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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.
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Innings watch for Pirates' acesAt the beginning of the week, it appeared the Atlanta Braves would get their first look at both Pittsburgh Pirates SP Jared Jones and SP Paul Skenes. However, the Pirates opted to skip Jones start in their weekend visit to Truist Park. General manager Ben Cherington reiterated that the club intends to keep both of their fledgling aces active through the end of the season, but they'll each continue to have their workload managed by having extra rest between selected outings.
Both right-handers are just 22 years old, but Jones has been in the organization since 2021, while this is Skenes second season with the club. Jones posted 122 2/3 innings at High-A in 2022, then threw a combined 126 1/3 frames at Double-A and Triple-A last season. Meanwhile, Skenes tossed just 7 2/3 innings in the lower levels last season. However, the No.1 overall pick in the 2023 draft also compiled 122 2/3 innings in his senior year at Louisiana State University.
No formal innings limit has been reported for either hurler, though it makes sense for Jones to come closer to 150 innings while Skenes could be limited to around 130 this season. This leaves Jones with around 64 innings, which should comprise 11 or 12 starts to be distributed over the final 13 weeks of the season. Skenes started seven times for Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up, so he has logged 74 2/3 total frames so far this year. Perhaps it will be more, but the safe approach is expecting Skenes to notch only 55 or 60 additional stanzas, which should be 10 or 11 more outings, which includes Saturday against the Braves.
Jones' one week respite came at a good time. Over his first seven starts, Jones recorded a 2.63 ERA and .78 WHIP with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 3.2% walk rate. Anyone, let an alone a rookie would be hard-pressed to maintain that level. Sure enough, over his past eight efforts, Jones has slipped to a 4.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. Not only does missing his start this weekend help manage his workload, but it also provides an opportunity for the freshman to regroup.
Skenes has yet to encounter a similar stretch of subpar efforts. He's only surrendered more than two runs twice. The first was in his debut when the Chicago Cubs scored three earned runs in four innings. In their rematch five days later, Skenes fired six scoreless stanzas with 11 punchouts. The other slight blip came when Skenes yielded three earned runs in five frames to the Los Angeles Dodgers, though he fanned eight while issuing just one free pass in that outing.
Saturday will be another big test for the rookie, the Braves offense has been sputtering. Even so, a lineup with Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna is dangerous and new leadoff hitter Jerred Kelenic has out up a .333/.371/.579 line over his past 14 games heading into Friday's action.
Everything else you need to know for SaturdayThe Pirates-Braves tilt is one of 11 matinees on the 15-game Saturday ledger. Action commences at 2:10 PM ET with the Chicago White Sox hosting the Colorado Rockies.
Saturday's top-two ranked streaming options will square off in St. Petersburg with Aaron Civale and the Tampa Bay Rays hosting Jake Irvin and the Washington Nationals. Civale (14.1% rostered in ESPN league) hasn't pitched six innings since his first two starts of the season while Irvin (34.8% rostered) has logged at least six stanzas in 11 of 13 outings, including six of his past seven. Civale's strikeout rate is higher than Irvin's, but Irvin makes up for it by going deeper into games. Home field advantage is in Civale's favor, but Irvin is coming off a 10-strikeout performance in Coors Field. Both are worth picking up but give the edge to Irvin. There has been no middle ground for White Sox SP Jonathan Cannon (93.6% rostered). He allowed a combined 15 earned runs in three outings spanning 9 2/3 innings while yielding just two total earned runs in 23 2/3 innings, covering four appearances. Cannon has a home date with the Colorado Rockies on the Saturday docket, so look for an effort closer to the latter, rendering the righty in play as a fantasy spot starter. After beginning June with three clunkers, Detroit Tigers SP Reese Olson (16.3% rostered) posted consecutive quality starts. He'll look to end the month with another on the road against the Los Angeles Angels. The hosts sport the 12th highest strikeout rate and 11th worst wOBA with a right-hander on the hill. Baltimore Orioles rookie SP Cade Povich (3.1% rostered) is still looking for his first major league win. He has a good chance on Saturday in his fifth career start when he takes the hill in Camden Yards against the Texas Rangers. After struggling in his debut, Povich yielded only four earned runs in 16 1/3 innings. Even more impressive, it was against three solid lineups, facing the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians. On Saturday, Povich draws a Rangers unit with the eighth lowest wOBA in the league.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 Saturday Reliever reportTo 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 reportPlan 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 SaturdayBest 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.
Ryan O'Hearn (BAL, 1B -- 34%) vs. Dane Dunning Tommy Pham (CHW, LF -- 4%) vs. Cal Quantrill Alec Burleson (STL, LF -- 30%) vs. Carson Spiers Matt Chapman (SF, 3B -- 37%) vs. James Paxton Jorge Soler (SF, RF -- 47%) vs. Paxton Andrew Vaughn (CHW, 1B -- 12%) vs. Quantrill Wilmer Flores (SF, 1B -- 8%) vs. Paxton Nolan Gorman (STL, 2B -- 18%) vs. Spiers Brendan Donovan (STL, 2B -- 43%) vs. Spiers Andrew Benintendi (CHW, LF -- 10%) vs. Quantrill Worst Over-50% rostered hitters for Saturday Ryan McMahon (COL, 3B -- 63%) at Garrett Crochet Ryan Jeffers (MIN, C -- 54%) at Bryce Miller Brice Turang (MIL, 2B -- 77%) vs. Justin Steele Carlos Correa (MIN, SS -- 68%) at Miller Cal Raleigh (SEA, C -- 71%) vs. Pablo Lopez Teoscar Hernandez (LAD, RF -- 92%) at Snell Ha-Seong Kim (SD, 2B -- 94%) at Tanner Houck Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 86%) at Chris Bassitt Tyler O'Neill (BOS, LF -- 50%) vs. Michael King Austin Riley (ATL, 3B -- 94%) vs. Paul Skenes
