Sport: MLB
We are officially heading down the stretch of the 2025 fantasy baseball season. It is Labor Day Weekend, we are about to enter September. That means the playoffs are about to begin in many leagues. September is when many MLB teams call up some of their prominent Minor League players, though that practice seems to be met with less fanfare than in years past. Many Major League clubs no longer waiting until the end of the year to give their Minor Leagues a look. In any event, there may be some new hitters and pitchers to keep in mind when navigating your way thought the fantasy baseball playoffs. As always, my weekly Fantasy Baseball Hitting Planner has plenty of information to help you make those tough lineup decisions. Here is the Week 24 Hitting Planner.
Week 24 Schedule Notes
Barring anything unforeseen, Week 24 will be the lightest of the four remaining weeks on the 2025 MLB schedule. Only six of the 30 teams are playing a full week. Tampa is the only team playing a seven-game home slate. More on that to follow in the Ballpark Effects section. The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox are the only teams who will play seven games on the road. With Monday being Labor Day, there are plenty of day games on tap. Of the 13 games on Monday’s slate, 10 of them will start during the daytime. Fantasy managers will have to pay attention to MLB lineups to make sure they are getting the most out of their starting lineup.
In addition to Monday’s holiday, there are a couple of quirks that fantasy managers may need to consider. There is a rare day off on Tuesday for two Major League teams, as Milwaukee and Philadelphia will get Tuesday off following their Labor Day affair. There is also no Sunday night game, as the NFL is starting their season this week. This is unlikely to have a huge impact, but it may result in a few players getting an extra day off over the weekend.
Week 24 Starting Pitching Matchup Notes
I will spare you too much analysis on why you should start your San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants hitters this week. They are facing the Colorado Rockies, and in Coors Field no less. Colorado will need to do a lot more than demote Antonio Senzatela to the bullpen before they can resemble a Major League pitching staff. For non-Rockies opponents, I gave the St. Louis Cardinals the highest offensive rankings in the Week 24 Hitting Planner. They are followed closely by their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs. St. Louis will host two squads associated with the Bay Area who enter this week’s series with some starting pitching issues. The Cubs will face the Braves and Nationals. Even if they square off with the good version of Spencer Strider on Monday, they should feast the rest of the week.
When examining the pitching matchups, I see a lot of left-handed starting pitchers on the schedule. The timing seems interesting given a recent New York Times article detailing the dominance of left-handed pitching in the Majors this year. But facing a slew of southpaws may not be the worst thing in the world for some fantasy-relevant players. The Houston Astros face four lefties this week, and their lineup is very right-handed hitter happy. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon have been very good this year. But Houston also gets Yusei Kikuchi and Patrick Corbin, which should make up for it. The Miami Marlins also face four left-handed starters. Otto Lopez should continue his hot hitting in Week 24. My guess is that Jakob Marsee starts more than he sits, while Liam Hicks and Troy Johnston lose playing time to Eric Wagaman and Derek Hill, respectively.
Week 24 Ballpark Effects Notes
The Tampa Bay Rays host seven games this week. The ballpark effects for their temporary home, Steinbrenner Field, have changed quite a bit throughout the year. At the present time, the park is a much friendlier hitting environment for right-handed hitters. Tampa only gets one left-handed starter this week. That means we probably will not see much out of Christopher Morel. Jake Magnum should get most of the work this week and is a solid pickup for fantasy managers looking for a boost in steals and batting average. Tampa will host Seattle and Cleveland this week. Both teams play in pitchers’ parks, so they should get friendlier hitting conditions than they are accustomed to seeing. Cleveland plays in another hitter-friendly park (Boston) in their other Week 24 series, while Seattle travels to Atlanta.
Week 24 Hitting Planner for Fantasy Baseball
| Team | Games | Home | Road | v. LHP | v. RHP | LHB | RHB | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 101 | 105 | 5.5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5.5 | 5 | 5.33 | |
| ATH | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 98 | 101.5 | 3.5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6.5 | 5.17 | |
| ATL | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 99 | 98 | 6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 7 | 5 | 4.92 | |
| BAL | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 99.5 | 98.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4.42 | |
| BOS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 104.5 | 103.5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 5.17 | |
| CHC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 97 | 96 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6.5 | 5.75 | |
| CHW | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 100.6 | 101.7 | 6 | 6 | 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 2 | 5.5 | 4.79 |
| CIN | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 103 | 102 | 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.50 | |
| CLE | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 102.3 | 104.9 | 5 | 2.5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.07 |
| COL | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 112 | 113 | 7.5 | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 4.25 | |
| DET | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 100 | 100 | 3.5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5.5 | 6 | 4.67 | |
| HOU | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 99.1 | 98.7 | 5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3 | 5.5 | 4.21 |
| KC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 101 | 102 | 6.5 | 7 | 6 | 3.5 | 4 | 6 | 5.50 | |
| LAA | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 99.1 | 102.1 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.93 |
| LAD | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 101.5 | 98.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4.17 | |
| MIA | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 102.5 | 100 | 6.5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 5.25 | |
| MIL | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 97.5 | 98 | 5.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 5 | 4.75 | |
| MIN | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 101 | 102.6 | 5.5 | 6 | 7 | 5.5 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 | 5.64 |
| NYM | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 101.5 | 101 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 6 | 4 | 4.5 | 3 | 4.58 | |
| NYY | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100.5 | 99.5 | 3.5 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 5.5 | 4.75 | |
| PHI | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 99 | 98.5 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 4.83 | |
| PIT | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 98 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.75 | |
| SD | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 104 | 105.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7 | 6.00 | |
| SEA | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 99.5 | 103.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 4.08 | |
| SF | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 105.5 | 106.5 | 7 | 6.5 | 7 | 5 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 5.75 | |
| STL | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 99 | 100 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 7 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 6.00 | |
| TB | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 98 | 107 | 5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4.64 |
| TEX | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 99.5 | 101 | 4 | 5 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 4.83 | |
| TOR | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 102 | 100.5 | 3 | 4 | 5.5 | 4 | 6 | 3.5 | 4.33 | |
| WAS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 99.5 | 98.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 6 | 5.42 |
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