21.6%. His hard hit rate is up, his BABIP is right at where it should be, he looks somewhat legit, and he gets some good matchups this week. None of the Braves pitchers scare you, especially with the way Julio Teheran has been pitching lately, and the Orioles pitchers he's projected to face aren't particularly scary either. He's a good corner infield plug-in this week.
Week 7: Zobrist, bad back notwithstanding full week @ Wrigley, Villar on the road for 7 and Didi on the road. Need two, thanks. 6×6 OBP
Assuming health, I’d probably go Zobrist