Fantasy baseball lineup advice and betting tips for Saturday

ESPN Fantasy

Jun 6, 2025, 02:49 PM ET

Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. MLB betting tips for each day's slate of games will also be added in the morning. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET, and all fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, including what you might have missed from last night, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball news.

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STARTING PITCHERS FOR SATURDAY

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN's standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher's handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher's roster percentage in ESPN leagues. ML: ESPN BET Money Line. O/U: ESPN BET Over/Under for runs scored. For the projected stat line, W% is the team's win probability using ESPN projections, IP is innings pitched, ER is earned runs allowed and K is strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an "opener" to start their game, but will rely on a "bulk pitcher" to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

FPTS	Pitcher	T	Opp	Rst%	W%	IP	ER	K
12.5	Garrett Crochet	L	@NYY	99.8%	55%	5.5	2.3	7.1
11.6	Ranger Suarez	L	@PIT	67.6%	60%	6.0	2.5	5.6
11.0	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	@STL	99.6%	53%	5.9	2.4	5.6
10.6	Luis Castillo	R	@LAA	95.0%	59%	5.9	2.9	5.8
10.6	Logan Webb	R	ATL	98.7%	58%	6.1	2.7	5.3
10.5	Michael Wacha	R	@CWS	30.2%	55%	5.6	2.3	5.0
9.8	Kevin Gausman	R	@MIN	89.4%	45%	5.7	2.9	6.0
9.8	Hunter Brown	R	@CLE	98.2%	52%	5.3	2.5	6.0
9.6	Jameson Taillon	R	@DET	39.2%	57%	5.8	2.9	4.8
9.5	Erick Fedde	R	LAD	10.3%	47%	5.6	2.5	5.1
9.4	Taj Bradley	R	MIA	50.0%	51%	5.6	2.7	5.4
9.3	Ryan Yarbrough	L	BOS	13.9%	45%	5.1	2.3	5.0
9.3	Ryan Weathers	L	@TB	18.2%	49%	5.2	2.3	5.0
9.3	Jacob deGrom	R	@WSH	95.7%	55%	5.2	2.7	5.5
8.6	Chris Paddack	R	TOR	11.7%	55%	5.5	2.7	4.7
8.6	Luis Severino	R	BAL	21.2%	50%	5.7	3.0	5.0
8.5	Jose Quintana	L	SD	12.6%	50%	5.6	2.8	4.4
8.1	Charlie Morton	R	@ATH	5.9%	50%	5.4	2.9	5.5
8.0	Nick Martinez	R	ARI	30.0%	61%	5.1	2.7	4.4
7.9	Gavin Williams	R	HOU	18.8%	48%	5.0	2.6	5.1
7.7	Stephen Kolek	R	@MIL	7.7%	50%	5.7	3.0	5.0
7.5	Bryce Elder	R	@SF	2.9%	42%	5.4	2.8	4.5
7.5	Adrian Houser	R	KC	9.6%	45%	5.2	2.6	4.3
7.0	Mitchell Parker	L	TEX	6.1%	45%	5.1	2.9	4.7
6.2	Ryne Nelson	R	@CIN	1.9%	39%	5.1	3.2	4.7
5.7	Andrew Heaney	L	PHI	17.8%	40%	4.9	2.9	4.4
5.2	Keider Montero	R	CHC	0.8%	43%	5.0	3.0	4.0
5.1	Jack Kochanowicz	R	SEA	0.6%	41%	5.2	3.2	3.8
2.9	Clay Holmes	R	@COL	75.6%	59%	5.2	5.0	5.2
-2.6	Carson Palmquist	L	NYM	0.0%	41%	4.4	5.9	5.0

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Michael Wacha is a great example of a pitcher better suited for points formats as compared to category scoring. He doesn't rack up strikeout points, but solid command and control allow him to pitch deeper into his starts, accruing points for innings pitched. Five of Wacha's previous seven efforts have lasted at least six frames, each registering as a quality start. With the Kansas City Royals visiting the Chicago White Sox, Wacha lines up for another solid outing, facing the league's worst offense with a righty on the hill.
A forearm strain kept Ryan Weathers out of action until mid-May. He has made four starts, slowly building up his pitch count. He recorded a 1.15 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over his first three outings for the Miami Marlins, fanning 15 in 15 2/3 innings. The lefty wasn't as sharp last time out, yielding four earned runs to the San Francisco Giants in six frames, but he did fan seven. Next up is a road date with the Tampa Bay Rays in George Steinbrenner Field. As expected, the venue has aided offenses, but as a lefty, Weather neutralizes lefty swingers Josh Lowe, Brandon Lowe and Jonathan Aranda, three of the Rays' top batters.
After two starts, Chris Paddack had a14.73 ERA with a 2.49 WHIP. He punched out only three in 7 1/3 innings while walking six and yielding three long balls. In the subsequent 10 outings, Paddack posted a 2.17 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, albeit with just 46 strikeouts in 58 stanzas. However, 14 walks and just five homers allowed have compensated for the lack of dominance. While there is risk using Paddack when the Minnesota Twins host the Toronto Blue Jays, his recent run merits streaming consideration, especially in points leagues, since he's facing the offense with the fourth-lowest road wOBA versus right-handers.

Pitchers to avoid on Saturday

Clay Holmes threw a season-high seven frames against the Colorado Rockies in his last outing, but that came at home. The New York Mets visit Coors Field this week with Holmes taking the hill Saturday. He only gave up a pair of hits in the first meeting, but two left the yard and he only fanned three. The Rockies aren't nearly as daunting at home as usual, but they've shaken up their lineup and recently fortified the middle infield with Ezequiel Tovar and Thairo Estrada activated from the IL. Teams in tight battles in head-to-head leagues should not burn a valuable start in this risky matchup.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

Jack Kochanowicz surrendered at least four runs in half of his dozen outings, including each of the last three. The Seattle Mariners offense is in a rut, but facing the Los Angeles Angels righty at home could get them back on track. J.P. Crawford, Jorge Polanco, Rowdy Tellez and Randy Arozarena are the main targets.

Betting tips

Best/worst pitcher/hitter matchups and betting projections are generated by THE BAT X, a 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. Betting projections for every player, team, and game can be found at EV Analytics.

Note: Expected Value is a measure of how good a bet is, factoring the probability that it will win versus the odds the book is providing. If you were to wager $1.00 100 times on a bet with an Expected Value of $25, you would win some and you would lose some, but in the end you would expect to come away with $25 in profit on your $100 investment.

Because odds typically do not get set until the previous day's games are completed, betting tips will be added in the morning.