These Saturday and Sunday slates are some of my favorites of the week. We always have all 30 teams in play and get a ton of action during the day! This Sunday card features all but two teams, and that’s commonplace, with Sunday Night Baseball being the standalone night game. We still have a ton to discuss, though, so let’s kick things off with the pitchers!

Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Strategy

It’s rare that I only find four pitchers that I like, but that’s the case for this Sunday card. I didn’t consider anyone else aside from this foursome, and I genuinely feel like this combination of guys will get it done. All four of these pitchers have fantastic matchups and have shown ace stuff at times throughout their careers. The only guy that I didn’t mention that I’d consider is Sandy Alcantara. He’s been incredible this year and always seems to pitch well at home.

Cash Game Recommendations:

Corbin Burnes (MIL) vs. CHC

Burnes took down NL Cy Young last season, and he looks well on his way to some consideration this year. The right-hander has a 1.75 ERA and 0.74 WHIP through the first four starts, striking out 33 batters across 25.2 innings. Those are some of the best numbers in the sport, and it puts him in play against anyone. Chicago is far from a concerning matchup, with the Corbin collecting a 1.35 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 16.2 K/9 rate in three matchups with the Cubbies last season. Not to mention, Burnes enters this matchup as a -200 favorite, with Chicago projected for just three runs.

Joe Musgrove (SD) at PIT

Musgrove had a breakout 2021 campaign, and it looks like he might be even better this year. He finished 2021 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.08 WHIP and has a 2.16 ERA and 0.88 WHIP so far this season. He’s actually scored at least 34 FanDuel points in all four starts he’s made, allowing two runs or fewer in all of them. That should be easy to duplicate against his former team, with the Pirates ranked 21st in OPS and 25th in xwOBA. We also don’t mind that Musgrove is a -190 favorite in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in baseball.

GPP Recommendations:

Logan Gilbert (SEA) at MIA

I drafted Gilbert in almost every league after I read that he worked out with Jacob deGrom in the offseason, and it’s clear he picked some things up from the best pitcher in baseball. Logan has a 3-0 record in his three starts this season, amassing a 0.40 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. That absurd ERA is obviously not sustainable, but it’s a good indicator of how much this prospect has developed. That’s rough news for Miami, with the Marlins ranked bottom-three in runs scored, OPS, and xwOBA last season. The seven-run total makes Gilbert even more intriguing.

Triston McKenzie (CLE) at OAK

McKenzie is undoubtedly the riskiest option of the bunch, but I truly believe he’s in for a breakout year. The skinny right-hander is winless in four starts this year but still has a 3.71 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 9.0 K/9 rate. That’s all you can ask for from such a cheap pitcher, especially since Triston totaled a 0.97 WHIP and 8.9 K/9 rate over his final 14 starts of last year. Oakland is an outstanding matchup, too, with the A’s ranked 28th in OBP and 23rd in OPS.

Top Lineup Stacks

Colorado Rockies (vs. Reiver Sanmartin)

• Home (Coors Field)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 11 Runs/COL -150

Needless to say but the Rockies are always a top play in Coors Field. They’ll never have a run projection below five because Coors is the best hitting environment in baseball. Aces come into Coors and struggle, but Sanmartin is far from that. The Reds lefty has an 0-3 record this year, no thanks to a 10.91 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. Good luck, buddy!

Atlanta Braves (vs. Taylor Hearns)

• Away (Globe Life Field)
• Value: Medium
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/ATL -140

The Braves are leading baseball in homers this year, and their offense looks just fine without Freddie Freeman. Matt Olson has filled that hole perfectly, and they feature studs like Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, and Marcell Ozuna. That’s scary since all of those guys are right-handed bats because they face a subpar southpaw here. Taylor Hearns is toeing the rubber for Texas, tallying a 7.47 ERA and 1.98 WHIP so far this season.

Boston Red Sox (vs. Jordan Lyles)

• Road (Camden Yards)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Medium
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/BOS -160

I’ve been stacking against Lyles since he got blown up in Coors Field a decade ago. This guy has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball for over a decade now, pitching to a 5.21 ERA and 1.44 WHIP for his career. It’s hard to understand how someone can last 11 years with averages like those, but Baltimore continues to throw out bad arms night after night. It’s not like he will slow Boston’s elite lineup down, with the Sox sending out guys like J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, and Xander Boegarts.

Core Studs

• We just mentioned how bad Lyles has been, and he’s undoubtedly going to struggle with a masher like Devers. The southpaw smasher flirted with a .900 OPS last season and has traditionally been a .400 OBP and 1.000 OPS guy against right-handers throughout his career.
• The demise of Trout was greatly exaggerated in the offseason. He was falling to the second round in some season-long leagues, but he’s shut those people up by leading the league with a .472 OBP and 1.214 OPS. Those numbers are typical for the best player of our generation, and we certainly don’t anticipate Dallas Keuchel doing anything behind his 9.00 ERA and 2.40 WHIP.
• Judge has proven to be a .400 OBP, .500 SLG, and .900 OPS guy in nearly every season at this level. He’s been better to start this year, entering this matchup with a 1.329 OPS over his last seven games played. That doesn’t even consider that he gets to face a lefty, with Judge providing a 1.022 OPS against southpaws since 2020.
• It’s so lovely to see Acuna back and fully healthy! This is probably the best all-around player in baseball, leading the league in fantasy points per game last season. There are simply not many guys who can hit 50 homers and steal 40 bags, but this guy can do that! We obviously don’t mind that Acuna gets the platoon advantage against a crappy lefty like Taylor Hearns.
• Cron has quietly been one of the best hitters in the opening month. The big man has a 1.007 OPS through the first four weeks and is in a prime spot here. Not only does he get to face a lefty, but he also gets to hit in Coors Field. Cron has a 1.051 OPS at home since 2020 while accruing a .961 OPS against southpaws in that same span!

Value Plays/Punts

• Choi has always been one of my favorite value plays. He always gets a prominent spot in the lineup when facing righties, and it’s easy to understand why. He’s flirting with a .400 OBP against them throughout his career while providing an OPS north of .800.
• Hosmer is leading the league in average, and it’s not close. The former Royal has a .397 BA, .468 OBP, .574 SLG, and 1.042 OPS this season. He’s also done most of his damage against righties throughout his career, which is rough news for Mitch Keller and his 6.08 career ERA and 1.72 career WHIP.
• Dickerson and Choi are nearly identical players. These two have made a career of crushing right-handed pitching, with Dickerson accumulating a .508 SLG and .840 OPS in his career with the platoon advantage in his favor. That should earn him a Top-6 spot in this order, and Zach Davies’ 5.61 ERA and 1.56 WHIP since last season doesn’t worry us either.
• This Ozuna pricing hasn’t made sense all season. He’s been one of the best power hitters in baseball for three years now and always bats better against left-handers. That puts him squarely in play in this Braves stack, especially since Ozuna ranks Top-3 in hard-hit rate and barrel percentage.
• Donaldson has made minced meat of left-handers throughout his career. In nearly 1,200 at-bats against lefties, JD has a .381 OBP, .556 SLG and .937 OPS. That makes him an easy play in this dominant Yankees stack.

Sunday’s Hitter Strategy

Since we only like four pitchers, we love the hitting landscape. We already mentioned three teams that we love, but the Padres, Yankees, Cardinals, Angels, Guardians, and Dodgers are all in fantastic spots as well. That means it’s dealer’s choice because there will surely be value opening up with so many players traditionally sitting in the Sunday day games.

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