Week 21 Hitting Planner: Small, Medium or Large World Series

Photo Credit: Keith Allison

With the Little League World Series taking place in Williamsport, PA, a lot of exciting baseball will be played in the Week 21 Hitting Planner. Playoff races are starting to heat up, and both west coast races should be exciting. With the three teams in each division (AL and NL West) vying for the lead, lets start the Week 21 Hitting Planner

Week 21 Hitting Planner

Weather Forecast

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While the southwest will continue to heat up in the Week 21 Hitting Planner, the rest of the United States seems to be getting cooler. The great northwest could see lows as cold as 44 degrees, but highs in the 70s. This could further zap offensive juice out of the Mariners and the Giants. San Francisco will also face a cold front in the Week 20 Hitting Planner. On the other side of the barometer, L.A. should reach peak highs near 85 degrees. This could create optimal air temperature for maximum power potential for the Dodgers and Angles.

Park Factors

Speaking of the L.A. teams, Dodger Stadium enters the Week 21 Hitting Planner at 14th in terms of HR PF. Their HR PF sits at 1.040. For most of the season, Dodger Stadium slightly leans towards being a pitchers park but the team continues to find offensive success. A little friendlier to hitters, Angel Stadium in Anaheim enters the Week 20 Hitting Planner as Dodger Stadium’s antecedent. The Angels home leans slightly towards hitters sporting an HR PF of 1.110 (9^th in MLB) and a Runs PF greater than 1. Both teams play host this week, so we could be in for some fun baseball with the colder week in California.

Stolen Base Report

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While the Dodgers haven’t been awful at stopping stolen bases (-1 rSB), the Angels have clearly been better. The Angels batteries sport an rSB of 2. This promptly places them in the upper echelon in run stopping efficiency. They’ve allowed the least amount of SB with only 34 while catching 25 runners (17^th in MLB).

In terms of rSB, the Pirates lead the MLB in stopping runners from stealing bases. Allowing 57 stolen bases, the Pirates’ rSB of 4 signifies their ability to keep runners from attempting to advance. Pirates catchers have only surrendered 5 past balls (2^nd in MLB) which further supports the Pirates ability to keep runners from taking an extra base.

Under-The-Radar- Players

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Trey Mancini, BAL (at TOR, vs. NYY)

With a strong rookie year followed by a disappointing sophomore campaign, Orioles slugger, Trey Mancini looks to be turning around in the Week 20 Hitting Planner. There’s a lot to not like about Mancini. He doesn’t play great defense in left. He plays in an offense sporting a wRC+ of 88. He’s not great on the basepaths either, but none of that really matters in the Fantasy sphere. Mancini has a lot of talent when looked at with a fantasy lens.

Since the start of August, Mancini’s seen his average exit velocity of 93.3 mph from 89.8 mph. His launch angles changed from 5.5 degrees up to 9.9 degrees. Hitting balls faster and in the air create the potential for more home runs. His 18.2% HR/FB ratio (last 51 PA) further supports this notion. The Blue Jays pitching staff surrendered 161 home runs so far this season, which is 6^th most in the MLB. Also familiar with the long ball, the Yankees staff enters the Week 21 Hitting Planner sporting a 13.2% HR/FB ration (12^th in MLB). This should be a big week for a player looking to cement himself in Baltimore’s future plans.