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 6 (5/10-5/16) 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, especially given how fluid things are this season. 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 – Oh baby, guess what week it is? That’s right, it’s seven games at Coors Field week for the Rockies, and you know what that means—get your Rockies in your lineups. Yes, they have three games against the Padres, but I don’t even care (they also get four games against the Reds). It’s really hard for me to pass up the production potential of seven games at Coors in a weekly league. Ramel Tapia has been hitting well over the past two weeks, slashing .326/.340/.391, so make sure he’s in your lineup, and C.J. Cron has been slashing .412/.512/.676 over the same period (though he’s suffering from some back tightness as of this writing, so keep an eye on that).
San Diego Padres hitters – If the Rockies get seven games at Coors, that means their opponents get some games at Coors too, and more often than not, that’s going to put them in the start column here. The Padres get their first three games of the week in Coors and end the week with three games against the Cardinals. Just about every Padres hitter is pretty much widely-owned, so make sure you get them in your starting lineups.
Cincinnati Reds hitters – As I said, the Reds get four games in Coors this week, which is great, and even better, they start the week with three games against the Pirates, so it’s a great week for your Reds hitters. Tyler Naquin has slowed down on the power front a bit but is still getting on base, slashing .280/.400/.320 over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, Jesse Winker is continuing to rake, slashing .324/.390/.622 over the past two weeks, so make sure he’s in your lineup as well.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees get six games this week, starting with a three-game series against the Rays where they’ll dodge seeing Tyler Glasnow, and they’ll close the week with three games against the Orioles (with one game against John Means, which might be worth dodging in daily leagues).
Andrew McCutchen – The Phillies have five games this week and amazingly, all but one of them will be against left-handed pitchers. On his career, McCutchen is a .310/.402/.547 hitter against lefties and also had a .283/.394/.550 line against them last year.
AVOID
Tampa Bay Rays hitters – The Rays have six games this week against both New York teams, starting with a three-game series against the Yankees, a team with the fifth-best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Gerrit Cole, and they close with three games against the Mets, who own the best team FIP in baseball, where they’ll see Jacob deGrom (injury pending). It’s likely to be a tough week for the Rays’ offense save for a couple of matchups you could take advantage of in daily leagues (like against Joey Lucchesi for example).
Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins also have six games this week, starting with three games against the White Sox, who own the third-best team FIP in baseball, and ending with three games against the A’s, who own the ninth-best team FIP in baseball. Outside of your Twins studs, I’d dodge them this week.
Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – The Dodgers only get five games this week, which is already a big downgrade to their hitters in weekly leagues. On top of that, three of those games are against the Marlins, a series in which they’ll see Sandy Alcantara (2.08 ERA over the past two weeks) and Pablo López (zero runs given up the past two weeks). Given that, I’d avoid my Dodgers in weekly leagues but use them in daily leagues during their two-game series against the Mariners.
Seattle Mariners hitters – Speaking of the Mariners! They get six games this week against some good pitching staffs, starting with the aforementioned two-game series against the Dodgers where they’ll see Walker Buehler and Julio Urías. Then they’ll close the week against Cleveland where they’ll get to see Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac.
Michael Conforto – The Mets only get five games this week, and three of those games will be against lefties, which is bad news for Conforto, who’s a career .229/.317/.402 hitters against left-handed pitchers. Given the already small number of games this week, and the fact that only two will be against righties, I’d pass on Conforto in weekly leagues.
Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)