Hitter Schedules To Know – Week of Sep 23, 2024

It’s the final week of the regular season! Hopefully my advice and analysis has led you to such a large lead in your league that you’re already celebrating! If not, let’s review hitter schedules and identify widely available names who might be worthy of your starting lineup.

6 Games @ Coors Field, the hitter friendliest park in baseball
COL (6 games, duh)
STL (3 games)
LAD (3 games)

The fantasy Gods have blessed us with a six game Coors Field homestand to end the regular season. So if you own any Rockies, make sure they are in your lineup! Unfortunately, Rockies manager Bud Black has made it as frustrating as possible trying to guess who will be in the lineup each day, reducing the values of many of the hitters who are only playing semi-regularly. Let’s talk specifics, along with Cardinals and Dodgers players:

• Charlie Blackmon – As of now, the Rockies are scheduled to face all right-handers for the week, which is fantastic news for Blackmon, as he has served on the strong side of a platoon. He has posted a .366 wOBA at home this year, versus just a .269 mark on the road. That’s a massive difference! The home run power is still just mediocre and he’s swiped just one base at Coors, but makes for a very decent all-around play.
• Brendan Rodgers – I have no idea how Rodgers is currently owned in just 36% of CBS leagues, as he’s one of the few names who’s actually an everyday player. He’s posted a scintillating .383 wOBA at Coors, versus just a .243 mark on the road. That’s an even wider disparity than Blackmon owns! Better yet, he’s posted a 19.1% HR/FB rate at home, with nine home runs, putting him on a 20+ homer pace if he played a full season at home. He should be starting in every 12-team mixed league and deeper this week.
• Hunter Goodman – His CBS ownership sits at just 14%?! Has everyone shifted their focus to football?! Not only has he shown big power at Coors, with an insane .353 ISO, 29.7% HR/FB rate, and 11 homers there (a 59 homer pace over 600 PAs at Coors!), but he qualifies at catcher! There are very few catchers I’d rather start this week than six games of Goodman in Coors.
• Nolan Jones – Oy vey. I own Jones and have no idea whether to bother starting him myself this week. He still randomly sits against right-handed starters, so even without a southpaw on the docket, there’s no guarantee he’ll actually start all six games. And of course, he’s been brutal this year, hitting too many grounders, and losing all his power, despite a strong HardHit% and maxEV.

  He’s been better at Coors, sure, but has still posted just a .299 wOBA there. I keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for him to bust out, and it just hasn’t happened. Will this finally be the week, when he’s either on benches or sitting in free agency, that he rewards those that stuck with him? Beats me!

• Jordan Beck/Jake Cave/Sam Hilliard – my gosh Bud Black, pick an outfielder and play him regularly! Why do you keep starting the 31-year-old Cave? Why has Beck been on the bench the last two games? Is he the starting right fielder or not?! Don’t you want to see more than 177 PAs to determine whether the team’s 13th best prospect should be in your 2025 plans?!

  Is Hilliard now a regular, having started four straight, or is he just a starter against lefties, but has covered for the injured Brenton Doyle the last three games? So many questions, so few answers. In daily transaction leagues, I would start whoever is in the lineup. These names are too risky from a playing time perspective for weekly leaguers.

• Jordan Walker – The former top prospect is now the team’s starting right fielder again and has hit all five of his homers this year in September. I love the maxEV and Barrel% here, which hints at big power in the future. I think he’s a pretty good play this week and might very well end up as a popular sleeper next season.
• Lars Nootbaar – He doesn’t appear to be in a strict platoon, as he did start one of the last three games against southpaws, but he’s a risk this week, with half the opposing starters the Cardinals are scheduled to face are left-handed. He’ll be a good daily transaction league bet at Coors field against the one right-hander though.
• Gavin Lux – I would imagine his ownership rates this season look like a roller coaster, peaking during his hot streak and collapsing since going cold. Though he’s on the strong side of a platoon, the Dodgers aren’t scheduled to face any left-handers starters this week, which is a boon to his potential value. The power he showed back in the minors in 2019 still hasn’t appeared in the Majors, but he still owns solid plate discipline, along with a touch of speed.

3 Games Each Against MIA & CHW, the league’s worst pitching staffs by ERA (behind COL, which is Coors-inflated)
MIN (3 vs MIA)
TOR (3 vs MIA)
LAA (3 @ CHW)
DET (3 vs CHW)

These hitters have an opportunity to feast on the league’s weakest pitching staffs this week (I’ve excluded platooners who only figure to start 4 or fewer games this week):

• Matt Wallner – Though he is left-handed, he often does start against southpaws, but not every time. Since the Twins are scheduled to face two this week, it’s possible he ends up starting five of their six games. Wallner swings and misses often, leading to tons of strikeouts. However, he has also posted a skyhigh FB%, taking full advantage of his massive power. In fact, if he qualified, he would rank eighth in HardHit%, 11th in maxEV, and fourth in Barrel%. Those are some impressive numbers for a guy that’s only owned in 30% of CBS leagues. If a couple of home runs could gain you some points, he’s a perfect addition to your lineup.
• Carlos Santana – Yes, I too cannot believe he’s not only still playing, but the Twins’ starting first baseman! He has actually posted his highest wOBA since 2019, which is pretty crazy, though it sits at just .325. It just tells you how poor he has been offensively since his peak years. He’s still maintained excellent plate discipline and even his advanced age hasn’t pushed his SwStk% into double digits. Worth a shot for a home or two this week.
• Ernie Clement – Who predicted he would reach double digits in both homers and steals this year?! He just cleared both hurdles while starting most games as the team’s shortstop. Certainly not the type you’d expect to be a league winner for you, but a deep league consideration if you’re in need of an MI.
• Spencer Horwitz – A strong contributor in OBP leagues, he’s shown respectable power and has been hitting in the middle of the Blue Jays order. Despite being left-handed, he’s not platooned, which should solidify his playing time.
• Eric Wagaman – I can’t believe the Wagaman himself has now appeared in his second Podhorzer article. The 27-year-old non-prospect has hit two home runs already with perfectly solid maxEV and Barrel% marks. He’s making the most of those with a huge 48.4% FB% as well. He has yet to attempt a steal, but did swipe 10 in the minors this year, after 13 last year, so the possibility he records his first this week is there as well.
• Gustavo Campero – Seriously, where are the Angels finding these players?! Every other day there’s a new starter in their lineup. Campero is also a 27-year-old non-prospect, but has suddenly become the team’s starting right fielder. He showed both power and speed at Double-A this year, and first made it to the Triple-A level this year despite the fact that this was already his age 26 season. He only recorded 59 PAs there before his promotion, so it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll actually hit at the MLB level. Given his power/speed combo, might as well take a shot in this final week.

Best of luck this week and may the odds be ever in your favor!