Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings lineup advice for Sunday s MLB games

Thairo Estrada s go-ahead 3-run homer in the fifth inning lifts Giants past Rockies 10-5

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 ESPN BET, and fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

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.

Rocky Mountain Low

Splits facing left-handed pitching are sketchy since only 28% of major league pitches are thrown by southpaws. Parsing them even further in-season adds to the variance.

Looking at a team's fate facing left-handed on a year-to-year basis is a slippery slope since there is usually roster turnover.

Yet, one of the consistencies amid a sea of uncertainty is the Colorado Rockies struggle on the road versus left-handed pitching. Since 2013, the Rockies road wOBA facing lefties is .289. The next lowest mark is the Texas Rangers with .300 mark, an 11 point difference. There are 13 teams between the Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers .311 wOBA.

Similarly, the Rockies' 25.5% strikeout rate is the lowest in this scenario. Trailing only the Rangers' 23.8% clip. The difference is 1.7%. Taking that away from 23.8% yields 22.1%, which is where the Arizona Diamondbacks check in with the 17th highest rate.

For years, many have hypothesized the reason the Rockies don't fare well beginning a road trip after a homestand is it takes a game or two to reacclimate to the difference in pitch movement. They see even fewer left-handers, so the issues may be exasperated.

On Sunday, the Rockies will square off with southpaw Bailey Falter in the finale of a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Falter (7.5% rostered in ESPN leagues). Falter may rank among the bottom third of Sunday's starters, but context renders the 27-year-old lefty in play for those needing a spot starter, especially in deeper leagues. Falter is coming off a disappointing outing to begin the week where he gave up five in six innings to the Oakland Athletics. However, Falter fanned five with no walks in that span.

Everything else you need to know for Sunday The Rockies-Pirates contest is one of three games getting slate started at 1:35 pm. p.m. ET. The fantasy week ends with the Philadelphia Phillies entertaining the San Francisco Giants in the 7 p.m. ET ESPN Sunday night affair. Nestor Cortes (44.0% rostered) is the top-ranked streamer and second overall starter on the Sunday docket. The New York Yankees host the Detroit Tigers in another of the 1:35 p.m. ET games. Cortes draws a tough mound foe in Tarik Skubal, but the Tigers offense is among the least productive in the league while striking out at an above average rate. Luis Severino (31.6% rostered) checks in next with the New York Mets visiting the Tampa Bay Rays. Offensively, the Rays are slow out of the gate with an uncharacteristically high strikeout rate. Their lineup is usually replete with veterans benefiting from the platoon edge. This season, the offense has a lot of younger players searching for an identity. After getting hit hard in his debut with the Mets, Severino has posted a 1.80 ERA and .87 WHIP in his subsequent five starts, covering 30 innings. The final 1:35 p.m. ET matchup features the return of Alek Manoah (3.9% rostered) with the Toronto Blue Jays wrapping up a weekend series on the road with the Washington Nationals. The Nationals wOBA is below average, but they don't strike out much. Manoah's fall from grace has been well documented. His nadir was last Jube when he gave up 11 earned runs in 2 2/3rd innings to the Yankees affiliate in the Florida Complex League. Be it getting used to the pitch clock or injuries, Manoah has been a shadow of the guy registering a 2.60 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over his first 308 1/3 career innings. Manoah was placed on the IL with shoulder stiffness towards the end of spring training. He was hit hard over his first four rehab efforts, recording a 11.85 ERA and 2.56 WHIP over 13 2/3 frames. However, Manoah punched out 12 in six stanzas to end April. On Sunday, anything goes for those needing to make up ground in head-to-head leagues, but the safe play is taking the wait-and-see approach for those not desperate.

It's not too late to start a free fantasy baseball league. Leagues drafted this week will start scoring fresh the following Monday. Come and join the fun!

Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday Reliever report

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 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.

Joc Pederson (ARI, LF -- 4%) vs. Matt Waldron Nathaniel Lowe (TEX, 1B -- 20%) at Daniel Lynch Max Kepler (MIN, RF -- 7%) vs. Cooper Criswell Ryan Mountcastle (BAL, 1B -- 32%) at Nick Lodolo Luis Rengifo (LAA, 2B -- 36%) at Carlos Carrasco Jake McCarthy (ARI, RF -- 1%) vs. Waldron Jonathan India (CIN, 2B -- 12%) vs. Dean Kremer Logan O'Hoppe (LAA, C -- 40%) at Carrasco Luis Garcia Jr. (WSH, 2B -- 8%) vs. Alek Manoah Jackson Merrill (SD, SS -- 37%) at Ryne Nelson Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Sunday Michael Busch (CHC, 3B -- 65%) vs. Freddy Peralta Dansby Swanson (CHC, SS -- 77%) vs. Peralta Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 81%) vs. Tarik Skubal Nick Castellanos (PHI, RF -- 61%) vs. Logan Webb Tyler O'Neill (BOS, LF -- 69%) at Joe Ryan Colton Cowser (BAL, RF -- 65%) at Nick Lodolo Ian Happ (CHC, LF -- 77%) vs. Peralta Gleyber Torres (NYY, 2B -- 72%) vs. Skubal J.T. Realmuto (PHI, C -- 92%) vs. Webb Alec Bohm (PHI, 3B -- 82%) vs. Logan Webb