Can you feel it in the air? We are approaching fall and the end of baseball season. Nope, it still feels like summer here in South Carolina, but September is fast approaching and it is time to kick those fantasy teams into gear for the stretch run. You can still make a move in the standings. I have a DC team crippled by injuries but it has moved up five spots in the standings over the past two weeks. Moral of the story: don’t give up!

Each week I rank the top 100 hitters without bias using various data. I take games played, park factors, matchups, and projections to help you find the top hitters for the upcoming week. I have described the process in more detail below and have the top-100 projected hitters for the week. Thanks for stopping by, and best of luck in your leagues this week.

The Quick Grade Series

Each week, I will provide breakdowns of hitters with a grade range from 40 to 100. Think about a school grade (90-100 being an A, 80-89 equaling a B, 70-79 = C, and so on). Grades are weighted based on several different factors that I discuss below.

Week 19 covers games for the week of Monday, August 22, through Sunday, August 28.

You can find last week’s Quick Grades here.

How It Works

We established that each hitter would have a grade based on four categories that would land them a total score between 40 and 100. Each of the four categories will be graded from 10 to 25, placing us at that total score. Here is what goes into it:

• Games Played – Let’s start simple. The more games played weekly, the more stats a player can accumulate. Maximizing plate appearances for fantasy baseball is huge. It is a no-brainer if the player you roster has seven games versus a different player having five games. If a team is scheduled to play seven games that week, the team’s hitter will get 25 points. Six games earn a hitter 23 points, and five games drop you down to 20. If a team is set to play more than seven games weekly, that player will get 27 points for games.
• Ballpark Factors – Is a hitter playing four games in Coors? What about three in Oakland? These things matter. We will use the FantasyPros park factors to help us out there. I have created an algorithm that gives each ballpark a score from 10-25. Then factoring in how many games a hitter plays at a specific park each week, a score of 10-to-25 is given.
• Matchups – Does a hitter have strong splits against a left or right-handed pitcher? What if they face three lefties this week with a poor split against lefties? We factor that in.
• Projections – Finally, we will factor in projections. I will update using FantasyPros projections and scale them down to a weekly projection. It is not perfect, but projections with the other factors can help project how a player might perform.

Week 19 Hitter Grades (8/22-8/28)

Team to Stream: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies get seven games next week, all at home. It couldn't come with better matchups, either. The Reds come to town for four games and then three games with the Pirates to finish the week. The only semi-intriguing pitcher the Reds will throw is Nick Lodolo, who has been inconsistent. The Pirates are slated to have Roansy Contreras pitch Sunday, which I like. But you couldn't draw up a better week for the Phillies, who are fighting to win a Wild Card spot.

Team to Fade: Los Angeles Angels

There is no blatantly bad fade this week. When push comes to shove, the Angels have the worst matchups of the group. They first draw four games in Tampa Bay, including three matchups with the Springs, McClanahan, and Rasmussen. Then they head to Toronto, which will see them face Alek Manoah, Ross Stripling, and Mitch White. The Angels are already on the struggle bus and have few fantasy-relevant bats, but they are an easy fade next week.

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Chris Clegg is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @RotoClegg.