When next week leaves us, three months of fantasy baseball will be in the books. Truly, it is time to get serious about the remainder of the fantasy season. Fortunately, next week has a team that will make getting a victory for any manager much easier. That team? It is the Colorado Rockies. Beginning this Friday, the Rockies begin a 10-game homestand. Certainly, facing Colorado’s pitching staff in the mile high altitude makes any hitter giddy with anticipation. In this Top Fantasy Week 12 Schedule edition, those hitters will be the focus.

First, we must discover which three teams play Colorado during that 10 game stretch. They are, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals. Obviously, finding available Dodgers might be a tall order. However, there is at least one LA hitter widely available. Meanwhile, there are several Pirate and National hitters to mine through. As with all of my articles, roster percentages are taken from ESPN. Having said all of that, let’s get the suspense out of the way, shall we?

Andy Pages, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers, 9% Rostered

While the Pirates begin the Colorado homestand, the Dodgers have the most games during it: four. The Dodger hitter largely in position to take advantage of that schedule? It is Andy Pages. Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat. Pages has been more down than up this season. In no way is this a long term recommendation. Even so, he is heating up at the right time.

As this is being written, Pages has hits in ten of his last 12 games. He has at least two hits in a game five times in that stretch. Further, Pages has 10 runs scored. For the season, he is hitting .270-7-20 to go along with 30 runs, a .320/.427 slash line and a 112 OPS+. His K% (28.1%) is too high. His BB% (5.1%) is below the MLB average. His BAbip (.347) is unsustainable.

Of course, the last stat portions don’t sound good, but we only need Pages for four games. When the Dodgers leave Colorado, he can be safely returned to the waiver wire, if so desired. To be sure, there isn’t a better lineup to hit in and the altitude will boost Page’s bottom line.

In the end, being prepared to add Pages before that series begins just makes good strategy. Hopefully, he won’t ignore his third base coach and get thrown out at the plate during the Colorado series.

Andrew McCutchen, DH, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2.3% Rostered

Unlike the rookie Pages, Andrew McCutchen has been around a long time. He has delivered a few key hits in his career. Unfortunately, he only qualifies as a DH, which limits his appeal. However, for those fantasy teams that have a DH in the lineup, he adds plenty of value during a three game series in Colorado. Even those teams that only have one utility spot, this is the weekend McCutchen will deliver for any manager.

On the season, McCutchen is hitting .234-8-20 in 209 ABs. Additionally, he has a .336/.373 slash line to go along with a 104 OPS+, a .299 BAbip, and a .139 ISO. He strikes out too much (25.6%), but his walk rate (11.2) is above the league average (8.3). Before Wednesday’s game, McCutchen was on a four game hitting streak, scoring a run in four of his last five. In his last ten games, he has at least two hits in three of the games.

Just like the other players discussed on this Top Fantasy Week 12 Schedule edition, adding him against the Rockies is the only recommended action. Once the Pirates’ final game against Colorado is behind them, fantasy managers can look elsewhere for additions to their teams. However, while Pittsburgh is in Denver, McCutchen is a quality waiver addition.

Nick Gonzales, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2B/SS, 17.5% Rostered

The second Pirates player on the list is Nick Gonzales. As of Thursday afternoon, Gonzales has a hit in four straight games, including a double in his last two. On the season, he is hitting .306-4-23 with a .339/500 slash line in 108 ABs. Further, Gonzales has a 138 OPS+, a .194 ISO and a .367 BAbip that is not far above his career average (.323).

Gonzales’ K% isn’t too out of line (23.5), but his BB% is below what you’d like to see (4.2). However, that walk rate is right around what he has accomplished in his short career, so managers will just have to deal with that during the series.

Even so, that is about the only negative one can come up with. As with everyone else on this Top Fantasy Week 12 Schedule edition, you add Gonzales to face the Rockies and send him back to the wire once the games begin Sunday.

Luis Garcia, 2B, Washington Nationals, 8.5% Rostered

The last team to play Colorado during their homestand is the Washington Nationals. Their first player to get a mention is Luis Garcia. As with the other players on this list, Garcia has been active in his last five games, with hits in four of them, including two two-hit games. In addition, he has scored three runs, driven in two and stole a base in that time.

So far in 2024, Garcia is hitting .265-5-27 with 8 SBs and a .303/.395 slash line in 200 ABs. His .309 BAbip is almost exactly his career average (.305), to go along with a 103 OPS+ and a .127 ISO. Of course, there is no rush to add Garcia at the moment. His arrival in Denver is still a week away.

Even as that is the case, managers will want to be aware of him as next Friday approaches and get him into their lineups before someone else beats them to it.

Jesse Winker, OF, Washington Nationals, 15.1% Rostered

Finally, we come to Jesse Winker. When it comes to hot hitters, Winker is at the front of the class with the best of them. In his last nine games, Winker has hits in seven. Most impressively, he has two or more hits in five of the games, including three straight. Six is hit lucky number, as that is the total of runs and RBIs each that he has in that stretch.

In 211 2024 at bats, Winker is hitting .256-6-29, with a .373/.389 slash line. Along with that, he has 11 SBs, a 127 OPS+, a .338 BAbip (.300 career), a 23.9 K% and a 13.5 BB%. However, the best news is yet to come. In recent games, Washington has been hitting Winker in the third or fourth spot in their lineup.

Of course, that means that he will get plenty of at bats in the thin Colorado air. No question about it, all fantasy managers should have an increase of interest in Winker upon hearing that. The only action that remains is to get him into your lineup ahead of everyone else in your league.

The Last Word

Thank you for joining me for this Top Fantasy Week 12 Schedule edition! As always. debate and discussion are highly encouraged. Agree or disagree with anything in the article? Let’s talk about it.

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