We got off to an excellent start on Saturday, and we’re going to look to build off of that momentum here. We’re in full swing at this point, and we have every team in action for this Sunday card. Like every other Sunday, every team plays during the day except for the one Sunday Night game. That means we have plenty to pick from, so let’s go ahead and get into it!

Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Strategy

This is a fun slate for pitching. We didn’t even include studs like Clayton Kershaw, Adam Wainwright, and Lucas Giolito because there are cheaper guys we like even more! That shows you that we’re at the top of the rotations right now, and it leaves you with anyone you want. With that said, there aren’t many cheap options that we like, so we’re going to pay up at pitcher and look for value when we dive into the hitting pool!

Cash Game Recommendations:

Logan Webb (SF) at WAS

Webb has been one of the most reliable pitchers in baseball since the second half of last season. In fact, Logan pitched to a 2.40 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his final 20 starts of last year. That looks even better since he’s got a 2.55 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in the early going of this year, proving that was no fluke. We love all of that in this matchup, with Washington ranked 25th in OPS. That has Webb entering this matchup as a -150 favorite, with the Nats projected for fewer than four runs.

Robbie Ray (SEA) vs. KC

Ray was one of the best pitchers in baseball last year, generating a 2.84 ERA and 1.04 WHIP while striking out 248 batters across 193 innings. That earned him an AL Cy Young Award, and a monster contract in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball. Getting to face Kansas City is the icing on the cake, though, with the Royals ranked 28th in OPS and dead-last in runs scored so far this year. The oddsmakers agree with this play, making Ray a -190 favorite, with KC projected for just 3,5 runs.

GPP Recommendations:

Gerrit Cole (NYY) vs. CLE

Everyone in the baseball world knows how badly this guy has struggled, but he is still one of the best pitchers in baseball. We’re talking about a Cy Young winner who had a 2.85 ERA and 0.99 WHIP between 2018-2021. That doesn’t even include that he led the league in K rate, striking out 939 batters across 667 innings. That’s truly absurd, and he could recapture that form against a Cleveland team that ranked 21st in OPS last season. This is only a GPP play because of his recent struggles, but Cole is still the best bet for the most fantasy points on this slate.

Tylor Megill (NYM) at ARI

Megill looks like he’s a breakout for the Mets. He got the Opening Day nod and now has a 2.20 ERA and 0.92 WHIP through the first three starts of this year. Those are impressive numbers from a player in this price range, and he should be able to continue that success against one of the worst lineups in baseball. The Diamondbacks are hitting .180 as a team while sitting 26th in runs scored and 27th in OPS.

Top Lineup Stacks

St. Louis Cardinals (vs. Nick Lodolo)

• Road (Great Amerian)
• Value: Medium
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/STL -150

The Reds appear to be in rebuild mode, and Lodolo will be one of the pitchers they build around. With that said, he’s not ready yet, pitching to an 8.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP this season. It wasn’t much better in Triple-A, attaining a 5.40 ERA and 1.45 WHIP last year. That’s bad news with the way St. Louis is raking, sitting 11th in OBP. We love that in a hitter-haven like this, with the Cardinals projected for nearly five runs.

Houston Astros (vs. Yusei Kikuchi)

• Home (Minute Maid Parl)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/HOU -130

Kikuchi has flashed moments of brilliance, but this is a bad matchup. Houston sends out a bunch of tough righty bats, and Kikuchi has struggled with right-handers throughout his career. Yusei has a 1.56 WHIP in limited time this season and has his career WHIP sitting at 1.41. That’s tough against such a talented lineup, especially since the Astros tend to go off at home.

Los Angeles Angels (vs. Chris Ellis)

• Home (Angel Stadium)
• Value: High
• Risk: Medium
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/LAA -180

We’re going to have lineups against the Orioles all season. This was the worst pitching staff in baseball last season, and they send out minor league arms night after night. Chris Ellis is undoubtedly one of those, providing a 6.82 ERA and 1.72 WHIP at Triple-A between 2019 and 2021, and it’s hard to understand why he’s even in this rotation with averages like those. This lineup is immensely improved, too, sending out Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Anthony Rendon atop of it.

Core Studs

• Nolan was an All-Star when he played in Colorado, but he’s an MVP candidate in St. Louis. The stud third baseman is having the best season of his career, accruing a .391 AVG and 1.240 OPS through the first three weeks. That’s terrible news for Lodolo, with Arenado posting even better averages against left-handed pitching.
• The righty bats on Houston will be some of the best plays on this slate, and Bregman is the ringleader. The Houston third baseman has a ,388 OPS against southpaws dating back to 2020. Kikuchi’s ugly WHIP makes Bregman a great bet to get on base multiple times, and he could hit another home run after going deep on Saturday.
• We all know that Ohtani is one of the best hitters in baseball. What many people don’t know is that he does most of that damage against righties, flirting with a 1.000 OPS against them for his career. It also makes him more likely to steal, and we certainly don’t expect Ellis to slow him down.
• Alonso has one of the best slugging percentages and ISO’s since being called up by the Mets. The best part of this is the matchup, though, getting the platoon advantage against Madison Bumgarner. The former Cy Young winner has been far from that recently, tallying a 4.84 ERA since 2020.
• Why is Ozuna just $3,300? This guy is first in the league in hard-hit balls and second in barrel rate. That’s led to Ozuna posting a .833 OPS and is in line to get going soon. That alone makes him tough to fade in this price range but getting to face a lefty from the right side makes him the best cash game play out there.

Value Plays/Punts

• Winker has been crushing righties throughout his career. He’s got a .413 OBP and 1.002 OPS against right-handers since 2020, and he remains way too cheap on FanDuel. Getting to face Carlos Hernandez isn’t too shabby either, with the righty registering a 7.27 ERA ad 1.96 WHIP this season.
• Gallo has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this season, but he will rip off some homers soon. This guy is Top-5 in ISO, SLG, and homers over the last four years and will eventually get going against these crappy right-handers. If you get a homer from someone this cheap, you have one of the pieces to the optimal lineup.
• Pena has taken over leadoff duties for the Astros, and he’s probably the cheapest part of this Stros stack. He’s got a .857 OPS so far this year and will only get better the more he plays.
• Garcia is one of the only players in baseball who can have 40 homers and 15 steals. That alone makes it hard to understand why he’s this cheap, especially since he faces a subpar southpaw here in Cole Irvin.
• You could use A’s every day and find cheap ones. Neuse is probably our favorite bat in this lineup right now, totaling a .341 AVG and .431 OBP. A matchup with Spencer Howard should keep that rolling, with the Rangers righty amassing a 7.36 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in nearly 100 career innings.

Sunday’s Hitter Strategy

You can find all the value bats you want. We just mentioned a few, but these lineups are littered with players that are way too cheap. We haven’t even discussed that many of these teams will rest players, and that’s going to open up even more value for some bats. That means we’ll ride these $9K pitchers and pair them up with bats from teams like the Cardinals, Mariners, Athletics, Rangers, Astros, Yankees, Angels, and Mets.

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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.