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What you need to know for Sunday’s MLB Games
By Todd Zola
It’s rare when a Coors Field affair doesn’t project to be the highest-scoring game of the day, but such is the case on Sunday with the finale of the Padres and Giants in Mexico City leading the way. Even though starting pitchers Yu Darvish for San Diego and Alex Cobb for San Francisco are almost always fantasy-friendly options, it’s defensible to take the conservative route and move them to reserve, especially for those in tightly contested head-to-head battles on the last day of the scoring period.
Sunday does not provide many candidates for a productive spot start. Most of those with rostership levels below 50% face potent lineups, though teams will often give regulars the day off, generating a more desirable matchup. One example is Jose Urquidy (15.6% rostered in ESPN leagues) and the Astros hosting the Phillies. While using a Houston pitcher at home always has some advantages, Philadelphia’s lineup can be productive. However, if one of their big bats gets the day off, Urquidy’s margin of error increases.
Kyle Bradish struggled in his last start, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits to the Red Sox in Fenway Park. He’s in great shape for a rebound with a road date in Detroit on tap. The Tigers sport the second-lowest wOBA in the league, along with the third-highest strikeout rate. Prior to that blow-up in Boston, Bradish threw six scoreless frames in Washington, fanning six with just one walk. Look for a similar effort in Comerica Park on Sunday.
Johan Oviedo (42.6%) has sandwiched three solid outings between two lesser efforts. That said, the pair of tough games came in Fenway Park and at home against the Dodgers. Oviedo yielded just two runs over 19 2/3 innings in the middle three games, one of which was a six-inning stint at Coors Field. On Sunday, Oviedo squares off with a Nationals lineup with the eighth-worst wOBA in the league. The game is at Nationals Park, so Oviedo will incur a park downgrade, but he’s still one of the better streaming candidates on Sunday’s card.
Category head-to-head and rotisserie scoring take a backseat to points leagues, but any time Noah Syndergaard is on the mound, the chance of the opposition racking up stolen bases increases. Of course, steals still count in points leagues, so everyone should take notice. On Sunday, Syndergaard and the Dodgers host the Cardinals in the finale of a three-game set. Entering Saturday’s action, St. Louis was tied for the 11th-most steals with 19. Of those likely available, Lars Nootbaar (22.4%), Brendan Donovan (33.6%) and Nolan Gorman (50.5%) all have a pair of pilfers, with a chance to pad their total against Syndergaard.
With much of the hitting focus in Mexico City and Coors Field, some may not notice the Brewers are in a great spot at home against Angels southpaw Jose Suarez. In four starts, Suarez has given up 19 earned runs, spanning only 16 2/3 innings. Right-handers Brian Anderson (46.8%), William Contreras (42.9%), Joey Wiemer (1.6%), Mike Brosseau (0.1%) and Luke Voit (0.4%) are all in play.
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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.
Joc Pederson (SF, LF — 8%) at Yu Darvish
Wilmer Flores (SF, 2B — 21%) at Darvish
Michael Conforto (SF, RF — 10%) at Darvish
LaMonte Wade Jr. (SF, RF — 1%) at Darvish
Mike Yastrzemski (SF, RF — 14%) at Darvish
Evan Longoria (ARI, 3B — 1%) at Austin Gomber
Ha-Seong Kim (SD, SS — 10%) vs. Alex Cobb
Brandon Crawford (SF, SS — 3%) at Darvish
Trent Grisham (SD, CF — 6%) vs. Cobb
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (ARI, LF — 10%) at Gomber
Worst Over-50% Rostered Hitters for Sunday
MJ Melendez (KC, C — 64%) at Sonny Gray
Salvador Perez (KC, C — 87%) at Gray
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA, 2B — 82%) vs. Justin Steele
Andres Gimenez (CLE, 2B — 80%) at Chris Sale
Jonah Heim (TEX, C — 61%) vs. Nestor Cortes
Jose Miranda (MIN, 1B — 56%) vs. Brady Singer
Nathaniel Lowe (TEX, 1B — 83%) vs. Cortes
Adolis Garcia (TEX, RF — 87%) vs. Cortes
Josh Bell (CLE, 1B — 71%) at Sale
Byron Buxton (MIN, CF — 68%) vs. Singer
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