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ESPN Fantasy

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 Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is geared towards ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

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Note: This file will be 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.

What you need to know for Friday's MLB Games

By Todd Zola

As is usually the custom for the second day of the season, action is restricted to warm-weather cities and teams with domes. This way, fans of teams whose opener is more likely to be postponed can still attend their home team's first game of the year. Finding pitchers at this point of the season can be tricky since teams usually roll out their top hurlers to open the campaign. Beyond that, there are only five games on the docket, all being contested under the lights. Three names do, however, stand out for Friday. Read on...

Starting pitcher rankings for Friday

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN's standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher's handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher's roster percentage in ESPN leagues. ML: Caesars Money Line. O/U: Caesars Over/Under for runs scored. For the projected stat line, W% is the team's win probability using ESPN projections, IP is innings pitched, ER is earned runs allowed and K is strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an "opener" to start their game, but will rely on a "bulk pitcher" to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

FPTS	Pitcher	T	Opp	Rst%	W%	IP	ER	K
15.2	Cristian Javier	R	CWS	97.4%	56%	5.7	1.7	7.0
14.3	Robbie Ray	L	CLE	98.3%	62%	6.1	2.3	6.9
13.2	Lance Lynn	R	@HOU	89.8%	44%	6.0	2.2	6.4
10.6	Jesus Luzardo	L	NYM	69.9%	55%	5.3	2.2	5.7
10.0	Merrill Kelly	R	@LAD	76.8%	45%	5.8	2.7	5.3
9.6	Dustin May	R	ARI	52.2%	55%	4.8	1.9	4.9
8.8	David Peterson	L	@MIA	10.1%	45%	4.8	2.0	5.1
8.8	Nick Martinez	R	COL	11.0%	56%	5.4	2.7	5.1
8.2	Hunter Gaddis	R	@SEA	0.2%	38%	5.0	2.5	5.0
6.7	Kyle Freeland	L	@SD	1.7%	44%	5.3	2.9	4.4

Best Sub-50% Rostered Hitters for Friday

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.

Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Friday's MLB games

What you need to know for Friday's MLB Games

Starting pitcher rankings for Friday

Best Sub-50% Rostered Hitters for Friday

Worst Over-50% Rostered Hitters for Friday