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          Fantasy baseball Saturday advice: Kikuchi among top streamers

          Yusei Kikuchi may not give you six innings, but what he does give you might be enough. AP
          • Mike Sheets
          Aug 31, 2024, 02:30 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.

          Kikuchi enjoying move to Houston

          There are quite a few Saturday starters who are rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues, but none are better than Yusei Kikuchi. While the left-hander might not profile as a fantasy ace, he does possess multiple ace-like qualities. He excels at missing bats, as evidenced by his 27% strikeout rate, which ranks fourth-best in the American League. His control is strong, with a 6.6% walk rate that places him 17th in the AL.

          Additionally, Kikuchi ranks sixth in the AL with a Stuff+ rating of 110. That's a metric which measures the characteristics of a pitch, such as release point, velocity, movement, and spin rate, and assigns it an overall score. Three of his pitches have an above-average grade using this tool.

          Sure, Kikuchi's 4.39 ERA may be a little higher than you'd like, but his 3.65 FIP and 3.39 xFIP suggest that he's been better than that number indicates. Since being traded to the Houston Astros at the deadline, he's posted a 2.89 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP over his five starts. Plus, now that he has one of baseball's best offenses behind him, he's in a better position to rack up wins.

          In short, Kikuchi needs to be rostered in more leagues. On Saturday, he faces a hot Kansas City Royals' offense that doesn't strike out much and, yes, that makes the matchup less than ideal -- even though the Royals are less effective against lefties. Nonetheless, I'm still riding with Kikuchi as one of the day's top streamers.

          What you may have missed on Friday

          By Todd Zola

          • Clayton Kershaw completed just one inning last night as he left the game after surrendering a home run to Arizona Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll to lead off the bottom of the second inning. The homer elevated Kershaw's line to three earned runs and three hits allowed in one frame, with a walk and no strikeouts. Kershaw reportedly left because of pain in his left toe. The cause and extent of the injury is unclear. The Dodgers went on to win 10-9, deploying their bullpen in a telling manner. Michael Kopech, who logged a save on Wednesday and appeared to be emerging as the preferred closer, threw a scoreless sixth inning with a slim 6-5 lead. The Dodgers expanded the margin to 9-5 in the top of the seventh and then brought in Daniel Hudson, who was the closer before Kopech seemingly took over. Erstwhile closer Evan Phillips is nearly unhittable in August, so chances are he has reclaimed the closer role. Phillips saved Thursday's game, giving him two for the month, along with four holds and a .79 ERA and .62 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and just one walk in 11 1/3 innings this month. However, Phillips pitched the prior two days, throwing 31 total pitches, so he was unavailable. Anthony Banda started the bottom of the ninth with a 10-5 lead, but he yielded four runs to make it a nailbiter.

          • Cleveland Guardians 1B Josh Naylor left Friday night's game after stroking a run-scoring single in the eighth inning. Naylor is reportedly nursing an ankle contusion, though the severity is unclear. He's questionable for tonight's home interleague affair with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

          • Tampa Bay Rays 1B Yandy Diaz has dealt with a couple of second half injuries, as well as missing time with a personal matter. He experienced another issue last night as he exited the contest with the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning because of left knee patellar tendinitis. Diaz singled, then met with a trainer at first base. They walked off the field together, with Jonathan Aranda taking Diaz's spot. More should be known before today's late afternoon matinee in St. Petersburg.

          • The Los Angeles Angels placed RHP Carson Fulmer on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. Fulmer was slated to start last night. In his stead, the Angels promoted LHP Samuel Aldegheri from Double-A Rocket City. Aldegheri gave up five runs in his first career inning, but they were all unearned. He settled down, completing five innings with seven runs allowed (two earned). The Angels are getting a look at another rookie tomorrow RHP Caden Dana also joining the club from Double-A Rocket City. Dana is considered a better prospect, though he's just 20-years-old. Before being called up to make his MLB debut, Dana tossed 135 2/3 innings with a 2.59 ERA and .95 WHIP. He fanned 147 with 39 walks, and a low 10 homers allowed.

          • Milwaukee Brewers rookie OF Jackson Chourio missed the second game of yesterday's doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds. In the opener, Chourio hurt his ankle trying to beat out an infield grounder in the fifth inning. He required assistance leaving the field but completed the game. The club doesn't feel like the injury is serious, but Chourio was held out of the nightcap, pending further evaluation. He's considered day-to-day.

          Everything else you need to know for Saturday

          • Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Angels sports a solid 3.41 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 26 starts in 2024, but he's rostered in just 34% of ESPN leagues because he doesn't strike out many hitters. What's interesting, though, is that after producing a 6.2 K/9 rate in the season's first half, Anderson has delivered a solid 9.2 K/9 since the break. It's hard to envision him maintaining that kind of strikeout rate the rest of the way, but he should still generate plenty of "swing and miss" on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners. No team is striking out as much as the M's are right now, thanks to an MLB-worst 28.7 K% in August.

          • On paper, DJ Herz (4% rostered) of the Washington Nationals certainly looks like an intriguing streaming option. Through 14 starts, he has an impressive 29.1% strikeout rate and he has held opponents to no more than two earned runs in seven consecutive starts, resulting in a 2.62 ERA during that stretch. My hesitancy comes from the fact that he's set to match up with a Chicago Cubs team that's above-average against lefties and has the second-highest wRC+ (123) in August. If Herz struggles with his control -- an issue that sometimes plagues him -- his flyball tendencies could lead to trouble. While I'm okay with Herz as a streamer, there are valid reasons to look elsewhere.

          • Matthew Boyd (7%) has been a pleasant surprise since joining the Cleveland Guardians' rotation. In his first three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery, the left-hander holds a 2.70 ERA and an 0.90 WHIP. We don't want to put too much stock into such a small sample size and we also want to see his strikeout rate bounce back before fully endorsing him as a trustworthy fantasy option. That said, he's a worthwhile streaming target against a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that's been below-average in August, with a bloated 26.6% strikeout rate.

          • With Ryan Feltner taking the mound for the Colorado Rockies on Saturday at Coors Field (where he has posted a 5.96 ERA in 2024), it's time to get those Baltimore Orioles bats in your lineup. Colton Cowser (26%), Ryan O'Hearn (35%), Cedric Mullins (52%), and Jackson Holliday (47%) all carry the platoon edge in this terrific matchup in Colorado.

          • Betting tip of the day: Tyler Stephenson has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, batting .337/.407/.614 over his last 27 games. On Saturday against Brewers starter Frankie Montas, who owns a 5.44 ERA and 1.49 WHIP over his last eight starts, I'm taking over 1.5 total hits + runs + RBIs (-120) for the Reds catcher. Stephenson has hit the over in eight of his last 10 games.

          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