What’s up, everyone!
If you’re unfamiliar with this 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. I’ll also be focusing on catchers you can stream each week, since we all know that catchers can be an especially tricky position in fantasy.
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 wanted to note that PL Pro member LarryV, who is a former meteorologist at the National Weather Service, has been kind enough to lend his expertise to provide insights on which teams are likely to have the best/worst weather this week, so I’ll be including that where it’s relevant (and thanks Larry!).
Now, let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 14 (6/30-7/6) 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
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants get a full seven-game week this week, all on the road away from their pitcher-friendly ballpark and against some pretty weak pitching staffs in some decent weather, which all adds up to good news for your Giants hitters.
They start the week off with four games against the Diamondbacks, who currently own the seventh-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Ryne Nelson, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt. Kelly can be a tough matchup sometimes, but I’m not worried about any of the others.
After that, the Giants get three games against the Athletics, who currently have the worst team FIP in all of baseball, where they’ll see JP Sears, Luis Severino, and Jacob Lopez, none of whom concern me.
Casey Schmitt could have some value, as he’s been slashing .379/.438/.517 over the past two weeks and should be pretty widely available in most leagues (though keep an eye on his status as he’s dealing with a wrist injury after getting hit by a pitch, so just monitor that). And in deep leagues, Christian Koss is slashing .318/.304/.500 (one of those rare times a guy’s OBP is lower than his average) over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Houston Astros hitters – The Astros get six games this week, starting off with three games in Coors Field against the Rockies, which is always a plus for your hitters, especially since the Rockies have the second-worst team FIP in baseball right now.
After that, the Astros will get three games against the Dodgers, who currently have the ninth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto can be a problem, so I’d probably avoid him in daily leagues, but aside from that, I’m not worried.
Make sure you’ve got Cam Smith in your lineups this week as he’s been hot lately, slashing .386/.471/.659 over the past two weeks. And while he hasn’t had much in the way of power lately, Jake Meyers is hitting .356/.388/.378 with two steals over the past two weeks and could have some value in deeper leagues.
CATCHER TO STREAM: Victor Caratini has been hitting .250/.235/.531 over the past two weeks and could have some value in a deeper league where you need help at the catcher position. That’s a pretty rough OBP, so maybe not in OBP leagues, but you can stomach that kind of average if it comes with a .281 ISO.
Atlanta hitters – Atlanta gets six games this week, all slated to be in pretty good weather, starting off with three games against the Angels, who currently own the third-worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Tyler Anderson, Yusei Kikuchi, and José Soriano, none of whom concern me much.
After that, Atlanta gets three games against the Orioles, who currently hold the fifth-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, and Trevor Rogers. Certainly, Eflin and Kremer have the ability to turn in pretty good performances, but they also tend to explode at random times too, so I’m not avoiding them.
CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at the catcher position, Drake Baldwin is sporting a solid .250/.438/.500 line over the past two weeks and could have some value.
Colorado Rockies hitters – It’s gonna be one of those weeks for your Rockies hitters—a full week at home at Coors Field.
It’s six games this week, all in the best hitters’ park in baseball, which is already good news. Even better, the Rockies are slated for some solid matchups.
They start the week off with some tough matchups, though. They get the three-game series against the Astros that I mentioned earlier, a team that currently has the second-best team FIP in the league. However, they’re slated to face Colton Gordon, Hunter Brown, and Brandon Walter. Brown has obviously been phenomenal so far this year, so I can understand some hesitation even starting against him in Coors, but I’m not worried about Gordon or Walter.
After that, though, the Rockies get to face the White Sox for three games, a team that currently owns the fourth-worst team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Adrian Houser, Jonathan Cannon, and Shane Smith, none of whom concern me.
Tyler Freeman could have some value in deeper leagues, as he’s been slashing .368/.478/.421 over the past two weeks and has generally been hitting leadoff for the Rockies. Jordan Beck is also worth a look, as he’s been hitting .295/.367/.545 over the past two weeks, as is Thairo Estrada, who’s hitting .360/.433/.520 over the past two weeks. Also, worth noting that Mickey Moniak is sporting a .469 ISO over the past two weeks.
AVOID
Arizona Diamondbacks hitters – Normally, I’d be excited about a seven-game week for your Diamondbacks hitters, but they’re slated for some tough matchups.
They start the week off with the four-game series against the Giants that I mentioned earlier, a team that owns the best team FIP in all of baseball right now. There, they’ll see Logan Webb, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp, and Robbie Ray, so some pretty tough matchups sprinkled in there.
After that, the D’Backs will get three games against the Royals, who currently have the ninth-best team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Kris Bubic, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen, and while Lorenzen doesn’t worry me, both Bubic and Wacha have been pretty darn solid this year.
All in all, despite the seven-game week, it’s a tough week to start your middle-of-the-road D’Backs hitters this week.
San Diego Padres hitters – The Padres get six games this week, all slated to be in slightly chillier weather than the rest of the league, which puts their hitters at a slight disadvantage.
On top of that, they’ve got some tough matchups this week. They start the week off with three games against the Phillies, who currently own the sixth-best team FIP in baseball. There, they’ll see Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Mick Abel, and while Abel doesn’t worry me (so feel free to start your Padres hitters in daily leagues against him), Wheeler and Sánchez do.
After that, the Padres get three games against the Rangers, who currently have the fifth-best team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter, and Patrick Corbin. Leiter and Corbin don’t really worry me much, but Rocker could potentially be a problem, considering he’s turned in two very solid starts his last two times out.
Overall, if you wanted to start your middle-of-the-road Padres hitters this week, I wouldn’t blame you; there are certainly some matchups that could work out, but if you had other options in a weekly league, I might look there.
Pittsburgh Pirates hitters – The Pirates have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Cardinals, where they’ll see Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, and Sonny Gray. Fedde and Pallante don’t worry me all that much, but Gray certainly does.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Mariners where they’ll see Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock, and while Hancock doesn’t concern me much, Castillo and Kirby do.
So all in all, we’re looking at maybe three games this week that are worth starting your Pirates hitters, which to me in a weekly league, isn’t quite worth it.
