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

6

6

0

vs STL (3), vs MIL (3)

Marlins

5

5

0

vs TB (2), vs NYM (3)

Mets

6

0

6

at WAS (3), at MIA (3)

Phillies

7

7

0

vs MIL (4), vs COL (3)

Nationals

6

6

0

vs NYM (3), vs CHC (3)

Cubs

6

0

6

at CIN (3), at WAS (3)

Reds

6

6

0

vs CHC (3), LAD (3)

Brewers

7

0

7

at PHI (4), at ATL (3)

Pirates

7

0

7

at ARI (3), at SD (4)

Cardinals

6

0

6

at ARI (3), at TEX (3)

Diamondbacks

6

6

0

vs PIT (3), vs SF (3)

Rockies

5

0

5

at BOS (2), at PHI (3)

Dodgers

5

2

3

vs SD (2), at CIN (3)

Padres

6

4

2

at LAD (2), vs PIT (4)

Giants

5

2

3

vs TOR (2), at ARI (3)

Orioles

7

0

7

at NYY (3), at CLE (4)

Red Sox

5

5

0

vs COL (2), vs HOU (3)

Yankees

6

6

0

vs BAL (3), vs TB (3)

Rays

5

0

5

at MIA (2), at NYY (3)

Blue Jays

6

0

6

at SF (2), at CHW (4)

White Sox

6

6

0

vs CLE (2), vs TOR (4)

Indians

6

4

2

at CWS (2), vs BAL (4)

Tigers

7

3

4

vs LAA (3), at MIN (4)

Royals

6

3

3

at HOU (3), vs PHI (3)

Twins

7

3

4

vs LAA (3), at SEA (4)

Astros

7

7

0

vs KC (3), vs TEX (4)

Angels

7

0

7

at DET (3), at BAL (4)

Athletics

6

0

6

at SEA (2), at DET (4)

Mariners

6

6

0

vs OAK (2), vs MIN (4)

Rangers

6

3

3

at KC (3), vs STL (3)

 

Who’s Hot

Hunter Pence - Pence has been shockingly good this season. He is hitting .338/.412/.703 with seven home runs and a stolen base. The crazy part is there is a lot supporting the power spike. He has an exit velocity in the top 6% of the league and his xBA, and wOBA are in the top 2% of the league. With Delino DeShields being sent down, Pence should play a ton moving forward.

Max Muncy -Muncy is hitting .345/.441/.655 with three home runs and two stolen bases in the last week. With Cody Bellinger moving from first base to the outfield, Muncy should play more regularly. He is still showing excellent control of the strike zone and he’s an underrated player in fantasy.

Justin Turner - Turner has been showing great contact skills all season long, now he is finally hitting for power too. Over the last week, he is hitting .346/.370/.962 with five home runs. The Dodgers are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now and Turner should benefit greatly from that.

 

 

Who’s Not

Miguel Andújar - Since returning from the IL, Andujar has really struggled. Over the last week, he is hitting .077 with no walks or extra base hits. It is a matter of time before he turns it around. This is just knocking off the rust from the long layoff.

Nate Lowe - Nate Lowe was sent down to the minors by the Rays. The Rays needed to make a move with Austin Meadows returning from the IL. Lowe didn’t get much of a chance to prove he belongs at the Majors, but it is clear he is too good for AAA. He should be back sooner rather than later, so if you dropped a ton of FAAB on him, hold on to him for a bit.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - Since arriving at the Majors, Vlad has struggled to live up to expectations. He has been getting squeezed a bit at the plate, but he is also getting star treatment from pitchers. The Blue Jays aren’t playing for anything this season, so there is no reason for them to not just let him figure it out in Toronto. He is too talented to be this bad, so be patient.

 

Interleague Outlook

AWAY TEAM

HOME TEAM

GAMES

DH?

Player(s) Impacted

Rockies

Red Sox

2

Yes

Mark Reynolds , Garrett Hampson

Rays

Marlins

2

No

Ji-Man Choi , Avisaíl García

Cardinals

Rangers

3

Yes

José Martínez

Blue Jays

Giants

2

No

Rowdy Tellez

 

Top-25 SP Rankings

Rank

Pitcher

Team

Game 1

Game 2

1

Max Scherzer

WAS

vs CHC

 

2

Trevor Bauer

CLE

vs BAL

 

3

Justin Verlander

HOU

at DET

 

4

Jacob deGrom

NYM

at MIA

 

5

Gerrit Cole

HOU

at BOS

 

6

Blake Snell

TB

at NYY

 

7

Aaron Nola

PHI

vs MIL

vs COL

8

Patrick Corbin

WAS

vs NYM

 

9

Kershaw, Clayton

LAD

vs SD

 

10

Chris Sale

BOS

vs COL

vs HOU

11

Carlos Carrasco

CLE

at CHW

vs BAL

12

Luis Castillo

CIN

vs CHC

 

13

German Márquez

COL

at BOS

 

14

José Berríos

MIN

vs LAA

at SEA

15

Caleb Smith

MIA

vs NYM

 

16

Jack Flaherty

STL

at ATL

at TEX

17

Walker Buehler

LAD

at CIN

 

18

Shane Bieber

CLE

at CHW

vs BAL

19

Noah Syndergaard

NYM

at MIA

 

20

Chris Paddack

SD

at LAD

vs PIT

21

Stephen Strasburg

WAS

vs CHC

 

22

Cole Hamels

CHC

at WAS

 

23

Zack Greinke

ARI

vs PIT

 

24

German, Domingo

NYY

vs BAL

 

25

Charlie Morton

TB

at MIA

 

 

On the Rise

Chris Paddack (SP #20)

Domingo Germán (SP #24)

 

On the Decline

Noah Syndergaard (SP #19)

 

SP Rankings 26-50

Rank

Pitcher

Team

Game 1

Game 2

26

Matthew Boyd

DET

vs HOU

vs BAL

27

Madison Bumgarner

SF

at ARI

 

28

Zack Wheeler

NYM

at WAS

 

29

Matt Strahm

SD

at LAD

 

30

Mike Minor

TEX

at KC

 

31

Robbie Ray

ARI

vs PIT

vs SF

32

Hyun-Jin Ryu

LAD

at CIN

 

33

Max Fried

ATL

vs MIL

 

34

Frankie Montas

OAK

at DET

 

35

José Quintana

CHC

at CIN

 

36

Masahiro Tanaka

NYY

vs TB

 

37

Sonny Gray

CIN

vs CHC

vs LAD

38

Kyle Hendricks

CHC

at CIN

at WAS

39

Marcus Stroman

TOR

at CHW

 

40

Mike Soroka

ATL

vs STL

 

41

Steven Matz

NYM

at WAS

 

42

Miles Mikolas

STL

at TEX

 

43

Kyle Gibson

MIN

vs LAA

at SEA

44

Martín Pérez

MIN

at SEA

 

45

Jeff Samardzija

SF

at ARI

 

46

Trevor Williams

PIT

at ARI

 

47

Jordan Lyles

PIT

at SD

 

48

Joe Musgrove

PIT

at ARI

at SD

49

Trevor Richards

MIA

vs TB

 

50

Yusei Kikuchi

SEA

vs OAK

 

 

On the Rise

Mike Minor (SP #30)

Steven Matz (SP #41)

Kyle Gibson (SP #43)

 

On the Decline

Trevor Williams (SP #46)

Joe Musgrove (SP #48)

 

SP Rankings 51-75

Rank

Pitcher

 

Game 1

Game 2

51

Jake Odorizzi

MIN

vs LAA

 

52

Marco Gonzalez

SEA

vs MIN

 

53

Jake Arrieta

PHI

vs MIL

 

54

Aaron Sanchez

TOR

at CHW

 

55

Jerad Eickhoff

PHI

vs MIL

vs COL

56

Brad Peacock

HOU

at DET

at BOS

57

Kenta Maeda

LAD

at CIN

 

58

Rich Hill

LAD

vs SD

 

59

Kevin Gausman

ATL

vs MIL

 

60

Mike Foltynewicz

ATL

vs STL

vs MIL

61

Julio Teheran

ATL

vs STL

 

62

Jon Gray

COL

at PHI

 

63

Griffin Canning

LAA

vs KC

 

64

Jon Lester

CHC

at WAS

 

65

Félix Peña

LAA

at MIN

 

66

Anthony DeSclafani

CIN

vs LAD

 

67

Eduardo Rodríguez

BOS

vs COL

 

68

Brandon Woodruff

MIL

at PHI

at ATL

69

Pablo Lopez

MIA

vs NYM

 

70

J.A. Happ

NYY

vs BAL

 

71

Jon Duplantier

ARI

vs SF

 

72

Chris Bassitt

OAK

at DET

 

73

Danny Duffy

KC

vs TEX

at LAA

74

Zach Eflin

PHI

vs MIL

 

75

Roark, Tanner

CIN

vs CHC

 

 

On the Rise

Griffin Canning (SP #63)

Jon Duplantier (SP #71)

 

On the Decline

Kenta Maeda (SP #57)

J.A. Happ (SP #70)