We are officially a quarter of the way through the season, and while it seems to have happened far too fast, we have a multitude of injuries on all of our fantasy squads as proof. You’ll, of course, be looking to sort out your team around those injuries and I figure the best way I can help is by just giving you my rankings for each week in advance. These are not my rest of the season rankings minus injuries, but rather based around a number of factors. Opponents, ballparks, an anticipated spot in the lineup, splits and even potential postponements are all accounted for. Perhaps most importantly, however, are which players will be benefiting/suffering from time in Coors, and which pitchers are scheduled to start two games. I’ll tell you about both of them today then give you my rankings for Week 8.

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Coors Field Watch

With the Humidor coming into play for Chase Field, there really is no second tier this season. Last year, it was Coors in Tier 1 for offense, Chase in Tier 2, then a handful of hitter-friendly environments like the ballparks for the Yankees, Braves, Rangers, Orioles and Reds. While offensive players spending time in those parks this week will get a slight bump, assuming they have reasonable pitching matchups, the only real significant movement will be players who take at-bats in Coors. This week, Colorado travels to Los Angeles then returns to Denver to welcome the Reds for what should be a high-scoring series. As a result, Cincinnati hitters have received sizeable jumps up the rankings.

Two-Start Risers

This week, more teams are being afforded time off. That means we only have 30 two-start pitchers going compared to the usual 40ish. Among them, only three are bonafide aces while 10 are absolute scrubs. We’ve also got 8 who can be used as a streamer in one game or the other, including Zack Wheeler at home against the Marlins and Bartolo Colon at home versus the Royals. That leaves us with 9 pitchers who aren’t always obvious plays, but I would recommend starting in both of their matchups. As you might imagine, playing them in weekly leagues is in your best interest, and in several cases, these arms might be available as waiver wire pickups.

• Jose Berrios (vs DET, @ SEA)
• Masahiro Tanaka (@ TEX, vs LAA)
• Miles Mikolas (vs KC, @ PIT)
• J.A. Happ (vs LAA, @ PHI)
• Jameson Taillon (@ CIN, vs STL)
• Mike Foltynewicz (@ PHI, @ BOS)
• Nick Pivetta (vs ATL, vs TOR)
• Trevor Cahill (vs SEA, vs ARI)
• Jake Faria (vs BOS, vs BAL)

Cahill and Faria are probably the most surprising names here, but both have significant upside, and in Faria’s case, he draws two home starts in a pitcher’s park. You’ll be surprised how many leagues still have Folty, Pivetta and even Happ or Taillon still available so be sure to check your league’s free agents just in case. With all that said, lets take a look at the full rankings.

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