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

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What you need to know for Sunday’s MLB Games

By Todd Zola

The full Sunday slate commences at 1:05 PM ET with the Phillies hosting the Reds and concludes with ESPN Sunday Night Baseball at 7:00 PM, featuring the Braves entertaining the Padres. In between are 13 matinees, with a lot of back-end pitching on the mound. To wit, there are only seven starters projected to tally at least 10 fantasy points, as measured by the standard ESPN scoring system. In contrast, Saturday’s slate contained 10 hurlers expected to score in the double digits, while (spoiler alert) Monday’s slate is loaded with 14 starters projected for at least 10 points.

Sunday marks the final day of the initial scoring period in head-to-head leagues. To better serve you, several of us responsible for the daily rankings and advice are playing in a standard 10-team league with daily moves (we are playing out this mock draft). Humblebrag alert but will likely embark on the Sunday schedule with a healthy lead. If it were closer, I’d have a tough decision, like what several of you are facing. I have Max Fried stashed on reserve, and we are not playing with an IL. Because of more than usual off days over the first 11 days of the season, I am carrying two bench bats. If I needed to catch up on Sunday, I’d need to either drop Fried, or a solid bat who has been used multiple times over the first scoring period. With Fried due back as early as next weekend, I likely would have dropped a hitter to pick up a spot starter, especially since there are 14 games on Monday’s slate, so I won’t need to worry about a reserve bat until Thursday. Learning how to navigate scenarios like this with the plusher available player pool is exactly why the writers and editors are competing in a house league.

• Anthony DeSclafani (8.7% rostered in ESPN leagues) would have been my first choice for a steamer. He checks all the boxes with a home start in a pitcher’s park facing a weak offense. According to our W%, DeSclafani and the Giants are the second-biggest favorites on the card. In his first start, DeSclafani threw six scoreless frames, fanning four White Sox on the road in the Windy City. Taijuan Walker (11.6%) did not fare so well in his opener, but he drew the Yankees in the Bronx. Walker threw 4.1 frames, yielding four runs on four hits, also issuing three free passes, albeit with five punch outs. Next up is a home tilt with a Reds lineup averaging the eighth fewest runs per game while striking out at an above average clip.

• Like Walker, Carlos Carrasco (13.2%) is looking to rebound from a poor initial effort, and he also has the ideal foil with the Marlins wrapping up a series in Citi Field. Carrasco opened on the road in Milwaukee, surrendering five runs in only four stanzas. On Sunday, he’ll square off with the offense averaging the third fewest runs per game in MLB.

• Remember when it appeared everyone and the kitchen sink was running? After the first series, the league average was two steals per game, with an 83.3% success rate. Since, the frequency has dropped to 1.31 per game, with a 77% success rate. Both are still well up over last season, but down significantly from opening day weekend. The Red Sox lead the league in giving up steals with 14, though only four have come since allowing 10 to Baltimore in the first two games of the season. That said, only half of MLB has surrendered more than four for the whole season. What teams to pick on will come more into focus as the season progresses, but at least for now, targeting players against Boston seems wise. On Sunday, this includes Riley Greene (24.7%), Javier Baez (23.8%), Matt Vierling (1.5%) and Zack McKinstry (.1%).

Sunday AM added note: When today’s notes were orignally filed, I had a seemingly comfortable lead in the ESPN Writers and Editors head-to-head league, so I opted not to drop a potentially useful player to fortify my Sunday lineup. However, I woke up with a precarious 19-point lead and my opponent has George Kirby on the hill today, whereas I have no scheduled starters, so I decided to make a couple of changes. As discussed above, Anthony DeSclafani is in a great spot, so I released Corey Kluber to pick up DeSclafani. In addition, there is only one reliever in the active lineup, which seems suboptimal in this format. A.J. Minter (39%) was available, so I picked him up. He’s the Braves closer and hasn’t pitched since April 6. Atlanta is sending Dylan Dodd to the bump against Seth Lugo and the Padres. This is a reasonable setup for a save chance. Plus, Atlanta plays the Reds and Royals next week, so barring six blowouts, Minter should be in line for a save or two. The drop was the most difficult decision, as Triston Casas was sent packing. Beginning today, Boston has a stretch of facing seven southpaws in eight days. As a left-handed hitter, this will push Casas to the lower portion of the order (like today), or to the bench. Since he won’t have a solid matchup for at least a week, there is a good chance of picking him back up before the matchups are more favorable.

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Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday