Week 16 is the calm before the storm, both literally and figuratively. With the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline falling on a Tuesday, there could be a little bit of chaos toward the beginning of the next scoring period, although certainly some trades might be reported this week and especially over the weekend. "Hug watch" is real!
Next week's schedule, on the other hand, is relatively calm, with only four games on the Thursday docket. This is in part due to rules in the CBA regarding the number of consecutive days teams are allowed to be in action, along with this day having been left relatively open to make up any potential postponements -- which is harder to do overall with the league's new balanced schedule.
The lighter schedule means only four teams will be playing seven games in Week 16, with the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals all playing one series at home and one on the road. Meanwhile, six teams have the dreaded five-game week. Decisions on starting batters from the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays will be tricky. That said, since we have 20 teams playing just one more game for the week, most of your debates will be around five games versus six, rather than a more typical five versus seven.
As always, rotations are subject to change, but early projections show the San Francisco Giants slated to face southpaw starters in four of their six contests. As a team using platoons to set their lineup, batters such as LaMonte Wade Jr. and Joc Pederson will probably be benched in favor of the likes of Austin Slater and Wilmer Flores. At least initially, the Guardians, Nationals, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies are all earmarked to face six right-handers, putting their lefty swingers into the spotlight.