The final week of the regular season is upon us. I am just as sad as you are. Thanks for sticking along for the ride this year. It has been a pleasure writing with Fantasy Pros and publishing Quick Grades each week.
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 24 covers games for the week of Monday, September 26, through Sunday, October 2.
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 24 Hitter Grades (9/26-10/2)
This week I am not picking a particular team to stream or fade. As we approach the final week of the season, volume matters most. Whether you are in a head-to-head championship or trying to move up standings in a roto league, every plate appearance matters. If your league has weekly lineup locks, this will be important to know!
7 Games: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals
5 Games: Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals
Best of luck to you in the final week of the season. Thanks again for all the support and sticking around to the end of a long season.
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Chris Clegg is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @RotoClegg.