Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 10 (6/4 – 6/10)

Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire

Welcome! 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. Here are the batters you should start and avoid for Week 10 (6/4 – 6/10) of the fantasy baseball season.

Notes: All pitching matchups mentioned here are based on projections as of this writing. It is entirely possible that the actual matchups could change either because of injury, weather, or anything else. 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

Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins start off the week with a doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, giving them a seven-game week. Any time you’re facing the White Sox’s terrible rotation, that’s going to be a boon for your hitters. After the Twins play the White Sox, they’ll see the Los Angeles Angels and luckily miss Shohei Ohtani’s turn in the rotation. They will see Garrett Richards, which can be tricky, but overall, I’m 100% down to start my Twins hitters this week, especially since they’re spending the whole week at home in hitter-friendly Target Field.

Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies get to enjoy the confines of Coors Field in the latter half of this week during a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. While they will face Zack Greinke, he’s the only pitcher I’m scared of, especially in Coors, and even then, you have to start your Rockies in Coors no matter what. Starting off the week, the Rockies won’t be home, but they will be in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark to face off against the Cincinnati Reds. There, they’ll get to see Anthony DeSclafani, Sal Romano, and Tyler Mahle, so put your Reds hitters in your lineups this week. Gerardo Parra will especially benefit from this week, as the Rockies will see nothing but right-handed pitchers and Parra is slashing .288/.333/.398 against righties this year.

Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – As I always say, when the Rockies are in Coors, it’s always good to take a look at their opponent’s hitters too, Coors is for everyone. While they do get three games in Coors, the Diamondbacks start off the week in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park against the San Francisco Giants, however I’m still fine starting my D’Backs hitters as they’ll face Derek Holland and Chris Stratton. They will also face Madison Bumgarner in his return, but considering it’s his first start off the DL, I don’t anticipate it being a long one, so I’m not overly concerned. The D’Backs will also be seeing three lefties this week, which is good news for Nick Ahmed who’s slashing .276/.311/.586 against lefties this year and is available in 94% of leagues.

New York Yankees hitters – There’s really only one pitcher I’m worried about the Yankees facing this week—Jacob DeGrom. Other than that, it should be smooth sailing for your Yankees hitters this week. They’ll get to see the likes of Mike Fiers, Sam Gaviglio, and Jason Vargas, so feel free to toss out your Yankees with week, and not just your studs—hitters like Greg Bird, Miguel Andujar, and Aaron Hicks should all be in your lineups.

Max Stassi – Unless you own one of a small handful of catchers, you’re likely hurting at that position. If that’s the case, I recommend grabbing Max Stassi this week. The Houston Astros have lost Brian McCann to the DL, which opens up a path to playing time for Stassi. The Astros are also facing four left-handed pitchers this week, and Stassi is a career .333/.371/.545 hitter against lefties. He’s available in 88% of leagues, so if you need help at the catcher position, grab Stassi.

AVOID

Detroit Tigers hitters – At first glance, you might think the fact that the Tigers have an eight-game week thanks to a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on Monday might mean you should start your Tigers hitters. Unfortunately, the Tigers will be seeing a lot of really good pitchers this week, including Luis Severino, Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Corey Kluber. So yea, I’d avoid your Tigers hitters this week—however if you’re in a daily league, I don’t mind starting your Tigers hitters against Drew Pomeranz.

San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants start off their week at home against the Diamondbacks, as mentioned before, in hitter-friendly AT&T Park. In that series, they’ll see Zack Godley, Patrick Corbin, and Clay Buchholz—the last of whom has a 1.50 ERA through three starts this year. After that, they’ll head to Washington to face off against the Nationals where they’ll see Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, as well as Jeremy Hellickson, who’s got a 2.30 ERA on the year so far.

Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox get to have a seven-game week this week, but they’ve got some tough matchups ahead. They start off with the aforementioned doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, whom they’ll see for a total of four games. While in Minnesota, they’ll see Jose Berrios and Fernando Romero, the latter of whom is fresh off a pretty rough start against the Kansas City Royals, but has still been quite good this year. Then, they head to Fenway Park to face off against the Boston Red Sox where they’ll see Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello, all of which are going to be tough matchups. Outside of Jose Abreu, I’d probably avoid my White Sox hitters.

New York Mets hitters – The Mets have a pretty light week this week, with just five games and just two matchups that project to be hitter-friendly. They start off the week with a two-game series against the Baltimore Orioles where they’ll see Alex Cobb and Dylan Bundy. I’m fine starting my Mets against Cobb, but Bundy should prove to be tough. Then, they’ll see the New York Yankees who will toss out Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, and Domingo German on the mound. The matchup against German should be fine, so that mixed with Cobb should make for two hitter-friendly matchups, but the rest are matchups I’d stay away from.

Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers start off the week with a two-game series against the Oakland Athletics where they’ll see Sean Manaea and Daniel Mengden, the latter of whom has a 1.51 ERA over the past month. Then they’ll host the Houston Astros for a four-game series where they’ll get to see Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, and Dallas Keuchel. I’d pretty much advise sitting every Ranger except Adrian Beltre and potentially Joey Gallo if you need power.