Final Week Short-Side Platoon Beneficiaries
The final week is tough for fantasy owners, as veterans on teams knocked out of the playoff hunt might be benched in favor of younger players, while starting rotations are up in the air. Any starter could be shut down and just not make a start this week, and you might not know until the day of. Anyway, let’s talk about the hitters on teams currently projected to face the most number of left-handed starters this week. This could give players on the short-side of platoons (right-handed hitters who generally only start against lefties) an opportunity for increased playing time this week. The caveat here is that the probables grid is the most unpredictable it’s been all year, so ensure your short-side platoon pickup actually ends up facing the lefty he was originally forecasted to oppose.
Note that the left-handed opposition count is Tues-Sun.
Mets – 5 lefties
Funny, this is the first year Torrens has pushed his wOBA above .300 since 2021, and yet his xwOBA has dropped below .300 for the first time since 2022. So he’s enjoyed better results, but seemingly hasn’t deserved them.
That said, he’s been a bit better against lefties this year, recording a .326 wOBA against them with a nice .200 ISO, while the gap has been even wider over his entire career. He has recorded a .186 ISO against them, fueling a .308 wOBA, versus just .106 and .275 marks, respectively, against righties. So he goes from weak-hitting catcher only worth rostering in NL-Only leagues to viable second catcher in mixed leagues when he gets a start against a lefty. That’s a big deal since he’s likely in your free agent pool and could very easily be an upgrade over what you’re running out there this final week.
Seriously, what happened here? Overall, his xwOBA hasn’t fallen nearly as dramatically as his actual wOBA has, suggesting some bad fortune, but his skills have clearly declined. That’s bizarre considering his BatSpd is up 2.4 MPH from last year, and 1.8 MPH from his 2024 breakout. He has no defensive value though, so he’ll need a non-contending team to take a chance here as their DH and give him an extended look to see if they could turn around his offense.
Fortunately for fantasy owners this week, he’s actually been darn good against lefties this year. His handedness splits are quite drastic, as he has posted a .366 wOBA against southpaws versus just a .243 mark against righties. He has also more than doubled his ISO against left-handers. His splits haven’t been quite as dramatic over his career, which validates that his disappointing results have mainly been due to his ineffectiveness against righties.
He’s an ideal under the radar pickup when facing a left-handed starter.
Red Sox – 4
He’s recorded about half a season’s worth of PA between 4 seasons since 2022, showing limited power, but swiping 25 bases. That alone makes him worth monitoring when he’s in the lineup if you need steals. Since Jarren Duran has essentially become a platoon player, it’s giving Eaton an opportunity to grab some starts.
Over his short MLB career, he hasn’t shown much of a split, with his offense being rather weak against pitcher regardless of handedness. So it’s actually a bit odd to give him playing time over Duran when we aren’t even sure he’s actually better against lefties. That said, it’s happening, so you might as well take advantage.
The only real difference in his splits is a slightly higher BABIP against lefties, though that seems like a fluke given the skyhigh IFFB% and flyball tilt, which is odd for a guy with little power.
Roster on days he’s likely to start if you need steals, that’s it.
The one-time top prospect has become a journeyman bench bat and is now resigned to a short-side platoon role. He’s actually shown some pretty solid power the last two seasons. Over his short MLB career spanning 455 PA, he has hit left-handers significantly better than righties.
Against southpaws, he has posted a .354 wOBA, versus just a .222 mark against righties. That .354 mark is driven by a .227 ISO and 16.3% HR/FB rate. Remember when the team had a healthy Romy Gonzalez as their lefty-killer? Jones is doing his best impression as his replacement.
He’s another quietly excellent pickup this weeks when the team is facing a left-handed starter.
Guardians – 4
Wait, Hedges isn’t one of the worst hitters in baseball?! His wOBA is over .300 for the first time since…2018 and only the second time it’s up there in his entire career. He’s been very solid against lefties, posting a .329 wOBA and .130 ISO.
Of course, his career marks are far worse. He hasn’t shown much of a handedness split at all, recording weak wOBA marks against both lefties and righties. So I wouldn’t bet that at age 34 he suddenly figured things out. He’s one of the weaker plays of the increased playing time names on this list, but if you happen to own him in an AL-Only league, you may get a couple of extra PA.
Here’s yet another catcher-qualified option if you’re desperate at the position (I was in AL Tout Wars and actually picked him up this week). Over his career, he has posted a .329 wOBA against lefties with a strong .205 ISO, driven by a 16.3% HR/FB rate.
He doesn’t hit for average no matter what handedness he faces, but that extra power against lefties could mean a homer or two this week, which could potentially gain you a point in a tightly bunched category.
Giants – 4
My gosh, are all second string catchers on the short side of a platoon?! I guess it makes it easy to allocate playing time between your two catchers. Knizner has actually been far better against righties throughout his career, as he has posted an ugly .221 mark against southpaws, though his ISO is a bit higher.
Amazingly, he has batted just .163 against left-handers and hasn’t delivered enough power to speculate for the week. Along with Hedges, you can pass here.
He’s actually been playing against righties too recently as starter Bryce Eldridge has been hurt, so that could remain a bonus. Either way, he should start at least four games this week, with the upside for more.
He’s only recorded 240 MLB PA and hasn’t shown much difference hitting against lefties and righties. Both wOBA marks sit below .300 and he hits with little power against either hand. He hasn’t even made up for his lack of power by stealing bases, as he’s swiped just one and gotten caught three times.
I would probably add him in NL-Only leagues solely for the at-bats, but on a weak offense and little to offer from a power and speed perspective, the only thing you can really hope for is a couple of RBI and/or runs scored.
He’s only accrued 97 MLB PA, so his current splits are largely meaningless. But he has hit a little better against lefties, posting a .325 wOBA, though has hit for a bit less power. Most of the difference in wOBA actually comes from a massive BABIP split, which won’t last.
He definitely owns more power than Harris so if you were debating between the two, I would pick him. I would rather speculate on a home run than buy potential an extra game’s worth of PA for RBI/runs scored.
Mike Podhorzer is the founder of ProjectingX IQ, an advanced fantasy baseball analytics platform that transforms projection data and in-season performance signals into actionable intelligence. He is the 2015 Fantasy Sports Writers Association Baseball Writer of the Year and three-time Tout Wars champion. He is the author of the eBook Projecting X 2.0: How to Forecast Baseball Player Performance, which teaches you how to project players yourself. Follow Mike on X@MikePodhorzer and contact him via email.