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Week 7 Hitter Matchups – Veteran Hitters Top the List

By Corbin Young
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 07: San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) watches as he hits the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 07, 2020, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire)

There are three more weeks left in the fantasy baseball season, and it will be a busy one with three teams playing nine games this week due to doubleheaders. As a result, those teams have juicy week 7 hitter matchups. Last week’s recommended hitters did not fare so well, but there are several veterans and sleeper hitters to plug into lineups this week. As always, check out Eric’s waiver wire article, the two-start pitcher piece by Chris, and Mick’s streaming pitcher article. Let’s look at the week 7 hitter matchups.

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Week 7 Hitter Matchups

Easier Week 7 Hitter Matchups

  • Miami Marlins – 3 at ATL, 6 vs PHI (two doubleheaders)
  • Oakland Athletics – 5 vs. HOU, 4 at TEX
  • Philadelphia Phillies – 1 at NYM, 2 vs. BOS, 6 at MIA
  • St. Louis Cardinals – 1 at CHC, 2 vs. MIN (doubleheader), 2 vs. DET (doubleheader), 3 vs. CIN
  • Texas Rangers – 1 at SEA, 3 vs. LAA, 4 vs. OAK (one doubleheader)

Several teams play eight or nine games this week due to making up postponed games. With the Marlins and Phillies facing each other, they both present the best week 7 hitter matchups. The Phillies rank second to last in wOBA allowed, and the Marlins rank in the bottom 10. For the rest of the teams, it’s primarily about the added games and plate appearances. 

Tougher Week 7 Hitter Matchups

  • Chicago White Sox – 2 at PIT, 3 vs. DET
  • Los Angeles Dodgers – 3 at ARI, 2 vs. HOU
  • Milwaukee Brewers – 2 at DET, 3 vs. CHC
  • Colorado Rockies – 3 at SD, 3 vs LAA

Outside of the White Sox, Dodgers, and Brewers playing five games, there are not any glaring difficult matchups this week. Even for the White Sox and Dodgers, you are starting most of their hitters. Over the last 14 days, the Padres have the 5th best team ERA, and they added Mike Clevinger at the trade deadline. It is just something to note for Rockies hitters with them playing the Padres in San Diego and facing tougher pitching to start the week.

Last Week’s Hitter Matchups

Week 6 Record: 3 – 6

Record through six weeks 28 – 24 – 5

Randal Grichuk – Loss | Teoscar Hernandez – Loss | Clint Frazier – Loss | Andrew McCutchen – Loss | 

Alec Bohm – Win | Dominic Smith – Loss | Rowdy Tellez – Win | Luis Garcia – Win | Kevin Newman – Loss |

Start Them in Week 7

Alec Bohm, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies top prospect Alec Bohm continues to hit with five doubles, two home runs, nine runs, and ten RBI while slashing .299/.355/.463. Over the last five games this week, Bohm has one home run, three runs, and four RBI with a slash line of .389/.350/.667. He’s rocking a 90.5 mph average exit velocity, 14.3% barrel rate, and 48.2% hard-hit rate. In terms of barrel rate, he ranks 34th behind Ronald Acuna and Keston Hiura. The Marlins rank 9th worst in wOBA allowed, and the Red Sox rank dead last. Bohm should continue to rake this week. 

Brad Miller, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals

Week 7 Hitter Matchups - Brad Miller Statcast

This week veteran Brad Miller smacked three home runs, five runs, and eight RBI with a .375 batting average and 1.444 OPS. At this point, plug Miller into your lineup with confidence, especially with his 17.3% barrel rate (95th percentile) and 50% hard-hit rate (93rd percentile). Miller’s expected stats are through the roof as well with a .333 xBA (98th percentile), .658 xSLG (98th percentile), and .473 xwOBA (100th percentile). He’s also tied with Ian Happ with a 96.1 mph average exit velocity on FB/LD (No. 32). 

Brandon Belt, 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants

Over the last 20 games, Brandon Belt has been unbelievable with eight doubles, five home runs, 13 runs, and 13 RBI. Throughout that span, he’s slashing .466/.537/.897 with a 276 wRC+. Similar to Miller, Belt is crushing the ball with a 20% barrel rate (99th percentile), 92.1 mph average exit velocity (90th percentile), and a 52.3% hard-hit rate (95th percentile). Belt’s Statcast page shows a ton of red, especially the expected stats. He’s rocking a .299 xBA (77th percentile), a .677 xSLG (97th percentile), and a .438 xwOBA (95th percentile). Even though the Giants have middle of the road matchups this week, start Belt with confidence.

Alex Dickerson, OF, San Francisco Giants

Eric Cross mentioned Alex Dickerson in his waiver wire article up on FantraxHQ, and he’s been dominating over the last 14 days. In the past 14 days, Dickerson hasotaled five home runs, 11 runs, and 13 RBI with a triple slash of .389/.450/.917. The power is intriguing for Dickerson since he only reached ten home runs once back in 2016, but the Statcast data backs it up. 

Dickerson has a 13.4% barrel rate (86th percentile), 91.3 mph average exit velocity (86th percentile), and 46.3% hard-hit rate (84th percentile). All of which improved from his 2019 numbers. As a lefty, Dickerson platoons against right-handed pitchers according to Roster Resource. With Austin Slater recently coming off the injured list, monitor Dickerson’s playing time. However, it’s hard to imagine the Giants removing the hot swinging outfielder from their lineup.

Evan Longoria, 3B, San Francisco Giants

We promise this is not a Giants’ fantasy baseball site, but here’s another veteran Giants hitter swinging well. Over the last 14 days, Longoria hit one home run, scored nine runs and seven RBI while slashing .348/.375/.478. Although the power is not quite there with four home runs on the season, Longoria racks up the runs and RBI with 20 each. He’s walking and striking out less while making more contact inside the zone with an 89.4% Z-Contact rate. 

With the increased zone contact, the quality of contact also increased with the 11.3% barrel rate (77th percentile) and 42.5% hard-hit rate (68th percentile). Longoria’s expected stats are also in the top 10% of the league with a .315 xBA, .586 xSLG, and .400 xwOBA. Especially in deeper leagues, Longoria’s worth starting at a corner infield spot. 

Victor Reyes, OF, Detroit Tigers

The run-scoring machine, Victor Reyes, leads the Tigers in runs scored so far this season. During the last 14 days, Reyes has one home run, ten runs, and five RBI with a slash line of .346/.358/.538. He typically does not hit for power but provides runs and speed with five steals. 

Although his 90.1 mph average exit velocity and 42.9% hard-hit rate rank in the 73rd percentile, his 4.1% barrel rate ranks in the bottom 25% of the league. Reyes rocks a healthy 25.5% line drive rate while pulling the ball a lot more this year at 40.8%. This week the Tigers face the Cardinals and White Sox for five of their eight games, and both teams rank in the top-6 in wOBA allowed. It’s more about volume this week for Reyes to help with batting average and steals. 

Week 7 Sleeper Hitters

Jeimer Candelario, 3B, Detroit Tigers

On the season, Jeimer Candelario has four home runs, 18 runs, 17 RBI, and one steal with a .294 batting average. Candelario’s batting average appears out of place with a .231 career batting average and likely inflated by his .369 BABIP. However, he does have a career-high 27.3% line drive rate so far this season. 

Although Candelario is not known for the power, his Statcast data shows the increased quality of contact across the board. His 90.4 mph average exit velocity, 44.3% hard-hit rate, and 9.1% barrel rate are all career highs up to this point. He’s more of a sleeper hitter with the Tigers week 7 hitter matchups, but the batted ball changes are intriguing.

Tyler Naquin, OF, Cleveland Indians

Over the last 14 days, Tyler Naquin has been raking with four home runs, six runs, and 13 RBI with a .316 batting average. He’s hitting a career-high 25.9% line drive rate and spraying the ball to center field 44.4% of the time. Although it’s a small sample this year, Naquin has an 11.1% barrel rate and 46.3% hard-hit rate that are both career highs. In deeper leagues, Naquin is a sleeper hitter with four games against the Royals in the week 7 hitter matchups. The Royals pitchers rank in the bottom eight in wOBA allowed.

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