The Smash and Grab: 6 Teams With Elite Hitting Opportunities in Week 5
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 Acquisition Budget (FAAB) bids.
The seven-game teams? Those are obvious. But what about the other matchups? Let's dig in and find out.
Seven-Game Teams (11)
Not a ton of same game slates this week -- so let's focus on who we do get, which includes Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.
With so much volume, who sticks out here? In alphabetical order:
Minnesota Twins: The week starts with four games against the Texas Rangers, and it finishes up with a three game set in Detroit against the Tigers. In Texas, the series starts with Dane Dunning and Kyle Gibson who have been really throwing well, but it finishes with Kohei Arihara and Jordan Lyles. Fire up those Twins hitters.
Oakland Athletics: Like the Twins, they start with a four game set to begin the week -- and it's against the poor pitching staff of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays will counter with four southpaws, so dial up all of your righty bats, including possible fringe hitters like Stephen Piscotty. They finish the weekend against Tampa and get to avoid Tyler Glasnow.
Toronto Blue Jays: Not only is this one of the league's best offenses, it gets to maximize volume with seven games. Oh baby. They will face two southpaws in the Oakland series (Jesus Luzardo and Cole Irvin), which means you probably should lean less on Rowdy Tellez and more on Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez (recently returned from the COVID-19 IL), and Lourdes Gurriel.
Six-Game Teams (17)
The remaining teams hit the field for six games. Of these squads, here are some interesting notes:
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are second in the league in run differential, and while they only have six games this week, three against the Tigers and then three in Camden Yards is an excellent opportunity to focus on.
Washington Nationals: The six games the Sox get this week will be appetizing for fantasy players. The week starts with three games in Atlanta, which includes the return of Max Fried and a follow up against southpaw Drew Smyly. They then head to the New York Yankees and avoid facing
