Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Sunday’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.

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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 Sunday’s MLB Games

By Todd Zola

• The Sunday slate gets started extra early with the finale of the London Series beginning at 10 AM ET. The opener went to the Chicago Cubs as they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1. The Cubs hitters did their part, but the total fell well short of the 13.5 over/under run line. The venue is likely as hitter friendly as most speculated, but the adage, “Good pitching beats good hitting” remains true, even across the pond. Cubs starter Justin Steele was sharp, relying more on his four-seam fastball than usual. One of the takeaways from the 2019 London Series was the venue was built to reduce wind resistance for Olympic track and field, which means no external forces to help on the movement of off speed and breaking pitches. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright did not adjust as he threw his usual complement of cutters, sliders and curves, resulting in seven earned runs in three frames. It will be interesting to see whether Cubs starter Marcus Stroman makes an adjustment as he throws a sinker almost half the time, followed by a slurve, splitter and finally four-seamer. He’ll seemingly need to alter his pitch mix to avoid the same fate as Wainwright.

• Eury Perez (52.0% rostered) is pitching like he doesn’t want to ride a bus to a minor league game ever again. We’ll see what happens when Johnny Cueto and Trevor Rogers return, but for now Perez remains entrenched in the Miami Marlins rotation. The exciting rookie has a favorable home date with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even with the addition of Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales to the Pirates lineup, Perez will face a group with a below average wOBA versus right-handers. The 20-year-old freshman has fanned 45 in 41 innings, while yielding just four homers. Perez will be opposed by Johan Oviedo (11.4%). The Pirates right-hander has been inconsistent, but he’s been solid in four June starts with a 3.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, fanning 21 in 23 2/3 frames. The Marlins remain in the wild card hunt because of their pitching. Miami’s offense is below average with a righty on the hill. Perez is the preferred option, but Oviedo is in play for those needing to make up ground on the final day of the fantasy week.

• Bailey Ober (37.8%) is in a great spot to help fantasy teams on Sunday with a road date in the Motor City. The Minnesota Twins righty has posted two straight quality starts and three in his past four outings. His only fault is yielding a pair of homers in each of his last two efforts. However, the Detroit Tigers sport the third lowest home run rate in the league. They fan at an above-average pace while Ober has a palatable 58 punch outs in 62 2/3 stanzas.

• Ober’s mound foe will be Michael Lorenzen (7.8%). Lorenzen isn’t especially dominant with 54 strikeouts in 72 innings, but he’s coming off a seven-strikeout outing in a six-inning effort against the Kansas City Royals. Lorenzen typically fans more hitters against teams with high strikeout rates (as do most hurlers) so he’s in a good spot against a Twins team fanning at the highest clip in MLB.

• Chicago Cubs right-handed hitters are in a great spot with southpaw Matthew Liberatore on the hill in the finale of the London Series. Switch-hitting Ian Happ (53.7%) had a multiple homer game Saturday. Seiya Suzuki (48.4%) and Christopher Morel (40.6%) will also enjoy the platoon edge.

• The Boston Red Sox offer a pair of hitters with a strong chance of swiping a bag or two. Jarren Duran (5.8%) and David Hamilton (.6%) match up against a Chicago White Sox defense allowing the second most steals in the league.

Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday

Best Sub-50% Rostered Hitters for Sunday

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.

• Seiya Suzuki (CHC, RF — 48%) at Jack Flaherty

• Randal Grichuk (COL, RF — 3%) vs. Tyler Anderson

• Brandon Drury (LAA, 3B — 34%) at Austin Gomber

• Lars Nootbaar (STL, RF — 18%) vs. Marcus Stroman

• Elias Diaz (COL, C — 45%) vs. Tyler Anderson

• Jurickson Profar (COL, LF — 10%) vs. Tyler Anderson

• Marcell Ozuna (ATL, LF — 15%) at Ben Lively

• Brendan Donovan (STL, 2B — 30%) vs. Marcus Stroman

• Christopher Morel (CHC, CF — 41%) at Jack Flaherty

• Ezequiel Tovar (COL, SS — 8%) vs. Tyler Anderson

Worst Over-50% Rostered Hitters for Sunday

• Josh Jung (TEX, 3B — 69%) at Gerrit Cole

• Jonah Heim (TEX, C — 88%) at Gerrit Cole

• MJ Melendez (KC, C — 54%) at Tyler Glasnow

• Adolis Garcia (TEX, RF — 97%) at Gerrit Cole

• Jake Cronenworth (SD, 2B — 68%) vs. MacKenzie Gore

• Jeff McNeil (NYM, 2B — 77%) at Zack Wheeler

• Starling Marte (NYM, RF — 63%) at Zack Wheeler

• Jeremy Pena (HOU, SS — 57%) at Tony Gonsolin

• Salvador Perez (KC, C — 92%) at Tyler Glasnow

• Nathaniel Lowe (TEX, 1B — 89%) at Gerrit Cole