Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Sunday’s MLB games

More Teams. More Games.

The underrated Seth Lugo should extend his quality start streak against the slumping Giants’ lineup. (1:06)

Look for our fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings, hitter upgrades and downgrades daily to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions and for MLB betting tips. Game odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

For an in-depth look at what to expect in this daily article and how to best use the information, check out our handy primer here.

Note: This file will be updated with overnight pitching changes and weather-related game postponements, along with the addition of the latest MLB game odds as of the indicated time of publication.

By Mike Sheets

• Closer Chart: Latest bullpen intel
• Pitching projections: Next 10 days
• Hitter ratings: Next 10 days• MLB depth charts for every team
• Player news wire with fantasy spin

In head-to-head ESPN leagues, Sunday marks the end of the regular season, so if you’re still clawing for that final playoff spot, do your best to make these last few roster moves count. It’s also important to note that Sunday’s first game — a matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds – has an early start time of 12:10 pm ET. Make sure your lineup is locked and loaded by the first pitch.

In terms of streaming options, Tarik Skubal (20% rostered in ESPN leagues) is one of the top streamers on Sunday’s slate. The left-hander has been a little bit up-and-down this season, but he sports a solid 3.52 ERA over his last seven starts with 45 Ks in 38 1/3 frames, fanning a season-high nine batters in his most recent outing against the New York Yankees. This Sunday, Skubal finds himself in a prime spot against the Chicago White Sox, who have the worst wRC+ (88) in the American League since the All-Star break.

Johan Oviedo (17%) also belongs on the streaming radar with his road start against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Not only is he coming off a two-hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals in his most recent start, but he owns a 2.72 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over his last seven turns. There’s still some risk here because Oviedo has struggled with start-to-start consistency, but he’s getting the Cardinals at the right time, as their 72 wRC+ and .273 wOBA both rank bottom-five in MLB over the last two weeks.

Since getting rocked by the Los Angeles Dodgers for eight runs in just 3 1/3 innings in early August, Seth Lugo (28%) has been on his game, giving up just four combined runs over his last four outings and reeling off three consecutive quality starts. All told, the right-hander has a 3.42 ERA over his last 13 turns with more than a strikeout per inning. Now, Lugo gets a San Francisco Giants lineup that’s been sputtering over the last month, putting up a 77 wRC+ with a 25.5% K%.

Even though he’s pitched decently his last couple of times out, Zack Greinke is still a hurler we want to attack right now. Dating back to June 6, the veteran right-hander has been tagged for a 6.47 ERA across 12 games (11 starts), with a .312/.339/.541 slash line allowed. With the Boston Red Sox in town, Triston Casas (41%) is one of the most appealing plays. In addition to getting the platoon edge, the lefty slugger continues to swing a hot bat, slashing .329/.427/.543 over his last 21 games. Adam Duvall, who is hitting .392 with seven dingers and 15 RBIs across his last 13 games, is in play, too.

Charlie Blackmon (24%) doesn’t draw much fantasy attention anymore, but he’s closing out the 2023 season on the strong note. Since returning from the injured list in mid-August, the 37-year-old outfielder is batting .377 with a pair homers, six RBIs, and 13 runs scored in 16 games. On Sunday, he gets the platoon advantage at Coors Field, where he’s batting .300/.392/.507 this season.

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN’s standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher’s handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher’s roster percentage in ESPN leagues. ML: Caesars Money Line. O/U: Caesars Over/Under for runs scored. For the projected stat line, W% is the team’s win probability using ESPN projections, IP is innings pitched, ER is earned runs allowed and K is strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an “opener” to start their game, but will rely on a “bulk pitcher” to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

Best and worst hitters from the day are generated by THE BAT X, a projection system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing and lots more.

Davis Schneider (TOR, 2B — 12%) at Austin Gomber

Alejandro Kirk (TOR, C — 49%) at Gomber

Seiya Suzuki (CHC, RF — 50%) at Brandon Williamson

Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT, 3B — 20%) at Adam Wainwright

Jack Suwinski (PIT, LF — 6%) at Wainwright

Spencer Torkelson (DET, 1B — 23%) at Michael Kopech

Jake Fraley (CIN, LF — 24%) vs. Jameson Taillon

Lars Nootbaar (STL, RF — 31%) vs. Johan Oviedo

Connor Joe (PIT, LF — 3%) at Wainwright

Charlie Blackmon (COL, RF — 24%) vs. Kevin Gausman

” target=”_blank”>Shop Now >>

MJ Melendez (KC, C — 53%) vs. Chris Sale