Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Tuesday
Pitching options, well, you’ll see… If you haven’t yet read my primer on how weather can give you a MASSIVE edge in fantasy baseball, be sure to check that out now, as it will help provide context for my player evaluations each week.
Here are Tuesday’s choices to bolster your fantasy squad, with everyone available in at least half of all ESPN leagues.
Erick Fedde (R), rostered in 5% of ESPN leagues, Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins: Fedde being the best available option tells us all we need to know about the quality of available pitching options today, but the matchup is fantastic. It’s a park upgrade for Miami, but it’s still a weak offense that is one of the most strikeout-heavy in baseball.
Joe Ryan (R), rostered in 5% of ESPN leagues, Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Indians: Ryan isn’t officially announced yet, but with the double-header today and him on regular-ish rest, he seems likely to get the call in one of these games. The Indians are a bottom-10 offense and take a park hit today, so you could do worse than Ryan.
Tony Gonsolin (R), 22%, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks: The matchup for Gonsolin’s ratios is a strong one against a bottom-five offense taking a park hit. The problem is that Arizona doesn’t strike out a ton and that Gonsolin doesn’t go deep into games, especially since he’s still building back up stamina. Still, the innings you get out of him ought to be good ones, and if he makes it to 5 innings the chance of a win will be high.
Touki Toussaint (R), 21%, Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are outside of Coors Field, and while this is still a solid hitting environment, it’s a massive downgrade. They are a weak offense with a high strikeout rate, and so Touki is a solid choice today.
Bullpen: The Twins and Indians are playing a double-header today, so playing a reliever from this game gives you an extra chance of having your guy pitch. Unfortunately, neither team has a lot of quality relievers, but the matchup is okay, especially for the Twins. Especially if you’re hunting for counting stats, this would be the spot to target. Alex Colome (rostered in 51% of leagues) would be your saves target here, unless Emmanuel Clase (77%) happens to be available. Caleb Thielbar (sub-1%) would be your guy for ratios and strikeouts.
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.
Catcher — Mike Zunino (R), 40%, Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (RHP Jose Berrios): Zunino has 29 home runs this year and some of the best raw power in baseball. Berrios is a good pitcher, but he’s not immune to the long ball, and this is a huge park upgrade for the Rays in terms of power.
First Base — Miguel Sano (R), 48%, Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Indians (RHP Triston McKenzie): With a double-header on tap, all of the players likely to play both games here will be an elite source of counting stat value. That starts with Sano, but Max Kepler and Luis Arraez are also strong choices.
Second Base — Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L), 50%, Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals (RHP Erick Fedde): Jazz projects as one of the top overall streams today. It’s a big park upgrade, a below-average opposing pitcher, and the lowest air density of the day. Oh, and Fedde is extremely easy to steal on.
Third Base — Evan Longoria (R), 16%, San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres (RHP Jake Arrieta): Longoria and Brandon Belt are both terrific plays today against one of the weaker pitchers on the slate. They’re both simply too talented for how low-rostered they are.
Shortstop — Luis Urias (R), 38%, Milwaukee Brewers at Detroit Tigers (RHP Wily Peralta): The Brewers will add a DH in the American League today and face a weak pitcher who is also somewhat exploitable in terms of steals. Urias usually hits near the top of the lineup and is a strong stream.
Corner Infield — Andrew Vaughn (R), 39%, Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels (LHP Packy Naughton): Vaughn will hold the platoon advantage against a weak pitcher getting a sizeable park downgrade today.
Middle Infield – Didi Gregorius (L), 46%, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs (RHP Adrian Sampson): Didi will hold the platoon advantage in a park that’s great for lefty power, and he faces the pitcher who projects as the weakest on the slate. It’s also some of the best hitting weather of the day.
Outfield — Myles Straw (R), 40%, Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins (RHP John Gant): Straw has been leading off for Cleveland basically everyday since the trade deadline, and with the double-header today, two games worth of stats makes him a truly elite option, especially if you’re hunting for steals.
Outfield — Andrew Benintendi (L), 56%, Kansas City Royals vs. Oakland Athletics (RHP Frankie Montas): Montas is a good pitcher on a day littered with weak ones, but Benintendi is good enough where you can play him anyway if he’s available. He’ll hold the platoon advantage while Montas will take a significant park and weather downgrade.
Outfield — Lane Thomas (R), 5%, Washington Nationals vs. Miami Marlins (LHP Jesus Luzardo): Thomas has been leading off for Washington of late, and today he gets the platoon advantage against a struggling pitcher taking a sizeable park downgrade and who has to deal with the lowest air density of any game today.
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.