The Smash and Grab: 5 Teams With Elite Hitting Opportunities in Week 7
One thing I have learned in my journey in fantasy baseball is that volume is key -- especially in hitting.
In standard rotisserie leagues, only one category is ratio based (batting average), which allows us to maximize at-bats and plate appearances to rack up those counting statistics in runs, home runs, runs batted in, and stolen bases. And as simplistic as the approach seems, the best fantasy players find ways to garner as many shots as possible -- via volume.
Each week, this report will analyze the matchups for the upcoming week to see if any teams in particular stand out from a volume perspective as we gear up for those Free Agent Budget (FAB) bids.
The seven-game teams? Those are obvious. But what about the other matchups? Let's dig in and find out.
Seven-Game Teams (9)
There are a bunch of seven-game teams this week: Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates
With so much volume, who sticks out? In alphabetical order:
Boston Red Sox: One of the league's best offenses so far will play a series finale in Baltimore Monday and then travel to the Oakland Athletics for three and finish with the Los Angeles Angels for three. Los Angeles arms have really been struggling -- monitor this weekend's box scores to see if anyone sticks out with Enrique Hernandez on the injured list. Hunter Renfroe will get two lefties out of six starts.
Cincinnati Reds: This is a pretty nice set of matchups this week: it starts with three games in Pittsburgh facing Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker and Trevor Cahill, followed up by a four-game set in Denver. If Nick Senzel is available, he's a very solid play, and Shogo Akiyama, recently returned from the injured list, may even be intriguing.
Chicago White Sox: I am less bullish than I normally am on the South Siders, and that's largely due to the fact that they will face J.A. Happ and Michael Pineda to start the week. A double-header looms later in the week against the Kansas City Royals. Brady Singer has been outstanding, and they will see him Sunday, but there's no one particularly frightening prior to him.
Six-Game Teams (18)
All of the remaining teams but two -- who we'll mention in a second -- hit the field for six games. Of these squads, here are some interesting notes:
Toronto Blue Jays: This is an obvious offense, but you have to keep rolling with them as long as the matchups are this enticing. A three-game jaunt in hitter-friendly Atlanta begins the week, where they line up to face three struggling arms, including two southpaws, in Max Fried, Drew Smyly and Charlie Morton. Then, they return to that band box Triple-A park in Dunedin for three games against the Philadelphia Phillies. Aaron Nola looms, but opportunities against Vincent Velasquez and Chase Anderson are also ripe for the taking.
San Diego Padres: The six games the Padres have these week are particularly juicy. It starts with three games in Coors, followed by home games against the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis is likely to throw Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright and Kwang-Hyun Kim in the weekend set, and while Wainwright has had some nice outings recently, I'm not sure I'm buying it.
