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.
So here’s who you should start and avoid in Week 8 (6/6-6/12) 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
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta gets six games this week starting with two games against the A’s and ending with four games against the Pirates, the latter of whom owns the fourth-worst team FIP in all of baseball (Oakland has the 13th-worst). Dansby Swanson has been hitting well lately, slashing .415/.466/.528 over the past two weeks and definitely warrants a start this week.
Baltimore Orioles hitters – The Orioles have six games this week, starting with two against the Cubs, who own the ninth-worst team FIP in baseball, and closing with four games against the Royals, who own the second-worst team FIP in baseball. If you follow me on Twitter, you know how much I’ve been pumping Ramón Urías, and he’s been great lately, slashing .326/.367/.630 over the past two weeks. Trey Mancini has been hitting well lately too, slashing .326/.426/.522 over the past two weeks, and is also worth a look.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays get six games this week, starting with three against the Royals and their aforementioned bad pitching staff, and closing with three games against the Tigers where they’ll face Eduardo Rodrigues, Beau Brieske, and Rony Garcia. E-Rod can be a tough matchup, but other than that, I’m not worried about any of those games. If you’re in a deep league looking for a catcher to stream, Danny Jansen is sporting a .400 ISO over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Evan Longoria – The Giants get six games this week and half of them will come against lefties. Longoria has always been a good lefty hitter, slashing .281/.359/.512 against them on his career and had a .318/.451/.636 line against them last year.
AVOID
Colorado Rockies hitters – The Rockies are on the road all week, which is never fun for fantasy owners, and even worse, they’ll have three games against the Giants, who own the fourth-best team FIP in baseball, and four games against the Padres, who own the seventh-best team FIP in baseball. I know a seven-game week is always tempting, but the Rockies on the road against two good pitching staffs in two pitcher-friendly parks? I’ll pass.
New York Mets hitters – The Mets have six games this week, starting with three against the aforementioned Padres and closing with three against the Angels where they’ll face Michael Lorenzen—who’s given up three or fewer earned runs in all but two starts so far this year—Patrick Sandoval, and Noah Syndergaard. That’s a host of tough matchups, making it hard to start my Mets hitters this week.
Chicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs have just five games this week, which generally sucks, especially in weekly leagues. On top of that, three of those games will come against the Yankees, who own the best team FIP in baseball. Now, the other two games will be against the Orioles, so in daily leagues, go nuts. But in weekly leagues, I’m not starting my Cubs hitters for just two games of worthwhile production.
Joc Pederson – As I mentioned, half of the Giants’ six games this week will come against left-handed pitchers, and if there’s one thing that’s been consistent throughout Joc Pederson’s career, it’s that he can’t hit lefties to save his life. He’s a career .207/.282/.327 against lefties and only has a handful of at-bats against them so far this year, meaning he’s likely to sit for half the week.
Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Ethan Kaplan (@DJFreddie10 on Twitter and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)