<
        >

          Fantasy baseball Wednesday advice: Snell goes for two no-nos in a row

          Can Blake Snell do it again? Getty Images
          • Tristan H. Cockcroft
          Aug 7, 2024, 03:23 PM

          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

          Weather or not to play

          Both of Tuesday night's washouts will be made up today as part of single-admission doubleheaders. The first kicks off the Wednesday slate at 1:10 p.m. ET with the Cleveland Guardians hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks.

          Tuesday's scheduled starters will pitch today with the Guardians' Ben Lively handling the opener while the Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez will now make his 2024 debut in the nightcap. The Diamondbacks left-handed hitting contingent has an advantage with the Guardians starting a pair of right-handers ranked in the bottom half of today's probable pitchers. Joc Pederson (15.3% rostered in ESPN leagues) and switch-hitter Josh Bell (36.1% rostered) are in the Game 1 lineup, so they're the best options to play in both contests.

          The second twin bill is in the Bronx with the New York Yankees entertaining the Los Angeles Angels, beginning at 4:05 p.m. ET. Tuesday's scheduled starters, Luis Gil for the Yankees and Davis Daniel for the Angels, get the Game 1 nod. Both teams are deploying a pair of righties, so left-handed batters have an edge. The Yankees enjoy the more favorable matchups with C/1B Ben Rice being the likeliest to appear in both halves of the pair.

          What you may have missed on Tuesday

          By Todd Zola

          • Baltimore Orioles SP Grayson Rodriguez was scratched from last night's start due to right lat/teres discomfort. The extent of the injury is unclear, but Rodriguez was felled by a lat strain issue while pitching for Triple-A Norfolk in 2022. That injury cost Rodriguez months of action but this instance has yet to be classified as a strain. Albert Suarez started the game instead. Suarez has been serving as a swingman for the Orioles, with 15 out of his 23 appearances being starts. Last night, he threw five scoreless frames against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the Orioles bullpen collapsed, resulting in a 5-2 loss.

          • Pittsburgh Pirates SS Oneil Cruz was under the weather last night, thus he missed the team's 6-0 shutout loss to the San Diego Padres. Cruz's availability for today's game is unclear. Cruz has been one of the most productive hitters in the league since the break, posting a .937 OPS with four steals, but he has also fanned at a 35.4% clip over that 15-game span.

          • Seattle Mariners DH Justin Turner was hit in the left hand during the seventh inning last night. He stayed in the game to run the bases, but ultimately left for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. X-rays indicated no breaks, so Turner is considered to be day-to-day.

          • The Los Angeles Angels announced that both 2B Luis Rengifo and SP Chase Silseth will be out for the rest of the year. Rengifo underwent season-ending surgery on his right wrist. He had been a surprising source of steals, swiping 24 bags over 78 games. Silseth mustered just two starts covering a mere eight innings for the Angels this season. He was considered to be a breakout candidate after fanning 56 batters (52 1/3 IP) last year. Silseth had season-ending surgery on his elbow. The exact procedure isn't known, but the club expects Silseth to be ready for spring training.

          • Minnesota Twins OF Byron Buxton missed his second straight game on Tuesday. He's dealing with lower-back stiffness after colliding with the outfield wall on Sunday. Manager Rocco Baldelli indicated that Buxton is questionable for tonight, but he's expected to be ready on Friday when the club hosts the Cleveland Guardians in a day-night doubleheader.

          • The San Francisco Giants reported that 1B Wilmer Flores required a procedure on his right knee, shutting him down for the rest of the season. His role as the right-handed portion of a first base platoon will be filled by Mark Canha.

          Everything else you need to know for Wednesday

          • San Francisco Giants left-hander Blake Snell, another pitcher who was subject to trade rumors last week yet pitched a no-hitter in his first start following the deadline, marks his follow-up to that masterpiece with a road start against the Washington Nationals -- the precise matchup (including it being a road game) from the most recent no-hitter that preceded Snell's, Dylan Cease's no-no on July 25. As mentioned in this space when Cease was engaging in his follow-up performance, the more talented pitchers who absorb hefty but not excessive pitch counts in no-hitters tend to deliver productive scores in their very next turns. Cease threw 114 pitches in his no-hitter, the precise number that Snell threw, though Snell will be working on four days' rest to Cease's five. It's a much more favorable matchup for the left-hander, however, and he's in a similarly scorching hot streak to Cease at a similar point, with a 0.55 ERA and 41 K's in Snell's past five starts.

          • Though the Miami Marlins have been a better hitting team than expected during their total tear-down -- their 4.41 runs per game average since the All-Star break ranks a middle-of-the-road 15th -- and even got to the left-hander during their July meeting at Great American Ball Park, the Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott gets one of the best matchups on paper in his start against them at loanDepot Park. The projections grade the current Marlins the second-weakest hitting team against left-handed pitchers, and the venue rates among the league's most extreme pitchers' parks.

          • Paul Blackburn enjoyed a strong debut with the New York Mets last Friday (6 IP, 1 ER, win), but start No. 2 for them will prove much tougher, as he works at Colorado's Coors Field. That he has an extremely effective slider -- opponents have batted .156 against it this season, and he has posted a 33%-plus whiff rate with it in each of the past three years -- should help his cause, as will the fact that this year's Colorado Rockies is one of the franchise's weakest hitting teams. Nevertheless, this looks like an "advantage: Rockies" game, meaning hitters like Brenton Doyle, Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar should all be in your lineup.

          • The Arizona Diamondbacks, one of the hottest hitting teams in baseball with their 6.25 runs per game since the All-Star break ranking third-best, get another strong hitting matchup at home against the Cleveland Guardians' Carlos Carrasco. Every one of the Diamondbacks' top seven hitters against righties -- Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Joc Pederson, Josh Bell, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jake McCarthy and Eugenio Suarez -- warrants a place in your lineup. As Carrasco is most reliant upon his four-seam fastball, also his worst-performing pitch this season (.356 BAA, .586 SLGA), McCarthy and Pederson particularly stand out. McCarthy is a .366/.465/.573 hitter and Pederson .319/.427/.667 against four-seamers this season.

          • Betting tip of the day: The New York Mets sport the highest implied run total of the day for their matchup with the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. There is a small chance of rain, but the game is expected to be played, with RHP Ryan Feltner getting the nod for the Rockies. Feltner has predictably struggled at home facing lefties, yielding a .393 wOBA. The left-handed hitting Brandon Nimmo bats second for the Mets and lines up for a productive evening. I'm taking Nimmo for over 3.5 total hits + runs + RBI (+150).

          Starting pitcher rankings for Wednesday

          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 Wednesday

          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.

          Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Wednesday

          THE BAT X's Best Stacks for Wednesday