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 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.

Astronomical minor league stats

The Houston Astros remain in last place in the AL West heading into Tuesday's game against Cleveland, even behind the Athletics. While pitching (4.92 ERA) has been a bigger problem than the offense, here comes a jolt of energy in the form of slugger Joey Loperfido, leading the minor leagues with 13 home runs in 25 games (with 28 RBI, 31 runs) for Triple-A Sugar Land. Loperfido, a left-handed hitter who was a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft from Duke, is slugging .713 (1.106 OPS) and expected to earn promotion Tuesday.

Veteran first baseman Jose Abreu, of course, is not slugging anywhere near .713 - he has one extra-base hit in 77 PA, and he is "hitting" .099/.156/.113 - so it seems likely Loperfido will slot into first base. Abreu, 37, has arguably been the worst position player in baseball this season, supplying a minus-1.6 WAR. Alas, Loperfido, 24, cannot slot in as the team's No. 4 starter, too, but hey, perhaps the Astros can outscore more teams. They scored 20 runs in two games against the pathetic Rockies in the rarified air of Mexico City this past weekend.

Loperfido, due to his gaudy numbers, is one of the most added prospects in ESPN standard leagues, up 4.5% over the past seven days to 5.6%, and this number will precipitously rise in the coming days. He played 21 games at second base last season and carries valuable OF/2B fantasy eligibility, so slide him into that infield position, though the Astros are set there with Jose Altuve. Loperfido may remind some of Cubs OF/1B Cody Bellinger, another tall, rangy, left-handed slugger who excels in center field and at first base, as Loperfido has this season. Loperfido is also 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. The Astros could play Loperfido in center field, too, giving 1B Jon Singleton -- or Abreu -- more chances.

The Astros send RHP Hunter Brown to the mound Tuesday against RHP Carlos Carrasco, making potential bettors check the over/under on runs. This should favor the Astros, as Carrasco, 37, has yet to deliver a quality start among his five chances, though Brown, one of the top pitching prospects in the game a year ago, has achieved this only once in 2024. Brown's 9.68 ERA and 2.49 WHIP are a bit misleading, with most of the damage coming in a frightful first inning at Kansas City on April 11, when he permitted an MLB-record 11 hits (and nine runs) without escaping the first inning. In his other four starts, Brown has a 5.29 ERA. It's not good, but more palatable.

Everything else you need to know for Tuesday

Starting pitcher rankings for Tuesday

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: ESPN BET Money Line. O/U: ESPN BET 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%	ML	O/U	W%	IP	ER	K
13.2	Luis Castillo	R	ATL	97.9%	+110	7.5	52%	6.1	2.4	6.7
11.4	Nestor Cortes	L	@BAL	49.1%	-125	9.5	62%	5.6	2.4	5.6
11.2	Mitch Keller	R	@OAK	78.4%	-135	7.5	52%	5.8	2.4	5.8
11.0	Freddy Peralta	R	TB	99.4%	-165	7.5	56%	5.2	2.3	6.2
10.6	Javier Assad	R	@NYM	35.5%	+110	7.5	53%	5.4	1.9	4.7
10.5	Sean Manaea	L	CHC	18.4%	-130	7.5	47%	5.4	2.1	5.4
10.3	Reynaldo Lopez	R	@SEA	71.0%	-130	7.5	48%	5.1	2.0	5.2
9.9		R	@CWS	9.7%	-165	8.5	59%	5.3	2.2	4.7
9.8		L	LAD	81.6%	-105	10.5	49%	5.7	2.7	5.2
9.6	Jose Berrios	R	KC	96.4%	-140	7.5	50%	5.7	2.7	5.2
9.5	Cole Ragans	L	@TOR	91.8%	+120	7.5	50%	5.2	2.2	5.2
9.4	Landon Knack	R	@ARI	2.9%	-115	10.5	51%	5.2	2.3	4.8
9.3	Yu Darvish	R	CIN	72.8%	-140	7.5	50%	4.5	1.7	4.7
8.6	Nick Martinez	R	@SD	1.9%	+120	7.5	50%	5.2	2.3	4.5
8.5	Logan Webb	R	@BOS	99.1%	-135	8.5	54%	5.8	3.3	5.5
8.3	Jon Gray	R	WSH	30.1%	-150	8.5	54%	5.3	2.8	5.0
8.2	Alex Wood	L	PIT	0.9%	+115	7.5	48%	4.9	2.3	4.7
8.2	Michael Soroka	R	MIN	0.9%	+140	8.5	41%	5.3	2.5	4.4
8.0	Matt Manning	R	STL, Gm. 2	0.8%	-120	8.5	55%	5.2	2.5	4.1
7.7	Kyle Gibson	R	@DET, Gm. 1	11.4%	--	--	49%	5.6	3.1	4.8
7.7	Hunter Brown	R	CLE	46.8%	-145	8.5	51%	4.9	2.6	5.3
7.7	Ryan Feltner	R	@MIA	1.3%	+120	7.5	52%	5.1	2.5	4.7
7.5	Steven Matz	L	@DET, Gm. 2	2.3%	+100	8.5	45%	5.1	2.6	4.5
7.2	Dean Kremer	R	NYY	18.5%	+105	9.5	38%	5.4	3.1	4.8
7.1	Jack Flaherty	R	STL, Gm. 1	19.5%	--	--	51%	5.4	3.2	5.2
6.8	Spencer Turnbull	R	@LAA	55.9%	-140	8.5	53%	4.8	2.8	4.8
6.4	Tyler Anderson	L	PHI	23.8%	+120	8.5	47%	5.4	3.2	4.6
6.3	MacKenzie Gore	L	@TEX	18.4%	+130	8.5	46%	5.0	3.2	5.4
6.1	Tyler Alexander	L	@MIL	0.9%	+140	7.5	44%	4.9	2.9	4.1
6.0	Carlos Carrasco	R	@HOU	1.0%	+125	8.5	49%	4.9	2.9	4.5
5.9	Cooper Criswell	R	SF	0.6%	+115	8.5	46%	4.1	2.2	3.6
5.6	Sixto Sanchez	R	COL	0.4%	-140	7.5	48%	3.3	1.5	3.3

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.

Best Sub-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

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 Tuesday's MLB games