Fantasy baseball lineup advice and betting tips for Saturday

ESPN Fantasy

Aug 15, 2025, 02:52 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.

Jump to: Pitching notes | Hitting notes | Betting tips
Reliever depth chart | Start a new league

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
13.7	Bryan Woo	R	@NYM	95.1%	58%	5.8	1.8	5.6
12.8	Blake Snell	L	SD	88.3%	46%	5.4	1.7	6.4
12.1	Dylan Cease	R	@LAD	93.0%	54%	5.6	2.3	6.7
11.3	Shota Imanaga	L	PIT	94.9%	60%	5.9	2.7	5.7
11.0	Max Fried	L	@STL	98.7%	56%	5.8	2.4	5.8
10.8	Sonny Gray	R	NYY	94.4%	44%	5.6	2.5	5.9
9.9	Nolan McLean	R	SEA	5.3%	42%	5.4	2.1	5.2
8.3	Jason Alexander	R	BAL	2.5%	57%	5.5	2.7	4.8
7.9	Cade Povich	L	@HOU	1.8%	43%	5.2	2.8	5.1
7.8	Patrick Corbin	L	@TOR	7.1%	52%	5.5	2.9	4.6
7.7	Justin Verlander	R	TB	9.1%	46%	5.4	2.7	4.6
7.6	Quinn Priester	R	@CIN	48.4%	52%	5.3	3.0	4.9
7.6	Zack Littell	R	MIL	33.8%	48%	5.4	3.1	4.8
7.4	Tyler Anderson	L	@ATH	5.4%	57%	5.4	3.1	4.9
7.1	Zebby Matthews	R	DET	5.0%	48%	4.8	2.9	5.3
6.9	Adrian Houser	R	@SF	17.5%	54%	5.3	2.7	4.1
6.6	Mike Burrows	R	@CHC	2.4%	40%	4.6	2.6	4.7
6.6	Slade Cecconi	R	ATL	9.8%	52%	5.0	2.9	4.5
6.5	Casey Mize	R	@MIN	48.4%	52%	5.0	2.9	4.4
6.0	Brayan Bello	R	MIA	29.5%	58%	5.4	3.5	4.9
5.9	Eric Lauer	L	TEX	24.5%	48%	4.7	3.0	4.9
5.8	Michael Lorenzen	R	CWS	3.4%	49%	5.1	3.1	4.3
5.8	Joey Wentz	L	@CLE	2.4%	48%	4.5	2.6	4.3
5.3	Taijuan Walker	R	@WSH	4.0%	61%	5.0	3.3	4.1
4.9	Sean Burke	R	@KC	3.7%	51%	4.9	3.3	4.4
4.8	Cade Cavalli	R	PHI	2.5%	39%	4.7	3.1	4.8
3.9	Luis Morales	R	LAA	0.3%	43%	3.0	1.8	3.3
3.3	Cal Quantrill	R	@BOS	1.1%	42%	4.7	3.5	3.9
2.0	Ryne Nelson	R	@COL	25.9%	53%	5.1	5.3	5.2
-1.6	Chase Dollander	R	ARI	0.9%	47%	4.4	5.3	4.1

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

A high pitch count forced Sean Burke to exit his last outing after only 3 1/3 innings. To that point, the Chicago White Sox right-handers fanned seven while issuing three walks to the Cleveland Guardians. Walks have been an issue all season, but over his last five efforts, Burke recorded 32 strikeouts in 22 innings while allowing just one home run. On Saturday, Burke has a road date with the Kansas City Royals, who sport the second-lowest walk rate in the league.
After registering a 2.66 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over his prior 84 2/3 frames, Brayan Bello struggled against the San Diego Padres in Petco Park last weekend, yielding five runs in 5 2/3 innings. After compiling 162 1/3 innings while making 30 starts last season, Bello's subpar effort is likely just a hiccup against a strong offense as opposed to hitting a wall. Look for a rebound at home when the Boston Red Sox square off against a pesky Miami Marlins club.
The New York Mets are calling up Nolan McLean to make his major league debut at home against the Seattle Mariners. It's unclear if this is a spot start, but with Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn ticketed for the bullpen, a strong showing could earn McLean more starts down the stretch. The 24-year-old righty tossed 87 1/3 innings with Triple-A Syracuse, punching out 97 while issuing a slightly high, but palatable 38 walks. He has the luxury of working in one of the most favorable pitching venues in the league while facing a sputtering offense. Over the past month, the Mariners have struck out at the fourth-highest clip facing right-handers.

Pitchers to avoid on Saturday

Quinn Priester has been a revelation this season, for both the Milwaukee Brewers and his fantasy team managers. However, there are a few yellow flags. He's just three innings shy from his combined major and minor league total from last season, and his velocity in two August starts is down half a tick. Over his last three outings, Priester's ERA is 4.76 with a 1.47 WHIP, including just nine strikeouts in those 17 stanzas. Next up is an NL Central matchup in the Great American Ballpark with an inconsistent, but potentially dangerous Cincinnati Reds lineup.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

Despite averaging the fifth-most runs per game in the major league, the Boston Red Sox have only two hitters with a rostership level over 45%: Alex Bregman and Jarren Duran. On Saturday, the club has a juicy home affair with Cal Quantrill and the Miami Marlins. Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu top the target list, with Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela and Trevor Story in the mix.

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.