The last Sunday in July offers the type of full schedule you'd expect to see this time of year, although it's devoid of any elite arms, save Corey Kluber as he looks to right the ship after a round month. A couple of pitchers recently traded from one American League East team to another make their debuts, as well, as J.A. Happ and the Yankees entertain the Royals and Nathan Eovaldi and the Red Sox wrap up a Fenway Park series with the Twins.
Sunday is always a key day for those looking to close out their head-to-head matchups. We're here to help with an array of pitchers and hitters in line for a productive day, all of whom are available in at least half of ESPN leagues.
Pitchers
Nathan Eovaldi (R), rostered in 40 percent of ESPN leagues, Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins: This comes with an asterisk, although the rebuilding Twins lineup did take a hit after dealing Eduardo Escobar. Of the three notable starting pitchers switching teams to date, Eovaldi by far incurs the biggest downgrade in terms of home venue, as not only is Fenway Park much more run-friendly than Tropicana Field, but Eovaldi's new digs hinder strikeouts while embellishing walks. Sure, win potential improves, but beware of the associated context. For what it's worth, Cole Hamels not only gets a boost from the league change, his park upgrade is huge, as well; Wrigley Field is a less run-friendly than Globe Life Park and increases punchouts. Aside from the obvious boost in run support, J.A. Happ's move is lateral with respect to park factors.
Zack Wheeler (R), 29 percent, New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates: Contenders are reportedly interested in acquiring Wheeler's services for the stretch run, so there's a chance he's scratched in advance of a deal. If he takes the hill, Wheeler will be tasked with slowing down a Pirates offense that has crushed right-handers for the past month. Wheeler has quietly pitched well for a couple of months, boasting a 3.54 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 71 whiffs in 76.1 frames.
Carlos Rodon (L), 27 percent, Chicago White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: One of the more intriguing "what if" fantasy questions of the past couple of years has been what Carlos Rodon could do if healthy. Well, since debuting on June 9, the 25-year-old southpaw has a 3.38 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP, albeit with only 43 strikeouts in those 50.2 innings. However, Rodon has fanned 21 in his past three outings, covering 21 innings. The Blue Jays have some dangerous bats, but for the season, they carry the 12th-lowest weighted on base average (wOBA) versus lefties.
Jeremy Hellickson (R), 26 percent, Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins: Need a win to close out the week? Hellickson obviously won't be spinning a complete game shutout, but he is in good shape to toss five or six innings against a lesser lineup before handing the ball to a capable bullpen.
Joe Musgrove (R), 17 percent, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Mets: After a mid-June blip, Musgrove has righted the ship, hurling at least seven innings in three of his past four efforts, with a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in that stretch. He's in a favorable spot to keep the momentum, facing a Mets lineup without Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes.
Bullpen
With the demand for relievers so high among the contenders, and a plush supply currently employed by the pretenders, now is the time to speculate on would-be closers as the July 31 trade deadline quickly approaches. Jared Hughes, Joe Jimenez, Trevor Hildenberger, Jake Diekman, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hicks all come to mind.
Projected game scores
Hitting
Catcher
Manny Pina (R), 1 percent, Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants (LHP Andrew Suarez): Pina will continue to hit down in the Brewers' retooled lineup, but there are only a few available backstops with a better lineup spot, so leveraging the platoon edge will have to do.
First Base
Greg Bird (L), 36 percent, New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals (RHP Burch Smith): The Yankees will need Bird to step it up while Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez are sidelined. We've seen glimpses of Bird's power prowess, albeit some of that coming in Grapefruit League play. Still, when you consider the short porch in Yankee Stadium, Bird is a threat to go deep at any moment. He has five homers over the past month, though none came the week preceding Saturday's doubleheader. Working mostly out of the bullpen, Smith has allowed a healthy nine homers in 50 innings this season.
Second Base
Ben Zobrist (B), 44 percent, Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals (RHP John Gant): Kris Bryant's absence clears more playing time for Zobrist, though it's not a sure thing he'll be in the lineup, so be sure to confirm before locking things in. If Zobrist isn't playing, chances are Ian Happ will be, with both in play as switch-hitters against Gant. The Cardinals right-hander does a good job limiting the long ball, but patient hitters such as Zobrist can take advantage of Gant's bloated 4.4 BB/9.
Third Base
Matt Davidson (R), 15 percent, Chicago White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays (LHP Ryan Borucki): After a scorching start to the season earned him everyday status, Davidson now receives only a small chunk of the platoon playing time. He's slugging an impressive .508 versus southpaws, though, putting him in play against Borucki. The young left-hander hasn't served up a home in his embryonic, 29-inning career, but he has fanned a pedestrian 23 with a generous 10 walks in that span.
Shortstop
Enrique Hernandez (R), 27 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves (LHP Sean Newcomb): It has been a week since the Dodgers have faced a lefty starter, so it's been a week since we've had to extol Hernandez's virtues against left-handed pitching.
Corner Infield
J.D. Davis (R), under 1 percent, Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers (LHP Mike Minor): Davis was called up for depth, which came in handy when Jose Altuve tweaked his knee last Wednesday. There's a good chance Altuve is back by Sunday, but there's also a decent chance Davis is in the lineup, as well, giving the Astros another righty bat to face Minor. Of Minor's 18 homers allowed, 16 have been given up to righty swingers.
Middle Infield
Nick Ahmed (R), 6 percent, Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres (LHP Joey Lucchesi): With Jake Lamb out, newly acquired Eduardo Escobar will man the hot corner for the Diamondbacks -- leaving the middle to be split among Ahmed, Ketel Marte and Daniel Descalso. With a lefty on the hill, Ahmed will almost assuredly be in the lineup, perhaps even from the two-hole. While Lucchesi is a promising southpaw, 10 homers allowed in 72.2 frames is on the higher side.
Outfield
Denard Span (L), 23 percent, Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels (RHP Felix Pena): Now in the twilight of his career, Span isn't running as much as he used to. Sunday's game might have him thinking otherwise, though; not only is Span in a good spot with the platoon bump against an inconsistent righty, but with Martin Maldonado shipped to the Astros, opposing baserunners will have an easier time when attempting to steal against the Angels.
Gerardo Parra (L), 10 percent, Colorado Rockies vs. Oakland Athletics (RHP Frankie Montas): While pure baseball pundits ponder why Parra is still employed, we fantasy folk can continue to fire him up at home when he faces weak righties.
Nick Martini (L), under 1 percent, Oakland Athletics at Colorado Rockies (RHP German Marquez): Martini has displaced Dustin Fowler at the top of the Athletics lineup versus righties. Martini might not shake things up with power, but he can certainly stir stuff up with his on base ability and speed. Remember, Coors Field is more of a hitter's park than a homer park, and Martini is well suited to take advantage of the huge gaps.
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.