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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Pitchers to stream on Thursday
If "Biggest Surprise" were handed out during the MLB award season, Quinn Priester would be a leading candidate. Relegated to Triple-A by the Boston Red Sox to open the season, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Priester in early April, mostly out of desperation for a healthy arm. Though, they must have seen something in the 25-year-old right-hander. Their instincts were rewarded with a 13-2 record with a 3.25 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 146 2/3 innings. The Brewers are in the driver's seat in the NL Central, as well as holding a slim lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for best record in the senior circuit. Priester faces the Los Angeles Angels at home. The visitors are averaging the fewest runs per game over the last month.
Identifying a second, let alone three streaming candidates on Thursday's 10-game docket is a chore. On another day, Brayan Bello would not make the cut, but he made it based on his overall body of work, and the favorable pitching conditions when the Red Sox host the Athletics Thursday afternoon. Bello's ERA since the break is 3.30, with a 1.15 WHIP. However, over his last three efforts, he posted a 5.63 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. Look for him to get back on track in a game the Red Sox need more than the Athletics.
Instead of offering an unreliable third streaming option, this is a great slate to fortify pitching with a reliever. Here are the best closers with Thursday games, all available in at least half of ESPN leagues: Cade Smith (Cleveland Guardians), Andrew Kittredge (Chicago Cubs), David Bednar (New York Yankees), Pete Fairbanks (Tampa Bay Rays), Abner Uribe (Brewers), Will Vest (Detroit Tigers), Kenley Jansen (Angels) and Keegan Akin (Baltimore Orioles).
Hitters to stream on Thursday
With scant pitchers to pick up, Thursday is also a good opportunity to use fungible reserve spots on batters. Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies are the clear choice as they wrap up their series in Coors Field. Jakob Marsee and Agustin Ramirez lead the way for the visitors with Mickey Moniak and Blaine Crim options for the home team.
Cade Povich has an issue yielding homers and the Yankees dig hitting the long ball. Camden Yards isn't as generous as Yankee Stadium, but with the Orioles entertaining the Yankees, Ben Rice, Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon are all Yankee lefty swingers capable of dropping a souvenir in the right field seats.
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.