Teams to Target with Fantasy Baseball Pitchers: White Sox, Pirates and Rockies Lead the Pack

Welcome to the first full week of May. We are over a month into the MLB season, and though it's still early (five months to go), we have enough data to make some determinations about what to expect from teams and where players and their squads stand.

They say that nothing really matters until Memorial Day; that's three weeks away. We can't always wait that long to assess things in the world of fantasy baseball, so it's a perfect time to identify the weakest offensive teams that are best to target with opposing pitchers in fantasy. The next time I go through this exercise will be Memorial Day, when we look closer at what is probably real and what might still change.

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Process

I used 10 offensive box stats: runs, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, strikeouts, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. I went through and tallied the number of times each team showed up in the bottom 10 in any of those stats (or very close to it). Those who show up in those bottom-10s often are the target teams.

It's not perfect, and it doesn't account for advanced stats much, but teams who are regularly in the bottom 10 usually aren't hiding any underlying numbers that are pointing toward a big improvement. Every time I do this exercise, there are about 10 teams that stand out as targets. There were 12 targets this time, though a few stand out as the teams to really go after, and several others are targets to consider only if we're short on options.

Teams to Target

Top Targets

• Chicago White Sox
• Colorado Rockies
• Pittsburgh Pirates

This is the cream of the crop when it comes to inept offenses to attack. Chicago and Pittsburgh are the AL/NL versions of each other, in the bottom 10 in essentially every offensive area without much for redeeming factors. Each team is last in its respective division, around 10 games back from the leader.

Colorado is even worse (6-28 record, pushing on 20 games back), but they at least have Coors Field to fall back on. I tend to not target the Rockies when they are at home because the potential for offense is much greater. I will still mention them when streamers are short, but Colorado is more of a team we go after every day when they are on the road.

Second Tier

• Kansas City Royals
• Los Angeles Angels
• Texas Rangers

This group isn't quite as weak as the three teams listed above, but they are all worthy targets every day. They all have at least one star (Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Trout, Corey Seager), but there are multiple holes in the lineup that are dragging them down offensively.

Kansas City and Texas at least have top-10 pitching staffs that are keeping them around .500, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Angels continue to struggle all year long, especially with Trout now on the IL (we know how long that can last).

Other Targets

• Baltimore Orioles
• Cleveland Guardians
• Houston Astros
• Minnesota Twins
• Tampa Bay Rays
• Toronto Blue Jays

The six teams listed in the top two tiers are the ones I'm looking to go after every chance I get. These six are still lowly enough to target in the right situation, but they aren't automatic targets like the previous groups.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see any of the teams in this third tier improve their fortunes eventually and move out of our target range and into the playoffs. There is a lot of talent present on these rosters: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Altuve, Adley Rutschman, Byron Buxton, and more. There are also weak spots in each lineup that aren't letting them succeed regularly, and that puts each of these franchises on the line of the bottom 10 offensively as we dive headfirst into May (like Pete Rose).

Conclusion

There is still a LOT that will happen before we reach the All-Star break, let alone September. Teams that aren't listed here will make appearances as target teams during the season, and some of those listed will make their way on and off the list, maybe eventually moving up to an average level permanently.

We will know more about the true level of play of each team and player the deeper we get into the season. That means you don't have to force fantasy innings from pitchers right now if you don't like the matchup. You'll be able to find bulk innings after the midway point of the season from OK pitchers, so you don't have to stress about keeping up with innings now.

Pick the right pitchers in the right matchups that you feel good about. If that means just the guys permanently on your roster and not many streamers until July, that's fine. When you do get the chance at a good streaming chance with a strong pitcher, though, these are the teams that can offer the best chance at success.