Coming up with actionable Fantasy Baseball advice this time of year is more difficult than you might imagine. Sure, a possible championship hangs in the balance, but there isn't much left to do other than set your lineup for the next three weeks.
So let's do that, shall we? Normally, I like to go week to week with my streamer recommendations. Probable pitchers are constantly changing, so predicting any further out than that is a fool's errand. But since you're not playing for the long haul anymore, you might as well use your bench space to speculate on players who might be of some use to you a week or two from now. Even if you have a star-studded roster and no use for streaming, adding these players will keep them from being used against you.
What I've done here is count up which teams have the most remaining series against "bad" pitching staffs and "bad" lineups, offering up hitter and pitcher recommendations accordingly. How do I classify "bad?" Mostly by way of runs prevented (in the case of pitching staffs) or scored (in the case of lineups), but I do apply my own judgment based on recent performance and personnel changes. For instance, the Reds have a bad pitching staff now even if it rated as middling for most of the season.
Note that I didn't consider the rest of this week (Sept. 2-8) in my analysis. Just the final three weeks, which amounts to six series for each team (plus a makeup game between the Braves and Reds).
Number of remaining series against 'bad' pitching staffs:
- Atlanta Braves: 4
- Chicago Cubs: 4
- Texas Rangers: 4
- Houston Astros: 3
- Los Angeles Angels: 3
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 3
- Minnesota Twins: 3
- Seattle Mariners: 3
- St. Louis Cardinals: 3
Hitter pickups for the stretch run
Already batting .309 (30 for 97) with four homers, six steals, and an .896 OPS since the start of August, Pete Crow-Armstrong figures to sustain his late-season breakthrough to the very end with the Cubs having arguably the best remaining hitting schedule.
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The only reason Dansby Swanson is available enough to mention here is because he's underperformed for so much of the season. He appears to have righted the ship since Aug. 1, slashing .297.368/.495 with four homers and eight steals and will enjoy the same favorable matchups as Crow-Armstrong.
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The second-to-last week in particular figures to be a good one for the Braves' No. 2 hitter, featuring the depleted Reds and Marlins pitching staffs. Jorge Soler is the sort of player who can carry a Fantasy team if he has his power stroke working.
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It's taken Josh Jung several weeks to find his footing after a lengthy absence for a fractured wrist, but early returns in September are strong with a couple home runs already. He'll line up to face the Athletics and Mariners the final week if he can keep it going until then.
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Though a fairly steady performer all season, Masyn Winn saw his power production pick up in August. The Cardinals' matchups are especially good this upcoming week, with the Reds and Blue Jays on the schedule, and they'll travel to Coors Field in the season's final week.
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If not for the five-hit game Sunday, Jordan Walker would have nothing to hang his hat on, but he made some mechanical adjustments in the weeks leading up to his major-league return, still offers considerable upside at age 23, and is assured an everyday job moving forward. The hope is that he's rolling by the time that Coors Field series comes around.
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The past two seasons have shown Matt Wallner to be maybe the streakiest hitter in all of baseball, so it's reasonable to worry that you've already missed the bus. But he has an OPS over 1.000 in the second half and some great matchups still forthcoming, particularly next week against the Angels and Reds.
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Gavin Lux has reportedly sped up his swing in the second half, and it's showing up in both the exit velocity readings and the forward-facing numbers. The Dodgers face the Marlins and Rockies two weeks from now and then visit Coors Field in the final week, so as long as they don't sit him too much, Lux should be golden.
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Taylor Ward has a strange tendency to start strong and finish strong, with a bunch of worthless at-bats in between, and given his three home runs in his past four games, history may be on the verge of repeating. It feels a bit superstitious, but then again, he has two series against the White Sox remaining.
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Michael Busch is on the wrong side of streaky right now, but his strikeout rate has been in steady decline overall. And again, the Cubs have arguably the best-remaining hitter matchups, including a series at Coors Field this upcoming week and a series against the Athletics and Nationals the following week.
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Tommy Edman has been a fixture in the Dodgers lineup since his return from wrist surgery and shows no less inclination to run with his new team. The final two weeks, which feature one series against the Marlins and two against the Rockies, could be especially productive for a player who we're used to seeing more rostered than this.
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Number of remaining series against 'bad' lineups:
- Houston Astros: 4
- Texas Rangers: 4
- Toronto Blue Jays: 4
- Chicago White Sox: 3
- Detroit Tigers: 3
- Los Angeles Angels: 3
- Oakland Athletics: 3
- San Diego Padres: 3
- Seattle Mariners: 3
Pitcher pickups for the stretch run
Bowden Francis is technically too rostered to mention here, but seeing as he was just 57 percent rostered a couple weeks ago, he's not exactly a fixture yet. His past four starts have of course been exceptional, and his final three turns align against bottom-eight offenses. Don't let any missteps between now and then dissuade you.
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Reid Detmers has lived and died with his slider in recent years and showed it was back up to speed in his return to the majors Tuesday, registering 10 strikeouts against the Dodgers, of all teams. He has much easier matchups against the White Sox, Braves and Rangers yet to come.
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Jacob deGrom is scheduled for one more rehab start Saturday and should be equipped to go five innings right away. It's certainly risky staking your season on a pitcher fresh off Tommy John surgery, but deGrom is no ordinary pitcher and may be looking at a schedule of Mariners, Blue Jays, Mariners, Angels to close out the season.
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The biggest flaw in Cody Bradford's game is that he puts the ball in the air too much, but his control is so good that it should mitigate the impact of home runs. He's also been working deep into games and registering strikeouts at decent clip, so if he stays on regular turn and faces the Mariners each of the next two weeks, followed by a two-start week against the Athletics and Angels, the returns should be pretty delicious.
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Yu Darvish's long-awaited return to the Padres rotation Wednesday should give us more insight into how trustworthy he'll be down the stretch, but even if it goes poorly, his long track record of Fantasy relevance is reason for optimism. So is the fact that the Mariners and White Sox are among his remaining matchups.
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You're probably not excited to start a five-inning pitcher like Andrew Heaney, but if you haven't already surmised, the Rangers have maybe the most favorable pitching schedule to close out the season. If he remains on turn, he'll face the Mariners next week, followed by a two-start week against the Blue Jays and Mariners before closing out the season against the Angels.
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Osvaldo Bido's stretch of being nearly as unhittable as Bowden Francis (no, really!) came to an end in his most recent turn. But among his remaining matchups are the White Sox and Mariners, which are maybe the two best a pitcher can have. His fly-ball tendencies should continue to make for a low BABIP.
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JP Sears' remaining schedule isn't quite as favorable as Bido's, but it also includes the White Sox and Mariners (or should, anyway). He's the more efficient pitcher of the two, having gone seven-plus innings in five of his past six starts for a 2.52 ERA.
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Mitch Spence is here because he's in line to face two bottom-eight offenses, the Rangers and Mariners, in the season's final week, so if your league doesn't count that one, feel free to take a pass. He's more of a ground-ball guy than the other two Athletics pitchers featured here but has nonetheless allowed two runs or fewer in six of his past eight starts.
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