Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Thursday’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.
By Mike Sheets
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Even with an abbreviated 12-game slate on Thursday, there are still plenty of aces to power those DFS lineups, as Justin Verlander, Joe Musgrove, Brandon Woodruff and Clayton Kershaw are all scheduled to take the hill for their respective teams. Based on matchup, it will be particularly difficult to fade Musgrove, who matches up with the Colorado Rockies at home, and Brandon Woodruff, who takes on the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. If you’re searching for that DFS anchor, it’s hard to go wrong with either arm.
Alek Manoah is tentatively slated to start on Thursday after being removed from his last start when he was hit by a line drive on his right elbow. Assuming health, the big right-hander will toe the rubber against a Minnesota Twins club that’s been league average offensively since the All-Star break. While Manoah hasn’t posted gaudy strikeout totals this season, he’s been one of the most dependable hurlers in baseball, registering quality starts in 16 of 20 outings.
Dating back to Jun 15, Johnny Cueto (37% rostered in ESPN leagues) owns a 2.41 ERA over his last eight starts. Not only that, but he’s produced six straight quality starts and has thrown seven or more innings in three of his last four turns. Sure, the 6.1 K/9 is disappointing, but the veteran right-hander is consistently logging quality innings, and that’s what we look for out of our streamers. Thursday’s matchup against the Texas Rangers won’t be a cakewalk, but Cueto should be up to the task.
With Frankie Montas being shipped off to the New York Yankees, Paul Blackburn (42%) is one of the arms the Oakland A’s will rely on to help lead their staff. That said, the 28-year-old right-hander has been brutal lately, delivering an 8.05 ERA over his last seven starts. In those seven outings, he’s been hammered for five or more runs on four occasions. Even against the Angels’ Mike Trout-less offense, exercise caution if you’re considering Blackburn as a streaming option on Thursday.
The Washington Nationals put up a bottom-five 77 wRC+ and .280 wOBA over the last month, and that was with Juan Soto and Josh Bell, who are now in San Diego. This is definitely a lineup we want to stream against going forward (if it wasn’t already), and Thursday’s beneficiary is the Philadelphia Phillies’ Bailey Falter. Falter has been roughed up a bit since joining the starting rotation, but he’s coming off a strong outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates (2 ER in 6 IP) and should be able to continue that success against the punch-less Nats lineup. Falter may not be exciting in terms of skills, but sometimes a weak opponent is enough for streaming purposes, and that’s the case here.
It’s not too late to start another free fantasy baseball league. Leagues drafted this week will start scoring fresh the following Monday.
Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points, using ESPN’s standard scoring system (5 points per win, minus-5 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. ML: Caesars Money Line. O/U: Caesars Over/Under for runs scored. W%: Starting pitcher’s win probability. For the projected stat line, IP is innings pitched, ER is earned runs allowed, BR is baserunners 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, we will list the bulk pitcher and indicate with an asterisk.
Tommy Pham (CIN, LF — 50%) at Kris Bubic
Darick Hall (PHI, 1B — 3%) vs. Paolo Espino
Isaac Paredes (TB, 2B — 20%) at Drew Hutchison
Vinnie Pasquantino (KC, 1B — 7%) vs. Nick Pivetta
Alec Bohm (PHI, 3B — 31%) vs. Espino
Ramon Laureano (OAK, CF — 14%) at Janson Junk
Seth Brown (OAK, RF — 10%) at Junk
Jarren Duran (BOS, CF — 5%) at Bubic
Jose Miranda (MIN, 3B — 22%) vs. Ross Striplin
Mike Yastrzemski (SF, RF — 58%) vs. Clayton Kershaw
Ryan McMahon (COL, 3B — 55%) at Joe Musgrove
Connor Joe (COL, LF — 50%) at Musgrove
Andres Gimenez (CLE, 2B — 50%) vs. Justin Verlander
Brendan Rodgers (COL, 2B — 75%) at Musgrove
Ian Happ (CHC, LF — 88%) at Jose Quintana
Tommy Edman (STL, 2B — 98%) vs. Marcus Stroman
Travis d’Arnaud (ATL, C — 75%) at Carlos Carrasco
Matt Chapman (TOR, 3B — 91%) at Sonny Gray
Michael Harris II (ATL, CF — 66%) at Carrasco
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.