Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 8 (5/24-5-30)

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 8 (5/24-5/30) 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

 

Cleveland hitters – Cleveland has themselves a seven-game week this week that should be ripe for streaming hitters. They start the week off with a four-game series against the Tigers, who own the fourth-worst FIP in baseball, and they close with three games against the Blue Jays, who own the 11th-worst FIP in baseball. In short, two very beatable pitching staffs. César Hernández has been hitting pretty well over the past two weeks, slashing .279/.311/.465 and should be pretty available, if you’re looking for someone to grab.

Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers have six games this week, starting with two games against the Angels. One of those games will be against Shohei Ohtani, so that one could be a bit tricky, but the other one is against Alex Cobb, so I think it evens out. Then, they close the week with four games against the Mariners who own the 10th-worst FIP in baseball. Adolis Garcia has remained hot, slashing .318/.348/.614 over the past two weeks, so make sure he’s 1. owned in your league and 2. in your lineup.

Chicago White Sox hitters – The White Sox have a seven-game week this week, which is always great, and even better, four of those games (at the end of the week) will be against the Orioles, whose pitching staff is the fifth-worst by FIP in MLB. One of those games will be against John Means, so maybe dodge that in daily leagues, but otherwise, go nuts. Before they see the Orioles, the White Sox will face off against the Cardinals, and while one of those games will be against Jack Flaherty, which I might avoid, I’m good with the other two (I just don’t believe that John Gant is going to keep his thing going much longer).

New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees basically have the reverse of Cleveland’s schedule this week (though only six games instead of seven), making them a team to start this week too. They start with three games against the Blue Jays and end with three games against the Tigers, both of which (as I mentioned) have very beatable pitching staffs. Pretty much everyone worth starting on the Yankees is owned, so make sure you’ve got your Yankees in your lineup this week.

Carlos Santana – The Royals have six games this week, three of which will be against left-handed pitchers. On his career, Santana owns a .278/.381/.453 line against lefties, including a .350/.438/.500 line against them so far this year.

 

AVOID

 

Detroit Tigers hitters – Lots of talk about the Tigers in this article! As you can probably put together, they’re playing against Cleveland and the Yankees this week, which is bad news for the Tigers’ hitters because both of those teams have pretty strong pitching staffs. Against Cleveland, for example, Detroit will see Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, and Shane Bieber, all of whom are tough matchups. And the Yankees own the second-best team FIP in the league, so yea, I’d avoid my Tigers this week.

Houston Astros hitters – The Astros only have five games this week and here’s who they’re slated to face: Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove. Yea, I’ll pass on that one.

Atlanta hitters – Atlanta also has just five games this week, all of which will likely be tough matchups. They’ll start with two games against the Red Sox, who own the fourth-best team FIP in baseball, and they close with a three-game series against the Mets, who own the best team FIP in baseball. There’s just no value to be had this week in Atlanta hitters, aside from your obvious studs.

San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants have six games this week and honestly only two that are worth taking advantage of. They start the week with two games against the Diamondbacks, and in daily leagues, go ahead and start your Giants. I’m not too concerned about Brad Peacock or Merill Kelly. But then, the Giants get four games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, and Clayton Kershaw.

Andrew Benintendi – As I mentioned, the Royals have six games this week, three of which will be against left-handed pitchers, which isn’t great for Benintendi, who owns a .240/.322/.353 career line against lefties.

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)