Hitter Schedules To Know – Week of Sep 9, 2024

There are just three weeks left in the regular season, so it’s more important than ever to take advantage of hitter schedules. That means potentially benching middling guys with just five games this week, or starting middling hitters facing a weak pitching staff or playing in hitter friendly venues. So let’s review the teams in these situations and some key players who might be benchable or worthy of your starting lineup for a change.

5 Game Weeks
ARI
SD

The Diamondbacks and Padres both play just five games this week, while every other team is at six or seven games. Obviously, you’re going to keep names like Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado (not an exhaustive list) in your starting lineups. However, you might want to think twice about starting names like:

• Joc Pederson – only figures to start four games this week as part of his strong side platoon role
• Jake McCarthy – only startable if the steals category is tight and a handful would gain you at least a point or avoid losing you a point
• Luis Arraez – batting average over a tiny sample is impossible to predict, so because Arraez isn’t a significant counting stat accumulator and will have even fewer chances this week, he’s suddenly no longer a must-start
• Jake Cronenworth – meh. He’s the oddball middle infielder who doesn’t steal bases at a high clip and the first base eligible guy who doesn’t hit enough home runs, making for a sit candidate this week

3 Games @ Coors Field, the hitter friendliest park in baseball
COL
CHC

It’s not quite the full week of games at Coors Field, but any number of games there is worth taking advantage of, particularly in daily transaction leagues when you can pick up hitters that play there just for the series and then drop them. The challenge with Rockies hitters is that many of the regular starters get random days off here and there, so there’s no guarantee any one name will actually start every game this week. With that said, let’s talk some names who are likely available in your league:

• Brendan Rodgers – the perfect name to start during a week that includes Coors games, as he owns a .357 wOBA there, versus just a .275 mark on the road
• Jordan Beck – apparently he’s the starting right fielder…on most days, but seems to get more days off than a true starter, as the team feels obligated to continue getting the 31-year-old Jake Cave into the lineup. With just a .236 wOBA, he obviously hasn’t earned continued starts, but his minor league record suggest potential power and speed contributions.
• Miguel Amaya – hasn’t been impressive with the bat this year, but has some power and has struck out at a sub-20% clip, giving him upside for some nice production at Coors where you want as many balls in play as possible

3 Games Each Against CHW & MIA, the league’s worst pitching staffs by ERA (behind COL, which is Coors-inflated)
CLE
OAK
PIT
WAS

Four teams face these weak pitching staffs for three game series. What better chance to produce this week than by facing poor quality pitching?! So let’s see which hitters from these offenses might be worth a pickup:

• Kyle Manzardo – recalled for his return to the Majors when rosters expanded, he brings a strong plate approach, and power, but figures to serve on the strong side of a platoon, which could lose him one start this week (the team plays seven games, so he’ll still make six starts)
• Bo Naylor – the strikeout rate has skyrocketed, but he still owns power, which is boosted by an extreme fly ball rate
• Brayan Rocchio – a touch of both power and speed, his results have been suppressed by a .247 BABIP, despite a pretty solid looking batted ball distribution
• Zack Gelof – his strikeout rate and SwStk% mark have both surged to alarming levels, but both power and speed has still allowed him to contribute to fantasy teams
• Jacob Wilson윌슨 – the team’s top prospect, ranked 30th overall, hasn’t shown much counting stat skills, but could be excellent in the batting average department, though that’s not something to bank on over a one week sample
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa – the stolen bases are down this year, but the home run power is up, so he has contributed a touch of everything while being batting average positive
• Andrew McCutchen – enjoying the highest Barrel% of his career, though the HR/FB rate is only marginally higher than his career mark
• Joey Bart – a much improved strikeout rate while maintaining his home run power has led to a small sample breakout that may have gone unnoticed by fantasy owners
• Rowdy Tellez – it’s possible the Pirates don’t face a single left-handed starter, meaning Tellez would start all week, potentially bringing his contact and power profile to your team’s starting lineup
• Andrés Chaparro – has shown power and a better than average strikeout rate, while hitting third or fourth in the Nationals order in nine straight games
• Keibert Ruiz – makes elite contact and has upped his FB% to extreme levels, but a low BABIP has killed his production and the HR/FB rate isn’t high enough to justify that many fly balls
• José Tena – enjoyed power breakout at Triple-A that came with some steals too, giving him potential to contribute across the board
• Jacob Young – the perfect Jake McCarthy replacement for the week if you need steals, as Young doesn’t contribute much else and is stuck at the bottom of the order