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 catchers 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 8 (5/19-5/25) 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 – I’m a bit conflicted on the Rockies this week. On the one hand, they get a full seven-game week in Coors Field, and whenever that happens during the year I’m going to recommend starting their hitters. Seven games in the best hitters’ park in baseball? How do you turn that down?
Problem is who they’re facing. Their first four games of the week will be against the Phillies where they’ll see Jesús Luzardo, whoever replaces Aaron Nola in the rotation (probably Taijuan Walker?), Ranger Suárez, and Zack Wheeler.
That’s kind of a mixed bag of starters. Wheeler is always an avoid for me, Luzardo generally has been too, but that’s probably it for the Phillies series of guys I’d be worried about.
After that, the Rockies will then have three games against the Yankees where they’ll see Max Fried, Ryan Yarbrough, and Will Warren. Of those, obviously Fried is the only one I’d be concerned about.
I’m still recommending you start your Rockies hitters, because seven games in Coors Field is not something you should turn down, but this isn’t necessarily the absolute ringing endorsement that it would otherwise be. In daily leagues, maybe pick and choose a bit, maybe bench your Rockies against Wheeler and Fried, but in weekly leagues, I think the production potential is worth it.
Ryan McMahon is worth a start this week, as he’s been hitting .351/.455/.730 over the past two weeks. And in deeper leagues, Nick Martini could have some value, as he’s been hitting .357/.400/.429 over the past two weeks.
CATCHER TO STREAM: He’s not nearly as widely available as he used to be, but Hunter Goodman is worth a start this week as he’s continued his hot hitting, slashing .356/.362/.556 over the past two weeks. And luckily, he’s outfield-eligible too.
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – While my recommendation for starting your Rockies hitters came with a slight bit of trepidation, I could not have a more ringing endorsement for starting your Phillies hitters this week because it’s about as favorable of a week for their hitters as it could be.
The Phillies have a full seven-game week this week starting off with the four games against the Rockies at Coors Field that I mentioned earlier. Not only will they be in the best hitters’ park in baseball, they’ll be up against a team that has the fifth-worst team FIP in all of baseball.
After that, the Phillies will have three games against the Athletics, who currently own the fourth-worst team FIP in the league. And on top of that, the weather is projecting to be pretty warm for those games against the A’s, which tends to help hitters. So we’re looking at seven games against bottom-five pitching staffs with four of those games in the best hitters’ park in the league. Yeah, get your Phillies out there.
Obviously you’re starting Kyle Schwarber all of the time now but I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate the fact that the guy has been hitting a ridiculous .311/.392/.644 over the past two weeks and now gets four games in Coors Field and three games against the A’s. Should be a great week for him.
Anyways, on to more helpful recommendations—Brandon Marsh is fairly widely available and is hitting a solid .316/.350/.421 over the past two weeks, so he could have some value in deeper leagues. And in case you gave up on him while he was struggling earlier, Alec Bohm has been red hot lately, hitting .412/.475/.647 over the past two weeks, so make sure he’s out there in your lineup too.
Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers also have a full seven-game week this week (lots of those this week) with some pretty favorable pitching matchups ahead.
They start the week off with three games against the Orioles who currently own the worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Cade Povich, none of whom concern me much. I know Sugano’s been solid but I’m not avoiding him.
After that, they’ll get four games against the Pirates where they’ll see Carmen Mlodzinski, Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Bailey Falter. Obviously you want to avoid the Skenes matchup in daily leagues if you can, but I’m not worried about the rest.
Rhys Hoskins is worth a start this week as he’s been slashing .333/.409/.538 over the past two weeks. Jake Bauers is also worth a look (and he’s likely available) as he’s been hitting .391/.417/.609 over the past two weeks.
Los Angeles Angels hitters – The Angels get seven games this week with some matchups that look pretty good for their hitters.
They start the week off with four games against the A’s who, as I mentioned earlier, have the fourth-worst team FIP in all of baseball. And like I mentioned earlier, the weather looks to be pretty good for the A’s homestand, which should be good for your Angels hitters.
After that, the Angels will have three games against the Marlins, who currently own the third-worst team FIP in the league. In that series, they’ll see Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, and Cal Quantrill, none of whom concern me (especially given how Alcantara’s been pitching lately).
Taylor Ward is worth a start this week as he’s sporting a .262/.319/.619 line (that’s a .357 ISO) over the past two weeks. And in deeper leagues, Matthew Lugo could have some value, as he’s been hitting .375/.412/.938 since joining the Angels earlier this month.
AVOID
Cleveland Guardians hitters – The Guardians have a seven-game week this week which would normally be good for their hitters, but they’re slated for some tough matchups and some tough weather.
They start the week off with three games against the Twins who currently own the third-best team FIP in baseball right now. On top of that, the weather is slated to be chilly and wet for that series with inbound winds, which makes an already tough matchup even tougher for your Guardians hitters.
After that, the Guardians will get four games against the Tigers where they’ll see Reese Olson, Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, and Tarik Skubal. There are a couple of matchups in there that aren’t too bad but on the whole, it’s a tough week for your Guardians hitters and I’d look elsewhere.
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats only get six games this week, starting off with three games against Atlanta where they’ll see Spencer Strider (I hope), AJ Smith-Shawver, and Chris Sale, which should be a tough slate.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Giants, who currently own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Landen Roupp, Justin Verlander, and Robbie Ray.
All in all, given how many teams have seven-game weeks and the matchups the Nats are slated for, I’d avoid them in weekly leagues.
Kansas City Royals hitters – The Royals also have six games this week and are slated for some fairly tough matchups that make me want to look elsewhere for my lineup.
They start the week off with three games against the Giants, who as I mentioned earlier, have the fifth-best team FIP in the league, in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park. There, they’ll see Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, and Logan Webb.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Twins, who currently have the third-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll face Pablo López, Zebby Matthews, and Bailey Ober. There are a couple matchups this week you could probably utilize your Royals hitters in daily leagues, but in weekly leagues, I don’t think it’s worth it.
