Latest fantasy baseball pitcher rankings lineup advice tips mlb daily notes july 4 games

ESPN FantasyJul 3, 2026, 03:00 PM ET
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Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. All fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball buzz.

Other resources: RP depth chart | Start new league
ESPN's 2026 Draft Guide | Betting notes for Saturday

STARTING PITCHERS FOR SATURDAY

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN's standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher's handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher's roster percentage in ESPN leagues. W%: The individual starting pitcher's win probability using ESPN projections. IP: Projected innings pitched. H+BB: Projected hits plus walks allowed. ER: Projected earned runs allowed. K: Projected strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an "opener" to start their game, but will rely on a "bulk pitcher" to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

FPTS	Pitcher	T	Opp	Rst%	W%	IP	H+BB	ER	K
15.6	Logan Gilbert	R	TOR	98.0%	55%	6.4	6.8	2.2	7.0
15.5	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	SD	99.8%	57%	6.3	6.7	2.0	6.6
14.8	Drew Rasmussen	R	@HOU	92.8%	40%	6.4	6.7	2.0	6.3
13.6	Jesus Luzardo	L	@KC	93.9%	55%	6.6	8.0	2.8	6.9
13.3	Chris Sale	L	NYM	99.6%	39%	6.0	7.1	2.5	7.1
13.1	Carlos Rodon	L	MIN	66.2%	41%	5.7	6.5	2.0	6.1
12.6	Hunter Brown	R	TB	94.9%	31%	5.6	6.5	1.9	6.1
12.1	Hunter Greene	R	BAL	57.1%	26%	5.3	5.7	2.1	6.4
11.8	Parker Messick	L	CWS	92.5%	37%	5.6	6.7	2.3	6.1
11.5	Braxton Ashcraft	R	@WSH	89.4%	42%	6.0	7.5	2.8	6.2
10.9	Brandon Woodruff	R	@ARI	84.1%	35%	5.3	6.2	2.1	5.2
10.9	Brandon Young	R	@CIN	16.6%	39%	6.0	7.5	2.9	5.9
10.7	Sean Manaea	L	@ATL	2.4%	26%	5.4	6.2	2.4	5.7
10.6	Shota Imanaga	L	STL	79.4%	30%	5.4	6.2	2.3	5.1
10.1	Zebby Matthews	R	@NYY	8.1%	26%	6.1	7.5	3.0	5.7
10.1	Sonny Gray	R	@LAA	90.1%	44%	6.2	8.1	3.5	6.3
8.8	Jack Flaherty	R	@TEX	33.1%	28%	5.3	7.1	2.9	5.8
8.5	Sean Burke	R	@CLE	24.6%	25%	5.5	7.6	2.9	5.7
8.0	Shane Bieber	R	@SEA	23.9%	16%	5.0	6.5	2.6	5.0
7.9	Kumar Rocker	R	DET	4.8%	28%	5.1	6.7	2.8	4.8
7.9	Merrill Kelly	R	MIL	20.9%	25%	5.7	7.8	3.1	4.9
7.8	Zack Littell	R	PIT	2.7%	28%	5.9	7.7	3.4	4.8
7.7	Michael Wacha	R	PHI	60.2%	26%	6.1	8.4	3.4	5.0
7.7	Kyle Leahy	R	@CHC	6.1%	28%	5.2	7.1	2.6	4.5
6.5	Griffin Canning	R	@LAD	0.5%	11%	4.7	6.7	2.4	4.5
5.2	Sam Aldegheri	L	BOS	0.3%	23%	4.9	7.3	2.9	3.8
4.7	Sandy Alcantara	R	@ATH	80.1%	43%	6.3	9.9	5.2	5.8
4.6	Robbie Ray	L	@COL	67.0%	36%	5.4	8.2	4.6	5.6
1.9	Aaron Civale	R	MIA	2.7%	19%	4.6	7.4	4.1	4.0
-2.0	Tomoyuki Sugano	R	SF	2.3%	23%	5.2	8.8	6.3	4.0

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Jack Flaherty posted an encouraging start in his return from the injured list to end June. The Detroit Tigers' right-hander missed just over two weeks with a left peroneal strain, then returned to strike out nine over five frames in his last outing. Flaherty opens July with a road affair in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. For the season, the Rangers' production has been league average, but they're missing Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford and could be without Brandon Nimmo, who has been sidelined for the last four games.
Be it as a traditional starter or bulk reliever, Sean Burke is on a roll, registering a 3.18 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over his last seven outings, fanning an impressive 49 batters over 39 2/3 frames. Next up is a road matchup with the Cleveland Guardians. Burke faces a lineup that puts the ball in play, so his strikeouts may drop, but especially without Jose Ramirez, the Guardians are struggling to score as they're averaging the third-fewest runs per game in MLB over the last month.
Brandon Young's ERA estimators are over a run higher than his 4.11 mark, which is usually a sign regression is coming and to think twice about trusting the pitcher. In this instance, Young and the Baltimore Orioles square off with the Cincinnati Reds, albeit in the Great American Ball Park. Even so, the Reds sport one of the least productive lineups over the past month, fueled by a high 27.9% strikeout rate facing right-handers.

Pitchers to avoid on Saturday

Let's take a little poetic license with this section and indicate that while it isn't necessary to categorically avoid Logan Gilbert, the Seattle Mariners will be piggybacking Gilbert and Emerson Hancock for the late afternoon matinee at the Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays. Gilbert will likely be lifted after five frames, but there is a chance he's pulled earlier. Those in leagues with games started limits may want to investigate other options.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

The Miami Marlins are wrapping up one of the most favorable schedules with series at Coors Field and Sutter Health Park this week. On Saturday, they're in Sacramento to take on Aaron Civale and the Athletics. Civale sports a 6.83 ERA and 1.99 WHIP over 27 2/3 innings. Kyle Stowers, Griffin Conine, Owen Caissie, Jakob Marsee and Javier Sanoja all line up to take advantage of the juicy matchup.