Scouting the season's second-half schedule for surprises

The agelong tally of the shot play is rapidly approaching. Before you cognize it, the MLB commercialized deadline volition beryllium here, and astir 2 weeks aft that -- Friday, Aug. 15, astatine noon ET -- our modular phantasy shot commercialized deadline arrives.

With the All-Star interruption conscionable a fewer days away, present is the perfect clip to re-examine your roster, find what areas mightiness warrant improvement, and marque immoderate commercialized offers. After all, the yearly four-day respite from the day-to-day lineup mounting grind begins connected Monday. It's a cleanable accidental for seeking retired trades.

Ah, but what to people successful a deal? That's wherever the Forecaster projections tin help. Pulling successful each 30 teams' second-half schedules -- meaning this survey begins lone with the games connected Friday, July 18 -- I've evaluated them each to find which teams person it the easiest and toughest the remainder of the way.

After all, portion players' accomplishment sets are the driving unit successful phantasy valuations, don't underestimate the interaction of matchups. Even the slightest borderline implicit what is astir 40% of the play near to play tin wage immense dividends successful fantasy leagues.

For this, I've taken lone subordinate and squad projections, alternatively than statistic already successful the tank. (What bully does it bash to number stats accrued by out-for-the-season players?) Using this information, I've graded each team's docket comparative to the league average. Hitters and pitchers are examined separately.

Naturally, the Colorado Rockies, owed to the "hitters' heaven" quality of their location ballpark person the second-half's champion hitters' and worst pitchers' schedules (8.3% amended and 8.6% worse than league average). That's mostly the effect of their 35 location games, tied for third-most.

They besides person the third-most righty dense schedule, with those 2 factors combined a imaginable boon for Mickey Moniak, who has wOBAs 109 points higher astatine location than connected the road, and 69 points higher against right- than left-handers.

Removing the Coors Field denizens from the equation, let's instrumentality a look astatine the different teams and imaginable indiviuals to people based connected what's inactive near to play connected the 2025 schedule.

Best non-Rockies hitter schedules

Atlanta Braves (3.8% amended than league average): Atlanta faces lone 2 pitching staffs that the Forecaster grades 5% oregon much amended than league mean for the remainder of the twelvemonth -- the Cleveland Guardians (Aug. 15-17, successful Cleveland) and Seattle Mariners (Sept. 5-7, successful Atlanta). Additionally, the Braves are the squad likeliest to look the largest measurement of left-handed pitching during the 2nd fractional (potentially 30% of their opposing starters), which is simply a boon to Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna, who person historically been fantabulous against lefties.

Cleveland Guardians (3.1% better): Their 38 location games are the majors' most, which says a batch astir the prime of pitching they'll face, considering Progressive Field has been an utmost pitchers' parkland successful caller years. The Guardians are besides 2nd most-likely to look the largest measurement of right-handed pitching (potentially 80% of their opposing starters), which could pb to amended 2nd halves for Nolan Jones and Kyle Manzardo.

Minnesota Twins (3.0% better): The Twins play a bully stock of the 2nd fractional successful hitter-friendly environments, arsenic successful summation to fractional of their 66 games coming astatine their ain Target Field, they'll besides marque three-game visits to Coors Field, Yankee Stadium, Rogers Centre and Citizens Bank Park. Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach could peculiarly payment from the advantageous schedule.

Other teams connected this side: Los Angeles Angels, 1.8% better; Toronto Blue Jays, 1.6% better; Houston Astros, 1.2% better.

Worst hitter schedules

New York Mets (6.6% worse than league average): They've struggled since mid-June (just 3.89 runs per crippled since June 15, seventh-worst), and their second-half docket is thing but forgiving. That's particularly existent betwixt July 25 and Aug. 17, erstwhile the Mets look the San Francisco Giants (six games), San Diego Padres (3), Guardians (3), Milwaukee Brewers (3), Braves (3) and Mariners (3). Overall, nary squad plays a greater measurement of second-half games successful pitchers' parks than the Mets. This could beryllium a bully clip to currency successful a reddish blistery hitter similar Brandon Nimmo.

St. Louis Cardinals (3.8% worse): Their 2nd fractional begins with a six-game roadworthy travel to Chase Field and Coors Field, but aft that, they get astir nary breaks connected the hitting broadside the remainder of the way. The Cardinals, similar the Mets, besides play a ample measurement of their games successful pitchers' parks -- and the largest erstwhile that archetypal roadworthy travel is done.

Athletics (3.7% worse): Their 30 second-half location games, astatine the utmost hitter-friendly situation of Triple-A's Sutter Health Park, are fourth-fewest successful the majors. Tuck that distant if you roster either Jacob Wilson oregon Lawrence Butler, who respectively person 61 and 65 points-higher wOBAs astatine location than connected the roadworthy this season.

On a related note, the Tampa Bay Rays, baseball's different squad calling a Triple-A venue its location this season, has an MLB-low 28 location games and a hitting docket 2.2% worse than league mean (sixth-worst).

Other teams connected this side: San Francisco Giants, 3.2% worse; Chicago White Sox, 3.2% worse.

Best pitcher schedules

San Diego Padres (5.3% amended than league average): The Padres look a batch of atrocious offenses during the 2nd half, including 7 games against the Rockies and 3 apiece against the White Sox, Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. They besides marque trips to utmost pitchers parks loanDepot Park, Oracle Park, T-Mobile Park and Citi Field. The brushed docket strengthens the lawsuit for Yu Darvish and Michael King finishing beardown aft caller injuries, and for Dylan Cease to rebound from a lackluster archetypal half.

New York Mets (3.7% better): All those games successful pitching-friendly environments suit Mets pitchers good and, similar the Padres, they person a brace of recovering starters successful Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga who should benefit.

Houston Astros (3.3%): History favors their pitchers, arsenic their 3.30 post-break ERA from 2021-24 is third-best successful baseball, and they've besides won a third-best 59.4% of their games successful that time. This year's docket is plentifulness soft, and should assistance some Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez stay among fantasy's champion starters.

Other teams connected this side: St. Louis Cardinals, 3.1%; Chicago Cubs, 2.8%; New York Yankees, 2.8%.

Worst non-Rockies pitcher schedules

Boston Red Sox (6.3% worse than league average): Strangely enough, they play the second-fewest location games of immoderate squad during the 2nd fractional (29), meaning they're up against immoderate pugnacious contention considering the hitter-friendly quality of Fenway Park. About the lone reprieves their pitchers volition get are a five-game agelong astatine location against the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles (Aug. 15-19) and their seven-game Week 22 against those aforesaid Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates (Aug. 25-31). Lucas Giolito volition beryllium hard-pressed to widen his existent blistery streak.

Cincinnati Reds (5.0% worse): They telephone 1 of baseball's astir HR-friendly environments their home, which drags their docket standing down, but it besides doesn't assistance that they volition play 19 games against top-five offenses, successful summation to astatine slightest 15 against teams conscionable extracurricular that cutoff. Expect less streaming opportunities from Reds starters during the 2nd half.

Texas Rangers (3.7% worse): They person a brutal second-half schedule, peculiarly fantasy's Weeks 20 and 21 (Aug. 4-17), erstwhile they look thing but top-eight graded offenses. It has been a magical comeback twelvemonth for Jacob deGrom, but considering his extended wounded past and the challenging docket ahead, it's astatine slightest worthy listening to what you could get for him successful trade.

Other teams connected this side: Milwaukee Brewers, 1.9% worse; Kansas City Royals, 1.6%; Detroit Tigers, 1.6% worse.