Welcome back to another edition of hitter Quick Grades! Each week I rank the top 100 hitters without bias using a variety of data. I take games played, park factors, matchups, and projections to help you find the top hitters for the upcoming week. I have described the process in more detail below as well as have the top-100 projected hitters for the week. Thanks for stopping by and best of luck in your leagues this week.
The Quick Grade Series
Each week, I will provide breakdowns of hitters with a grade range from 40 to 100. Think about a school grade (90-100 being an A, 80-89 equaling a B, and 70-79 = C, and so on). Grades are weighted based on several different factors that I discuss below.
Week 13 covers games for the week of Monday, July 4, through Sunday, July 10.
You can find the Week 12 Quick Grades here.
How It Works
We established that each hitter would have a grade based on four categories that would land them a total score between 40 and 100. Each of the four categories will are graded from 10 to 25, which lands us at that total score. Here is what goes into it:
- Games Played – Let’s start simple. The more games played in a week, the more stats a player can accumulate. Maximizing plate appearances for fantasy baseball is huge. If the player you roster has seven games versus a different player having five games, it is a no-brainer. If a team is scheduled to play seven games that week, the team’s hitter will get 25 points. Six games earn a hitter 23 points, and five games drop you down to 20. If a team is set to play more than seven games in a week, that player will get 27 points for games.
- Ballpark Factors – Is a hitter playing four games in Coors? What about three in Oakland? These things matter. We will use the FantasyPros park factors to help us out there. I have created an algorithm that gives each ballpark a score from 10-25. Then factoring in how many games a hitter plays where each week, a score of 10-to-25 is given.
- Matchups – Does a hitter have strong splits against a left or right-handed pitcher? What if they face three lefties this week with a poor split against lefties. We factor that in.
- Projections – Finally, we will factor in projections. I will update using FantasyPros projections and scale them down to a weekly projection. It is not perfect, but using projections with the other factors can help project how a player might perform.
Week 13 Hitter Grades (7/4-7/10)
Team to Stream: Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay goes on the road for the week but goes to two favorable hitting parks in Boston and Cincinnati. The Red Sox send Michael Wacha, Nick Pivetta, and Rich Hill to the mound against the Rays. In Cincinnati, the Rays are scheduled to face Luis Castillo, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo. The pitching matchups aren't home runs, but with the park factors in place, it could be a good week for Rays' hitters.
Team to Fade: Seattle Mariners
Seattle is slated for a tough six-game week next week. It begins with a trip to San Diego to face Mike Clevinger and Sean Manaea. They then head back home but have four games with Toronto including starts against Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah. If you have questionable Mariners hitters, it may be a good week to look elsewhere.
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Chris Clegg is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @RotoClegg.
