What’s up, everyone!
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.
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 I want to give a quick shoutout to Scott Chu for once again covering this article for the past two weeks while I was on vacation!
Anyways, here’s who you should start and avoid in Week 19 (8/29-9/4) 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
St. Louis Cardinals hitters – The Cardinals have a six-game week this week and are slated to have some pretty favorable pitching matchups. They start the week off with three games against the Reds, who own the second-worst team FIP in baseball, and they close the week with three games against the Cubs, who own the sixth-worst team FIP in baseball. Albert Pujols has absolutely been raking lately, slashing .455/.500/1.061 over the past two weeks and is worth a start while he’s hot. Lars Nootbaar has also been hitting well, slashing .302/.464/.628 over the past two weeks and is worth a look.
Oakland Athletics hitters – The A’s also have a six-game week this week, all in the DMV area, starting with three games against the Nationals, who own the worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with three games against the Orioles, who own the 12th-worst team FIP in baseball. If you’re looking for a catcher to stream, Shea Langeliers has been hitting well, slashing .289/.300/.605 over the past two weeks.
Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox will have six games this week (seems like just about everyone does), starting with three games against the Royals, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league, and ending with three games against the Twins, who own the 10th-worst team FIP in baseball. Over the past two weeks, Eloy Jiménez has been hitting .364/.533/.545 and definitely warrants a start this week.
Milwaukee Brewers hitters – The Brewers have themselves a full week this week with seven games, and it’ll be seven great games for their hitters. They start the week off with three games against the Pirates, who own the seventh-worst team FIP in baseball, and they close with four games against the Diamondbacks, who own the eighth-worst team FIP in baseball. There’s some decent power to be mined in the Brewers’ lineup, as Rowdy Tellez is sporting a .334 ISO and Willy Adames is sporting a .261 ISO over the past two weeks.
Gleyber Torres – The Yankees get to face four lefties in six games this week, which is great news for Gleyber Torres, as he’s a career .274/.343/.516 hitter against lefties.
AVOID
Los Angeles Angels hitters – It’s a week to avoid most of your West Coast teams, including the Angels, who have six games this week, starting with three against the Yankees, who own the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, and closing with three against the Astros, who own the third-best team FIP in baseball.
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres also have six games this week (see? Everyone’s got a six-game week). They’ll start off with three games against the Giants, who own the fourth-best team FIP in the league, and they’ll close with three games against the Dodgers, who own the best team FIP in baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – Speaking of the Dodgers, guess what? The Padres’ pitching staff is no picnic either, as they own the ninth-best team FIP in baseball. The Dodgers also get one game against the Marlins on Monday against Pablo López, which isn’t great, and they’ll have three games against the Mets, who own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball (and they’ll face Jacob deGrom in that series too).
Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have just five games this week, starting with two against the Marlins, a team that has the 11th-best team FIP in baseball, and they close with three games against the aforementioned Yankees and their great pitching staff. Between the five-game week and the bad matchups, it’s a week to bench your Rays.
Andrew Benintendi – As I mentioned, the Yankees will be seeing four lefties this week in their six-game week, which could mean a rough week for Andrew Benintendi, who’s a career .260/.335/.376 hitter against lefties.
Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire | Featured Image by Ethan Kaplan (@Ethan Kaplan on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)