Forecaster for Week 16: July 20-26

Todd ZolaJul 17, 2026, 12:19 PM ET

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Todd Zola is contributing writer for fantasy baseball at ESPN, specializing in game theory and player analysis. Todd is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. He won LABR and Tout Wars championships in 2016.

We're back to regular programming for Week 16 after Week 15 featured an extended scoring period that included the weekend immediately following the All-Star break (Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19).

The Week 16 schedule, covering Monday, July 20 through Sunday, July 26, features a full Monday slate, since teams will have only played three or four games since the break. However, Thursday is quiet with only five contests.

Several teams opted to give their aces extra rest, either because they worked in the Midsummer Classic or to manage workloads. As such, Cy Young Award contenders Cristopher Sanchez, Jacob Misiorowski, Joe Ryan and Dylan Cease come out of the second-half gate with a two-start week.

It also has become common for pitchers recovering from injuries to target just after the break to return, and this year is no exception. Examples are Michael Soroka, Jameson Taillon, Randy Vasquez, Lance McCullers Jr., Ronel Blanco, Martin Perez and Max Scherzer. Soroka and Vasquez merit the most attention, as they both enjoyed extended periods of success before the break.

The Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants both have just six games, split home and away, but they face a lot of vulnerable pitching. The Marlins visit the Houston Astros, then host the San Diego Padres, with each opponent using the back end of their suspect rotations. The Giants are on the road against the Kansas City Royals, then they return home to square off with the Los Angeles Angels, another pair of clubs without daunting pitching this period.

Projected starting pitchers for the next 10 days

Hitter matchup ratings for the next 10 days

Lineup lock times

Scheduling quirks

Starting pitcher ranks

Hitter ratings