If you’re unfamiliar with this article 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.
So here’s who you should start and avoid in Week 14 (7/5-7/11) 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
Chicago White Sox hitters – Surprisingly, this week is a pretty balanced week across the board, with a lot of teams having a series against a bad pitching staff followed by a series against a good one. Of all the teams, the White Sox probably have the most favorable week, with three games against the Twins, who own the worst team FIP in baseball, followed by three games against the Orioles, who own the third-worst team FIP in baseball, in homer-friendly Camden Yards. Gavin Sheets has come up from the minors hot, with a .375/.389/.875 line so far, and warrants a start. Andrew Vaughn has also been hot, slashing .333/.353/.600 over the past two weeks, and warrants a start.
Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers luck out with a nice schedule this week, starting with three games against the Rangers, who own the 11th-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with the Twins and their aforementioned bad pitching staff. Akil Baddoo has been hitting well, slashing .351/.442/.459 over the past two weeks and is surprisingly still pretty available.
Boston Red Sox hitters – The Red Sox start their week with three games against the Angels, who own the ninth-worst team FIP in baseball. While they are slated to face Shohei Ohtani, I’m not overly worried (especially since we’ve seen Ohtani can be pretty mortal on the mound lately). Then, they close the week with three games against the Phillies, one of which will be against Aaron Nola, which I’d dodge in daily leagues. But on the whole, in weekly leagues, I think there’s a decent bit of value to be snagged here.
Randal Grichuk – The Blue Jays have six games this week, four of which are slated to be against left-handed pitchers, which is good for Randal Grichuk, who’s slashing .303/.321/.553 against lefties so far this year.
AVOID
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins start their week off with four games against the Dodgers where they’re slated to face Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urías, and Clayton Kershaw. Then, they close the week with three games against Atlanta, one of which will be against Charlie Morton, who has looked really solid so far this year. The other two games, slated to be against Kyle Muller and Max Fried, are fine to start in daily leagues, but in weekly leagues, I’m only really seeing two games worth starting your Marlins in.
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – Not that you’re starting a ton of Pirates anyways, but the Pirates have a rough schedule this week, starting with a three-game series against Atlanta in which they’ll face Ian Anderson (the other two games against Fried and Drew Smyly are fine in daily leagues). Then, they close the week with four games against the Mets who own the best team FIP in baseball.
Washington Nationals hitters – The Nats have a seven-game week this week, all against tough pitching staffs in pitcher-friendly parks. They start with four games against the Padres in Petco Park and closing with three games against the Giants in Oracle Park, a series in which they’ll face both Anthony DeSclafani and Kevin Gausman.
Franmil Reyes – Cleveland is slated to face four left-handed pitchers this week, which doesn’t bode well for Franmil Reyes, as he’s slashing .222/.323/.463 against lefties so far this year.
Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)
But of a bold take on Franmil. He’s been a bit unlucky. Small sample size but he’s historically been solid against lefties.
Also, if we’re considering him a sit based on SSS, check out his numbers against lefties at home, where he’ll be half the week.
I think this all just shows the futility of SSS. Does your gut tell you to start a guy who’s historically hit lefties fine? Or does the SSS tell you not to? Which do you go with?
Sure, I think that’s fair. I think it’s also worth noting that his first three games of the week will be against a very good pitching staff in the Rays, which could also hurt his chances.
Some of the struggles against lefties so far may indeed be luck-related, but they’re happening for now, and until we see evidence that he’s regressing back to the norm for him, I’d personally avoid him if I have better alternatives (which, if you don’t, go ahead and start him)
He also just came of the IL so the SSS isn’t even very recent. I’m starting him where I own him this week based on his career vs lefties.
Well he had a nice Monday night and threw in a stolen base for us.
I just don’t know if there’s a time I can ever bench a guy who hits the ball like he does.