2017 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Planner: Week 13

It’s virtually impossible to see some things coming, but by preplanning for each and every week of the Fantasy Baseball season, you can often get a jump on the trends that are brewing around the league. Let’s take a look at how Week 13 of the MLB campaign is shaping up.

• Leading things off, be sure to take notice of a short five-game schedule for the Mariners this week in addition to a couple of lengthened eight-game slates for both the Twins and Indians, who each have doubleheaders on the docket for Saturday.

News from the Mound

• Cole Hamels (oblique) of the Rangers has been out of action since April 26, but has been confirmed to start Monday’s game at Cleveland. That should set the veteran lefty up for a two-start week (@CWS). It’s worth a shot to fire Hamels up this week, but as is my typical practice with hurlers coming off the DL, he will be left out of the rankings this week.

• Dallas Keuchel (neck) has not taken the mound since June 2 and is still without a projected date to return. He has at least been throwing some side sessions over the past week, but it seems at least somewhat likely that the first-place Astros, who have already built a commanding 12.5-game lead in the A.L. West, might just remain cautious and keep their ace out until after the All-Star Break.

At the Plate

• Hometown Hero - The Diamondbacks are simply an offensive machine at Chase Field, and Chris Owings is one bat to highlight for this week’s seven home games. Headed into play on Sunday, Owings sports a terrific .336/.367/.539 slash line with 15 extra-base hits, 30 RBI and nine stolen bases across 35 games in Arizona so far this season.

• Road Warrior - Cubs’ slugger Anthony Rizzo has really come on strong over the past few weeks, posting a stout 1.166 OPS since June 4. The defending champs will hit the road for a four-game set in D.C. followed by three in Cincy during the next seven days. In 17 career games at Nationals Park, Rizzo has produced a .618 SLG with five home runs. The three-time All-Star has also made himself right at home in Great American Ball Park, launching 15 homers across 43 games. That mark is only topped by his total (65) at home in Wrigley Field.

• Pretty much a run-of-the-mill Interleague schedule this week with potentially some deep, league-specific appeal for players such as Chase Utley, Daniel Nava and Danny Santana. In fact, Santana has been really getting it done off the Braves’ bench this month, slashing .351/.415/.595 with five extra-base hits and 10 RBI over 41 plate appearances.

• Landing just outside the Top-5 this week, Lance McCullers (back) was brilliant in his return from a 15-day stint on the DL this past Saturday at Seattle. The young righty limited the Mariners to one run on four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts across 5.0 innings (76 pitches). Look for McCullers to have a longer leash next time out.

• Yu Darvish had to exit what was arguably his most impressive outing of the season this past Friday at Yankee Stadium after the seventh inning due to tightness in his triceps. The most recent reports from Texas suggest Darvish is not in much jeopardy of missing Wednesday’s scheduled start in Cleveland, but be sure to monitor this situation ahead of time.

• Yet another Astros’ hurler comes into focus, as Mike Fiers breaks into the Top-20 for a week that will see him twice take the ball in Houston. After struggling to an ugly 5.75 ERA while surrendering 16 home runs over his first seven starts of 2017, Fiers has bounced back to post a stellar 2.14 ERA and allow only two long balls over his last seven starts. In addition, he boasts a nice 2.68 ERA at home this season.

• The Braves have not made this official just yet, but rookie southpaw Sean Newcomb should make a couple of trips to the hill (@SD, @OAK) this week. Three starts into his big-league career, Newcomb has worked to a 1.96 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while holding the opposition to a .185 batting average and only one home run across 18.1 innings.

Nate Miller is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and has been an analyst in the industry since 2013. You can follow him on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad, where he is always up for fielding any Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Football or DFS questions.