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

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

The first Sunday slate of the season has the typical 14 matinees with the Sunday night ESPN contest capping off the festivities. Action begins at 1:35 PM ET with the Baltimore Orioles hosting the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies entertaining the Atlanta Braves. The prime time affair features the St. Louis Cardinals visiting the Los Angeles Dodgers.

One of the running Sunday themes will be making up ground on the last day of the week in head-to-head leagues. Most of the scheduled pitchers are mostly back end starters, with only five rostered in more than 50% of ESPN leagues. Twenty are available in at least 90% of ESPN leagues. This makes for a lot of tough decisions, balancing the risk and reward.

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

The day’s top ranked starter is Colin Rea (0.5% rostered in ESPN leagues) who will lead the Milwaukee Brewers into Citi Field to challenge the New York Mets. The home team will counter with Tylor Megill (1.6%). Both are in play as spot starters for those looking to pad their stats, mostly due to the cooler temperatures and extreme pitching venue. Rea secured a spot in the Brewers rotation with 19 punch outs in 18⅓ innings. The Mets lineup is without eventual designated hitter who is still perfecting his swing after signing late in spring training. Megill also racked up strikeouts in exhibition play, fanning 23 in 20⅔ Grapefruit League innings.

Another matchup involving a pair of fantasy spot starters is in South Beach with Trevor Rogers (3.0%) and the Miami Marlins hosting Bailey Falter (0.2%) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Falter is projected to notch a little over a point more than Rogers, but I like Rogers a bit more. The lefty is aiming to resurrect a once-promising career that has been curtailed with injuries. He didn’t get to display it much before having his 2023 season end after only four starts, but Rogers added a sinker to his repertoire, a pitch which should help him keep the ball in the yard. The Pirates offense is trending upward, but it’s still one of the less potent units.

Brady Singer (8.4%) is a hurler to watch early in the season. After seemingly breaking through in 2022, Singer took a step back last season. The Kansas City Royals wanted to tweak his pitch mix, but he resisted. However, they got through to him this past offseason and Singer intends on throwing his four seamer and sweeper more than last year. The spring results weren’t encouraging with 14 strikeouts and eight walks over 16 stanzas, but that sometime happens when working on something new. The Twins lineup took a hit with Royce Lewis placed on the IL after injuring his quad in the opener.

The Orioles lineup versus left-handed pitching appears potent, even though it’s much harder to clear the left field fence in Camden Yards. On Sunday, Los Angeles Angels southpaw Reid Detmers will oppose the Orioles, setting up the home team for a productive afternoon. Detmers fanned 24 in 18⅓ spring innings, but he also walked 11. Giving free baserunners to the Orioles is dangerous. Austin Hays (13.6%), Ryan Mountcastle (9.5%) and Jordan Westburg (7.4%) are all widely available, and in a great spot to rack up counting stats.

It’s not too late to start a free fantasy baseball league. Finish your draft before the first pitch of Sunday night’s game and all stats will retroactively count for Week 1. Come and join the fun!

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. 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.

To get the latest information on each team’s bullpen hierarchy, as well as which pitchers might be facing a bit of fatigue and who might be the most likely suspects to vulture a save or pick up a surprise hold in their stead, check out the latest Closer Chart, which will be updated every morning.

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.

Byron Buxton (MIN, DH — 23%) at Brady Singer

Joc Pederson (ARI, LF — 5%) vs. Ryan Feltner

Jake Burger (MIA, 3B — 32%) vs. Bailey Falter

Josh Bell (MIA, 1B — 45%) vs. Falter

Jake Fraley (CIN, RF — 3%) vs. Jake Irvin

Jeimer Candelario (CIN, 3B — 30%) vs. Irvin

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (CIN, 1B — 36%) vs. Irvin

Bryan De La Cruz (MIA, LF — 11%) vs. Falter

Jonathan India (CIN, 2B — 18%) vs. Irvin

Alex Kirilloff (MIN, 1B — 3%) at Singer

Kyle Schwarber (PHI, LF — 99%) vs. Chris Sale

Bryson Stott (PHI, 2B — 87%) vs. Sale