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          Fantasy baseball advice for Saturday: Roll with Kershaw

          Clayton Kershaw is widely available and pitching well. John Cordes/Icon Sportswire
          • Mike Sheets
          Aug 24, 2024, 04:00 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.

          The Los Angeles Dodgers could field an entire rotation with the number of starting pitchers they currently have on the injured list. Tyler Glasnow is the latest addition after landing on the IL last week with right elbow tendinitis. Fortunately, Clayton Kershaw, who returned from the injured list in late July, appears healthy and is rounding into form.

          Kershaw has made five starts since returning, posting a 2.63 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 24 frames. After failing to log more than 4⅔ innings in his first three outings, he has managed at least 5⅔ stanzas in each of his past two turns, including six shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals his last time out. Although the strikeouts haven't necessarily been there (7.1 K/9), he's shown good control (2.2 BB/9) while avoiding barrels (2.7%).

          As Kershaw continues to assert himself, his rostered percentage is likely to increase in the coming weeks, but for now he's still available in north of 50% of ESPN leagues. Take advantage of this opportunity and grab him for Saturday's home start versus a Tampa Bay Rays lineup that's been sputtering since the All-Star break, recording a 91 wRC+ and an elevated 25.5% strikeout rate.

          What you may have missed on Friday

          By Todd Zola

          • New York Mets SP Paul Blackburn was forced from last night's start in the third after being hit in the hand by a 100-mph line drive. To that point, Blackburn was ineffective, allowing 10 hits and five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. Blackburn's status is pending further evaluation.

          • Baltimore Orioles OF Cedric Mullins exited last night's contest in the fifth inning with left quad tightness. He was replaced by Austin Slater. Slater's role is as the right-handed half of a platoon, but he could see more action if Mullins misses extended action.

          • Miami Marlins SS Xavier Edwards left last night's game in the third inning with lower-back soreness. Edwards stroked a single then stole second base in the prior inning but was unable to take the field to play defense. Singling and stealing second has been Edwards' forte since taking over as the primary shortstop in South Beach. He has hit only one homer this season, but Edwards is batting .349 with 22 steals in 24 attempts.

          • San Diego SP Yu Darvish returned to the club yesterday. He was taken off the restricted list and moved to the 15-day IL. Darvish threw a 27-pitch bullpen with the hopes of building towards a September return.

          • Houston Astros OF Yordan Alvarez was a late scratch last night due to a neck issue. His availability for today's matinee with the Orioles is unclear.

          • The Seattle Mariners were without OF Victor Robles for the second straight game last night. Robles has been dealing with a hip issue. His status remains day-to-day.

          • The Arizona Diamondbacks announced that LHP Jordan Montgomery will be removed from the rotation and instead used as a long reliever. With the recent returns of Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, the Diamondbacks had six healthy starters. With Ryne Nelson pitching well and Montgomery in a season-long rut, the decision was made to keep Nelson in the rotation.

          • The Washington Nationals revealed they intend on promoting top outfield prospect Dylan Crews on Monday. Crews was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He has a combined 13 homers and 25 steals splitting time for Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season.

          Everything else you need to know for Saturday

          • Blake Snell is on some kind of heater. Since the beginning of July, the Giants lefty has produced a 1.03 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over eight starts while fanning 70 in 52⅓ innings. According to the ESPN Player rater, he's been the No. 2 fantasy starter during the past month. With a Saturday matchup against a Seattle Mariners team that's striking out at a 26.8% clip against lefties this year, Snell is a good bet to hit double-digit Ks for the fifth time in six starts. Pay up in DFS.

          • The New York Yankees initially announced Marcus Stroman as today's starter, but they've opted to give their rotation an extra day of rest and will hand the ball to rookie RHP Will Warren (1.7%). Warren was summoned to fill in for the injured Luis Gil. The Yankees are heavy favorites in their home date against the Colorado Rockies. Warren has made three starts for the Yankees with mixed results. He's sporting a bloated 8.59 ERA, but has 17 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. He's in a good spot to lower his ERA, facing the league's second lowest road wOBA with a right-hander on the hill.

          • Another streaming candidate to consider is Colin Rea (35%), who has a road date with the Oakland A's. Outside of a blowup start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the right-hander has held opponents scoreless in three of his past four starts, culminating in a 2.75 ERA and 9.8 K/9 over his last six outings. Rea will also get a significant park upgrade here, as he trades in American Family Field for the Oakland Coliseum, one of the worst parks in MLB for homers.

          • In terms of bats, take a look at Cincinnati Reds hitters against Jake Woodford, our lowest-ranked hurler of the day. The righty owns an ugly 6.67 ERA across five starts this season, with a 4.59 mark for his career. There are multiple Reds bats in play here, including TJ Friedl (32%), Tyler Stephenson (29%), and Jonathan India (27%), all of whom are widely available.

          • Betting tip of the day: For Saturday's slate, I'm taking over 5.5 strikeouts (-130) for Framber Valdez. The Baltimore Orioles present a tough matchup, but they strike out 23.6% of the time against lefties (ninth-most in MLB). Meanwhile, Valdez has eclipsed this total in six of his last seven starts, averaging 8.4 strikeouts per game during that span.

          Starting pitcher rankings for Saturday

          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 Saturday

          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 Saturday

          The BAT X's Best Stacks for Saturday