Fantasy baseball lineup advice and betting tips for Saturday

ESPN Fantasy

Sep 26, 2025, 06:00 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

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
13.5	Tyler Glasnow	R	@SEA	86.4%	48%	5.6	1.9	6.7
13.2	Logan Gilbert	R	LAD	96.4%	52%	5.7	2.1	6.3
11.8	Ranger Suarez	L	MIN	83.6%	68%	5.8	2.5	6.0
11.6	Michael King	R	ARI	80.3%	54%	5.5	2.1	5.7
11.3	Sean Manaea	L	@MIA	21.9%	60%	5.4	2.2	5.7
9.5	Cam Schlittler	R	BAL	28.7%	55%	5.1	2.3	5.6
9.2	Justin Verlander	R	COL	21.7%	58%	5.5	2.6	4.8
9.2	Merrill Kelly	R	@CLE	73.5%	56%	5.5	2.7	5.0
8.9	Eduardo Rodriguez	L	@SD	5.6%	46%	5.6	2.5	4.8
8.8	Eury Perez	R	NYM	21.5%	40%	4.7	2.0	4.8
8.6	Michael McGreevy	R	@CHC	6.6%	56%	5.7	2.8	4.0
8.5	Andrew Abbott	L	@MIL	70.4%	53%	5.5	2.8	4.8
8.2	Spencer Strider	R	PIT	74.8%	53%	5.4	3.1	6.0
8.1	Michael Wacha	R	@ATH	19.4%	60%	5.4	2.8	4.7
7.9	Jake Irvin	R	CWS	8.1%	50%	5.5	3.1	4.7
7.6	Kyle Freeland	L	@SF	1.8%	42%	5.2	2.6	4.4
7.1	Joey Cantillo	L	TEX	11.4%	44%	4.6	2.5	5.4
7.1	Trey Yesavage	R	TB	8.9%	52%	4.6	2.4	4.4
7.1	Jacob Misiorowski	R	CIN	52.1%	47%	4.5	2.4	5.3
6.9	Joe Boyle	R	@TOR	2.2%	48%	4.6	2.4	5.1
6.5	Javier Assad	R	STL	1.5%	44%	5.0	2.6	4.1
6.3	Tomoyuki Sugano	R	@NYY	7.9%	45%	5.1	3.0	4.3
5.5	Sean Burke	R	@WSH	2.5%	50%	4.8	3.1	4.8
5.5	Connelly Early	L	DET	14.7%	52%	4.4	2.9	4.7
5.2	Mitch Spence	R	KC	0.9%	40%	5.0	3.2	4.2
5.0	Bubba Chandler	R	@ATL	15.1%	47%	4.2	2.5	4.1
4.9	Caden Dana	R	HOU	0.3%	54%	4.8	3.2	4.2
4.7	Chris Paddack	R	@BOS	3.2%	48%	5.0	3.6	4.3
4.2	AJ Blubaugh	R	@LAA	0.8%	46%	3.4	2.1	3.4
3.4	Mick Abel	R	@PHI	2.1%	32%	4.0	2.8	4.2

Pitchers to stream Saturday

The Cleveland Guardians have not formally announced their weekend pitching plans. Saturday should be Joey Cantillo's turn, but the club's postseason situation could alter the rotation. If Cantillo starts, and there are playoff implications, he's the slate's top streamer. Cantillo boasts a 1.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over his past six outings, spanning 34 innings. He'd face a watered-down Texas Rangers lineup missing Wyatt Langford, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.
Choosing a starter on a team playing out the string facing a team with the playoffs on the line is against the grain. Even so, Eury Perez's strikeout upside warrants streaming consideration when the Miami Marlins host the New York Mets. The earliest the Mets can clinch the final National League wild card is Saturday, so they'll be playing their regulars. Still, with a 25.9% strikeout rate, Perez is in play.
Nothing is on the line when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Atlanta Braves, but with a strong effort, Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler can head into the offseason on a high note. The 22-year-old right-hander fanned 13 with no walks over his past two starts, spanning 11 innings.

Pitchers to avoid Saturday

Playoff-bound teams will usually truncate the outings of their starting pitchers over the final weekend. They want the hurler to stay sharp but don't want to risk injury. Some examples Saturday are Ranger Suarez (Philadelphia Phillies), Michael King (San Diego Padres), Tyler Glasnow (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Logan Gilbert (Seattle Mariners).

Hitters to stream Saturday

The Guardians host the Rangers, with the AL Central still up for grabs. The Guardians hold the tiebreaker over the Detroit Tigers, so the Guardians control their own playoff destiny. The earliest they can clinch is Saturday, so they'll play their best against Merrill Kelly. Steven Kwan, George Valera, Kyle Manzardo, Bo Naylor and CJ Kayfus all enjoy the platoon edge on the veteran righty.

Hitters to avoid Saturday

If the Boston Red Sox have secured a playoff berth, look for them to bench some of their regulars. Alex Bregman, Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, Nathaniel Lowe and Ceddanne Rafaela might sit out, or at best be lifted after an at-bat or two.

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.