Weekly Hitter Rankings: Heating Up in the Desert

The Hitter Value Meter is a companion piece to the weekly Pitching Value Meter. While in many leagues offensive roster slots are set 'em and forget 'em, in deeper formats where every at-bat counts, knowing which teams have friendly schedules for hitters, and which platoon bats will be getting more action than usual, can be valuable information, especially in head-to-head formats and leagues with weekly moves instead of daily. The Hitter Value Meter will summarize all that info in one spot, for your roster juggling convenience.

For the week June 29 - July 5

7 GAMES

1. Arizona (vs. LAD 3, vs. COL 4) - With Coors Field lying completely dormant this week, the Diamondbacks take the lead on the Value Meter with a stretch of seven home games in the desert. They also duck the Dodgers' two big guns in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and it's not like the Rockies have any pitchers worth worrying about. Not that Arizona has a lot of platoon options due to its banged-up outfield, but it is a three-lefty period (Brett Anderson, Chris Rusin and Jorge De La Rosa) as well.

2. Baltimore (vs. TEX 4, at CHW 3) - The O's do get the better arms in the Rangers' rotation, but aside from the red-hot Yovani Gallardo that's not exactly saying much. They'll probably skip Chris Sale too, though the White Sox may double-shift him given their off days this week, in which case Baltimore will see him Sunday. It's a three-lefty period for the team, with Wandy Rodriguez joining two as-yet-undetermined ChiSox southpaws, which could make the likes of Caleb Joseph and Nolan Reimold viable options in deep leagues.

3. Toronto (vs. BOS 4, at DET 3) - The Polite Murderer's Row that is the Blue Jays lineup (they do play in Canada, after all) gets some very nice matchups this week, though David Price looms Saturday. They also have four lefties on their ledger (the regressing Eduardo Rodriguez, Wade Miley and Kyle Ryan join Price), which is great news for their righty sluggers.

4. Texas (at BAL 4, vs. LAA 3) - Based purely on park effects this is a nice slate for the Rangers, and while most of the starters they'll see are solid, none are pitching like aces. As with most of the teams at the top of this week's list, they also get plenty of lefties, with Wei-Yin Chen joining Hector Santiago and C.J. Wilson.

5. Boston (at TOR 4, vs. HOU 3) - Marco Estrada is bound to fall back to earth sooner or later, but the rest of the Jays' veteran hurlers are doing pretty well too. The Red Sox avoid Dallas Keuchel, but get the good version of Collin McHugh (3.64 road ERA vs. 6.82 ERA at home) instead, so there may not be many soft spots in their slate this week. Boston will face at least two lefties (Mark Buehrle and Brett Oberholtzer), and possibly a third if Matt Boyd sticks around for Toronto.

6. Kansas City (at HOU 3, vs. MIN 4) - Talk about a schedule of contrasts. After facing young Astros flamethrowers like Lance McCullers and Vincent Velasquez (not to mention Dallas Keuchel sandwiched between them), they head home to take on the Twins' slopball brigade. Tommy Milone and Keuchel are the only lefties they get this period.

7. Colorado (at OAK 3, at ARI 4) - No, they're not at home, but four games in Arizona certainly helps soften the blow, though Rubby De La Rosa's looked pretty good lately. The early part of the week will be challenging, though, with Sonny Gray and the resurgent Kendall Graveman headlining for the A's. It's a lefty-free week for the Rockies, so despite his recent surge of playing time you may want to think twice about using Wilin Rosario.

8. Philadelphia (vs. MIL 4, at ATL 3) - If there's one rotation that can make the Phillies' look good it might be the Brewers, who will send only one pitcher (young Taylor Jungmann and his four career big-league starts) to the mound against Philadelphia with a FIP less than 4.44. The Braves, led by Shelby Miller and Alex Wood, will be a tougher test, though, so the Phillies should make hay while they can early in the week. Wood's the only lefty on their slate.

9. Oakland (vs. COL 3, vs. SEA 4) - If you're a glass-half-full kind of person, you'll note the A's get seven home games this period. If you're a glass-half-empty person, you'll note that they still play their home games in O.co Coliseum, with its acres of foul territory and run-suppressing tendencies. The Rockies' rotation, at least, should be generous, even if Felix Hernandez and the Mariners' pitchers aren't. Oakland gets three lefties (Jorge De La Rosa, J.A. Happ and Mike Montgomery).

10. Tampa Bay (vs. CLE 4, at NYY 3) - The Indians' rotation still looks better on paper than it actually has on the mound so far this season, but at some point you know Corey Kluber and his crew are going to go on a tear where everybody's striking out 10-plus every night and giving up no more than a run or two. The Yankees are still sorting out their staff now that Ivan Nova's back, but the most likely trio for the Rays series is Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia, so there's not much relief there either. Still, the Rays gets four home games and seven in total, so their fringy bats are still a better option than a lot of other clubs. Sabathia's the only lefty they'll likely face.

11. Milwaukee (at PHI 4, at CIN 3) - It's seven road games, but it's still seven games in solid hitters' parks, and games against the non-Cole Hamels portion of the Phillies' rotation should probably count double. They also duck Johnny Cueto for an added bonus. Hamels is probably the only lefty they'll face, though both opposition rotations are a bit up in the air.

12. Minnesota (at CIN 3, at KC 4) - Johnny Cueto faces the Twins instead, which is bad for Minnesota, but none of the other pitchers they face this week seem particularly dangerous. Note that they won't have the DH for half the week, which makes Kennys Vargas an even weaker play. Danny Duffy is likely the only lefty matchup they'll get.

13. Cleveland (at TB 4, at PIT 3) - Only my insistence on rating seven-game periods above marginally more favorable six-game slates keeps the Indians this high, as my little jury-rigged calculator had them below the Reds, Tigers and Astros for value. They do avoid Chris Archer but are stuck with Gerrit Cole on Sunday and might get Matt Moore in his return from Tommy John surgery, as well. If Moore isn't quite ready, Jeff Locke is the only lefty on their slate, and they won't get the DH in Pittsburgh anyway. Basically, keep Ryan Raburn on your bench.

6 GAMES

14. Cincinnati (vs. MIN 3, vs. MIL 3) - I'm really having second thoughts now about putting the Reds below the Indians. There's just nobody on their schedule this week who's remotely impressive. Mike Fiers? Phil Hughes? Jimmy Nelson? They're facing guys who are as capable of brutal outings as stellar ones. It's also an all-righty slate, so if you've benched Jay Bruce in a shallower league, this looks like an excellent period in which to pull him out of mothballs.

15. Detroit (vs. PIT 3, vs. TOR 3) - Six home games are nice, but not when they come against the likes of Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett and Marco Estrada pitching like the second coming of Dave Stieb. Even Drew Hutchison has been pitching better lately. Francisco Liriano should be the only lefty they see.

16. Houston (vs. KC 3, at BOS 3) - Another mediocre set of opposition pitchers make the Astros a decent play, though who knows what you'll get from the Red Sox trio (Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez). Rodriguez and Danny Duffy make it a two-lefty week.

17. Miami (vs. SF 3, at CHC 3) - No Madison Bumgarner and no Jon Lester makes this a more enticing schedule than it might appear, but it's still not great, especially if Jake Peavy is effective upon his return. Tsuyoshi Wada is the only lefty on their ledger, so with Giancarlo Stanton hurt again, Ichiro Suzuki could be in for a productive week.

18. St. Louis (vs. CHW 2, vs. SD 4) - Another set of six home games against tough pitching, with the White Sox potentially sending Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija to the mound, and both Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy showing signs of turning things around for the Padres. Sale's the only lefty the Cards should face.

19. L.A. Angels (vs. NYY 3, at TEX 3) - The Angels duck Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda to start the week, then get to hit in Arlington against the likes of Chi Chi Gonzalez to end it. Things could certainly be worse. CC Sabathia and Wandy Rodriguez are likely the only two lefties they'll get.

20. Washington (at ATL 3, vs. SF 3) - Shelby Miller and Madison Bumgarner are a bad start, and Ryan Vogelsong is locked in at the moment, but the rest of the week doesn't look so bad, with the back end of the Braves' rotation potentially being vulnerable with Williams Perez hitting the DL. Bumgarner is the only left-hander on the schedule, but that could change depending on how Perez gets replaced.

21. Chicago Cubs (at NYM 3, vs. MIA 3) - A series in Citi Field isn't good for your offense, but at least the Cubs get the Jon Niese/Bartolo Colon end of the rotation, and the home series against the Marlins looks a lot more promising now that Jose Fernandez is set to make his return from Tommy John surgery the day before the team heads to Chicago. Niese is likely the only lefty they're set to face.

22. N.Y. Yankees (at LAA 3, vs. TB 3) - This slate isn't so bad, though it's not good. They face two lefties in Anaheim (C.J. Wilson and Andrew Heaney) plus the homer-prone Matt Shoemaker, but then the Yanks get Chris Archer and the rag-tag bunch of improbable success stories that make up the Rays' rotation when they head home. If every kids sports movie ever has taught me anything, it's not to bet against the rag-tag underdogs when they play the big, mean, rich bully team.

23. Atlanta (vs. WAS 3, vs. PHI 3) - The Braves get the Nats at home as exactly the wrong time given the hot fire their rotation is spitting, and they don't even get to face Stephen Strasburg and his career 5.60 ERA at Turner Field, having to deal with Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Max Scherzer instead. Even the Phillies' series isn't as good as it could be, with Cole Hamels (the only lefty they'll see) pitching on Sunday. They better hang a 10-spot on Sean O'Sullivan when they get the chance.

24. L.A. Dodgers (at ARI 3, vs. NYM 3) - Three games in Arizona is nice, though Rubby De La Rosa isn't the soft touch he was early in the year, but then the ridiculous Mets kiddie corps comes to town with Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey going toe to toe with the Dodgers' dual aces, and then Steven Matz taking the mound for game three. If you like goose eggs, this could be the series for you. Robbie Ray joins Matz in the week's southpaw contingent.

25. Pittsburgh (at DET 3, vs. CLE 3) - The Pirates manage to avoid David Price, but Justin Verlander has his velocity back (if not his usual results just yet) and Anibal Sanchez is showing signs of life, so the Tigers series may not be a cake walk. Trevor Bauer has probably reduced everyone's expectations enough now that he's due to throw a shutout, so there may not be any weak links on the Indians' end either. It's righties all the way down for Pittsburgh this period, so Pirates who have hit their their way to the bench in shallow leagues, like Neil Walker and Gregory Polanco, look slightly more palatable.

26. San Diego (vs. SEA 2, at STL 4) - This slate feels like a trap (insert Admiral Ackbar gif here). Roenis Elias and Mike Montgomery start it off, Jaime Garcia finishes it (giving the Padres a 50/50 split on lefties and righties), and in between are the Cardinals' collection of young flamethrowers, plus John Lackey. It's easy to see a lot of things going right for San Diego, especially if you think Montgomery is due to hit some bumps in the road, but it's also easy to see a lot going wrong too.

27. San Francisco (at MIA 3, at WAS 3) - Getting Mat Latos and Dan Haren is a friendly way to start the week even if it it is on the road, but then things get ugly in a hurry for the Giants. Jose Fernandez returns, only to be followed by a rotation that just reeled off a combined 48 consecutive scoreless innings. Sure, the Giants duck Max Scherzer, but there are no safe harbors on the Nats' staff, and they'll be at home. Gio Gonzalez is the lone lefty.

28. Seattle (at SD 2, at OAK 4) - Six road games, in pitchers' parks, against six quality pitchers doesn't leave much room for optimism in the Mariners' bats this week. Ian Kennedy might be the most vulnerable of the bunch, but he also has a 2.40 ERA in June (granted, that's in large part due to five unearned runs in his last start, but still). Scott Kazmir's the only lefty they get.

29. N.Y. Mets (vs. CHC 3, at LAD 3) - They get Kyle Hendricks to begin the week, then it's all downhill from there. Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta round out the Cubs series, then the Dodgers send their dynamic duo Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke to the mound, with surprising junkballer Michael Bolsinger rounding things out. It's not like the Mets don't have impressive arms of their own, but that doesn't really help their already shaky hitting.

5 GAMES

30. Chicago White Sox (at STL 2, vs. BAL 3) - Due to a scheduling quirk, the White Sox sit alone with only five games on their schedule, making them almost a must-avoid. Even a normally must-start bat like Jose Abreu becomes iffy, when you're giving away two games. What's going to be worth more, five games from Abreu or seven from, say, Pablo Sandoval? If the White Sox had better matchups it might be an easier choice, but Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn are no pushovers, and even the O's send out two of their better hurlers in Ubaldo Jimenez and Miguel Gonzalez. The safe choice here, if you have the option, is to sit your ChiSox hitters (no matter who they are) in favor of those seven-game players.