New year, same me writing the fantasy baseball weekly planner for this awesome site. Last season it took me a bit to get into the swing of things with this article. I wasn’t sure what format I wanted to go with or how long I wanted it to be. By season’s end, though, this bad boy was locked and loaded and a great source of league-dominating information. This season, prepare for more of the same.
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
The point of this article is for me to dive into the next week’s worth of games, figure out who has good or bad matchups, and present you with the teams/players you should target or avoid. It can be for any number of reasons. The number of games they play, how often are they on the road, what the pitching matchups are, what stadiums the games are being played in, etc. With that in mind, let’s get right into it.
Fantasy Baseball Planner: Week 3
Teams to Target
Arizona Diamondbacks — @ COL (3), vs STL (3)
The reigning National League Champions are set to face a pretty cupcake schedule in Week 3. We’ve all seen how bad Colorado’s pitching staff has been so far this season. As a team, they have a combined 8.37 ERA, while mostly being on the road. They’re set to face Kyle Freeland, Austin Gomber and Cal Quantrill, who’ve already surrendered a combined 30 runs and seven home runs in just 19.1 innings.
On the other hand, they also face the Cardinals, who should be good on paper. However, after losing Sonny Gray before the season their starting pitching isn’t scaring anybody. They give up the fourth-most HR/9 at 1.95 and their 10.2% K-BB rate is the seventh-worst in baseball. They have a fairly decent core of relievers but Arizona will have plenty of time to do damage before worrying about them.
Milwaukee Brewers — @ CIN (4), @ BAL (3)
There are a few things I will always love when evaluating teams and their upcoming schedules. I love all teams playing against Colorado in Colorado. I love all the teams playing at Great American Ball Park. I love all teams who play a seven-game weekly schedule. Milwaukee checks two of those three boxes. Add in the fact their offense is rolling and you get a trifecta. Their .276 batting average is seventh-best in baseball and they’ve stolen the most bases as a team with 11.
Great American Ball Park is one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball. Playing a four-game road series there should help pump up their offensive numbers. Especially since they face nothing but right-handers who they have a .780 OPS against already this season. Cincy’s pitching staff gives up 1.50 HR/9 and the 12th-worst hard-hit rate at 40.4%. Expect lots of loud contact on Milwaukee’s end.
They end the week in Baltimore. Despite how good their hitting is, their pitching staff leaves a bit to be desired. Sunday’s starter is TBD (likely going to be Grayson Rodriguez). Other than that they face Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer, who are very hittable. Plenty of runs should be scored.
Hitters to Target
Blaze Alexander (2B, SS – ARI)
The rookie who popped up out of nowhere to help fill in for injuries may have already played his way into a more permanent position. Blaze Alexander showed some XBH ability last season racking up 23 in just 73 games. All while hitting .291 at the Triple-A level. Even if he does get sent back down at some point, it won’t be before next week when his 50% hard-hit rate will play very well at elevation. Alexander should add to his home run total at least once in Colorado.
As a Mariners fan, I miss Eugenio Suarez. A lot. But seeing him be successful in Arizona does make me a bit happy. It makes me even happier to see that the right-handed slugger will play in home run-happy Coors Field and is set to face two lefties. Two lefties who love to dish up home runs. He has a career .853 OPS against left-handed hurlers. Expect more of the same success next week.
Jackson Chourio has gone from top prospect to leading off on Opening Day to proving the hype was very well deserved. All in two weeks. He’s alternating between batting first and ninth depending on the matchup. He just smacked his first home run of the season in the last game. He ended 2023 with 51 XBH and 44 stolen bases which was no fluke. He bats toward the bottom of the lineup against right-handers, but if he continues to heat up, expect his power and speed both to be on full display.
There are few players in baseball hotter than Brice Turang right now. His speed has been on full display, stealing six bases in his last four games. He’s found a way to mix in his newfound hitting ability. He’s seemingly tweaked his swing and started producing line drives at an almost 40% clip. Line drives are the number one contributor to a higher average. He’s always struggled a bit against left-handers, so seeing him get a murderer’s row of righties will be perfect for a big week for the light-hitting speedster.
Teams to Avoid
Chicago Cubs — @ SDP (3), @ SEA (3)
There may not be two tougher road stadiums to play in as a hitter than Petco Park and T-Mobile Park. As far as ballpark factors go, they’re number one and number two in terms of least hitter-friendly parks. Add to that the Seattle Mariners have a top-five starting pitcher group in baseball and you get a serious problem. Their 17.6% K-BB rate is fifth-best in baseball and with their starting rotation being five deep there’s no real “easy” matchup.
San Diego, on the other hand, may not have the elite starting rotation Seattle has but they’ve found ways to be dominant in their own right. Michael King and DL Hall have both looked good. Yu Darvish‘s seven-pitch repertoire will never not be intimidating. They’ve been hit hard a bit this season but this feels like the week that changes.
Hitters to Avoid
Cody Bellinger has gotten off to what some may consider a disappointing start. After a resurgent season in 2023, he’s hitting just .200 with two XBH and an 11.5% swinging strike rate. As someone not traditionally known for hitting the ball hard (by Statcast measures), he’s going to find it hard to be successful in the very pitcher-friendly parks next week. He may be better suited on your bench.
Between 2023 and the start of 2024, Michael Tauchman has been a pretty fun addition in terms of deep waiver wire finds. His ability to hit leadoff mixed with enough speed and pop to make things interesting will always be intriguing. The problem is he is only really intriguing against lesser pitching staffs in hitter-friendly parks. Going against the likes of Seattle and San Diego on a long road trip isn’t going to suit him well. At best, he may play 4/6 games, which is already a disadvantage. You’re better off finding someone else to get you the stats you’re looking for this week.
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