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Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Saturday's MLB games

Everything you need to know to place your MLB bets and set fantasy baseball lineups for Saturday, May 18.

Sources: Porzingis likely out for start of East finals

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is expected to remain sidelined for Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference finals next week, but there's optimism he'll be able to return sometime in the series -- barring any setbacks, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Giants' Lee needs shoulder surgery; season over

Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder, the team announced Friday.

Zverev rallies for spot in Rome final vs. Jarry

Alexander Zverev rallied to beat Alejandro Tabilo 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Friday for a spot in the Italian Open final, where he will face Nicolas Jarry, who beat Tommy Paul 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 on the American's 27th birthday.

Lowe: How Luka, Kyrie and the Mavericks are swarming their way to the Western Conference finals

With a team featuring Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, it's Dallas' defense (yes, really!) that has the franchise on the brink of its second conference finals in three years.

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.

Eye of the Tiger

Expectations for Jack Flaherty were mixed heading into the fantasy draft season. He was coming off a season where he started with the St. Louis Cardinals, then was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline. For the year, Flaherty recorded a subpar 4.99 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, though a .356 BABIP bloated both of those ratios.

The Detroit Tigers weren't deterred by Flaherty's 2023 performance, signing him to a one-year, $14 million deal with incentives for 26, 28 and 30 starts. This felt like the perfect match as the Tigers needed a veteran presence for their young staff and club on the rise. Meanwhile, Flaherty landed in a great place to rejuvenate his career, pitching in the perceived weaker AL Central Division.

So far, both the Tigers and Flaherty have made a smart decision, though the club was hoping to be a few games above .500 and closer to the top of their division. Flaherty's record is oddly 0-3, but he's posted a 3.88 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, with a remarkable 32.5% strikeout rate and frugal 3.1% walk rate. His 29.4% K-BB% is tops among qualified pitchers.

Flaherty (41% rostered in ESPN leagues) will seek his first win on Saturday when he takes the hill in Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander has a tough draw with Zac Gallen getting the nod for the home team in what portends to be a low-scoring affair. The Diamondbacks offense has struggled facing righties, checking in with the sixth lowest wOBA in that scenario. Flaherty may not be favored to finally record his first win this season, but he's in the mix as a spot starter.

Everything else you need to know for Saturday

• Saturday's slate is the standard 15 games, commencing at 1:05 PM ET with the Chicago White Sox visiting the Bronx to face the New York Yankees. Luis Gil (43.1% rostered) will start for the home team. The right-hander is coming off three straight quality starts where he's allowed just one earned run over 18 1/3 innings. Gil only fanned 13 with seven walks in that span, but with a weak White Sox lineup on tap, the likely ERA correction should survive this outing.

• The ledger's top-ranked streamer is Cristopher Sanchez (11.5% rostered). He'll toe the Citizens Bank Park rubber for the Philadelphia Phillies as they take on the Washington Nationals. Sanchez is sporting a low 3.43 ERA, but a high 1.50 WHIP indicates the lefty is outpitching his peripherals, though a high .344 BABIP is contributing to the elevated WHIP. Even almost a third of the way into the season, splits facing left-handers are sketchy, but the Nationals .273 wOBA facing southpaws is sufficiently low to give Sanchez the nod as a spot starter.

• Luis Severino (24% rostered) has recorded a slow 3.00 ERA, albeit with a relatively high 1.20 WHIP. Control has been Severino's chief issue as he's sporting a high 10.5% walk rate, which is countering the potential good fortune of a .250 BABIP. Severino has also benefited from a low 8.3% home run per fly ball mark. On Saturday, Severino and the Mets have a road date with the Miami Marlins. On paper, this benefits Severino since the Marlins are the least patient team in MLB.

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 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 Saturday

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.

Hunter Renfroe (KC, RF -- 3%) vs. Ross Stripling Carlos Correa (MIN, SS -- 46%) at Logan Allen Joc Pederson (ARI, LF -- 5%) vs. Jack Flaherty Alex Verdugo (NYY, RF -- 43%) vs. Brad Keller Michael Massey (KC, 2B -- 2%) vs. Stripling Matt Chapman (SF, 3B -- 32%) vs. Ty Blach Abraham Toro (OAK, 3B -- 29%) at Seth Lugo Nolan Schanuel (LAA, 1B -- 2%) at Jose Urena LaMonte Wade Jr. (SF, 1B -- 8%) vs. Blach Willie Calhoun (LAA, RF -- 0%) at Urena Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Saturday Jordan Westburg (BAL, 2B -- 83%) vs. Luis Castillo Oneil Cruz (PIT, SS -- 57%) at Shota Imanaga Gabriel Moreno (ARI, C -- 59%) vs. Jack Flaherty Ryan McMahon (COL, 3B -- 50%) at Jordan Hicks Brice Turang (MIL, 2B -- 72%) at Justin Verlander CJ Abrams (WSH, SS -- 92%) at Cristopher Sanchez Jeff McNeil (NYM, 2B -- 57%) at Braxton Garrett Evan Carter (TEX, LF -- 68%) vs. Patrick Sandoval Cal Raleigh (SEA, C -- 71%) at Dean Kremer Kyle Schwarber (PHI, LF -- 96%) vs. MacKenzie Gore