Fantasy Baseball Expert Picks July 7-13: Matchups, Streamers, Advice and More

It's the first full week of July, every team has played at least 88 games, and MLB is the only major American sport in action: welcome to the Dog Days of Summer! A 10-day forecast with every day above 100 where I live only slams home the point that the dead of summer has arrived.

The fantasy baseball season is in the meat of things. We know pretty much what to expect from teams and individual players by this point, though things will still change over 70-plus games.

The experts at FantasySP are here to help. Morgan Rode and Daniel Hepner answered five questions in advance of the first full week of baseball in July.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

1. Which team has the best matchups this week and could have a good stretch heading into the All-Star break?

Daniel: The Toronto Blue Jays moved into first place in the AL East over the weekend, and they have the matchups this week to continue rolling, facing the White Sox and Athletics three games apiece. Those teams have the two worst records in the American League; Toronto might be sitting pretty heading into the All-Star break.

Morgan: The Reds have a chance to make some noise before the break. Cincy faces Miami and Colorado this week. Miami could remain hot and steal a few more wins against the Reds and Orioles. The Mets have the Orioles and Royals, so there's a chance that New York could gain some more momentum. 

2. Do you have a few offensive players who have good matchups this week and are probably available for owners to pick up?

Daniel: I'll stick with the Blue Jays, as the White Sox and A's have two of the worst pitching staffs in the league by the numbers. Ernie Clement, Addison Barger, and Andres Gimenez are available in a lot of fantasy leagues and have been in the lineup often, and there's even some availability for George Springer and Alejandro Kirk.

Morgan: Colson Montgomery is barely owned in any leagues after getting called up to the big leagues. He has matchups against the Blue Jays and Guardians this week.

Chandler Simpson is another young hitter I like. He has the Tigers and Red Sox for matchups this week.

3. How about a pitcher or two who can take advantage of weak offenses to make a strong start or two?

Daniel: The Astros are facing off against the Guardians then the Rangers this week. Those two teams have been part of our fantasy pitcher target list all season as two of the weakest offensive units in the league. Brandon Walter, Lance McCullers Jr. and Ryan Gusto are guys who are available in fantasy leagues and will get one start this week.

Morgan: Cincinnati's Brady Singer has probable starts against the Marlins and Rockies this week. Miami has been pretty good of late, but both are still viewed as below-average offenses. Cincy's Nick Martinez is another good streaming option in those two matchups.

Pittsburgh's Andrew Heaney has probable starts against the Royals and Twins. Both of those starts could be above-average ones for Heaney.

4. Give us a few names of guys who might be set to slow down in the second half and who it might be best to trade at their highest value.

Daniel: Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh keeps mashing. He leads the league with 35 home runs, already more than his previous career high, and he's batting .270. Especially at catcher, that's a tough player to give up. If someone will give you a great return, though, like an ace pitcher or top hitter, then it's probably worth considering a trade because Raleigh has never played like this before and could start regressing at any time.

Morgan: Raleigh would be my top choice as well, but I'd also mention Pete Crow-Armstrong, Geraldo Perdomo, Seiya Suzuki, Springer, Eugenio Suarez, Maikel Garcia, Michael Busch, Byron Buxton, Andy Pages and Gleyber Torres. Those are all top-50 fantasy hitters this season.

Most of those guys are enjoying breakout seasons, and if you are skeptical on them continuing it through the second half of the season, trading them for a seasoned veteran makes a lot of sense. Move them before their value fades.

5. What advice do you have for us as we go into the second half of the baseball season?

Morgan: Simply, stick with it. There's a good chunk of the fantasy regular season left, and there's time to turn things around (if your team has struggled to this point). Go down swinging.

If you are near the top of your league, don't get complacent. Instead of riding the success from the first half of the season, find ways to keep improving your team. You can always improve a fantasy team.