Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Tuesday (2024)

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.

Dealing in the Desert

The Arizona Diamondbacks are atop the NL Wild Card chase and within striking distance of the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Their league-leading offense is primarily responsible, but you can't win a championship without pitching.

Fronting the rotation is RHP Zac Gallen. Gallen is having an off year but come playoff time, he has the experience and ability to match up with the opposing ace. The rotation recently received a huge boost with the returns of RHP Merrill Kelly and LHP Eduardo Rodriguez. There has been no sophom*ore slump for RHP Brandon Pfaadt, who has been consistently reliable all season.

Rounding out the rotation is RHP Ryne Nelson. The 26-year-old right-hander is fanning more while walking fewer batters than last season. His repertoire hasn't changed but he has added a tick of velocity and is exhibiting better control and command.

Nelson was earmarked to be the Diamondbacks fifth starter, but with the injuries experienced by the rotation, he was an integral cog, keeping the team afloat until the reinforcements arrived. Nelson's 4.22 ERA and 1.28 WHIP are close to league average while his 19.6% strikeout rate is below par. However, Arizona is 14-11 in his 25 outings, which is excellent for a hurler expected to fill a back-end role.

On Tuesday, Nelson (19.9% rostered in ESPN leagues) draws a road start against the San Francisco Giants. It's a favorable matchup with Nelson squaring off with the lineup sporting the seventh lowest wOBA and 14th highest strikeout rate with a righty on the hill.

Everything else you need to know for Tuesday

• Two games which would typically have been played on Tuesday were part of the Labor Day schedule, leaving a rare 13-game Tuesday slate. Action begins at 6:35 p.m. ET with the Baltimore Orioles hosting the Chicago White Sox. Rookie LHP Cade Povich (.8% rostered) will take the hill for the home team. Povich has struggled in his rookie year and normally wouldn't merit a mention, but he's facing a historically poor White Sox team. Chicago is challenging to set a record for losses in season, currently 120 by the New York Mets. Perhaps even more dubious is this ditty from colleague Joe Orrico who points out, "The White Sox have to go at least 5-19 over their final 24 games to avoid winning fewer games this season than they did during the shortened 2020 season." Back to Povich, he recorded a 7.11 ERA and 2.05 WHIP in four starts spanning 19 innings since the break, but the White Sox offense has been the panacea for many pitchers this season.

• Tuesday's top ranked streaming candidate is third overall on the slate. It's New York Mets LHP David Peterson (20.6% rostered) who will face the Boston Red Sox. This is an intriguing matchup with both clubs playing better on the road, despite having distinctive home venues which should generate an advantage. That said, the driving force of Peterson's elevated ranking is facing the lineup leading MLB in strikeouts versus left-handed pitching. Peterson is coming off a solid August in which he posted a 1.86 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, albeit with a pedestrian 27 punchouts in 38 2/3 stanzas.

• Minnesota Twins RHP David Festa (3.6% rostered) enters Tuesday's road date with the Tampa Bay Rays on a high note. Last time out, Festa logged his first ever quality start, tossing six stanzas while allowing two earned runs to the Atlanta Braves. Festa rung up seven hitters with only one free pass. The Rays strike out at the league's sixth highest rate versus right-handers, fueling the second lowest wOBA in that scenario.

Starting pitcher rankings for Tuesday

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.

Hitting report

Plan ahead in fantasy baseball with help from our Forecaster projections. Each day, we will provide an updated preview of the next 10 days for every team, projecting the matchup quality for hitters (overall and by handedness) as well as for base stealers.

Best sub-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

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.

• Jake Burger (MIA, 3B -- 45%) vs. Patrick Corbin

• Jorge Soler (ATL, RF -- 48%) vs. Kyle Freeland

• Ryan O'Hearn (BAL, 1B -- 35%) vs. Nick Nastrini

• Taylor Ward (LAA, LF -- 38%) vs. Walker Buehler

• Tommy Edman (LAD, 2B -- 23%) at Reid Detmers

• Whit Merrifield (ATL, 2B -- 6%) vs. Freeland

• Luis Garcia Jr. (WSH, 2B -- 45%) at Max Meyer

• Daulton Varsho (TOR, LF -- 35%) vs. Tyler Phillips

• Zach Neto (LAA, SS -- 21%) vs. Buehler

• Connor Norby (MIA, 2B -- 15%) vs. Corbin

Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

• Brenton Doyle (COL, CF -- 60%) at Chris Sale

• Dansby Swanson (CHC, SS -- 56%) vs. Paul Skenes

• Triston Casas (BOS, 1B -- 56%) at David Peterson

• Seiya Suzuki (CHC, RF -- 79%) vs. Skenes

• Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 73%) at Andrew Heaney

• Oneil Cruz (PIT, SS -- 53%) at Justin Steele

• Nico ho*rner (CHC, 2B -- 89%) vs. Skenes

• Ian Happ (CHC, LF -- 83%) vs. Skenes

• Isaac Paredes (CHC, 3B -- 82%) vs. Skenes

• Bryan Reynolds (PIT, LF -- 96%) at Steele