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 15 (7/7-7/13) 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
Cincinnati Reds hitters – The Reds get a full seven-game week this week, all of which will be at home at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, and all of which will be in great hitting weather (floating around the mid-80s).
And even better, the Reds are set to see some pretty bad pitching staffs. They start the week off with four games against the Marlins, who currently own the 10th-worst team FIP in all of baseball, where they’ll see Janson Junk, Eury Perez, Sandy Alcantara, and Cal Quantrill, none of whom worry me.
After that, the Reds will have three games against the Rockies, who currently own the second-worst team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez, and Chase Dollander, again, not concerning at all.
Gavin Lux is sporting a .304/.407/.522 line over the past two weeks and is worth a look this week, as is Spencer Steer, who owns a .425/.467/.800 line over the same time period. And in deeper leagues, Will Benson owns a .320/.320/.480 line over the past two weeks and could be worth a look.
Miami Marlins hitters – The Marlins also have a seven-game week, all of which will be on the road, in good weather, and against some very beatable pitching staffs.
They start the week off with the four-game series I mentioned earlier against the Reds in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark. Currently, the Reds own the 11th-worst team FIP in the league, and they’ll be tossing out Brady Singer, Nick Martinez, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo against the Marlins. Certainly, Abbott and Lodolo can turn in some good performances, but all in all, I’m not concerned about this series for your Marlins hitters.
After that, the Marlins get three games against the Orioles, who currently own the fourth-worst team FIP in the league, all in Camden Yards. In that series, they’ll see Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers, and Brandon Young, none of whom worries me at all.
Kyle Stowers is worth a look this week as he’s been on a hot streak, slashing .357/.438/.881 over the past two weeks. Same with Otto Lopez, who’s slashing .306/.382/.531 over the past two weeks.
CATCHER TO STREAM: It’s going to depend on what league you’re in whether he’s available, but Agustín Ramírez is slashing .289/.319/.556 over the past two weeks and could have some value if you need help at the catcher position.
Toronto Blue Jays hitters – The Blue Jays have six games this week, starting off with three games against the White Sox, a team with the sixth-worst FIP in all of baseball. In that series, they’ll see Sean Burke, Aaron Civale, and Adrian Houser, none of whom worries me (I know Houser’s been good lately, it’s possible he could continue his roll, but I’m not actively avoiding him).
After that, the Jays get three games against the Athletics, who currently own the worst team FIP in all of baseball. There, they’ll see Luis Severino, Jacob Lopez, and Jeffrey Springs, none of whom worries me.
Addison Barger is worth a look this week, as he’s been slashing .271/.327/.542 over the past two weeks. And make sure you’ve got George Springer in your lineups this week as he’s been red hot, slashing .489/.549/.889 over the past two weeks.
AVOID
San Francisco Giants hitters – The Giants get six games this week, all of which will be at home in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park, and all of which will be in relatively chilly weather.
On top of that, they’re slated for some tough pitching matchups. They start the week off with three games against the Phillies, who own the second-best team FIP in the league right now. There, they’ll see Cristopher Sánchez, Taijuan Walker, and Jesús Luzardo, and while Walker doesn’t worry me much, Sánchez and Luzardo do.
After that, the Giants will get three games against the Dodgers where they’ll see Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Ohtani doesn’t really worry me because he’s only been pitching a couple of innings at a time, but Yamamoto could definitely be a problem, and Sheehan has looked pretty solid in limited action.
All in all, it’s not the best week for your Giants hitters given the matchups and weather, so I’d avoid them if I could in weekly leagues.
Philadelphia Phillies hitters – The Phillies also have six games this week, starting off with that three-game series I mentioned earlier against the Giants, a team that owns the best team FIP in the league, in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park in relatively cool weather.
After that, they’ll get three games against the Padres, who own the 12th-best team FIP in the league, where they’ll see Yu Darvish (potentially), Nick Pivetta, and Dylan Cease.
Again, on the whole, it’s a tough week for your middle-of-the-road Phillies hitters, so I’d be avoiding them this week.
New York Yankees hitters – The Yankees get six games this week, starting off with three games against the Mariners, where they’ll see Logan Gilbert, Logan Evans, and Bryan Woo, all of whom could cause some problems for your Yankees hitters.
After that, the Yanks will get three games against the Cubs, where they’ll see Jordan Wicks, Matthew Boyd, and Shota Imanaga, and while Wicks doesn’t concern me much, Boyd and Imanaga do, making this all in all a fairly tough week for your middle-of-the-road Yankees hitters.
