Fantasy Baseball Week 17 Hitting Planner

It feels like it’s been forever, but we finally get a full week of baseball back to accumulate stats for our fantasy teams. I enjoy the All-Star festivities, but nothing beats seeing your teams rack up points throughout the week. This week’s Hitting Planner sees 17 teams play a full slate of seven games while only three play five, so expect plenty of offense to come. Considering so many games being played this week, we might have some tough lineup decisions to make. With my hitting planner, I take you division by division and go over who’s been hitting well and who might have some match-ups to exploit. Using the charts, you can see how each offense stacks up for the week using total games, venues, and opposing pitching staffs to determine my offensive rankings.

AL Hitting Planner

AL East

The Orioles’ offense ranks last in my hitting planner offensive rankings with only five games on the schedule. The Nationals visit Baltimore for two and Max Scherzer hopes to make the start Tuesday. Chris Sale and David Price are lined up to pitch in the weekend series in Baltimore. Between the light schedule and tough matchups, I’d sit any Orioles this week if possible.

Boston sits on the other end of the hitting planner offensive rankings with what I believe will be the number one offense this week. The Blue Jays and Orioles are tied for the worst team ERAs since June 1 at 5.64 and the Red Sox bats have been hot over the last two weeks. J.D. Martinez is hitting .457 with two home runs over his last eight games. If Christian Vazquez is available, I suggest picking up him as he’s hit .351 with four home runs in his last nine games and has enjoyed a breakout season at the catcher position.

The New York Yankees get seven games at home this week with the Rays and Rockies visiting. The Yankees are set to face six right-handed pitchers. Gleyber Torres has hit 16 of his 19 home runs against right-handed pitching with a .299 average.  Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks have been swinging the bat well with a .353 and .333 respectively over the last two weeks. Gardner has four home runs to Hicks’ six in that span. Gardner may still be widely available and could be a good stream this week in roto leagues.

The Rays play seven games this week as well with the White Sox visiting Tampa Bay after a four-game series in New York against the Yankees. Nate Lowe looks to finally be heating up for the Rays going four for five Friday against the Orioles and has hit three home runs in his last four games. The Yankees pitching staff has been mediocre over the last month with a 4.98 ERA.

Danny Jansen was a popular sleeper pick during draft season at the catcher position. He may be finally displaying why many believed in him with a .405 average and six home runs over his last 10 games. Jansen did not record a strikeout during the span and should be owned everywhere now. The Blue Jays play seven road games this week, visiting the Red Sox and Tigers.

AL Central

The White Sox have seven games on the road this week, going to Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Yoan Moncada has enjoyed a hot streak over the last two weeks with a .407 average and three home runs. Eloy Jimenez has a .176 average in that span with a .105 BABIP, so look for Eloy to get some better luck soon. Meanwhile, Jose Abreu has hit .462 with a .556 BABIP. Five right-handed pitchers are on the schedule and Abreu has a .244 average on the year against right-handers, so some regression could come soon for Abreu.

The Cleveland Indians continue their homestand with seven games this week against the Royals and Tigers. The Tigers have the third worst ERA in baseball over the last month at 5.51. As mentioned in last week’s hitting planner, Jose Ramirez is a much better player this year at home. He could be turning this around with three multi-hit games in his last six.

Nicholas Castellanos has been heating up for the Tigers with a .340 average and two home runs in his last 11 games. Miguel Cabrera has hit .364 in the last two weeks and is one of Detroit’s better hitter against right-handed pitchers with a .297 average against them. The Tigers are set to face six right-handed pitchers.

The Royals play all seven of their games against right-handed pitchers this week, which should benefit someone like Hunter Dozier. Dozier has hit .289 on the year against right-handers and .242 against left-handers.

Miguel Sano has posted a manageable 25% strikeout percentage of his last 11 games with four home runs and a .308 average. Nelson Cruz has been hitting well with a .361 average and three home runs over the last two weeks.

AL West

The Astros have seven games this week with four in Los Angeles to face the Angels and three at home against the Rangers. Yordan Alvarez hit two more home runs on Friday, bringing his total to nine in only 21 games. Yuli Gurriel also homered again, continuing his torrid stretch and giving him eight in his last nine games.

The Angels host the Astros for four and go to Seattle for a three-game series. Four of the seven starters the Angels face should be left-handed pitchers. Shohei Ohtani is hitting .304 against left-handers and is on an eight-game hit streak. Ohtani is startable even in weekly leagues.

The Oakland A’s have hit collectively well recently. Ramon Laureano has a .308 average with five home runs and a steal over his last 12 games. Matt Olson is also a good play in this week’s hitting planner with a .280 average and six home runs in his last 12 games.

The Mariners are one of three teams with only five games while 17 teams play seven games, so in weekly leagues I’d be looking to bench my Mariners. Domingo Santana has been their best hitter over the last couple weeks with a .289 average but it comes with a .444 BABIP and 34% strikeout rate, so the average won’t last.

The Rangers also play five games this week with two on the road against the Diamondbacks and three games to end the week in Houston to face the Astros. Elvis Andrus has been running with five steals in his last 13 games. Andrus would be a good play in roto leagues but I would avoid any Rangers in head-to-head leagues.

For more help getting ready for Week 17 check out Eric Cross’ Waiver Wire Adds, Nathan Dokken’s Starting Pitcher Rankings, and Paul Mammino’s Two-Start Pitchers.

NL Hitter Planner

NL East

The Braves have a four-game set at home against the Nationals after a three-game series in Milwaukee. Ronald Acuna has scored 14 runs in his last 12 games to go with three home runs and three steals. The leadoff spot seems to be working perfectly for Acuna since he was moved there. The Nationals have had the second-best team ERA since June 1, trailing only the Dodgers. Six of the pitchers slated to face the Braves are right-handed pitchers. Nick Markakis has a .303 average against them and is hitting .378 overall in his last 12 games. On the other hand, Ozzie Albies struggles against righties with a .253 average.

The Marlins have six games on the schedule with three against the Padres at home and three in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. Miguel Rojas leads off for Miami and is hitting .360 in his last 12 games with a home run and a steal.

The Mets are away for all six games this week with two in Minnesota and four in San Francisco. Robinson Cano has hit .300 over the last two weeks, but without any extra-base hits. Michael Conforto has hit .111 in that span while dealing with back stiffness. The only players I trust in this lineup right now are Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil.

Seven games are on tap for the Phillies as they host the Dodgers for four to start the week. The Dodgers have had the best overall ERA as a team since June 1. Cesar Hernandez has hit .294 over the last two weeks and has been the best bat against right-handed pitchers for the Phillies with a .305 average against them on the year. The Phillies will face six right-handed starters.

Since June 1, Bryce Harper is hitting .270 while striking out only 19.5% of the time to go with six home runs. Things are starting to turn around for Harper as he gets out from his early season struggles. With a 24% line drive rate and career-high 92 mph average exit velocity, the hits will begin to drop more often for Harper. Now may be the best time as he can potentially carry a team in the second half.

Washington only plays six games this week, but two of those games will come against the Orioles at Camden Yards. The Orioles have consistently been one of the pitching staffs to target, especially when they are at home. Anthony Rendon has a .255 average, but with a .220 BABIP over his last 12 games so look for him to turn it on in Baltimore. Adam Eaton could be a good play, especially in roto formats as he’s hit .364 with two steals over the last two weeks.

NL Central

I’m sitting Kyle Schwarber as he’s hit .178 over the last two weeks and has struggled against right-handed pitching with a .225 average. The Cubs are set to face five right-handed pitchers.

Yasiel Puig has been on a tear in recent weeks with a .368 average, four home runs, and two steals in his last 11 games. He’s starting to deliver on that potential many fantasy owners were hoping for when he made the move to Cincinnati. Puig, a career .286 hitter against righties, should continue to deliver this week with all seven games coming against right-handed pitching for the Reds. Jesse Winker is hitter to consider streaming with a career .301 average against right-handers.

The Brewers get seven games this week with three at home against the Braves and four on the road in Arizona. Four of the games should come against left-handed pitchers. Mike Moustakas has fared better against lefties with a .270 average. Keston Hiura has homered in two straight games now and has hit equally well against both righties and lefties.

Despite only a .224 average, Josh Bell has seven home runs in his last 13 games. The Pirates play the Phillies for a three-game series and the Phillies has been prone to giving up the long ball. Their 5.46 ERA since June 1 ranks sixth worst and they have given up the second most home runs in that span.

Dexter Fowler has been the hottest hitter going for the Cardinals with a .303 average and two home runs over his last 10 games. The Cardinals play seven games this week, all seven of which should come against right-handed pitching. While St. Louis has been underwhelming, hopefully, four games at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark could get them going.

NL West

The Diamondbacks play six games this week with four at home against the Brewers and two on the road against the Rangers. Right-handed pitchers are slated to start all six games against the Diamondbacks. Ketel Marte excels against right-handed pitching with a .308 average and 12 home runs. Eduardo Escobar has swung the hottest bat on the team recently with a .415 average in his last 11 games.

It’s another fine week to own Rockies players as they get a four-game series at home against the Giants before going on the road to play the Yankees in New York for three. Any time the Rockies play most of their week at home, Coors Field is going to put them high on the hitting planner. It’s a bonus that they go to Yankee Stadium to end the week. Daniel Murphy seems to be coming around with a .333 average and two home runs in the last two weeks. David Dahl is hitting .308 against right-handed pitching this year and the Rockies are lined up to face five right-handed starters.

Joc Pederson is coming off a fun home run derby and should get a full week of playing time as the Dodgers should face seven right-handed starters this week. Corey Seager has a .305 average against righties and was hitting the ball extremely well before going on the IL with a hamstring issue. Seager was  activated following the All-Star break.

Fernando Tatis has gotten all the attention, and deservingly so. But Franmil Reyes is also mashing the ball with a .333 average and five home runs in the last two weeks. The Padres have been rumored to be interested in acquiring a starting pitcher for a playoff push and could deal an outfielder in the process. Reyes has been a named mentioned in trade talks.

Only an eight-game schedule and a four-game series at Coors could push the Giants near the top of the hitting planner.  The Giants’ offense has actually been performing well recently, scoring at least eight runs in five of their last eight games. Buster Posey has been hitting much better lately with a .371 average in the last two weeks and even slugged a grand slam in Friday’s game against the Brewers. Evan Longoria has had a good stretch as well with a .314 average and six home runs in that same span.

Jorge Montanez is a lifelong sports fan but new to the fantasy industry, joining Fantrax HQ as a writer in June of 2019. Jorge co-hosts the Bases Loaded Podcast, a fantasy baseball podcast covering everything fantasy baseball on a weekly basis. He was raised in Stockton, CA but now resides in Los Angeles, where you can find him at a ballpark playing catch with his two sons on the weekends. Follow Jorge @jmontanez90 on Twitter where he’ll be happy to give his take and answer questions on all things fantasy.

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