Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 10 (6/3 – 6/9)

Each week, we’ve been taking a look at five hitting matchups you should take advantage of and five hitting matchups you should avoid. Here are the batters you should start and avoid for Week 10 (6/3-6/9) 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 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

 

Oakland Athletics hitters – The A’s have a nice seven-game week ahead, thanks to a doubleheader on Saturday, and it’s a nice set of matchups they get. First, they get a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels in hitter-friendly Angel Stadium, then they’ll have a four-game series against the Texas Rangers in hitter-friendly Globe Life Park. So far on the year, the Angels have the seventh-worst team ERA in baseball, and the Rangers have the fifth-worst. The only pitcher the A’s will face that I’m remotely concerned about it Griffin Canning, who’s been looking good, posting a 1.00 ERA over the past two weeks.

Houston Astros hitters – The Astros get a really nice slate this week, starting with a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners who have the second-worst team ERA in all of baseball, followed by a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, who have the worst team ERA in baseball. I’m not sure they could have a more favorable schedule this week unless maybe they were in Coors all week. Start all your obvious Astros, but also take a look at Yuli Gurriel, who’s slashing .300/.314/.460 over the past month and is available in 40% of leagues.

Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers get to spend their whole week at home in hitter-friendly Miller Park, which is great news. Also great news, they’ll face the Miami Marlins for three games, who have the 13th-worst ERA in baseball, and the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Pirates, who own the ninth-worst ERA in baseball. Keston Hiura has been hitting exceptionally well, slashing .333/.364/.643 over the past two weeks, but it’s worth noting that Travis Shaw is due back from the IL on Tuesday, which could threaten Hiura’s playing time.

Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers get to spend all week at home in the aforementioned hitter-friendly Globe Life Park, and they get to face some favorable pitching staffs too. As I mentioned earlier, they end the week with a four-game series, including a doubleheader, against the A’s, and they start the week off with a three-game series against the Orioles. The A’s pitching staff has been reasonably effective this year, but the Rangers will see Chris Bassitt, who’s been having a rough go of it lately with an 8.31 ERA over the past two weeks. They will, however, see Frankie Montas, who’s been pretty solid this year, so in a daily league, I might avoid that. But considering they have all week at home and three games against the Orioles, the Rangers are worth using. Shin-Soo Choo is slashing .327/.364/.673 over the past two weeks and is available in 36% of leagues, be sure to start him this week.

Renato Nunez – Yessss it’s my boy Renato. I wrote about him earlier this week and how he’s been an awesome power hitter this year, and he’s definitely worth starting this week. The Orioles will see three left-handed pitchers this week, and on the year so far, Nunez is slashing .304/.360/.638 against lefties.

 

AVOID

 

San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres spend all week at home in pitcher-friendly Petco Park, which is almost never a good thing for their hitters. On top of that, they start the week with a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies where they’ll see Aaron Nola, who’s sporting a 2.96 ERA over the past month. Then, they’ll see the Washington Nationals where they’ll get to see Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg. That’s just bad news all around.

Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays get a six-game week at home this week, starting with a three-game series against the New York Yankees where they’ll get to see Masahiro Tanaka, who has a 2.30 ERA over the past month, and James Paxton. Then, they’ll get a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks where they’ll face Zack Grienke and Robbie Ray. In a daily league, I don’t mind starting your Blue Jays in their matchup against Merrill Kelly though.

Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies spend all week on the road, and that’s usually bad news for them all around. Even worse, they’ll be facing some tough matchups, starting with a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs, who have the sixth-best team ERA in baseball, including Kyle Hendricks who has a 1.81 ERA over the past month. Then, they’ll see the New York Mets and Jacob DeGrom. They’ll also see Steven Matz, who’s been looking good lately, with a 3.38 ERA over the past month, and Noah Syndergaard who, while he hasn’t been himself lately, always has the potential to turn in a good start.

San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants start their week off with a three-game series against the Mets where they’ll see the aforementioned Syndergaard, as well as Jason Vargas who’s been surprisingly good lately, giving up just two runs in his past 12 innings. Then, they’ll host the Los Angeles Dodgers in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park where they’ll see Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, and Walker Buehler, all three of whom represent tough matchups.

Tommy La Stella – Tommy La Stella has been impressive this year, but you might want to avoid him this week, at least in weekly leagues. The Angels will see four left-handed pitchers this week, and that’s not good news for La Stella, as he’s slashing .250/.348/.325 against lefties so far this year.

(Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire)