Fantasy Baseball Week 22 Planner: Davis Schneider, Lane Thomas, Willy Adames

This is it ladies and gentlemen, the last weekly planner of the fantasy baseball season. I’ve had an absolute blast writing these and I already cannot wait to run it back next year. Hopefully, you all had very successful fantasy seasons and are preparing for the first week of the playoffs. If so, this is lining up to be another great week with plenty of excellent matchups to key in on.

Unfortunately for the first round of the playoffs, the Colorado Rockies spend the whole time on the road. It’s not until the second and third weeks that they have home games to take advantage of. When you get to the fantasy baseball playoffs, it’s as much about finding hot players as it is finding advantages in matchups and even stadiums. Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Coors Field in Colorado, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and Dodgers Stadium have been excellent parks for hitters this season. Use that as a reference for the weeks beyond this article.

Now let’s get to who I do and don’t like for Week 22. Or the first round of the playoffs. Or I guess the second round if you are in a league that started a week earlier. As usual, I’ll break down two matchups I like, and one I don’t and let you know who you should be monitoring from those matchups.

Matchups To Target

Toronto Blue Jays: @ OAK (3), vs KC (3)

Despite the fact they lost star shortstop Bo Bichette to injury yet again, the Blue Jays have still found a way to put up numbers. In August they hit just 32 home runs, but their .727 OPS was the 12th-best in baseball. Building off of that, they’re set to face two bottom-of-the-barrel pitching staffs as well. Oakland has been historically bad this season. August was no different. Their 5.30 ERA was the fifth worst and their 1.60 WHIP second worst.

Kansas City, on the other hand, has had just one bright spot at the pitching position as of late. Cole Ragans has been elite and while the Jays are still set to face him, the rest of the Royals pitching staff has been arguably even worse than Oakland’s staff. They gave up 150 runs in August and Toronto is likely to start their September off with plenty of runs.

Players To Target

Davis Schneider (2B – TOR)

Nobody in the American League has had a better start to their career in terms of OPS than Schneider. And when I say nobody, I mean literally nobody. His 1.420 OPS is the highest through the first 14 games of a player’s career in MLB history. He has Max Muncy-level power while also having the hit tool of a Mookie Betts. Essentially he’s found a way to be the perfect second baseman.

Through 14 games, he’s hit six home runs with four doubles and has the lowest chase rate in baseball at just 13.6%. He’s hitting just as well against lefties and righties and after slugging 21 home runs in just 86 minor league games this year, it’s hard to not buy in. Look for him to have a great first week of the fantasy playoffs.

Brandon Belt (1B, DH – TOR)

In August, Belt was an absolute home run machine. His seven home runs led all Blue Jays and although he struck out 32.2% of the time, he still showed great plate discipline with a walk rate just shy of 18%. Much of his success came from his 20% barrel rate and the fact that he made contact on pitches in the zone 90% of the time.

He’s currently dealing with a minor back issue, but it looks like he should be plenty healthy by the time next week rolls around. This could line up as a three-home run week for the veteran first baseman.

Milwaukee Brewers: @ PIT (3), @ NYY (3)

Despite the fact that they spend the whole week on the road, the Brewers have the best matchups you could ask for. Both Pittsburgh and New York have some very home-run-friendly pitching staffs. And we all know that little league stadium the Yankees call home couldn’t hold a ball in right field if it tried. The downside of this week of matchups is they’ll still have to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Outside of that, this is a Brewers team that scored the 10th most runs in August. They were also one of only five teams to strike out less than 20% of the time. With them clicking on all cylinders, look for them to score runs in bunches.

Players To Target

William Contreras (C – MIL)

One of my favorite catcher targets coming into this season, Contreras has yet to disappoint. The power may have taken a slight step back, but he’s shown he can still be an elite contributor at the position. In August, he scored 20 runs and drove in 21 while managing 13 XBH. His run total was the most among catchers. His RBI and XBH totals trailed only Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners.

Contreras does it all and has become a threat in all league types with his excellent plate discipline as well. Look for him to be a great all-around contributor in the coming weeks.

Willy Adames (SS – MIL)

I may have just had the Brewers on my teams to avoid list last week and Adames may have been on my hitters to avoid section. This is me eating some crow and admitting I was a bit off. Adames had an excellent week that put the exclamation mark on a good overall month. Not many shortstops have the type of power he possesses and it was on full display.

In his last 11 games, Adames is hitting .341 with three home runs and 11 RBI. He is known as a bit of a free swinger but still managed a strikeout rate of just 20% in that timeframe. This is nothing new for Adames, though. When he makes contact with the ball, good things usually happen. His 12.5% barrel rate is tops among all shortstops this season. It’s highly likely that next week turns into another multi-home run week for hammerin’ Willy.

Matchup To Avoid

Washington Nationals: vs NYM (2), vs LAD (3)

Let’s be honest, the main reason the Nationals made this list is the fact that they play just five games in week 22. The best ability is availability, especially in the playoffs, and the Nationals just don’t fit the criteria much next week. It doesn’t help that the teams they face have great pitching, either. The Nats are set to face Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga in their Mets series. For as bad as that team has been, those two pitchers have managed great 2023 seasons and aren’t ideal matchups.

The Dodgers, on the other hand, are set to run out Lance Lynn, Julio Urias, and likely Bobby Miller against the Nationals. Lynn’s season-long numbers don’t look great but he’s been a new man since his trade to the Dodgers posting elite strikeout rates while limiting runs. Urias had a rough last outing, but his 2.03 ERA and 23.5% K-BB rate in his previous five starts show he was trending back toward his elite self. This lines up as a rough week for the Nationals.

Hitters To Avoid

Lane Thomas (OF – WAS)

If you have Thomas on your team, he has likely been your best waiver wire addition of the year. Overlooked quite a bit on draft day, Thomas made swing changes this season which saw a big boost to his power and batting average. His .279 average, 20 home runs and 17 steals are all a career high. He’s seen production slip as of late though, which can be attributed to a back issue he’s dealing with. You’re now in the playoffs, you cannot afford to start a guy with only five games on the schedule who’s also dealing with a bad back. Thomas did his job, now let someone else lead you to your fantasy baseball title.

Dominic Smith (1B, OF – WAS)

Smith isn’t rostered as much as many of the people in this article, but with the Nationals giving him regular at bats, it’s worth giving the warning. Smith’s power (four XBH) and batting average (.228) both saw a big dip in August. He doesn’t have the speed to steal bases and his strikeout rate jumped to 19.5% in August. Pair that with his OPS dipping to .603 and you have a guy who’s just not worth the roster spot. Look elsewhere, Smith isn’t the droid you’re looking for.