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The Rockies are at home for all of Week 13 (June 18-24), which hasn't happened often this season. It's good news not only for their hitters but for those on the visiting teams. And all three who set foot in Coors Field this week just so happen to have good matchups. Happy day.
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Not surprisingly, half of this list is comprised of Rockies, Mets and Marlins. But No. 1 plays elsewhere and has better numbers than you probably realize.
Here are my preferred 10 hitters owned in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
With two home runs Thursday, David Peralta is now on a 32-homer pace and, according to FanGraphs, has the third-highest hard-hit rate in all of baseball. He doesn't elevate the ball well, which suggests the home run pace will probably slow, but with nothing but righties on tap, against whom he has hit .308 with a .940 OPS, he's a good bet to keep it up this week.
Justin Bour has become a fixture on this list, which means he hasn't actually delivered enough to graduate from it, but that changes with a three-game trip to Coors Field this week. He's at least getting on base a ton, so he never hangs his Fantasy owners out to dry. And with the quality of contact he's making, his home run drought will eventually end.
No drought for Brian Anderson, who's batting .362 (34 for 94) with a .972 OPS over his past 24 games. I worry about the sustainability of those numbers, but of course, he has Coors Field in his future. Matchups against Andrew Suarez, Dereck Rodriguez and Derek Holland in the other half of the week certainly don't hurt.
Yes, he's batting just .205, but would you believe that over the past month, Ian Desmond is the 21st highest-scoring hitter in standard CBS points leagues. I can scarcely believe it myself. He has a full seven games at Coors Field, where his OPS is 250 points higher than on the road, and those include four against lefties.
Ian Kinsler has so far had a quiet Week 12 (June 11-17), but he's still batting .300 (21 for 70) with seven homers over his past 17 games. Check out some of his matchups in Week 13 : Matt Koch, Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada, Sam Gaviglio and Jaime Garcia.
The Mets are the other team visiting Coors Field this week — and for four games, as luck would have it — which should be enough to snap Brandon Nimmo out of his recent funk. Rest of season, he's probably the best Fantasy performer on this list, but a lefty-heavy schedule drops him to this spot for this week.
Mac Williamson hasn't done much since returning from a month-long absence for a concussion, but he crushed the ball during his rehab assignment and officially got back in the home run column Thursday. Having four lefties on the schedule this week should help, especially since they're members of the Marlins and Padres pitching staffs.
Though clearly in the latter stages of his career, Carlos Gonzalez may still have a little something left in the tank, batting .356 (21 for 59) with a .949 OPS over his past 15 games. He probably won't start all seven games thanks to a lefty-heavy schedule, but he has always crushed the ball at home, where he's batting .333 (21 for 63) with a 1.008 OPS this year.
The Blue Jays don't exactly have dream matchups this week, but the toughest pitcher they're facing is Tyler Skaggs. Bunch of lefties, too. Teoscar Hernandez has a .972 OPS so far in June and a .921 OPS against lefties for the year.
Looks like Alen Hanson has another avenue for at-bats now with Evan Longoria sidelined by a broken hand. Pablo Sandoval may slide over from first base to steal some starts with Brandon Belt back from the DL, but the four lefties on tap help Hanson's cause. It's a small sample, but the former Pirates prospect has looked like a different player this year, flashing power and speed with a low strikeout rate.
Best hitter matchups for Week 13
1. Rockies NYM4, MIA3
2. Mets @COL4, LAD3
3. Marlins @SF3, @COL3
4. Giants MIA3, SD4
5. Padres OAK2, @SF4
Worst hitter matchups for Week 13
1. Tigers @CIN2, @CLE3
2. Rays @HOU3, NYY3
3. Twins BOS3, TEX3
4. Mariners @NYY3, @BOS3
5. Royals TEX3, @HOU3
