Weekly Hitter Rankings: Minnesota Nice

The Weekly Hitter Rankings is a companion piece to the Weekly Pitcher Rankings. While in many leagues your 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 where you make moves weekly instead of daily. The Weekly Hitter Rankings will summarize all that info in one spot, for your roster-juggling convenience.

For the period August 29-Sept 4

NOTE: I've begun to incorporate 2016 offensive performance into the home/road splits for each team and will gradually increase the weight the more recent numbers carry as the season progresses. 2016 park factors are also now included, replacing 2013 park factors in the rolling three-year average.

7 GAMES

1. Minnesota (31.713)

at CLE (3) – Bauer (R), Tomlin (R), Kluber (R)
vs. CHW (4) – Quintana (L), Rodon (L), Shields (R), Ranaudo (R)

2. Chicago Cubs (29.536)

vs. PIT (3) – G. Cole (R), Kuhl (R), Vogelsong (R)
vs. SF (4) – Samardzija (R), Bumgarner (L), Peavy (R), Cueto (R)

3. Chicago White Sox (27.958)

at DET (3) – Boyd (L), D. Norris (L), Verlander (R)
at MIN (4) – E. Santana (R), Gibson (R), Albers (R), Wimmers (R)

4. Miami (27.769)

at NYM (4) – Ynoa (R), Matz (L), Colon (R), Syndergaard (R)
at CLE (3) – Carrasco (R), Salazar (R), Bauer (R) WITH DH

5. NY Mets (26.269)

vs. MIA (4) – Fernandez (R), Koehler (R), Phelps (R), Urena (R)
vs. WAS (3) – A.J. Cole (R), Giolito (R), Roark (R)

With no lefties currently set for the Mets' slate this week, Wilmer Flores may not see much action.

6 GAMES

6. Colorado (29.314)

vs. LAD (3) – Maeda (R), Hill (L), B. Norris (R)
vs. ARI (3) – Shipley (R), Godley (R), Bradley (R)

The Rox would jump to third in the rankings if you ignore games played, which might be the smart play whenever they have a lengthy homestand.

7. Cleveland (28.806)

vs. MIN (3) – Albers (R), Wimmers (R), Santiago (L)
vs. MIA (3) – Cashner (R), Fernandez (R), Koehler (R)

8. St. Louis (28.746)

at MIL (3) – Davies (R), W. Peralta (R), Garza (R)
at CIN (3) – DeSclafani (R), H. Bailey (R), Straily (R)

Jedd Gyorko has been red hot, but with no lefties on the horizon for the Cards he could cool down this week.

9. LA Dodgers (28.635)

at COL (3) – J. Gray (R), T. Anderson (L), Hoffman (R)
vs. SD (3) – Cosart (R), Richard (L), Perdomo (R)

10. Toronto (27.893)

at BAL (3) – Miley (L), Jimenez (R), Gallardo (R)
at TB (3) – Archer (R), Cobb (R), Odorizzi (R)

11. Texas (27.601)

vs. SEA (3) – Iwakuma (R), Paxton (L), Hernandez (R)
vs. HOU (3) – Keuchel (L), Fister (R), Musgrove (R)

12. Detroit (27.487)

vs. CHW (3) – Shields (R), Ranaudo (R), Sale (L)
at KC (3) – Duffy (L), Ventura (R), Gee (R)

13. NY Yankees (27.289)

at KC (3) – Gee (R), Volquez (R), Kennedy (R)
at BAL (3) – Bundy (R), Gausman (R), Miley (L)

14. Boston (27.274)

vs. TB (3) – Andriese (R), Odorizzi (R), Smyly (L)
at OAK (3) – Neal (R), Triggs (R), Manaea (L)

15. Baltimore (26.777)

vs. TOR (3) – Estrada (R), Happ (L), Aaron Sanchez (R)
vs. NYY (3) – Green (R), Pineda (R), Sabathia (L)

16. Houston (26.772)

vs. OAK (3) – Manaea (L), Graveman (R), Detwiler (L)
at TEX (3) – D. Holland (L), Lewis (R), Darvish (R)

17. Seattle (26.607)

at TEX (3) – Darvish (R), Hamels (L), M. Perez (L)
vs. LAA (3) – Skaggs (L), Shoemaker (R), J. Weaver (R)

18. Kansas City (25.935)

vs. NYY (3) – Sabathia (L), Tanaka (R), Cessa (R)
vs. DET (3) – M. Fulmer (R), Anibal Sanchez (R), Boyd (L)

19. LA Angels (25.496)

vs. CIN (3) – Straily (R), Adleman (R), Finnegan (L)
at SEA (3) – T. Walker (R), Iwakuma (R), Paxton (L)

20. Tampa Bay (25.339)

at BOS (3) – Porcello (R), Pomeranz (L), S. Wright (R)
vs. TOR (3) – Liriano (L), Stroman (R), Dickey (R)

21. Cincinnati (25.153)

at LAA (3) – Shoemaker (R), J. Weaver (R), Nolasco (R) WITH DH
vs. STL (3) – Leake (R), Garcia (L), C. Martinez (R)

22. Pittsburgh (25.140)

at CHC (3) – Arrieta (R), Hendricks (R), Montgomery (L)
vs. MIL (3) – Nelson (R), Chase Anderson (R), Davies (R)

23. Washington (25.010)

at PHI (3) – Thompson (R), Eickhoff (R), Morgan (L)
at NYM (3) – Gsellman (R), deGrom (R), Matz (L)

24. Oakland (23.940)

at HOU (3) – Musgrove (R), McHugh (R), Fiers (R)
vs. BOS (3) – Price (L), E. Rodriguez (L), Porcello (R)

25. Milwaukee (23.788)

vs. STL (3) – C. Martinez (R), Wainwright (R), L. Weaver (R)
at PIT (3) – Taillon (R), Nova (R), G. Cole (R)

An all-righty slate means Kirk Nieuwenhuis is probably the center fielder to use for the Brewers rather than Keon Broxton, assuming you have to use one of them.

26. San Diego (23.632)

at ATL (3) – Teheran (R), Wisler (R), Gant (R)
at LAD (3) – De Leon (R), Maeda (R), Hill (L)

27. San Francisco (23.504)

vs. ARI (2) – Greinke (R), Ray (L)
at CHC (4) – Hammel (R), Lester (L), Lackey (R), Arrieta (R)

John Lackey's return from the DL for that Saturday start isn't confirmed yet but seems likely.

28. Atlanta (22.884)

vs. SD (3) – E. Jackson (R), Friedrich (L), Clemens (R)
at PHI (3) – Hellickson (R), Velasquez (R), Thompson (R)

29. Philadelphia (22.357)

vs. WAS (3) – Roark (R), Scherzer (R), G. Gonzalez (L)
vs. ATL (3) – De La Cruz (R), Foltynewicz (R), Teheran (R)

5 GAMES

30. Arizona (24.605)

at SF (2) – Cueto (R), Moore (L)
at COL (3) – J. De La Rosa (L), Bettis (R), J. Gray (R)

The series in Coors Field makes any Diamondbacks more palatable plays than your typical team with a five-game sked, but even if you ignore numbers of games they would still only jump to 24th in the rankings.