A former top pitching prospect makes his major league debut Sunday, as Nick Kingham will be summoned by the Pittsburgh Pirates to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the Steel City. Kingham's stay in the bigs could be short-lived, since he's needed to keep everyone else on regular rest due to a midweek double-header. However, if the Tommy John-returnee impresses, Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault better pick up the pace or their rotation spots could be in jeopardy.
Elsewhere, Sunday's slate doesn't have many elite options, but it's densely populated with starters in line for a solid outing, with 20 of the 30 hurlers projected for a Game Score of 50 or more and three just missing. Good thing for you, several are available in more than half of ESPN leagues, so you can get that extra push needed to take you over the top on the last day of this scoring period. Don't worry, we have your bats covered, too.
Pitching
Tyler Skaggs (L), rostered in 38 percent of ESPN leagues, Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Yankees: Sometimes, spot starters are chosen based on a weak opponent; other times, it's on their own merit. Skaggs has earned this call, despite facing a dangerous lineup, albeit in pitcher-friendly Angels Stadium. The 26-year-old southpaw is coming off his best outing of the season, tossing seven scoreless frames against the defending world champions and holding the Astros to just four hits with a walk and three punchouts. For the season, Skaggs' 2.96 ERA is supported by a 2.88 FIP, though a 3.83 xFIP suggests impending home run regression. As alluded to, the visitors pose a threat, especially at the top of the order. However, the bottom has promising but still young hitters, so if Skaggs can navigate the lower portion unscathed, even if Giancarlo Stanton and friends add to Skaggs' homers allowed, the damage will be minimal.
Brandon McCarthy (R), 19 percent, Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies: McCarthy is the first of contrasting mound opponents featured today, as he takes the hill in a National League East battle of up-and-coming clubs. McCarthy, the veteran, has added a slider to his wide arsenal, helping mitigate age-related skills decline. The Phillies offer strikeout upside, fanning in 27 percent of their trips to the dish with a righty on the hill.
Vince Velasquez (R), 14 percent, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves: Velasquez, the young upstart, is relying a little less on the hard stuff, throwing his 81-mph curveball more than previous seasons. Whether it's a result of that or just general maturation, his control and command are both improved. His 4.50 ERA isn't reflective of how well Velasquez has pitched, though a 3.17 FIP and 3.41 xFIP imply you should remain calm -- all is well.
Caleb Smith (L), 2 percent, Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies: While the Rockies obviously fare better at home, they have greater difficulty with southpaws on the road, especially in the strikeout department. If you need some strikeouts to put you over the top, Smith has fanned an impressive 32 in just 21.2 innings so far, including 10 his last time out.
Bullpen
Likely due to the concern Greg Holland eventually takes over the Cardinals' closing duties, Bud Norris is available in more than half of ESPN league. That's a big mistake. Norris should be scooped up where available. He haswhiffed 20 while issuing only two free passes in 13.1 stanzas, posting five saves and two early holds. In contrast, Holland is still inconsistent. After four clean outings, he allowed three hits and two earned runs to the Pirates without recording an out. Sure, their plights might flip-flop later in the season, but currently, Norris is firmly entrenched as the Redbirds' ninth-inning stopper.
Projected game scores
GS is the projected game score for the pitcher. The "*" symbol means the pitcher lacks requisite career major league data to produce an accurate rating; these are the author's ratings.
Hitting
Catcher
Yan Gomes (R), 3 percent, Cleveland Indians vs. Seattle Mariners (LHP Marco Gonzales): Granted, he wasn't expected to be a fantasy ace, but Gonzales was looked at as a possible asset for favorable starts. Currently, he's someone to target with bats. The Indians have several options enjoying the platoon edge. Gomes' allure is that since he got Saturday off, he's likely to be back in the lineup on Sunday, a day many primary backstops hit the pine. Brandon Guyer, Jason Kipnis and Rajai Davis are all righty swingers, available in well more than half of ESPN leagues. Picking up one of these Tribe hitters could pay dividends next week, as Cleveland has eight games, five against a lefty starter.
First base
Jesus Aguilar (R), 4 percent, Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs (RHP Tyler Chatwood): The injury to Eric Thames opens more than just platoon deployment for Aguilar. Chatwood usually fares better against right-handers, but until he gets walks under control, everyone is in play, especially in points or OBP leagues.
Second Base
Starlin Castro (R), 49 percent, Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies (RHP Chad Bettis): In recommending Castro in his notes to help us compose Daily Notes, ESPN research associate Kyle Soppe sagely pointed out one of the overlooked tenets when identifying solid spot starters: Platoon edge isn't everything. Soppe said, "This is the edge in playing for a team that isn't great ... he's locked into the 3-hole and it's tough to find 3-hole hitters on the waiver wire." Intrinsic to this is that batters hitting third average the most fantasy production, regardless of format. That said, it doesn't hurt that Bettis has exhibited reverse splits in his career.
Third base
Danny Valencia (R), under 1 percent, Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers (LHP Daniel Norris): Valencia is picking up some playing time, especially against lefties, with Tim Beckham on the shelf. Valencia has always hit southpaws well and now gets to do it in power-aiding Camden Yards.
Shortstop
Enrique Hernandez (R), 4 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants (LHP Ty Blach): Some might be scared off by Blach's career success against the Dodgers, against whom he sports a sparkling 1.90 ERA in 47.1 innings. If you believe Blach has the Dodgers' number, look elsewhere. The wise fantasy manager chalks that up to happenstance and trusts Hernandez's ability to hit lefty pitching.
Corner infield
Ryon Healy (R), 11 percent, Seattle Mariners at Cleveland Indians (RHP Josh Tomlin): Righty? Lefty? It doesn't matter. Healy is equally philanthropic when it comes to the long ball. The soft-tossing right-hander has allowed eight homers -- one more than he has fanned -- in 12.2 innings. Healy is still looking for his first home run of the season, though he was recently activated from the disabled list after missing 16 games with a sprained ankle.
Middle infield
Eduardo Escobar (B), 15 percent, Minnesota Twins vs. Cincinnati Reds (RHP Tyler Mahle): The early weather and ensuing postponements haven't affected Escobar, as he's off to a career-best start. Mahle has demonstrated better-than-expected strikeout stuff, but he's still inconsistent. Plus, it's always advantageous to use a switch-hitter against a weak bullpen. The Reds' relievers check in with a bloated 5.23 ERA through Saturday's games.
Outfield
Leonys Martin (L), 25 percent, Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles (RHP Kevin Gausman): The Tigers are ostensibly auditioning for when they're good again, with Martin doing his best to earn a callback. Curiously, he's doing it with muscle and not speed, hitting four early homers compared to just one swipe. Gausman has struggled with big flies, allowing seven in just 29 stanzas.
Randal Grichuk (R), 5 percent, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers (LHP Martin Perez): In what has become a theme, Perez has surrendered four homers in only 18.1 innings, fanning just 11. This is the ideal setup for Grichuk, as he struggles with contact but hits the ball hard when he connects.
Daniel Palka (L), under 1 percent, Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals (RHP Ian Kennedy): We might as well wrap up with another example of targeting a homer-prone hurler. Kennedy is always among the league leaders in that category. Palka was called up when Avisail Garcia was put on the disabled list. With the caveat that Palka was generally a little older than others at his level, since 2014, he swatted 100 homers on the farm before being promoted earlier in the week. Not to mention, Palka is coming off a multiple-hit game, featuring his first career MLB blast.
Hitter matchup ratings
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher's history (three years' worth) as well as ballpark factors. "LH" and "RH" ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively.
Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1 to 10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. For example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent.