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          Fantasy Baseball Forecaster Week 18: July 28 - Aug. 3

          Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are one of the few teams that play seven games for the week. Nic Antaya/Getty Images
          • Todd Zola, Fantasy baseballJul 29, 2025, 06:42 AM
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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.
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          The theme for fantasy baseball's Week 18 is "subject to change." Of course, that's usually the case. However, with the trade deadline on July 31, many hugs will be shared in the days leading up to Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. Pitchers and hitters may be suddenly scratched, which will leave us all anticipating a deal.

          There are several scheduling quirks, beginning with the second consecutive full Monday slate. All 30 teams will be in action under the lights. Tuesday (a day that usually consists of all night games) features an old-fashioned day-night doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles hosting the Toronto Blue Jays. That opener gets underway at 12:35 p.m. ET. With only three contests, Thursday is the lightest schedule of the season. One is a matinee while the other two are evening affairs.

          Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Cincinnati Reds will be the home team when they take on the Atlanta Braves in the 2025 MLB Speedway Classic. The Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, will host the contest at 7:15 p.m. ET. The dimensions there are similar to the Great American Ball Park, with the distance to the fences being within five feet of each other from line to line. The Reds and Braves will have Sunday off, which makes sense since they need to travel from Cincinnati for the Speedway Classic. The clubs open their three-game series on Thursday.

          With Thursday's abbreviated docket, only six teams will play seven games -- and the Orioles and Blue Jays needed Tuesday's twin bill to get there. The other 24 clubs all line up for six games, as the league has been doing a much better job in 2025 of avoiding those annoying five-game weeks.

          Be sure to follow the Latest Buzz for daily updates on lineup moves and follow the Trade Reaction Tracker for detailed fantasy analysis of any deals that do go down.

          Lineup lock times

          Scheduling quirks for Week 18

          Starting pitchers for Week 18

          Hitting charts for Week 18