The Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every Saturday, we provide you with favorable and unfavorable matchups, along with news and notes on lineups. The Pitching Planner, complete with upcoming two-start pitchers, will be posted on Sunday.

Don't forget to check out our Weekly Planner page, under the stats tab on your league pages. It has the weekly matchups for each team broken down by day, the number of games ahead for each team, and finally, the hitting and pitching stats for each team (broken down by home and away).

Weather planner: Taking into account all games with at least a 50 percent chance of precipitation according to Weather.com, there are no games in danger of being rained out this week.

This week's news and notes for each team:

Arizona Diamondbacks: With Eric Byrnes going back on the DL after aggravating a strained hamstring, the Diamondbacks have begun using Conor Jackson in left field. The added versatility will only add to his Fantasy appeal, making him worth starting at one position or another in most leagues. Chad Tracy, meanwhile, takes over at first base and has enough unrealized potential to deserve a flier in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues ... Miguel Montero has become the everyday catcher with Chris Snyder on the DL. He showed great offensive potential in the minors and homered 10 times in 214 major-league at-bats last season, but he has yet to hit one out of the park in 91 at-bats this season. Still, pick him up in NL-only leagues ... Stephen Drew has gone hitless more often than not since the middle of June, his batting average plummeting all the way to .256. Sit him in mixed leagues.

Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones unexpectedly returned from a quadriceps injury Tuesday but has gone 5-for-19 (.263) since. As long as he plays, you have to start him, but this injury might plague him all season ... Jason Perry, the 27-year-old minor-league journeyman called up when the Braves sent Jeff Francoeur to the minors on Friday, has gone 1-for-7 in his first two games. Leave him for NL-only leagues ... Mark Kotsay has gone 0-for-11 in three games since returning from a back injury. He doesn't have enough power or speed to matter outside of NL-only leagues.

Baltimore Orioles: Ramon Hernandez entered Saturday's game having hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games. He's batting .333 (18-for-54 with three home runs over that stretch and has regained mixed-league viability ... Aubrey Huff, long a forgotten man in Fantasy, refuses to slow down at the plate, batting .345 (10-for-29) with three home runs over the last seven days. Over his last 21 games, he's batting .400 (34-for-85) with eight home runs. Even if you don't think the hot streak will last, you have to start him in Fantasy right now.

Top 10 Hitters Added
Player Change
1. Ryan Church, OF, NYM 31
2. J.J. Hardy, SS, MIL 25
3. Chris Davis, 3B, TEX 25
4. Carlos Pena, 1B, TB 18
5. Josh Willingham, OF, FLA 15
6. Jason Kubel, DH, MIN 15
7. Jerry Hairston, OF, CIN 13
8. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL 12
9. Billy Butler, DH, KC 11
10. Marcus Thames, OF, DET 10

Boston Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia has hit over .500 since the middle of June and already has more home runs and stolen bases than he had all of last year. Clearly, he belongs more in the Brian Roberts than the Kelly Johnson class of Fantasy second basemen ... Of course, the Red Sox needed Pedroia to get that hot just to compensate for the cold streak Manny Ramirez endured during pretty much the exact same period. The slugger is batting .185 (12-for-65) with one home run since June 11. You can't afford to bench a player of his upside in Fantasy, though.

Chicago Cubs: Rookie catcher Geovany Soto has begun to heat up again after hitting .261 in May and June, going 12-for-30 (.400) with two home runs over his last eight games to lift his average to .290. Like all rookie hitters, he'll have to endure his hot and cold streaks, but you should never bench him in Fantasy ... Derrek Lee has also begun to play more like his April self, batting .429 (12-for-28) over the last 14 days.

Chicago White Sox: Paul Konerko, on the DL since June 17 with a strained left oblique, might return at the beginning of Fantasy Week 15. Considering he hit only .215 before the injury, let him prove his health before activating him ... After scuffling with a batting average under .250 all season, Jim Thome has finally shown signs of life, batting .320 (8-for-25) with two home runs over the last seven days. Consider him a second-half sleeper and get him active in all Fantasy leagues ... Jermaine Dye has yet to cool off, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with two home runs over the last seven days. He's hitting .331 with 10 home runs since the beginning of June.

Cincinnati Reds: Jerry Hairston came off the DL on June 26 and immediately regained the everyday shortstop job. And with Alex Gonzalez expected to miss the rest of the season, he'll likely keep it. Since coming off the DL, he's hit .314 (11-for-35) with one stolen base. He has enough stolen-base potential to deserve a look in all Fantasy leagues as a full-time player ... Brandon Phillips is going off at the plate after a cold June, hitting .448 (13-for-29) with one home run and three stolen bases over the last seven days. The 30-30 second baseman never really lost must-start status.

Cleveland Indians: Kelly Shoppach has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games and has homered in two of his last three. He has emerged as a decent No. 2 catcher in all Fantasy formats with Victor Martinez on the DL ... Casey Blake was on fire in June, hitting .366, but he's gone 0-for-6 in his last two games. Still, consider him hot right now and a decent stopgap in all leagues ... Ben Francisco's batting average has dipped to around the .275 mark, showing why he spent so many years in the minors. Think of him as just an AL-only option.

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies' 18-17 victory over the Marlins on Friday signals the beginning of that special time during the season when Coors Field makes its biggest impact, so expect a spike in numbers for all Rockies hitters when they play at home. Unfortunately, they play all seven games on the road this week ... With Troy Tulowitzki going on the 15-day DL with a cut on his right hand, utility player Jeff Baker has an assured spot in the lineup over the next few weeks. Of course, he already did with Todd Helton going on the DL because of a back injury. Expect the Rockies to move Clint Barmes to shortstop and Baker to second base, making rookie Joe Koshansky the everyday first baseman and a sleeper in NL-only leagues ... After going 2-for-17 (.118) in his first six games off the DL, Barmes has gone 6-for-9 in his last two. Get him active again in mixed leagues.

Detroit Tigers: With Magglio Ordonez going on the DL with a strained right oblique, Marcus Thames has again become a permanent fixture in the Detroit lineup. He's batting .333 (8-for-24) with two home runs over his last six games and deserves a flier in all leagues because of his power potential ... Since he began starting against left-handed pitchers, Curtis Granderson has caught fire. He's batting .442 (23-for-52) over the last 14 days and is again a must-start in Fantasy.

Florida Marlins: Dan Uggla, out of the lineup for the seventh straight game Saturday because of a sprained left ankle, has begun taking batting practice and looks probable for a Monday return. With the kind of power he offers at such a weak position, go ahead and get him active ... Hanley Ramirez entered Saturday with an 11-game hitting streak during which he's batted .354 (17-for-48) with five home runs and two stolen bases. He remains a must-start.

Houston Astros: The Astros sat center fielder Michael Bourn both Friday and Saturday, showing they've finally grown tired of his .223 batting average. He has one hit in his last 21 at-bats and doesn't look like a safe start in Rotisserie leagues, even with his 31 stolen bases ... Over the last 14 days, Carlos Lee is hitting .417 (20-for-48) with four home runs. You'd obviously never bench a player of his caliber in Fantasy, though.

Kansas City Royals: David DeJesus homered Wednesday in his first game back from a ribcage injury and has gone 5-for-12 in three games back. He's hitting .367 with five home runs since the beginning of June and should remain active in all Fantasy formats ... Joey Gathright normally doesn't do much at the plate, but he won't do much on the base paths either while nursing a sore shoulder. He remains day to day, but any injury makes a player of his little talent not worth the risk.

L.A. Angels: Chone Figgins has gone ice cold over the last eight games, hitting .080 (2-for-25). His slugging percentage has dipped all the way to .318. Still, he has too much stolen-base potential for you to reserve him in Rotisserie leagues ... Vladimir Guerrero has also cooled off after getting hot in the middle of June, batting (9-for-36) over his last 10 games. Obviously, you shouldn't bench him, though.

L.A. Dodgers: Andre Ethier has homered in three straight games, hitting .500 (7-for-14) during that stretch. He'll continue to play every day with Juan Pierre on the DL, so get him active during this hot streak ... Nomar Garciaparra came off the DL on Friday and will start at shortstop for the next eight weeks -- or at least as long as he stays healthy -- with Rafael Furcal recovering from back surgery. Garciaparra doesn't hit like he used to, but because he plays such a weak position, he deserves a flier even in mixed leagues ... Andruw Jones also came off the DL on Friday, but he went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, lowering his batting average to .159. Why bother? ... Rookie third baseman Blake DeWitt is in an awful slump, hitting below .200 since June. Consider now his swan song with better prospect Andy LaRoche on the bench. As their situations currently stand, neither deserves to start outside of deeper NL-only leagues.

Milwaukee Brewers: No player has put the bat on the ball over the last week better than J.J. Hardy. He's batting .548 (17-for-31) with four home runs over that stretch and is clearly a must-start in all leagues right now ... Prince Fielder, whose power stroke appeared to come alive in June, has gone 11 games without a home run, batting only .098 (4-for-41). You shouldn't ever bench a player like him, but you probably wish you could right now.

Best 5 Hitting Matchups
Team Schedule
1. Milwaukee Brewers COL4, CIN3
2. Boston Red Sox MIN3, BAL3
3. Chicago White Sox @KC3, @TEX3
4. Chicago Cubs CIN3, SF3
5. Tampa Bay Rays KC1, @NYY2, @CLE4

Minnesota Twins: Delmon Young tripled his home runs over the last six days, hitting two in 20 at-bats. Considering the 22-year-old has 30-homer potential, you knew he had to get his power stroke going sooner or later. Get him active again ... The Twins called up Denard Span from Triple-A Rochester to take Michael Cuddyer's (finger) place in right field. Span doesn't have much power, but he has at least one hit in each of his first four games. Pick him up in deeper AL-only leagues.

N.Y. Mets: Carlos Delgado seems hot right now with four home runs in his last nine games, but he's gone hitless four times during that stretch. He remains too inconsistent to use as more than a low-end corner infielder in mixed leagues ... Damion Easley has taken over at second base for the injured Luis Castillo and entered Saturday with a six-game hitting streak. He doesn't have enough offensive potential, though, for you to use him as anything more than an NL-only stopgap ... Moises Alou stands to return from a calf injury before the start of Fantasy Week 15, but give the rickety 42-year-old a chance to prove his health before activating him.

N.Y. Yankees: The Yankees tried starting rookie speedster Brett Gardner in place of struggling center fielder Melky Cabrera, but he couldn't seize the job. Now, he's starting in place of left fielder Johnny Damon, who has an injured left shoulder that might land him on the disabled list. Gardner has only one hit in his first 16 at-bats, but he deserves a flier in AL-only leagues. Damon, on the other hand, might return to the lineup Tuesday, but his shaky prognosis makes him not worth the risk in mixed leagues.

Oakland Athletics: Bobby Crosby has only one home run since April and a strained left hamstring that landed him on the DL. This injury is probably for the best if you own him in Fantasy. If he's not hitting for power, he's not worth using ... Rookie Wes Bankston, 24, has begun playing every day at either first base or designated hitter, going 3-for-5 with two doubles Friday. He doesn't fit the Athletics' model of a patient hitter, but he did blast 14 homers in 269 at-bats at Triple-A Sacramento. Pick him up in AL-only leagues ... Rookie Carlos Gonzalez left Friday's game with a tight right hamstring and didn't return to the lineup Saturday. Considering he hit .450 (9-for-20) in the five games leading up to the injury, you probably want to keep him active in AL-only leagues ... Emil Brown looks like a part-time player, having started only twice since June 29.

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies have built a lead in the NL East mostly because of their offense. They rank fourth in the majors and second in the National League with 442 runs scored, and a couple of changes to their lineup recently might make that number rise even faster. Let's take a closer look:

Worst 5 Hitting Matchups
Team Schedule
1. Florida Marlins @SD3, @LAD4
2. San Diego Padres FLA3, ATL3
3. Cleveland Indians @DET2, TB4
4. Cincinnati Reds @CHC3, MIL3
5. San Francisco Giants @NYM3, @CHC3

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS -- After slumping at the end of June, hitting only .217 for the month, Rollins has heated up again, hitting over .300 over the last seven days. The defending NL MVP remains a must-start in Fantasy.
2. Shane Victorino, RF -- Victorino has struggled lately, batting .138 (4-for-29) over his last seven games. The Phillies actually dropped him from second in the batting order to seventh Friday in an attempt to get him going, but don't expect that maneuver to last. Victorino still has too much stolen-base potential for you to bench him in Rotisserie leagues.
3. Chase Utley, 2B -- Like Rollins, Utley struggled at the end of June but has come back around over the last seven days, batting .370 (10-for-27) with two home runs. Expect him to stay hot long enough to get his season batting average back well over .300.
4. Ryan Howard, 1B -- Howard entered Saturday with a modest eight-game hitting streak during which he'd batted .323 (10-for-31) with four home runs. Maybe he can get his season batting average back up to a respectable level.
5. Pat Burrell, LF -- Burrell has hits in nine of his last 10 games, batting .324 (11-for-34) over that stretch. The super-streaky slugger might go crazy over the next couple of weeks, so make sure you have him active.
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B -- The free-swinging third baseman has enough pop to use as a corner infielder in mixed leagues, but don't expect him to get his batting average out of the .260 range.
7. Jayson Werth, CF -- Werth, who has spent much of the season as the right-handed platoon partner of Geoff Jenkins, has begun to steal starts against right-handed pitchers. As a full-time player, he'd have 20-20 potential, so monitor this situation closely.
8. Chris Coste, C -- Like Werth, Coste opened the season as the lesser half of a platoon, but Carlos Ruiz's struggles have opened the door for Coste to get the lion's share of at-bats behind the plate. He hasn't disappointed, entering Saturday with seven home runs and a .907 OPS. Think about adding him in mixed leagues.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Nate McLouth missed two games this week -- Monday's with a sore knee and Friday's with a violently upset stomach -- but he returned to the lineup Saturday at Milwaukee. Of course, he's hitting only .148 (4-for-27) over his last six games and .223 since the end of May, so you might want to bench him in mixed leagues ... Adam LaRoche typically struggles in the first half, but he's begun to show signs of his usual second-half surge, hitting .450 (9-for-20) with one home run over the last seven days. Get him active as a corner infielder ... Since returning from a shoulder injury, Xavier Nady is hitting .455 (10-for-22) with two home runs. Sounds pretty healthy to me.

San Diego Padres: Brian Giles had to leave two games this week, including Friday's, with a strained right hamstring. He went 7-for-17 in between, but if the injury keeps becoming an issue, the Padres will have to sit him for a few days. Fortunately, his lack of power makes him nothing more than an NL-only option ... Second baseman Edgar Martinez looked like a nice sleeper when he went 4-for-5 with two home runs Monday, but the 30-year-old minor-league journeyman has gone only 2-for-12 in three game since. Don't expect much from him going forward.

San Francisco Giants: With outfielders Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, Fred Lewis and John Bowker all going well right now, third baseman Jose Castillo has drawn the short straw, sitting out to allow Bowker to play first base, thereby shifting Rich Aurilia to third base. This configuration makes the most sense offensively, but who knows how long it'll last? Rowand, probably still the most Fantasy-relevant player of the bunch, has shown the biggest improvement lately. He went 5-for-8 Thursday and Friday after batting .225 in June.

Seattle Mariners: The infinitely streaky Adrian Beltre has gotten hot again, batting .367 (11-for-30) with two home runs over the last week. He remains on track to have his best power season since his fluky 48-homer 2004 ... The Mariners have resorted to playing Willie Bloomquist almost every day in their outfield. Considering he doesn't have a single extra-base hit in 90 at-bats, his main contribution in Fantasy is stolen bases -- and he hasn't had one of those since June 20. Still, his unmatched versatility makes him a viable stopgap in deeper AL-only leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals insist on starting Chris Duncan despite him having statistics far inferior to those of their other three outfielders. Then again, the tactic has seemingly worked. He entered Saturday's game batting .304 with two home runs over the last seven days. Ryan Ludwick, meanwhile -- widely considered the best of the bunch -- hasn't hit a home run since June 11. You might consider benching him in mixed leagues if you have viable alternatives ... Rick Ankiel continues to show off his power stroke, hitting his fourth home run in eight games Saturday. Get him active in all leagues.

Tampa Bay Rays: Eric Hinske hit over .300 in June, but he's cooled off just as quickly as he heated up, batting 1-for-10 over his last five games. He also hasn't played consistently with Carlos Pena coming off the DL. Leave him for AL-only leagues ... Speaking of Pena, the power-hitting first baseman who can't get his batting average on the right side of .230 had a five-RBI day Friday against the Royals, connecting for his 12th home run. If he puts together a few more hits over the weekend, think of getting active.

Texas Rangers: Michael Young is making up for lost time after a slow May and June during which he hit .271. He entered Saturday batting .440 (11-for-25) over the last seven days, quickly moving himself back into elite company at the ultra-thin shortstop position ... Meanwhile, Young's double-play partner, Ian Kinsler, has gotten even hotter during an already breakout season. He entered Saturday riding a 16-game hitting streak during which he's batted .415 (27-for-65) with three home runs and six stolen bases. He remains a must-start in Fantasy, as always ... Ramon Vazquez, a career nobody overachieving at third base this season, is finally coming back down to earth, hitting .208 (10-for-48) since the middle of June. Don't expect him to retain mixed-league viability for long.

Toronto Blue Jays: Hitting prospect Adam Lind has made the most of his second go-round in the majors this year, batting .323 with three home runs. Time to trust him in AL-only leagues, and he could prove viable in mixed leagues before season's end ... Rod Barajas has fallen into slump right when Blue Jays need to decide between him and Gregg Zaun, who returned from an elbow injury in mid-June. Barajas entered Saturday's game with zero hits in his last 16 at-bats, making him not worth using this week outside of AL-only leagues.

Washington Nationals: With Ryan Zimmerman out until at least late July with a shoulder injury, the Nationals have begun playing Ronnie Belliard regularly at third base -- well, as regularly as they play anyone anywhere, anyway. Their lineup remains in a constant state of flux, with Willie Harris shifting around the diamond as necessary. Belliard maintains Fantasy eligibility at second base, making him a worthy starter in NL-only leagues in his current capacity ... One player who rarely comes out of the lineup these days is Elijah Dukes. The notorious troublemaker with tantalizing upside has become a different player since the beginning of June, batting .303 with six home runs and six stolen bases. Pick him up in mixed leagues just in case he can sustain this pace.

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