It’s virtually impossible to see some things coming, but by preplanning for each and every week of the Fantasy Baseball season, you can often get a jump on the trends that are brewing around the league. Let’s take a look at how the upcoming week of the MLB campaign is shaping up.
MLB Schedule Breakdown
| TEAM | # GAMES | HOME | AWAY | OPPONENTS |
| Braves | 3 | 0 | 3 | at WSH (3) |
| Marlins | 3 | 0 | 3 | at TB (3) |
| Mets | 3 | 0 | 3 | at NYY (3) |
| Phillies | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs SD (3) |
| Nationals | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs ATL (3) |
| Cubs | 5 | 5 | 0 | vs STL (5) |
| Reds | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs PIT (3) |
| Brewers | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs LAD (3) |
| Pirates | 3 | 0 | 3 | at CIN (3) |
| Cardinals | 5 | 0 | 5 | at CHC (5) |
| Diamondbacks | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs COL (3) |
| Rockies | 3 | 0 | 3 | at ARI (3) |
| Dodgers | 3 | 0 | 3 | at MIL (3) |
| Padres | 3 | 0 | 3 | at PHI (3) |
| Giants | 3 | 0 | 3 | at OAK (3) |
| Orioles | 3 | 0 | 3 | at TOR (3) |
| Red Sox | 3 | 0 | 3 | at DET (3) |
| Yankees | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs NYM (3) |
| Rays | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs MIA (3) |
| Blue Jays | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs BAL (3) |
| White Sox | 3 | 0 | 3 | at SEA (3) |
| Indians | 3 | 0 | 3 | at TEX (3) |
| Tigers | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs BOS (3) |
| Royals | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs MIN (3) |
| Twins | 3 | 0 | 3 | at KC (3) |
| Astros | 3 | 0 | 3 | at LAA (3) |
| Angels | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs HOU (3) |
| Athletics | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs SF (3) |
| Mariners | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs CWS (3) |
| Rangers | 3 | 3 | 0 | vs CLE (3) |
Who’s Hot
Joey Wendle (2B, TB)
C.J. Cron (1B, TB)
Xander Bogaerts (SS, BOS)
Jake Cave (OF, MIN)
Charlie Blackmon (OF, COL)
Who’s Not
Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN)
Mitch Moreland (1B, BOS)
Justin Turner (3B, LAD)
Trey Mancini (1B/OF, BAL)
Kyle Tucker (OF, HOU)
Interleague Outlook
| AWAY TEAM | HOME TEAM | GAMES | DH? | Player(s) Impacted |
| Marlins | Rays | 3 | Yes | J.T. Riddle , Miguel Rojas |
| Mets | Yankees | 3 | Yes | Dominic Smith |
| Giants | Athletics | 3 | Yes | Nick Hundley , Austin Slater |
Probable SP (Thurs – Sun) Updates
(The Top-75 SP Rankings will return as normal in next Sunday’s Weekly Planner)
Thursday
The Cubs and Cardinals will get the “second-half’ of the season started, as the N.L. Central rivals face off Thursday evening in Chicago. Kyle Hendricks is expected to get the first start for the Cubs coming out of the break. Following an uncharacteristically poor June that saw him post a 7.03 ERA and 18-to-15 K/BB ratio across 24.1 innings, Hendricks has gotten back on track this month. Through three starts in July, the 28-year-old righty has worked to a nice 2.45 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 13-to-2 K/BB ratio over 18.1 innings.
Friday
Beginning Friday, the Yankees and Mets will meet for three games in what has often been dubbed a “Subway Series”. Domingo Germán has already been tabbed as Friday’s starter for the Yanks and is set to be followed respectively by Sonny Gray , Masahiro Tanaka , Luis Severino and C.C. Sabathia. German has been anything but consistent from outing-to-outing, but that’s nothing uncommon for inexperienced pitchers. One thing the rocket-armed rookie has done with regularity is get strike three. Across 63.1 innings as a starter this season, German has racked up 73 punchouts. He seems to be in a good spot against the Mets, but his potential counterpart on the mound is one tough customer.
Noah Syndergaard seems to be in line to draw the start for the Mets on Friday since his rotation-mate Jacob deGrom is headed to Washington D.C. for the All-Star festivities and likely to log some work for the N.L. squad. Syndergaard returned from a month-and-a-half stay on the DL this past Friday versus the Nationals. Though he was limited to 75 pitches, Syndergaard held the Nationals to just one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Expect him to get a longer leash this upcoming Friday.
Saturday
Marcus Stroman has made four starts since returning from a six-week stay on the DL and has been quite good in three of them. Most recently, he held a stout Atlanta lineup to only one run on six hits and two walks alongside five strikeouts across 7.0 innings. Manager John Gibbons has slotted Stroman to pitch second in the Blue Jays rotation coming out of the break which will place the right-hander on his home mound against Baltimore on Saturday afternoon. The cellar-dwelling Orioles currently carry a weak .673 OPS vs right-handed pitching and a .643 mark on the road for the season.
Sunday
Reds manager Jim Riggleman has stated that it’s “pretty certain” he’ll go with Tyler Mahle , Anthony DeSclafani , and then the suddenly reinvigorated Matt Harvey next weekend. Harvey enters the break having allowed two earned runs or less in each of his last five starts. During that stretch, the former Mets ace has turned in a 1.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 23-to-5 K/BB ratio while not allowing a home run across 29.0 innings. Harvey will battle the Pirates in Cincinnati next Sunday afternoon. Back on May 22, Harvey gave up just one run on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts against the Pirates at Great American Ball Park.
You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him every Monday & Thursday hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.