Weekly Hitter Rankings: Red Tide Could Rise

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 July 20-26

7 GAMES

1. Cincinnati (vs. CHC 4, at COL 3) - Four home games against the softer portion of the Cubs' rotation, including Wednesday's doubleheader which will likely feature a spot starter for the nightcap, is a nice way to start the period, but then finishing it up with a series in Coors Field sends the Reds right to the top of the rankings. Clayton Richard on Monday is the only lefty they're guaranteed to see but most of the team's bench, and by bench I mean Skip Schumacher, hits left-handed anyway so that shouldn't have much impact on their lineups.

2. Arizona (vs. MIA 3, vs. MIL 4) - If you wanted to slide the D-backs' seven-game homestand above Cincinnati's slate I wouldn't quibble about it, as they have had one of the more potent home offenses in the league. They do face tougher pitching though, as Jose Fernandez closes out the Marlins set and the Brewers trot out the resurgent Mike Fiers and the so-far-impressive Taylor Jungmann. Adam Conley's the only left-hander they're set to face.

3. Detroit (vs. SEA 4, at BOS 3) - The Tigers have a few things going for them this period. They manage to avoid Felix Hernandez in a four-game series, and after Eduardo Rodriguez the Red Sox will basically be drawing names out of a hat to take the mound for the final two games next weekend (the current starters would be Brian Johnson and Steven Wright, who I'm pretty sure is not the stand-up comic Steven Wright. Then again, Wright is a Boston boy. hmmm...) It should also be a good week to have shares in Rajai Davis, as Detroit is set to face four left-handers of varying quality (Rodriguez, Johnson, Vidal Nuno and Mike Montgomery).

4. Kansas City (vs. PIT 3, at STL 1, vs. HOU 3) - No, that's not a typo. The Royals zip down to St. Louis to make up a rainout in between home series. That's still six games at home on the week, though, and while they will facet more than their fair share of nasty pitching including Gerrit Cole, Lance Lynn and Dallas Keuchel, that's just too much home cooking to ignore. Keuchel's the only lefty they'll get.

5. L.A. Angels (vs. BOS 1, vs. MIN 3, vs. TEX 3) - It's a weird seven game homestand, but it's a homestand nonetheless. The Red Sox offer up knuckleballer and/or stand-up genius Steven Wright on Monday, the Twins counter with their usual collection of interchangeable righties, and then the Rangers trot out a couple more righties who could be future Twins (Colby Lewis and Yovani Gallardo) to start the weekend. If he's still with Texas by then, Wandy Rodriguez is penciled in for the Sunday start and would be the only lefty on the slate.

6 GAMES

6. Colorado (vs. TEX 3, vs. CIN 3) - Here we go again. When I do these rankings, I always have a tough time figuring out where to slot the Rockies when they have long homestands. By the 'numbers' (by which I mean my little jury-rigged formula that takes into account park factors and home/away scoring), Colorado should have topped this week's list, but I still think having a game in hand under reasonably favorable conditions is worth more than the cumulative impact of playing all week in Coors Field, even if all it takes to make up for the day off is one double-digit outburst. This is more art than science, folks. Anyway, the Rockies may or may not see three lefties in the Rangers' series depending on whether Wandy Rodriguez is still a Ranger past the weekend, and it's not like Texas' other two southpaws (Matt Harrison and Martin Perez) are anything special, so Wilin Rosario and Drew Stubbs are probably both worth a look in deeper formats.

7 GAMES

7. Chicago Cubs (at CIN 4, vs PHI 3) - The Cubs have to face Cole Hamels, but otherwise there's a lot of junk pitching getting thrown their way this period, with Mike Leake probably being the second-toughest matchup they have. Hamels and Tony Cingrani (getting called up for the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader) make up the lefty portion of their slate.

8. Boston (at LAA 1, at HOU 3, vs. DET 3) - More scheduling shenanigans cost the Red Sox a day off, but boost them up this week's rankings. They also miss both opposition aces in the full series, and seeing Dan Straily and Shane Greene instead of Dallas Keuchel and David Price can make a heck of a difference in your outlook for the week. Andrew Heaney is the only lefty they're set to see.

9. Seattle (at DET 4, vs. TOR 3) - The Mariners don't have the luxury of avoiding David Price, but the rest of the Tigers' rotation is pretty spotty unless you think Shane Greene is finally going to start living up to that preseason hype. They get the worst possible set of Jays pitchers though: knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, followed by Marco Estrada, followed by Mark Buehrle. Good luck trying to get into any kind of rhythm against that lot. Price and Buehrle are the only lefties the M's get.

10. Pittsburgh (at KC 3, vs. WAS 4) - A decent slate, all things considered. Yordano Ventura hasn't been himself this year and Jason Vargas has, and while the Nationals' rotation is still headlined by Max Scherzer and littered with quality down the line, the Bucs will face whoever their fill-in fifth starter is on Sunday (technically we're listing Tanner Roark, but I expect it to be Joe Ross). Vargas and Gio Gonzalez are the only two lefties on the sked.

11. San Diego (vs. SF 3, vs. MIA 4) - If only the Padres had even a neutral home park, they'd rank much higher this week. Still, it's seven home games against lesser pitchers from both teams, as they miss both Madison Bumgarner and Jose Fernandez. Adam Conley is the only lefty on their slate.

12. Washington (vs. NYM 3, at PIT 4) - Speaking of the Nats, they do get seven games, but it's a hard row to hoe. They face all three of the young guns currently left standing (cue the Bon Jovi) for the Mets in Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, and then turn around and get Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and probably A.J. Burnett in the Pirates' series. Yuck. They better put up a lot of runs against Jeff Locke when they get the chance.

13. N.Y. Mets (at WAS 3, vs. LAD 4) - Speaking of the Mets, it's not much better for them. They do avoid Max Scherzer, but the Dodgers throw them right into the deep end when they come to town with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke leading things off. Gio Gonzalez, Kershaw and Brett Anderson make it a three-lefty week, so John Mayberry could get a little extra play especially if Michael Cuddyer's knee is still bothering him.

14. Miami (at ARI 3, at SD 4) - Sticking with the NL East, three games in the thin desert air is good, but then four in the heavy seaside air ain't. Arizona's rotation isn't quite the pushover it was earlier in the year, as Rubby De La Rosa's been occasionally dominant, Robbie Ray's been solid and Jeremy Hellickson is healthy again. The Marlins do avoid James Shields though, for what that's worth. Unless the Padres dump Odrisamer Despaigne to the bullpen, Ray's probably the only lefty Miami sees this period.

15. L.A. Dodgers (at ATL 3, at NYM 4) - Speaking of... oh wait, there's no easy segue here. Never mind. The Dodgers may be on the road all week, but otherwise things line up relatively favorably. They avoid Shelby Miller in Atlanta, and then get the geezer portion of the Mets' rotation to begin that series. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom could make for a challenging weekend though. Their southpaw quota is filled by Alex Wood and Jon Niese.

6 GAMES

16. Texas (at COL 3, at LAA 3) - The distinguishing feature of the Rangers' period is not actually the juicy three-game set in Coors Field, but the ridiculous volume of lefties they see. Texas sees four left-handed starters in a row, with Chris Rusin and Jorge De La Rosa finishing things off for the Rockies before handing things off to Hector Santiago and Andrew Heaney to begin the Angels' series. That suddenly makes platoon options like Adam Rosales and Ryan Rua a lot more enticing than they would be otherwise, especially given the at-bats they'll get at altitude.

17. Milwaukee (vs. CLE 2, at ARI 4) - The two-game flip against the Indians is a bit odd, but if you have any Brewers hitters you can't complain too much about getting an extra game in Chase Field instead. As per usual, Cleveland's pitching looks good on paper and Arizona's doesn't, but inconsistent results from the likes of Danny Salazar make this slate one of the better six-game options available. Patrick Corbin's the only lefty Milwaukee will see.

18. St. Louis (at CHW 2, vs. KC 1, vs. ATL 3) - Thursday's makeup date against the Royals saves the Cardinals' hitters from a weak five-game slate. As it is though, things aren't so bad. Carlos Rodon and Jeff Samardzija are talented but erratic, Jeremy Guthrie is vulnerable, and aside from Shelby Miller, Atlanta's youngsters are unproven (and even Miller was hitting a rough patch prior to the All-Star break). A patient Cards lineup might be able to take advantage. Rodon and Manny Banuelos make up the lefty portion of their opposition.

19. N.Y. Yankees (vs. BAL 3, at MIN 3) - Both series this week see the Yankees facing pitching that could be very good, or very bad. The O's trot out Wei-Yin Chen, followed by Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez, while the Twins counter with Tommy Milone sandwiched between Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson. There's enough homer-prone arms in that mix to think the Yankees' hitters will have at least one or two solid nights, though.

20. Cleveland (at MIL 2, vs. CHW 4) - That two-game set at Miller Park could be a fantasy bonanza for the Indians, given that Matt Garza and Kyle Lohse (and his 8.06 home ERA) will be pitching for the Brewers. After that, it's the usual all-lefty attack from the White Sox, with Chris Sale leading the charge. Cleveland's been one of the better offenses this season versus left-handers, so Sale aside they should be able to scratch out some runs in that series as well. This is the week to unleash Ryan Raburn if you've had him collecting dust on your bench.

21. Houston (vs. BOS 3, at KC 3) - Like the Rangers, the Astros fall into a four-lefty week. Wade Miley and rookie Brian Johnson take the hill for the Red Sox before Danny Duffy and Jason Vargas get the nod for the Royals, with Rick Porcello and Yordano Ventura sprinkled in between. That could mean more Hank Conger than usual, and even players that are typically afterthoughts, like Marwin Gonzalez and L.J. Hoes, could be viable options in deep leagues.

22. Minnesota (at LAA 3, vs. NYY 3) - Another big lefty week as the Twins see three (Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson and CC Sabathia), so Miguel Sano may not be cooling down just yet. The righties they face, Michael Pineda excepted, are no great shakes either.

23. Philadelphia (vs. TB 3, at CHC 3) - The Phillies do avoid seeing Chris Archer, but that's about the only good news as the two Jakes (Jake Odorizzi and Jake Arrieta) are both on the slate, as well as Jon Lester. It's also another three-lefty week with Matt Moore and Clayton Richard, which could make Darin Ruf and Jeff Francoeur worth a look.

24. Atlanta (vs. LAD 3, at STL 3) - The Braves do slip by both of the Dodgers' aces, which keeps them from trolling the very bottom of this week's rankings. While it's hard to predict what Brandon Beachy will do, the rest of the starters Atlanta sees (a group headlined by Michael Wacha) are still pretty dangerous. It's not a great schedule, but you could do worse. Brett Anderson's the only lefty they'll face.

25. Chicago White Sox (vs. STL 2, at CLE 4) - Somehow, the White Sox and their utterly futile offense against southpaws manage to face the only lefty in either team's rotations (Tim Cooney), which nicely sums up how their season's been going so far. Aside from him, it's all power righties all the time, as Carlos Martinez joins the Indians' quarter of young flamethrowers on the slate. Pitchers like Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer might be inconsistent, but that doesn't mean they're pushovers.

26. Tampa Bay (at PHI 3, vs. BAL 3) - No Cole Hamels is nice, and it's not like the O's really have an ace worth avoiding. Rookie Aaron Nola will be making his big league debut though (somewhat inexplicably, as I have no idea why the organization would want to start his service clock in the middle of a lost season, but I'm sure the Phillies front office knows what it's doing, right?), and he could theoretically be stingy, at least until teams get a book on him. The Rays get two lefties in Adam Morgan and Wei-Yin Chen.

27. Baltimore (at NYY 3, at TB 3) - Masahiro Tanaka and Chris Archer make this a period fraught with peril for the O's, and the lesser lights in the two rotations, such as Ivan Nova and Matt Moore, can't be discounted either now that they've had a chance to shake off a bit of rust. Moore's the only lefty on the slate.

28. Oakland (vs. TOR 3, at SF 3) - Another three-lefty period in this week's rankings, as Mark Buehrle and Felix Doubront join Madison Bumgarner on the slate, so Mark Canha and Josh Phegley could be rosterable. The hitting environments, home and away, aren't exactly great though.

29. San Francisco (at SD 3, vs. OAK 3) - Ditto for the Giants, but at least they have a home series, unlike the poor sods below them. They also avoid Sonny Gray though, so that's something. There's really not a lot to like here, but it is a week with no lefties at all on the schedule, so expect Brandon Belt to once again tease that breakout everyone keeps waiting for.

30. Toronto (at OAK 3, at SEA 3) - Speaking of bad hitting environments, even the Jays' sluggers could have trouble generating much offense this week. The away parks are bad enough, but Toronto also gets both Sonny Gray and Felix Hernandez, so good luck with that, guys. They probably see two lefties in Scott Kazmir and Vidal Nuno, although Nuno's spot for Sunday isn't secure.