After a solid day on Saturday, we’re looking at our final slate before the All-Star break! It’s been a fun ride to get to this point, and I love ending it with a Sunday card. We don’t even have a Sunday Night game, so all but one game is in play! That means we have 28 teams to look at, and it’s given us one of the deepest player pools of the season!

Starting Pitcher Rankings

Starting Pitcher Strategy

Man, this slate is stocked with fantastic pitching. There are two top-notch aces that we love and a handful of arms that are in great spots too. We don’t have Gerrit Cole or Chris Sale in that Yankees-Red Sox matchup, and that’s a good indicator of how deep this pitcher pool is. With that in mind, let’s kick things off with the two safest options on this slate!

Cash Game Recommendations:

Shane Bieber (CLE) vs. DET

Bieber has returned to the Cy Young candidate we saw in years past, providing a 2.84 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 9.5 K/9 rate over his last 11 starts. The best part of this is the matchup, though, with Detroit ranked bottom-three in runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and xwOBA. Bieber has certainly exploited this matchup over recent years, generating a 2.61 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 11.7 K/9 rate in his 11 career starts against the Motor City Kitties. That’s why Bieber is a projected -250 favorite!

Aaron Nola (PHI) at MIA

Nola’s 5-7 record might look ugly on the surface, but his 3.35 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 9.7 K/9 rate are beautiful. He’s been even better as of late, throwing at least seven innings in seven straight starts. That should be easy to duplicate against Miami, with the Marlins ranked 23rd in OBP and 19th in OPS. They did most of that damage earlier in the year, and they look like one of the worst lineups in baseball with Jazz Chisholm and Jorge Soler both out. We also don’t mind that Nola has at least 37 FanDuel points in three of his last four matchups with Miami.

GPP Recommendations:

Luis Garcia (HOU) vs. OAK

Garcia looks like a goofy pitcher with his mannerisms, but this guy is a stud. The right-hander has a 3.65 ERA and 1.06 WHIP so far this season. That makes him a worthy play against anyone but Oakland sits bottom-two in runs scored, OBP, OPS, and xwOBA. He’s crushed the A’s in their three meetings, posting a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 10.8 K/9 rate against them. We also don’t mind that he’s a -250 favorite in this majestic matchup!

UPDATE: It looks like Jake Odorizzi might start, and he’d also be an excellent option!

Mike Clevinger (SD) vs. ARI

Clevinger has had some bad luck this season, making two of his eight starts in Coors Field. In any case, the former Cy Young candidate has a 3.00 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 9.3 K/9 rate if you take out those starts. That’s the stud we remember, and he should keep dominating against the Diamondbacks. Arizona ranks 25th in OBP, 26th in OPS, and 24th in xwOBA. The oddsmakers like him, too, making Clevinger a -180 favorite!

Top Lineup Stacks

Atlanta Braves (vs. TBD)

• Road (Nationals Park)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/ATL -190

It’s unclear who will start for Washington in this spot, but that makes the Braves one of the best stacks on the board. This pitching staff was already 29th in WHIP and ERA, and it’s scary to think who they’ll throw to the wolves here. Atlanta is a wolfpack right now, ranked Top-5 in nearly every offensive category over the last month.

Houston Astros (vs. James Kaprielian)

• Home (Minute Maid Parl)
• Value: Low
• Risk: Low
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 9 Runs/HOU -250

We had the Stros in here on Saturday, and we’re returning to the well. The simple fact is that Oakland has one of the weakest pitching staffs in the sport. They’re sending out Kaprielian, who’s compiled a 5.09 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. You obviously know how sensational this Stros offense is, projected for five runs in this spot!

Tampa Bay Rays (vs. Jordan Lyles)

• Home (Tropicana Field)
• Value: High
• Risk: Medium
• Game Type: Both
• Game Total/Moneyline: 8 Runs/TB -160

The Rays have struggled a bit this season, but this is a talented lineup that can roll right through a rough pitcher like Lyles. The O’s righty has a career ERA north of 5.00 and will struggle to navigate this stingy lineup. They also have a ton of value bats, making them one of the most enticing stacks on the board!

Core Studs

• The Guardians missed the cut as one of our favorite stacks because these guys should go off against whoever Detroit decides to send out there. The Tigers will throw out a Triple-A arm, which makes J-Ram an easy choice with his stellar play. The third baseman ranks Top-3 in total fantasy points and should benefit in this tremendous matchup after homering twice on Saturday.
• Yordan Alvarez would be an ideal choice for our Houston stack, but we’re going to ride Bregman with Yordan and Altuve both nicked up. Bregman has been bludgeoning the baseball over recent weeks, tallying a .315 AVG, .431 OBP, and .982 OPS over his last 25 games.
• If we love this Atlanta stack, we have to ride Acuna. This has been the best player in fantasy since his call-up, and it’s just a matter of time before he starts rolling again. It’s starting right now, scoring at least 12 FanDuel points in 12 of his last 18 starts.
• Abreu got off to a rough start this season, but he’s been playing like an MVP for two months now. In fact, Jose has a .365 AVG, .440 OBP, .567 SLG, and 1.006 OPS over the last 52 games.
• Rhys has been one of the hottest hitters in the game, and we always love him against lefties. Hos has a .385 OBP and .964 OPS over his last 42 games while producing a .401 OBP and 1.007 OPS against southpaws since 2020. Hoskins has had his way with Tyler Rogers throughout their careers, providing a .563 OBP and 1.777 OPS in 16 at-bats against him.

Value Plays/Punts

• Pittsburgh is a tough team to stack, but Hayes could be an excellent option in a place like Coors Field. Hitting in that ballpark is a plus, but facing a lefty with a 6.11 ERA and 1.43 WHIP is a treat. We love that behind Hayes’s superb splits, totaling a .333 AVG, .411 OBP, .515 SLG, and .926 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor this year.
• We had Winker in here on Saturday, and we’re returning to him. The lefty masher has crushed right-handers throughout his career, getting his OPS north of .900 against them. That’s scary since he’s flirting with a .400 OBP over the last month and gets to face a pitcher with a 5.50 ERA and 1.51 WHIP.
• Stacking Tampa can be tricky, but we always love Choi against righties. He’s always in the top half of this lineup against them, providing a .376 OBP and .830 OPS with the platoon advantage in his favor since 2020. He’s been better this year, accruing a .389 OBP and .844 OPS total.
• Naylor is known for his crazy antics, but this guy has quietly had a great season. He typically bats cleanup against righties, registering a .297 AVG, .546 SLG, and .919 OPS against them this year. That makes him way too cheap, and he’d be an excellent pairing with Jose Ramirez!
• India has had a rough season after winning Rookie of the Year, but things are starting to turn around. The Reds’ leadoff hitter has a hit in nine of his last 10 games, accumulating a .348 OBP and .859 OPS in that span. We don’t know who he’ll be facing but that only makes him more enticing!

Hitter Strategy

We definitely want to pay up at pitcher here, so it’s great that we have so much value in the hitting pool. My favorite strategy is to stack the Tampa Bay Rays with some of the stud pitchers mentioned above. You can include the two-man Cleveland stack we discussed above, which will be the foundation of most of my lineups. With that said, we have two crappy pitchers in Coors Field, and we can’t forget about those offenses either!

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Whether you’re new to fantasy baseball or a seasoned pro, our Fantasy Baseball 101: Strategy Tips & Advice page is for you. You can get started with our Sabermetrics Glossary or head to a more advanced strategy – like Maximizing Your Potential in Multi-Lineup Contests – to learn more.

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