If it feels like teams have been struggling to hit, that aligns with the data, especially on a few surprising teams. In recent seasons, the Pirates, Rockies and White Sox were common teams found with a wRC+ below 90 or 95, which usually provides a cutoff for the bottom-10 teams in wRC+. The surprising teams with a wRC+ below 95 in 2026 include the Phillies, Padres, Reds, Red Sox and Mets. Meanwhile, the Pirates, Mariners, Nationals and Cardinals rank inside the top 10 in wRC+.
We highlight that because it might be time to bench struggling hitters to stream for others in some formats. Soon, we might need to adjust our expectations for these teams and hitters based on the underlying metrics.
There are no teams with five games and four teams with a seven-game slate in Week 8. It looks like a week where we can stream strong-side platoon options on several teams.
It’s helpful to see the 2025 and 2026 team-level advanced metrics to quantify a team’s pitching staff. That’s mainly evident via the Astros, Rays and Phillies having a few outlier data points in 2026. With Hunter Brown injured and Framber Valdez gone, the Astros have been relying on Spencer Arrighetti, Peter Lambert, Lance McCullers Jr. and Mike Burrows. Though Houston’s average adjusted score remains high, we should be streaming hitters against them, given their single-digit K-BB%.
Worst team hitting matchups, update. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
We continue to highlight the Phillies’ pitching staff because of their high WHIP and BABIP allowed. Though Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have a decent K-BB% above 15%, only Wheeler allows a BABIP under .342. That suggests the Phillies’ starting pitchers tend to allow balls in play, leading to bumpy outcomes.
Meanwhile, the Rays’ pitching staff has seen its strikeout skill decline, yet luck has been in their favor (BABIP and strand rate). However, Rays’ pitchers have been allowing hard contact, evidenced by expected ERA (xERA) from Statcast. The Rays face the Blue Jays in Toronto for three and then three against the Marlins at home in Week 8. The Rays’ home park tends to be pitcher-friendly, ranking seventh in strikeout park factor, fifth in ERA and fifth in wOBA allowed.
Best team hitting matchups, updated. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
Interestingly, the Nationals, White Sox and Angels have been fortunate in BABIP and strand rate. However, the skills for the Nationals, White Sox and Angels’ starting pitchers haven’t been great, evidenced by their poor K-BB%. It’s worth highlighting that the White Sox home park ranks in the bottom 10 of Statcast Park Factors, potentially helping their starting pitchers — though Munetaka Murakami might break the system.
The Angels could be an early-season outlier because they have a better xERA in 2026, aligning with their starting pitchers allowing less hard contact. Though José Soriano and Jack Kochanowicz have been outpitching his underlying metrics, Reid Detmers leads the Angels from a skills-based standpoint (K-BB%). We can find some positives from the White Sox and Angels’ starting rotation, but it’s a stretch for the Nationals, given Cade Cavalli and Foster Griffin being notable in deeper formats.
Seven-Game Slates in Week 8
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Astros (4 vs. SEA, 3 vs. TEX)
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Astros’ hitters project to face right-handed starting pitchers in all seven games against the Mariners and Rangers. It might be challenging for those hitters, though volume will be in their favor. Outfielder Zach Cole (more on him later) projects to be the biggest beneficiary, as a strong-side platoon option. Cole hit 19 home runs, stole 18 bases with a .279 batting average across two levels in the minors in 2025, yet it came with a .418 BABIP. There’s some power and speed in Cole’s profile, but the hit tool and contact rate (65% contact rate at Triple-A in 2025) will be the primary issues. It’s likely a small sample, but Cole had shown better contact rates (75.4%) in the minors in 2026. If Cole can make enough contact, he could be a sneaky deep-league waiver wire pickup.
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Dodgers (4 vs. SF, 3 at LAA)
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Dodgers’ hitters project to face six out of seven right-handed starting pitchers in Week 8. Look for Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland toward the bottom of the Dodgers’ lineup to gain additional playing time, with most of their lineup being consistent. Freeland has started against two out of six left-handed pitchers since being called up in early April. Kim looks like the more fantasy-friendly profile than Freeland since Kim provides stolen bases.
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Mariners (4 at HOU, 3 vs. SD)
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Seattle projects to face right-handed starting pitchers in all seven games in Week 8. That means stock up for fan favorites Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley (more on them later), the Mariners’ primary strong-side platoon options. After Raley hit three home runs in the first three games of the season, he hit three more across the next 30. However, Raley hit two home runs on Friday with seven RBI, so his stock will rise. Pick up Canzone in deeper formats with Raley being more volatile.
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Giants (4 at LAD, 3 at ATH)
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There’s a trend of these teams with seven games facing plenty of right-handed starting pitchers in Week 8. The Giants project to face six right-handed starting pitchers out of seven games, with Jeffrey Springs as the only lefty on the slate. The Giants called up top prospect Bryce Eldridge, who projects as a strong-side platoon option. Eldridge made loud contact in the minors with a 9-10% barrel rate per plate appearance over the past two seasons. He’ll be a waiver wire target in most formats because of the prospect allure. The Giants need a spark on offense and Eldridge may need to hit his way into consistent playing time.
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Shallow- and Medium-Sized League Waiver Pickups
Casey Schmitt, Giants (42% Rostered)
Schmitt has been one of the Giants’ best hitters, boasting a 137 wRC+. He showed a better contact rate (80.3%) in 2026, four points higher than his career average (76.2%). Schmitt’s barrel rate per plate appearance jumped to 11.3% in 2026, nearly double his career norm (6.4%). He has been barreling up offspeed and breaking pitches, looking like a potential actionable change in 2026.
Casey Schmitt’s barrel per PA percentage by pitch/season. (Photo by Corbin Young/BaseballSavant)
We’ve seen Schmitt continue to pull the ball (48.5%) while hitting at optimal launch angles, given a career-best 52.6% flyball rate. More power with an ideal approach (pull-heavy and flyball) should lead Schmitt to reach a peak in home runs in 2026.
Schmitt gained steam in deeper formats, yet should be targeted in shallower formats, especially for volume in Week 8.
Brooks Lee, Twins (40% Rostered)
I almost wrote about Lee last week, but scratched him after having some mediocre thoughts. However, Lee has been productive in May from a batting average standpoint, evidenced by a .371 batting average, which has been fueled by a .448 BABIP. Unfortunately, Lee has zero home runs and just one stolen base in May, but he continued to show strong plate discipline, given his 87.5% contact rate in May, much higher than his season-long average (81.3%), which is more consistent with the career norm.
Target Lee if your team needs batting average help.
Cole Young, Mariners (23% Rostered)
Volume should be in Young’s favor for Week 8. The Mariners face a depleted Astros’ rotation for the first half. We mentioned Young last week, but need to highlight him again. Though Young’s .333 BABIP fuels his .259 batting average, he possesses above-average plate discipline, with a 77.2% contact rate. Young has shown a slightly more aggressive approach, given a four-point jump in his swing rates while chasing nearly seven percentage points more in 2026 (30.7%) than in 2025 (23.3%).
He has shown average to slightly above-average power skills via his bat speed (71.9 mph) and barrel rate per plate appearance (5.0%) in 2026. Young should be a solid source of batting average and counting stats, with some power and speed.
Deep-League Waiver Pickups (Under 20% Rostered)
Spencer Steer, Reds (17% Rostered)
Last offseason, Spencer Steer garnered plenty of buzz after hitting 20 home runs and stealing 25 bases in 2024. Steer’s production fell to 21/7 in 2025, which coincided with Sal Stewart taking over the attention. Steer has been playing every day for the Reds, hitting in the middle of the lineup. He had a 4.9% barrel rate per plate appearance throughout his career, yet it has spiked to 10.7% in 2026. Steer’s plate discipline (78.9% contact rate), approach (career-best 29% pulled air rate) and power have been skills to build upon.
Expect Steer to do damage, especially at home to begin the week against the Nationals.
JJ Bleday, Reds (13% Rostered)
The Reds project to face four right-handed starting pitchers out of six games, so Bleday could have mixed playing time. Bleday played against one left-handed starting pitcher last week, though the Reds have only faced two since he was called up. He might play regularly if he continues to hit, which can be especially valuable since he bats second in the lineup. Bleday is probably running hot, but we should ride the wave in deeper formats. He typically struggled with plate discipline, given his 70.9% contact rate in 2025.
JJ Bleday’s bat speed progression. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
Thankfully, Bleday can hit the ball hard when he makes contact. Bleday historically had a 5.3% barrel rate per plate appearance throughout his career, which spiked to 11.8% in the early 2026 sample. It’s more believable for Bleday since his bat speed skyrocketed to 75.3 mph in 2026 from 71.7 mph in 2025. Bleday should be a deep-league source of power in Week 8.
Dominic Canzone (4% Rostered)/Luke Raley (14% Rostered), Mariners
Since the Mariners face seven right-handed starting pitchers, we’ll want to speculate on Canzone and Raley. Canzone should be the priority, but Raley raised our interest after hitting two home runs on Friday against the White Sox. Both Canzone and Raley have shown strong power skills. That’s evident by Canzone’s 74.3 mph bat speed and 10.1% barrel rate per plate appearance in 2026.
The same goes for Raley, though he tends to be more boom-or-bust with a 75.4 mph bat speed and 12.0% barrel rate in 2026. Both Raley’s bat speed and barrel rates would be career bests, yet a career low 53.7% contact rate (yikes).
Canzone remains the priority while Raley is the riskier pickup.
Zach Cole, Astros (1% Rostered)
Like Canzone and Raley, don’t sleep on Cole in deeper formats, especially since the Astros project to face right-handed starting pitchers in all seven games. He played against one out of two left-handed starting pitchers since his call-up. Cole flashed strong bat speeds (75.3 mph) and 9.2% barrel rate per plate appearance throughout his brief MLB career. Since Cole struggles to make contact, with a career 60.2% contact rate in the majors across a tiny sample of 65 plate appearances, he might be more in the Raley bucket, as a deep-league pickup for power.
