Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings lineup advice for Tuesday s MLB games

SRH have a great plan A Now they need a plan C

Look for our fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings, hitter upgrades and downgrades daily to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions and for MLB betting tips. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET, and fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: This file has been updated with any overnight pitching changes or weather-related game postponements, along with the addition of the latest MLB game odds as of the indicated time of publication.

Houston, we have a problem

Houston Astros RHP Hunter Brown entered the 2023 season as one of baseball's top pitching prospects, and even though he finished his rookie campaign with a disappointing 5.09 ERA, certainly there were positive signs. Brown was 12th among starters with a 3.52 xFIP, 14th after striking out 26.8% of batters faced and many believed better statistical fortune was coming, which is why Brown was often among the top 30 starting pitchers in ESPN live drafts, a worthy upside selection.

Three starts into this season, interest in Brown quickly cratered to barely 50% rostered and things do not figure to get easier Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, one of the top offenses in the sport. Brown comes off the worst outing of the MLB season last week, as the Royals quickly turned 11 hits and a walk into nine earned runs in the first inning. No pitcher had ever permitted 11 hits while retiring fewer than three hitters. Brown's ERA shot up to 16.43, his WHIP 3.91. Fantasy managers moved on.

Brown, who started against the Braves last season and permitted 7 hits, 2 walks and 4 earned runs over 4⅔ innings, might not thrive in this matchup, but we should remind everyone that it is merely mid-April. A season is six months long. Brown was deemed a top-30 starting pitcher for a reason, though currently that reason might confound some. Fantasy managers in deeper formats might want to keep Brown rostered for when he turns things around. He should, after all, get better. Perhaps not Tuesday, though.

Everything else you need to know for Tuesday Meanwhile, the pitching factory that is Atlanta sends RHP Reynaldo Lopez (16.5% rostered) to the mound, and the converted reliever has permitted one earned run through 12 innings against the White Sox and Mets, with 11 strikeouts. Lopez is relying more on his fastball but he is throwing it considerably slower than in years past, at 95 mph, combining it with a slower slider and newfound usage in an effective curveball. Whether Lopez can remain a viable starter for six months -- he last reached 70 innings pitched in 2019 -- is problematic, so worry about that later. Lopez is thriving now. Another hurler who did not start major league games last season faces a home outing with the Royals. RHP Erick Fedde, 31, compiled a 5.41 ERA over parts of six seasons with the Nationals. Then he went to Korea, and he dominated for his one season. The White Sox are not good, but Fedde is not their biggest problem, with a 4.30 ERA after three divisional outings, including one at Kansas City in which he permitted one run over five innings. Hunter Brown saw what the upstart Royals can do offensively, so Fedde likewise is not recommended, but if he can control the home runs (five in three starts), perhaps a useful fantasy option lurks. On a slate with myriad left-handed starting pitchers, Brewers veteran Wade Miley hardly stands out, but perhaps he should. Miley tossed four innings of one-hit, one-run ball in his season debut at Cincinnati, delayed due to a shoulder impingement, and he struck out nary a hitter. It didn't help fantasy managers so much, but Miley, who hosts the Padres Tuesday, boasts a 3.25 ERA since the start of 2021 in 60 starts, with a 1.23 WHIP. That's something! He reminds of Mets LHP Jose Quintana (also hurling Tuesday), another "finesse" lefty who misses few bats but finds a way to get outs. Quintana faces the Pirates, one of his former clubs, Tuesday, and has a 3.15 ERA since 2022. These fellows are streamers, but useful ones.

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Starting pitcher rankings for Tuesday Reliever report

To get the latest information on each team's bullpen hierarchy, as well as which pitchers might be facing a bit of fatigue and who might be the most likely suspects to vulture a save or pick up a surprise hold in their stead, check out the latest Closer Chart, which will be updated every morning. 

Best sub-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

Best and worst hitters from the day are generated by THE BAT X, a projection 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. 

Jarren Duran (BOS, CF -- 41%) vs. Ben Lively Joc Pederson (ARI, LF -- 4%) vs. Kyle Hendricks Matt Chapman (SF, 3B -- 43%) at Ryan Weathers Wilmer Flores (SF, 1B -- 12%) at Weathers MJ Melendez (KC, RF -- 30%) at Brad Keller Taylor Ward (LAA, LF -- 33%) at Aaron Civale Wilyer Abreu (BOS, CF -- 1%) vs. Lively Anthony Rendon (LAA, 3B -- 1%) at Civale Maikel Garcia (KC, 3B -- 28%) at Keller Hunter Renfroe (KC, RF -- 4%) at Keller Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday Elly De La Cruz (CIN, SS -- 96%) at Logan Gilbert Cal Raleigh (SEA, C -- 68%) vs. Hunter Greene Nolan Jones (COL, LF -- 67%) at Ranger Suarez Ryan McMahon (COL, 3B -- 50%) at Suarez Jackson Holliday (BAL, SS -- 74%) vs. Chris Paddack Francisco Alvarez (NYM, C -- 62%) vs. Jared Jones Spencer Steer (CIN, 1B -- 95%) at Gilbert J.P. Crawford (SEA, SS -- 60%) vs. Greene Lane Thomas (WSH, RF -- 58%) at Ryan Brasier