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

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. MLB game odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is geared towards ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

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

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.

What you need to know for Saturday’s MLB Games

By Mike Sheets

• The 24-year-old Bobby Miller (29% rostered in ESPN leagues) still hits the occasional speed bump, but that’s unlikely to occur on Saturday against the Washington Nationals, who rank bottom-five in MLB with an 87 wRC+ over the last month. It also doesn’t hurt that Miller is fresh off arguably his best start of the season, as he twirled seven frames of one-run ball against the mighty Atlanta Braves his last time out. The hard-throwing righty has now pitched at least six innings in five consecutive starts, and he’s a strong bet to make it six straight this weekend. Stream with confidence.

• Since the All-Star break, the Chicago White Sox have an 86 wRC+ and .298 wOBA, both of which rank worst in the American League. They also sport a 24.7 K% versus left-handed pitching (third-worst in AL). This creates a great opportunity for lefty Tarik Skubal (27%). The 26-year-old owns a 3.28 ERA and 1.12 WHIP across his past six outings, racking up seven or more Ks in four straight starts. Fire up Skubal on Saturday as one of the day’s top streamers.

• Alex Cobb (55%) has provided a mixed bag for fantasy managers this season, struggling with his start-to-start consistency. After spinning six shutout frames with a season-high nine Ks against the Oakland A’s in late July, those same A’s tagged him for five earned runs two starts later. He flirted with a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in late August, and then he didn’t make it past the third inning in his next turn against the San Diego Padres. Even so, it’s hard not to like Cobb’s chances at home against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. Away from Coors Field, the Rockies have the worst road offense in baseball, sporting an MLB-worst 76 wRC+ and a bloated 27.4% K%. Meanwhile, Cobb has been drastically better at home this season, putting up a 2.09 ERA, compared to a 5.26 mark on the road.

• Lucas Giolito was hammered for nine runs in his first start for the Cleveland Guardians, and now he lines up to face the Los Angeles Angels, the team that waived him in late August as part of a salary dump. While the list of available Angels bats isn’t overly exciting, there’s certainly value in getting some exposure against Giolito, whose second-half ERA now sits at 8.53. Nolan Schanuel (4%), Brandon Drury (29%), Luis Rengifo (23%), and Mike Moustakas (2%) are all worth streaming consideration in this matchup.

• We’ve seen a slew of top prospects get promoted to the big leagues over the past few weeks, and we got yet another earlier this week, with the Arizona Diamondbacks calling up Jordan Lawlar (4%). Widely regarded as a top 10 fantasy baseball prospect, Lawlar possesses an intriguing across-the-board skill set. After batting .263/.366/.474 with 15 homers and 33 steals across 89 games at Double-A, he turned things up a notch following his promotion to Triple-A, where he slashed .358/.438/.612 with five dingers and three swipes in 16 games. Expecting prospects to hit the ground running at the major league level often leads to disappointment, but there’s still value in adding players with difference-making potential and seeing what happens.

Starting pitcher rankings for Saturday

Best Sub-50% Rostered Hitters for Saturday

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.

• Lars Nootbaar (STL, RF — 27%) at Carson Spiers

• Nolan Gorman (STL, 2B — 32%) at Carson Spiers

• Mitch Garver (TEX, DH — 16%) vs. Kyle Muller

• Giancarlo Stanton (NYY, RF — 46%) vs. Wade Miley

• Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT, 3B — 20%) at Jared Shuster

• Triston Casas (BOS, 1B — 44%) vs. Jack Flaherty

• Joc Pederson (SF, LF — 5%) vs. Chase Anderson

• Wilmer Flores (SF, 2B — 35%) vs. Chase Anderson

• Hunter Renfroe (CIN, RF — 49%) vs. Zack Thompson

• Noelvi Marte (CIN, SS — 3%) vs. Zack Thompson

Worst Over-50% Rostered Hitters for Saturday

• MJ Melendez (KC, C — 52%) at Kevin Gausman

• Salvador Perez (KC, C — 83%) at Kevin Gausman

• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (ARI, LF — 51%) at Justin Steele

• Corbin Carroll (ARI, LF — 99%) at Justin Steele

• Gunnar Henderson (BAL, 3B — 85%) at Chris Sale

• Ty France (SEA, 1B — 63%) at Aaron Civale

• Eloy Jimenez (CHW, LF — 61%) at Tarik Skubal

• Cedric Mullins (BAL, CF — 90%) at Chris Sale

• Dansby Swanson (CHC, SS — 85%) vs. Merrill Kelly

• Andrew Vaughn (CHW, RF — 66%) at Tarik Skubal