Teams to Target with Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers: Orioles, Guardians and More Make the List After the All-Star Break

The MLB season is about 60% over. We are back from the All-Star break and only about two months from things really getting hot and heavy in the final push to October.

While the end will come fast, we still have a long way to go in terms of the number of games, especially if you are in a daily fantasy baseball league. The good thing is that we know who teams and players are by now. Sure, things will still change over the next few months, but the worst offensive teams have shown themselves clearly.

That means we can target those squads more confidently without the worry that small-sample randomness is skewing our evaluations. With that in mind, let's look at the best teams to target with opposing fantasy pitchers as we come out of the break. I'll give you the process I used and the teams that stood out as targets.

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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 tallied the number of times each team showed up in the bottom 10 (or very close to it) in those categories to find those who regularly were among the worst; those teams are our targets.

It's not perfect by any means. There aren't a lot of advanced stats, and I don't give more weight to more recent performance, but teams who regularly are at the bottom of offensive statistics aren't usually hiding any underlying performance that shows they are going to make a big leap, and the teams I am most anxious to go after have been on our list pretty much all season, proving they are offensively inept.

Teams in each tier are listed in alphabetical order, and I used stats from MLB.com (which are accurate before Friday's games).

Target Teams

Each time I do this exercise, around 10 teams stand out. This time, I came up with exactly 10 teams that I am excited about, and I'll add two fringe teams at the end that we can use when either the schedule is short or we just don't have many streaming options.

Prime Targets

• Chicago White Sox
• Colorado Rockies
• Pittsburgh Pirates

There's not a whole lot to say here. These teams are the worst of the worst, in the bottom 10 in essentially every stat and holding the three worst records in the league. They have been here all season to nobody's surprise, and they will continue to be our favorite streaming targets for the final 65-ish games.

Daily Targets

• Baltimore Orioles
• Cleveland Guardians
• San Francisco Giants
• Texas Rangers

These four squads are still ones that I am excited to go after, but they aren't on the same level of ineptitude as Chicago, Colorado, and Pittsburgh. All aside from Baltimore are in the bottom 10 in eight of our 10 categories, and Cleveland and San Francisco are very close to a ninth. The Orioles only reach the bottom in seven stats, and that's because they hit more home runs, bringing up their slugging and OPS.

San Francisco has bounced on and off the list, but they have continued flailing, working themselves further into the bottom 10. I will be looking to attack these teams every day, but the lowliest pitchers won't be options for me the way they will be with the three in the top tier.

Still Targetable

• Atlanta Braves
• Kansas City Royals
• San Diego Padres

Three 2024 playoff teams here; I'd say that's something of a shock. Kansas City is the team who makes the most sense, as they are a small-market team who often ships out good offensive players when they are at the money-making stage. KC hits the ball OK for average, but they are completely inept of power, ranking 29th in both home runs and runs scored.

The Braves and Padres have bigger names on their rosters who should theoretically be putting together better seasons, but they are each bottom-10 in at least five categories and very, very close in another one or two. They aren't the type of units that I want to go after every day, but they are vulnerable against better pitchers and fit in well when we are short on other streaming options.

Fringe Targets

• Los Angeles Angels
• Minnesota Twins

These teams are closer to the middle than the bottom, but they still show some weaknesses that make them intriguing in the right matchups. The Angels are a favorite because of their walk and strikeout numbers: they currently rank 26th in walks drawn and second in batter strikeouts, behind just the Rockies. That's a phenomenal ratio for opposing pitchers. They hit a lot of home runs, but there are enough holes to make LA enticing for the right guys.

Minnesota isn't as lowly in any category, but they do rank in the bottom 12 in runs, hits, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. They are very middling; that's not exactly the same as facing the White Sox or Pirates, but it makes the Twins a team that is vulnerable at times.

Conclusion

The worst teams have been season-long targets, leaving us with a clear picture of who to target on a regular basis.

The teams after the top seven are a little more questionable and cycle in and out, but those squads like the White Sox, Rockies, and Pirates are sticking around as our best friends when finding fantasy pitchers.