<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1EE5nU_0vPIXsmg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1EE5nU_0vPIXsmg00" width="1600" height="900" ></figure>What’s up everyone!If you’re unfamiliar with this series, each week I take a look at some hitting matchups you should take advantage of and some hitting matchups you should avoid, based on who the hitters will likely be facing on the mound. I’ll also be focusing on catchers you can stream each week since we all know that catcher can be an especially tricky position in fantasy.Here’s one more thing I want to add in the intro of this particular article and the ones following it: if you’re in the playoffs right now, streaming hot hitters for a week can be a very viable strategy, and you shouldn’t be afraid to dump your struggling middle-of-the-road guys to squeeze the juice out of a hot streak. Obviously don’t drop your studs, but you’re fighting for your life in the playoffs, and hanging onto some guy who’s hitting .150 over the past three weeks and is one of your borderline start guys most of the time isn’t going to help you win.So let’s take a look at the hitters to start and avoid in Week 24 (9/9-9/15) of the fantasy baseball season.Notes: All pitching matchups mentioned here are based on projections as of this post’s publication. It is entirely possible that the actual matchups could change for any number of reasons. Keep in mind, this article is geared toward middle-of-the-road players, meaning you should be starting top-of-the-line bats regardless of the matchup. Always start your studs.Additional note: I want to thank Ryan Clark for covering this column for me while I was out of town!STARTChicago Cubs hitters – The Cubs have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Dodgers where they’re slated to see Walker Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Bobby Miller.Buehler doesn’t concern me at all, neither does Miller, who’s given up 26 earned runs in his last five starts. Yamamoto would normally be an avoid for me, however this will be his first start back from the IL and he’s likely to be on an innings limit, meaning who knows what he’ll look like (first games back from injury don’t always go well) and even if he’s looking good, he’s not going to be out there for long.After that series, the Cubs will get to face the Rockies, who own the worst team FIP in all of baseball, for three games in Coors Field, which is the most obvious “start all your Cubs hitters” series you could ask for.Make sure you’ve got Ian Happ in your lineups this week, as he’s slashing .383/.420/.553 over the past two weeks. Pete Crow-Armstrong is also worth a look this week, as he’s slashing .341/.391/.463 over the past two weeks, same with Nico Hoerner, who’s hitting .333/.404/.429 with five steals over that same time period.CATCHER TO STREAM: Miguel Amaya hasn’t been hitting super well lately, but this is more of a matchup-based play if you’re desperate at the catcher position. It’s slated to be a pretty favorable week for your Cubs hitters, so if you need help at catcher in a deeper league, you could do a lot worse.Houston Astros hitters – The Astros also have six games this week, starting off with three games against the A’s, who currently own the 10th-worst team FIP in all of baseball and closing with three games against the Angels, who own the third-worst team FIP in the league.Here’s who the Astros are slated to face this week: JP Sears, Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Samuel Aldegheri, Tyler Anderson, and Caden Dana. You worried about any of those guys? Yeah, me neither.If you need some help in the power department, Jon Singleton owns a .305 ISO over the past two weeks and could have some value in deeper leagues. You’re not going to get much in the way of batting average out of him (though he also owns a .357 OBP over that time period, so there’s more value there in OBP leagues), but that’s kind of the bargain with Singleton.Minnesota Twins hitters – The Twins have six games this week, starting with three games against the Angels, who as I mentioned earlier, own the third-worst team FIP in all of baseball.Then, they’ll get three games against the Reds, who currently own the seventh-worst team FIP in the league.Similar to what I said with the Astros, it’s a who’s who of whatever starters for the Twins this week. Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Jack Kochanowicz, Julian Aguiar, Nick Martinez, and Rhett Lowder. You’re good to go with your Twins hitters.Unfortunately virtually every hitter on the Twins has been struggling lately, so there aren’t really any guys who are likely free agents who could be sneaky plays this week, but basically just start the Twins you trust.Detroit Tigers hitters – The Tigers have six games this week, starting off with three games against the Rockies who, as I mentioned earlier, have the worst team FIP in the league right now. Unfortunately those games won’t be in Coors Field, but still, that Rockies pitching staff is not good, so you should be good.After that, the Tigers will have three games against the Orioles where they’re slated to face Zach Eflin, Corbin Burnes, and Cade Povich. Eflin has been pretty good since joining the Orioles, so in daily leagues I might avoid him. Same with Burnes, though it’s worth noting that just a few starts ago, Burnes gave up five earned runs to the Astros and eight to the Red Sox, so he’s not invulnerable. And while Povich looked really good against the White Sox…it was the White Sox, so I’m not suddenly avoiding Povich just yet.Kerry Carpenter is worth a look this week, as he’s hitting .314/.415/.571 over the past two weeks. And if you need some help in the power department, Spencer Torkelson owns a .222 ISO over the past two weeks and could have some value.CATCHER TO STREAM: If you need some help at catcher, Jake Rogers owns a .200 ISO over the past two weeks. The average hasn’t been great, but if you need some power, Rogers could be helpful. He also owns a .360 OBP over the same time period, meaning he could be more helpful in OBP leagues.AVOIDSan Diego Padres hitters – The Padres have just five games this week, which already puts them at a disadvantage. On top of that, they’ve got some tough matchups, starting off with two games against the Mariners where they’ll see George Kirby and Bryan Woo.Then, they’ll have three games against the Giants in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park where they’ll face Logan Webb, Hayden Birdsong, and whoever replaces Kyle Harrison in the rotation.I’m not all that concerned about Birdsong, but otherwise there’s just not enough value to warrant starting your middle-of-the-road Padres hitters.Los Angeles Dodgers hitters – The Dodgers have six games this week and are slated for some fairly tough matchups.They start the week off with three games against the Cubs, who currently own the 11th-best team FIP in baseball. In that series, they’ll see Kyle Hendricks, Shota Imanaga, and Javier Assad. Hendricks doesn’t worry me, so you’re good to start your Dodgers in daily leagues there, but Imanaga and Assad certainly can be tough matchups.After that, the Dodgers have a three-game series against Atlanta, who currently owns the best team FIP in the league. There, they’ll see Spencer Schwellenbach, Chris Sale, and Charlie Morton. Morton doesn’t worry me, but Sale certainly does and Schwellenbach has looked pretty good too.All in all, I don’t think there’s enough value to warrant starting your mid-tier Dodgers hitters.Texas Rangers hitters – The Rangers also have six games this week, though they start the week off with a two-game series, this one against the Diamondbacks where they’ll face both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.After that, they’ll have four games against the Mariners, who own the third-best team FIP in all of baseball right now. There, they’ll see Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby.That’s a whole lot of very good starting pitchers the Rangers are slated to face this week, making it a week to avoid.Feature image by Michael Packard (@artbymikep on Twitter) / Photo by Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire</div></body>

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Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 24 (9/9-9/15)

If you’re unfamiliar with this series, each week I take a look at some hitting matchups you should take advantage of and some hitting matchups you should avoid, based on who the hitters will likely be facing on the mound. I’ll also be focusing on catchers you can stream each week since we all know that catcher can be an especially tricky position in fantasy.

Hitters to Start and Avoid in Week 24 (9/9-9/15)

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