Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Thursday's MLB games (2024)

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.

Quantifying Rockies pitchers

Fantasy managers tend to intuitively dismiss Colorado Rockies pitchers simply because they pitch for the Rockies, and thus play half their games in the high altitude of Denver's Coors Field. This is often a wise strategy. In 31 seasons of existence, the Rockies have never finished with an ERA on the positive side of 4.00. The last time they posted a sub-4.50 ERA was 2010. Every so often, however, a Rockies pitcher performs well enough to warrant a look in ESPN fantasy leagues, perhaps even as more than a streamer.

RHP Cal Quantrill seems an odd choice to thrive with the Rockies, due to his dangerously low career strikeout rate and fly ball tendencies, but things are working out well this season, at least so far. Quantrill enters Thursday's outing in St. Louis with a 3.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP and eight quality starts in 12 chances, the latter figure topped by only 11 pitchers. The former Padre/Guardian permitted four earned runs to the Dodgers last week, breaking a streak of five consecutive quality starts.

The Cardinals feature a below-average offense that entered Wednesday averaging 3.9 runs per game, the second-worst mark in the National League, and RHBs Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are a combined 3-for-14 (all singles) versus Quantrill, albeit a small sample to derive much meaning from. Quantrill looks like the former version of himself who won 15 games with a 3.38 ERA for the 2022 Guardians before shoulder trouble torpedoed performance last season, inducing soft contact, handling left-handed batters (.223 batting average against) and pitching deep into games.

No Rockies pitchers are rostered in as many as 10% of ESPN standard leagues, but perhaps Quantrill and LHP Austin Gomber, cruising along with his own 3.06 ERA and 1.18 WHIP but only one win in 11 chances, should no longer be ignored. This Cardinals matchup is on the road, but Quantrill has a slightly better ERA in home games (3.72 to 3.92). Gomber's home/road splits are nearly even as well.

Perhaps one or both of these fellows can sustain performance and aid fantasy managers, as LHP Kyle Freeland did with his franchise record 2.85 ERA in 2018 and Antonio Senzatella did with his 3.44 ERA in 2020. Gomber is scheduled to face the Cardinals on Friday night. Quantrill boasts more ESPN fantasy points over the past 30 days than his Thursday opponent, Sonny Gray, and many others. We still love Gray, especially in his matchup, but Quantrill is someone to consider, too.

Everything else you need to know for Thursday

• Seattle Mariners RHP Bryan Woo brings a 1.30 ERA and 0.58 WHIP through five starts into his road matchup with the Athletics. Woo has gone six innings in three consecutive outings, issuing nary a walk in that span, and that included a road matchup with the powerful Yankees. Woo cannot continue this unsustainable pace, of course, not with a 18% strikeout rate, .171 BABIP, but 83% LOB, but he certainly appears competent enough to warrant rostering in more than 50% of ESPN standard leagues.

• Toronto Blue Jays LHP Yusei Kikuchi was cruising along with a 2.64 ERA until his two most recent starts, when the Tigers and Pirates rattled him for 17 hits and 11 runs (10 earned) over 8 1/3 ugly innings. Kikuchi struck out only four of 42 hitters. Now he has to face the mighty Baltimore Orioles, against whom he has a 5.17 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 54 career innings. Current Orioles have hit .280/.349/.553 off Kikuchi, led by 1B Ryan Mountcastle (4 HR in 17 AB, 1.807 OPS), C Adley Rutschman (1.250 OPS, 2 HR) and OF Anthony Santander (1.007 OPS). Consider adding other Orioles right-handed hitters in new 2B Connor Norby and rejuvenated OF Austin Hays for this one as well.

• What more does Atlanta Braves RHP Reynaldo Lopez need to do to become more popular in ESPN leagues? Lopez is among the league leaders in ERA (1.73) and bWAR (2.0) but he remains available in more than 30% of leagues. The Nationals won three of four games from Atlanta (in Atlanta) last week, though Lopez did not pitch in that series. His Thursday foe, precocious rookie LHP Mitchell Parker, won Game 1 of that series. The Braves hit a bit better versus left-handed pitching, but they lack Ronald Acuna Jr. Lopez remains underrated, but perhaps Parker, with a 3.60 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, is worthy, even against Atlanta.

It's never too late to start a free fantasy baseball league. Leagues drafted this week will start scoring fresh the following Monday. Come and join the fun!

Starting pitcher rankings for Thursday

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.

Hitting report

Plan ahead in fantasy baseball with help from our Forecaster projections. Each day, we will provide an updated preview of the next 10 days for every team, projecting the matchup quality for hitters (overall and by handedness) as well as for base stealers.

Best sub-50% rostered hitters for Thursday

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.

• Tyler O'Neill (BOS, LF -- 43%) at Jake Woodford

• Tyler Freeman (CLE, 3B -- 14%) vs. Daniel Lynch

• Ryan Mountcastle (BAL, 1B -- 40%) at Yusei Kikuchi

• TJ Friedl (CIN, CF -- 30%) vs. Javier Assad

• Max Kepler (MIN, RF -- 19%) at Marcus Stroman

• Joc Pederson (ARI, LF -- 6%) at Randy Vasquez

• Danny Jansen (TOR, C -- 13%) vs. Kyle Bradish

• Jeimer Candelario (CIN, 3B -- 14%) vs. Assad

• Luis Garcia Jr. (WSH, 2B -- 10%) vs. Reynaldo Lopez

• Alec Burleson (STL, LF -- 5%) vs. Cal Quantrill

Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Thursday

• Ryan McMahon (COL, 3B -- 62%) at Sonny Gray

• Brent Rooker (OAK, RF -- 54%) vs. Bryan Woo

• Gabriel Moreno (ARI, C -- 54%) at Randy Vasquez

• Ryan Jeffers (MIN, C -- 69%) at Marcus Stroman

• Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 87%) vs. Pablo Lopez

• Maikel Garcia (KC, 3B -- 70%) at Tanner Bibee

• Gleyber Torres (NYY, 2B -- 62%) vs. Lopez

• Cedric Mullins (BAL, CF -- 58%) at Kikuchi

• Salvador Perez (KC, C -- 96%) at Bibee

• Ha-Seong Kim (SD, 2B -- 92%) vs. Slade Cecconi