Fantasy Baseball Weekend Preview: Lineup advice before the MLB All-Star Break

Fred Zinkie

As we head into the final weekend of games before the All-Star break, fantasy managers must be on their toes when setting daily lineups. Major-league teams will take advantage of the looming break to build in extra rest days for players who are dealing with nagging injuries, and anyone who leaves a game early in the coming days might as well start their vacation early.

Matchups to target

Red Sox vs. A’s

Boston gets the honor of having the final turn against the lowly A’s (5.95 ERA) before the All-Star break. With Oakland set to start right-handers on Saturday and Sunday, Jarren Duran (31%) is an outstanding weekend streamer, and Alex Verdugo (89%) is well-positioned to break out of a slump. Those who have extra roster moves Sunday can add Rob Refsnyder (0%) for a matchup against a southpaw starter.

Rangers at Nationals

Texas brings its league-leading offense to Washington this weekend, where the Rangers will meet up with three Nats starters who each have an ERA over 4.30 and a WHIP above 1.40. Ezequiel Durán (76%) is perfectly poised to continue his breakout season, and Leody Taveras (56%) is worth a pickup by any shallow-league manager who could use steals.

Giants vs. Rockies

Colorado pitchers have been predictably disastrous at home but also rank 27th in ERA on the road. The Rockies are scheduled to deploy southpaw starters Friday and Sunday, which creates appealing matchups for Patrick Bailey (25%), Austin Slater (1%), J.D. Davis (50%) and Wilmer Flores (8%)

Matchups to avoid

Angels at Dodgers

Hitters from both Los Angeles teams are less appealing than usual, as they are the only two squads that start their vacation one day early. Those in daily transaction leagues should have reserves ready to swap into the lineup for these players on Sunday. Managers who need to set their lineups for the entire weekend should keep Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, J.D. Martinez and Shohei Ohtani active. All others can be benched.

Orioles at Twins

Baltimore could struggle to score runs against a talented trio of right-handers, Bailey Ober, Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan. Adley Rutschman is the only Oriole who should be universally started, though Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins still make sense in many leagues.

Astros vs. Mariners

Seattle is scheduled to send three excellent right-handers (Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert) to the mound this weekend. José Abreu and Jeremy Peña are two high-profile Astros who have posted a sub-.700 OPS vs. righties this year.

Seeking steals

Those who hope to pick up a couple of extra steals this week should target speedsters in these contests.

Leody Taveras vs. Nationals: Tavares should reach base often against three weak starters this weekend, and he has the plus speed to run on Keibert Ruiz, who leads all catchers in steals allowed. As an added bonus, Taveras could go deep Friday against Trevor Williams, who sits eighth in round-trippers allowed.

Bryson Stott vs. Sandy Alcántara (Friday): It’s hard to believe we are targeting hitters against Alcantara, but the right-hander has fared poorly this season and has continued a career-long pattern of struggling to stop base stealers. Among Phillies, Stott trails only Trea Turner in swipes.

Big Boppers

Looking to add a homer or two to your total this week? Consider streaming one of these players.

Patrick Bailey vs. Austin Gomber (Friday): Those who are willing to trust a small sample can stream Bailey, who in his brief MLB career has posted a 1.215 OPS against southpaws. The left-handed Gomber sits fifth in baseball in homers allowed, and though he has predictably fared worse at home, he has not been effective on the road either.

Justin Turner vs. JP Sears (Sunday): Turner thrives against left-handers such as Sears, who has allowed the fifth-most long balls of any hurler. The veteran could also go deep late in the game against an A’s bullpen that owns a 5.69 ERA.

Streaming starters

In order, here are the best streamers from Friday to Sunday, with their start date and Yahoo! roster rate in parenthesis.

  • Gavin Williams vs. KC (Saturday, 46)

  • Bryan Woo @ HOU (Saturday, 38)

  • Aaron Civale vs. KC (Friday, 36)

  • Andrew Heaney @ WSH (Friday, 58)

  • Ranger Suárez @ MIA (Saturday, 55)

  • Tarik Skubal vs. TOR (Sunday, 44)

  • Julio Teherán vs. CIN (Sunday, 33)

  • Domingo German vs. CHC (Sunday, 47)

  • Griffin Canning @ LAD (Friday, 34)

  • Dustin Lynch @ CLE (Friday, 4)

  • Alex Wood vs. COL (Saturday, 4)

  • Drey Jameson vs. PIT (Saturday, 3)

  • Martín Pérez @ WSH (Saturday, 44)

  • Cole Irvin @ MIN (Friday, 3)

  • Kyle Gibson @ MIN (Sunday, 40)

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