2015 MLB Fantasy Baseball Weekly Preview: Week 16

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Another week, another weekly preview. As we waltz into week 16, this article will help construct your lineups and find what matchups are worth exploiting. Keep in mind many players could find themselves a new home with the trade deadline looming right around the corner. Aramis Ramirez and Scott Kazmir have already found new homes, or an old home in Ramirez’s case. Many others could be shipped within the next seven days, including but not limited to: Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Johnny Cueto, Jay Bruce, Mike Leake, Cole Hamels, Justin Upton, Ben Zobrist, David Price and Ian Kennedy.

If your team is really hurting on offense, particularly in the outfield, go ahead and take a chance on Michael Conforto. He was hitting .312 with five home runs and 25 RBI at Double-A. He has just 589 plate appearances under his belt, but with the Mets’ outfield woes and recent injury to Michael Cuddyer, the team felt comfortable enough to bring up their top hitting prospect.

Each week is pivotal from here on out and many are in a must-win position. Use this weekly preview to earn the “W” in week 16 and move one step closer to clinching your playoff berth. The last thing any fantasy owner wants is to be on the outside looking in when fantasy playoffs roll around. Don’t be that person. Remember, by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Let’s run through another edition of the MLB Weekly Preview for MLB Week 16:

GAME BREAKDOWN GRID

For week 16, here are the cold hard facts that you need to know and consider. These are applicable to both your seasonal leagues and daily lineups.

Randal Grichuk is on fire right now, we all know that. What people may not know is that he has the second highest average hit velocity in the MLB. We haven't been hoodwinked, this guy has legit pop.

Here are the hottest hitters the past week or so: Buster Posey (.425), Gerardo Parra (.386), Erick Aybar (.378), Lorenzo Cain (.372), Scooter Gennett (.365), Christian Yelich (.363) and Rougned Odor (.360).

Nolan Arenado, Bryce Harper and J.D. Martinez all have 22 homers off righties this season. They all go against five or more right-handed starters in week 16.

The Nationals face four pitchers in the top-20 of this week’s pitcher rankings. Two are in the top-5. Yikes.

The Rockies, Tigers and Royals lead baseball in batting average in their home park. All three of them are on the road all week.

Corey Kluber faces the Royals on Wednesday. This season, Mike Moustakas is 7-for-10 and Eric Hosmer is 4-for-8 with one homer off Kluber.

Although he is hitting just .167, Jarrod Dyson has stolen four bases off Kluber. #CheapSpeed

INTERLEAGUE OUTLOOK

Aramis Ramirez’s career is going to end where it all began. His 17 year career began with a stint in Pittsburgh (1998-2003), and he will finish out the remainder of this season with his former club. He is hitting .247 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI so far this season, but perhaps a scenery change to a contending team is what the veteran needs. He fills a glaring need for the Pirates, with both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer on the shelf, but for this week, he will serve as the designated hitter when the opportunity arises. He is very fragile, seeing as he has played in over 140 games in just eight of his 17 professional seasons.

The Giants can’t really afford to give Buster Posey a day off, so anytime the team travels to an American League venue, one can almost guarantee that Posey will serve as the designated hitter for that series. Hector Sanchez will likely catch two, if not all three games against the Rangers, but he is nothing more than a punt play in DFS. His .194 average and one home run bring a lot of big questions, but his price tag will be quite the opposite.

STARTING PITCHER RANKINGS

Out in Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are posting out-of-this-world numbers. As of today, the two have combined for 72 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and 56 shutout innings in July. In the month of July, the two have combined to post an absurd 68:3 K/BB ratio. It goes without saying, but those two need to be in all of your lineups this week. How long can this streak continue?

2014: 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA in the regular season. 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 25 1/3 postseason innings. However, after a 4-7 record with a 5.19 ERA through 14 starts this season, Yordano Ventura was demoted to the minors. We all saw this coming, right? It’s been a rough year for the hard-throwing righty, however, he was recalled shortly thereafter when Jason Vargas tore his UCL. Perhaps the sheer fact that he was the odd man out will light a flame under his you know what, but he’s going to need more than a spark to turn his 2015 around.

Which New York pitcher would you rather have right now? Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, or Jonathon Niese? Strikingly enough, if you said Niese, you have somewhat of a legitimate case. Don’t get me wrong, the other three are better talent wise, but Niese has been extremely effective of late. Sure, he wasn’t at his best Friday night, but he was pitching very well before hand. Before his start against the Dodgers, he had allowed just nine earned runs in his last six starts, spanning 42 1/3 innings. He isn’t going to strike many guys out, but this recent hot streak justifies him as a quality No. 2 pitcher in DFS in week 16. He faces the San Diego Padres this week, a team whose .236 batting average is the second-lowest in all of baseball.

What’s the Verdict?

Here is the verdict on a few players in week 16 and whether or not you should play them:

Aaron Nola—Fri- ATL (Wisler)

In fantasy baseball, there isn’t a team who has less fantasy relevant players than the Philadelphia Phillies. However, this guy has the makings to carry a rotation. Before being called up, he was 10-4 between Double and Triple-A with a 2.39 ERA. In his major league debut, he took the loss, but he was impressive nonetheless. The only run he allowed came when the opposing pitcher took Nola deep. He kept the actual Tampa hitters off balance and a matchup with the Braves is enticing. He makes for a quality No. 2 pitcher in DFS on Friday.

VERDICT: Yes please.

Michael Conforto—

With Michael Cuddyer landing on the shelf, the Mets needed an outfielder and Conforto was knocking at the door. He was hitting .312 with five home runs and 25 RBI at Double-A this season and the team was comfortable with bringing him up with just 589 minor league plate appearances under his belt. This guy could develop into a good major league outfielder, but don’t expect him to be a driving force for the Mets this season. He doesn’t have the hype of a Carlos Correa, Miguel Sano or Kris Bryant, but he can be counted on for at least an average 2015 season.

VERDICT: Don’t jump the gun, wait a few games.

Best of luck in week 16.