Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 9 (5/28 – 6/3)

Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire

Welcome! Each week, I’ll be taking a look at five hitting matchups you should take advantage of this week, and five hitting matchups you should avoid. Here are the batters you should start and avoid for Week 9 (5/28 – 6/3) of the fantasy baseball season.

Notes: All pitching matchups mentioned here are based on projections as of this writing. It is entirely possible that the actual matchups could change either because of injury, weather, or anything else. 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 – This is like the best possible week for Colorado Rockies hitters, because they spend all week at home in Coors Field. What’s better, they start off the week with a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants‘ middling rotation. They then see the Los Angeles Dodgers, and while they’ll face off against Walker Buehler and Kenta Maeda, the fact that they’re in Coors means you should still start their hitters.

San Francisco Giants hitters – Speaking of Coors, the Giants get to start the week off in Coors as well, which means their hitters are worth starting. After their trip to Coors, they’ll face off against the Philadelphia Phillies and fortunately miss Aaron Nola’s turn in the rotation (though they will see Nick Pivetta).

Cleveland Indians hitters – The Indians have a nice schedule this week, starting off against the Chicago White Sox and especially the struggling Lucas Giolito. Then, they’ll get to see the Minnesota Twins, and while they will face off against Jose Berrios, they’ll also get to see Lance Lynn, who hasn’t exactly been great.

James McCann – Catcher sucks this year, I know, but it’s gonna be a good week for James McCann. The Detroit Tigers will see four left-handed pitchers this week, and McCann is slashing .314/.400/.543 against lefties this year. He’s available in 74% of leagues, so he’s worth a grab.

Mitch Moreland – Moreland’s now the likely full-time first baseman for the Boston Red Sox with Hanley Ramirez getting DFA’d, and what a great week for him to get at-bats. The Red Sox will face seven right-handed pitchers this week, and Moreland is slashing .341/.415/.707 against righties this season. He’s available in 72% of leagues and is worth a pickup this week.

AVOID

Atlanta Braves hitters – The Braves have a tough slate of matchups this week, starting off with a four-game series against the New York Mets (including a double-header), and they’ll get to see Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Then, they’ll face off against the Washington Nationals where they’ll get to see Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jeremy Hellickson, the last of whom has a 1.29 ERA over the past month.

Baltimore Orioles hitters – Similar to the Braves, the Orioles start their week against the Nationals where they’ll see Gio Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson, and Max Scherzer—all difficult matchups for Orioles hitters. Then, they’ll see the New York Yankees, and while they’ll be fortunate enough to miss Luis Severino’s turn in the rotation, they will see Masahiro Tanaka. I don’t mind starting your Orioles hitters against Domingo German, and C.C. Sabathia, but otherwise I’d probably stay away.

Houston Astros hitters – The Astros have six games this week—three against the New York Yankees and three against the Boston Red Sox. During those six games, they’ll get to see Luis Severino, Chris Sale, and David Price, which is a tough slate of matchups. You should still be starting your studs, like George Springer and Jose Altuve, but I’d think twice about starting guys like Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel.

New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees will see the Astros to start off the week, and with that, they’ll face Justin Verlander, Charlie Morton, and Dallas Keuchel, none of which are matchups I’m overly excited about for my Yankees hitters. Then they head to Baltimore where there are two matchups to take advantage of and two to be wary of. They’ll see Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb—go ahead and start your Yankees against them. But they’ll also see Kevin Gausman—who has a 2.63 ERA in the month of May—and Dylan Bundy—who’s fresh off a complete game, 14 strikeout shutout. If you’re in a weekly league, I’m not sure the two good matchups is worth starting my Yankees (though obviously start your studs).

Boston Red Sox hitters in Houston – The Red Sox start their week off at home against the Toronto Blue Jays—feel free to start your Red Sox for that series. But after that, they head to Houston where they’ll get to see Lance McCullers, Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, and Charlie Morton. That’s a real big no thank you there.