Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Saturday
With all that in mind, here’s a look at Saturday’s top streaming options, focusing on players rostered in roughly 50% or fewer ESPN leagues.
Jake Odorizzi (R), rostered in 46% of ESPN leagues, Houston Astros at Cleveland: Odorizzi is in the midst of a nice little stretch, going three consecutive starts without allowing a run. During this run, he has racked up 18 strikeouts (versus only two walks) in 14 innings. Granted, Odorizzi is not pitching deep into games, and he’s mainly been picking on weak offenses. Then again, dominating weak offenses is what good pitchers are supposed to do. Fortunately, he draws another below-average offense on Saturday, squaring off against a Cleveland lineup sporting the second-worst wRC+ (88) in the American League against right-handed pitching.
Ross Stripling (R), 36%, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Stripling tweaked his mechanics after getting pounded by the Red Sox in mid-May, and the adjustments have clearly paid off. Since the change, the right-hander has delivered a 2.45 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP and nearly a strikeout per inning. Facing the Rays isn’t an ideal matchup for the veteran, but they’ve been in a bit of a rut offensively, ranking 23rd in baseball with a .302 wOBA and 25.1% strikeout rate over the last 30 days.
Tarik Skubal (L), 38%, Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox: Most fantasy managers likely shied away from starting Skubal against the Astros his last time out, but he took the challenge head on, firing seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts. The young southpaw now has a 2.82 ERA over his last eight starts to go along with 63 strikeouts in 44 2/3 frames. He also allowed no more than three earned runs in any of those games. While the White Sox have been tough on left-handers, Skubal has already kept this team in check twice this season. He had a quality start against them the last time they squared off and racked up a season-high 11 strikeouts when these teams played in early June. Skubal is an upside arm worth investing in right now.
Kyle Muller (L), 8%, Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins: Muller dazzled his last time out, spinning five shutout frames against the Reds while fanning nine and allowing only three baserunners. Most impressively, he got up to 93 pitches after having being limited to only 56 in his previous outing. Of course, we’re working with a small 10-inning sample with Muller, but his fastball sits in the mid 90s and both his slider and curve look like legit swing-and-miss offerings, generating whiff rates of 48.1% and 53.3%, respectively. There are still some potential flags with the 23-year-old, who struggled with giving up walks and home runs at Triple-A, but the stuff is good enough to warrant our attention. A home matchup against a Marlins team that has struggled against lefties (87 wRC+, 27.5% K rate) presents an enticing matchup for Muller on Saturday.
Bullpen: Matt Barnes has been dominant as Boston’s ninth-inning man, but Josh Taylor has quietly been even better of late. The left-handed reliever has gone two whole months (24 appearances) without allowing a single run. During that span, he’s held hitters to a .138 batting average and struck out 25 batters in his 19 1/3 innings. Taylor is unlikely to garner any save chances with Barnes currently holding down the ninth, but he’s piling up holds and can help bring down your ratios.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Calculating Bill James game scores: A pitcher starts with 50 points, gets a point for each out, two points for each inning completed after the fourth, and one point for each strikeout. He is docked two points for each hit, four points for each earned run allowed, two points for each unearned run allowed, and one point for each walk.
Note: In 2019 and 2020, the average game score was 50.
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Catcher — Mike Zunino (R), 21%, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (RHP Ross Stripling): If you’re looking for power upside, Zunino is a “no-brainer” pickup. Despite being available in nearly 80% of leagues, his 18 homers are second-most at the catcher position — and four of those dingers have come in his last five games. Sure, his batting average isn’t going to help you, but it’s offset by high-end power at a weak position.
First Base — Miguel Sano (R), 48%, Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals (LHP Danny Duffy): Speaking of big-time power, Sano has it. Like Zunino, Sano is streaky and his homer output comes in bunches, but it just so happens that he’s swinging a hot stick right now. The slugger is batting .298/.327/.532 over his last 14 games and, on Saturday, he gets the platoon edge against Duffy, who has yet to return to form since coming off the IL.
Second Base — Dylan Moore (R), 39%, Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers (RHP Jordan Lyles): While Zunino and Sano bring the power, Moore brings the speed … along with some pop, too! Moore’s 13 steals rank top-10 in baseball, and his 10.2% walk rate gets him on base somewhat consistently, even when his batting average is near the Mendoza Line. He matches up well with Lyles, who has not been good at keeping runners close.
Third Base — Abraham Toro (S), 7%, Houston Astros at Cleveland (RHP Eli Morgan): Toro may have batted .297/.372/.459 in June, but much of his appeal simply comes from the fact that he gets to bat in the Astros lineup, which leads baseball with 454 runs scored. The 24-year-old has driven in eight runs over his last six games, and he figures to get into the mix again on Saturday, when Houston tees off against Morgan and his 9.37 ERA across four starts.
Shortstop — Brendan Rodgers (R), 11%, Colorado Rockies vs. St. Louis Cardinals (LHP Wade LeBlanc): Rodgers is a great way to get some exposure to Saturday’s Coors Field tilt. Any way you slice it, the 24-year-old is in a prime spot. Not only did he put up a .308/.389/.538 line in June, but he’s also batting .345/.424/.747 versus lefties. Add in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors, and LeBlanc is going to have his hands full with this former first-round pick on Saturday.
Corner Infield — Luis Urias (R), 27%, Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates (Undecided): Urias appears to really be coming into his own. He’s been one of the most stable presences in Milwaukee’s lineup of late, batting .300/.376/.489 over his last 23 games. Urias has even ascended to the top of the order, hitting first or second in each of his last seven games. With some power, on-base ability, and a splash of stolen-base potential, Urias is an interesting streaming option who is eligible at three different positions.
Middle Infield — Tony Kemp (L), 19%, Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox (RHP Garrett Richards): Richards has struggled mightily since MLB implemented its new crackdown on pitchers, and has looked like one of baseball’s most hittable hurlers over the last couple of weeks. This creates a perfect opportunity to fire up Kemp, who has put up a .373 wOBA versus right-hander this season.
Outfield — Eli White (R), 1%, Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners (LHP Marco Gonzales): Not only has White been playing every day, but he’s been slotting into the No. 2 spot in the lineup when there’s a left-hander on the mound, which is the case on Saturday with Gonzales going for Seattle. White, who displayed double-digit power and steals potential in the minors, is starting to show some of that skill in the majors, hitting .333/.385/.472 over his last nine games.
Outfield — Austin Hays (R), 37%, Baltimore Orioles at Los Angeles Angels (RHP Alex Cobb): Cobb’s underlying numbers suggest that better days are ahead, but he continues to get hit hard, allowing five-plus runs in three of his last four turns. Until he gets things straightened out, we’re going to go after him. Hays is a good way to do that on Saturday. He’s been stinging the ball lately, producing a .414/.433/.655 line over his last eight contests.
Outfield — Adam Duvall (R), 46%, Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves (LHP Kyle Muller): We like Muller as a streaming option on Saturday, but we like Duvall, too. If you’re behind in homers and RBI in your head-to-head matchup, Duvall makes a ton of sense. He’s blasted nine longballs and driven in 21 runs over his last 18 games, and he’s set to have the platoon advantage against a talented, but inexperienced, young southpaw.
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher’s past history (three years’ worth as well as past 21 days) as well as ballpark factors. “LH” and “RH” ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively. Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1-10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. So, for example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent.