Fantasy Baseball Weekend Preview: Yankees and Twins Will Feast

Managers who need to stream a starter this weekend are in luck, as there are three exciting young players who will be fielding baseball’s lowest-scoring lineups. On the offensive end, the Yankees and Twins are the best sources for temporary help.

Matchups to target

Yankees vs. Blue Jays

The Yankees should score a lot of runs this weekend in their hitter-friendly home stadium. They’ll face Kevin Gausman, whom they beat this year, José Berríos, who has struggled at times of late, and Yariel Rodríguez, who didn’t get out of the first inning in his most recent start. And late in the game, they’ll face a Blue Jays bullpen with a 5.09 ERA, with Alex Verdugo (46%) batting leadoff and Austin Wells batting cleanup (30%).

Twins vs. White Sox

Outside of a few innings in what is expected to be a short start for Garrett Crochet on Saturday, Minnesota hitters should get their wish with a pitching staff that ranks 29th in baseball in ERA. Ryan Jeffers (42%) is a streaming option at catcher, while Carlos Santana (21%), Brooks Lee (20%) and Matt Wallner (4%) are some of the best options in this week’s article.

Dodgers @ A’s

The Dodgers’ productive offense should continue to crackle as they face three weak starters and a bullpen devoid of established hurlers. Gavin Lux (26%) is a great streamer for the upcoming matchups, and Andy Pages (12%) is an option in deep leagues.

Padres vs. Rockies

San Diego should score early and often against a pitching staff with the worst ERA in baseball. Unfortunately, key members of that offense have been rotated widely. Still, this is a reminder to get every Padres hitter in the lineup in shallow leagues.

Braves vs Marlins

Braves hitters should generally fare well against three beatable righties and a bullpen that lost its top relievers at the deadline. Orlando Arcia (8%) is this lineup’s best streamer, while Jarred Kelenic (34%) and Eddie Rosario (2%) could be candidates for deep leagues.

Astros vs Rays

Houston hitters should reach base often against three starters with a WHIP above 1.30 and a relief corps that lost key members at the deadline. Outfielder Jake Meyers (7%) is the top target on the waiver wire, while Jeremy Peña could remain active in shallow leagues where he sometimes sits on the bench.

Matchups to Avoid

White Sox @ Twins

Not that they would attract much attention initially, but the White Sox hitters could struggle against three solid Minnesota righties and an effective relief corps. Luis Robert Jr. is the only man starting in this lineup.

Phillies @ Mariners

Players in one of baseball’s best lineups could struggle to reach base against Seattle’s three starters, each with an ERA under 1.05. The superstars will need to stay in fantasy lineups, but this is a bad weekend to start Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Austin Hays.

Guardians vs. Orioles

The Guardians are unlikely to have any offensive outbursts against a solid trio of Baltimore starters. José Ramírez, Steven Kwan and Josh Naylor are the three men who should remain active in all competitions.

Looking for theft

Harrison Bader (OF, New York Mets, 10%)

Bader is second on the Mets with 14 steals, and he has an excellent chance to add to that total this weekend. The speedy outfielder will be facing an Angels staff that lacks elite starters and ranks 27th in baseball with a 4.60 ERA, and once he gets on base, he’ll undoubtedly be aggressively running against Logan O’Hoppe, who has allowed more steals than any other catcher.

Looking for rescues

Chad Green (Toronto Blue Jays, 45%)

This is likely the last week Green will appear in this space, as his roster percentage will increase substantially now that he made it to the trade deadline with his closer role intact. The right-handed pitcher is coming off a stellar season (1.67 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) and should be Toronto’s closer for the remainder of the campaign. Those in deeper drafts could instead target Tyler Ferguson (14%), who is currently the closer for the A’s. Unfortunately, Oakland may not be able to beat the Dodgers this weekend.

Streaming starters

Below you’ll find the weekend’s top streamers, listed in order of arrival, with their start date and Yahoo! roster percentage in parentheses.

• Spencer Schwellenbach vs. MIA (Friday 49)

• Tyler Phillips @SEA (Friday, 38)

• Simeon Woods Richardson vs. CWS (Sunday, 24)

• Hayden Birdsong @CIN (Sunday, 19)

• Carson Spiers vs. SF (Sunday, 11)

• Kyle Gibson @CHC (Saturday, 34)

• José Quintana @LAA (Sunday 29)

• José Soriano vs. NYM (Saturday 23)

• David Peterson @LAA (Saturday, 17)

• Paul Blackburn @LAA (Friday, 8)

• Michael Lorenzen @DET (Saturday 17)

• Aaron Civale @WSH (Saturday, 34)

• Javier Assad vs. STL (Friday, 30)

• Dean Kremer @CLE (Friday, 22)