Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Friday: Will Sasaki, Imai bounce back?

ESPN FantasyJun 18, 2026, 04:15 PM ET
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Check out all of our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. All fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball buzz.

Other resources: RP depth chart | 2026 Rankings
ESPN's 2026 Player Rater | Betting notes for Friday

STARTING PITCHERS 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. W%: The individual starting pitcher's win probability using ESPN projections. IP: Projected innings pitched. H+BB: Projected hits plus walks allowed. ER: Projected earned runs allowed. K: Projected 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	H+BB	ER	K
13.5	Jacob Misiorowski	R	@ATL	99.1%	34%	5.6	6.2	2.0	6.9
13.4	Chris Sale	L	MIL	99.6%	37%	6.2	7.5	2.6	7.4
13.0	Tarik Skubal	L	CWS	98.9%	42%	5.9	6.6	2.3	6.2
12.6	Cam Schlittler	R	CIN	98.8%	41%	5.7	6.6	2.1	6.0
12.4	Michael Soroka	R	MIN	69.1%	48%	6.2	7.2	2.7	6.0
12.0	Bryce Miller	R	BOS	67.2%	31%	5.6	6.1	2.0	5.3
11.8	Jacob deGrom	R	SD	98.3%	38%	5.8	6.7	2.6	6.0
11.6	Ranger Suarez	L	@SEA	73.2%	33%	5.8	7.1	2.4	6.2
11.5	Kevin Gausman	R	@CHC	96.5%	38%	6.0	7.3	2.6	5.8
11.4	Max Meyer	R	SF	82.4%	38%	6.4	8.5	2.9	6.3
11.2	Roki Sasaki	R	BAL	33.9%	40%	5.9	7.4	2.5	5.8
10.6	Tanner Bibee	R	@HOU	61.8%	31%	5.6	6.7	2.4	5.2
10.1	Cade Cavalli	R	@TB	14.1%	31%	5.2	6.7	2.0	5.2
10.1	Trevor McDonald	R	@MIA	4.3%	36%	5.9	7.7	2.6	5.1
9.6	Tatsuya Imai	R	CLE	17.6%	30%	5.4	7.5	2.4	5.5
9.4	Ben Brown	R	TOR	49.4%	29%	5.5	7.1	2.5	5.0
8.5	Rhett Lowder	R	@NYY	3.4%	21%	5.2	6.7	2.3	4.6
8.2	Trey Gibson	R	@LAD	0.0%	23%	4.9	6.7	2.2	4.7
8.2	Michael McGreevy	R	@KC	26.3%	35%	5.6	7.3	3.0	4.3
8.1	Griffin Jax	R	WSH	30.5%	14%	4.4	5.4	1.8	4.2
7.0	Seth Lugo	R	STL	26.8%	24%	5.1	6.7	2.8	4.2
6.7	Erick Fedde	R	@DET	0.9%	24%	5.3	7.4	2.9	4.1
6.2	Connor Prielipp	L	@ARI	1.9%	20%	5.1	7.9	3.0	4.9
5.9	Randy Vasquez	R	@TEX	28.0%	24%	5.2	7.3	3.1	3.9
5.1	Bubba Chandler	R	@COL	22.4%	37%	5.2	7.9	4.2	5.6
3.3	Jeffrey Springs	L	LAA	14.1%	28%	5.0	7.7	4.4	4.7
0.4	George Klassen	R	@ATH	0.1%	8%	4.0	7.5	4.0	4.2
-0.6	Kyle Freeland	L	PIT	0.7%	21%	5.5	9.4	6.3	5.2

Pitchers to stream on Friday

Roki Sasaki was on a roll when the Chicago White Sox lit him up with seven runs on seven hits and three walks over just 4 1/3 innings. He managed to strike out four batters. However, only 31% of the balls in play registered as hard hit (exit velocity of at least 95 mph), including just three hits. Sasaki will try to rebound when the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Baltimore Orioles at Chavez Ravine. In an unexpected twist to the season, the Orioles fan more and have less batting power than the White Sox.
Tatsuya Imai is also seeking to bounce back from a rough outing when the Houston Astros face the Cleveland Guardians. Imai was beginning to show the form he displayed overseas before he retired only two batters in his last effort, allowing five runs on four hits and a walk. This was another instance of some bad luck, as Imai allowed five balls to be put in play, with only one hit hard and it measured just 95.3 mph. The other three hits were between 74 and 85 mph. The Guardians don't fan much, so Imai will need better outcomes on batted balls and he won't have to face Chase DeLauter, who was recently placed on the 10-day IL.
Ben Brown won his last start, but he wasn't dominant, keeping his rostership just below the 50% cutoff used to identify streaming options. Even after just three punchouts with three free passes in his last outing, Brown has 34 strikeouts with just 10 walks over his last 32 1/3 innings. The Chicago Cubs host the Toronto Blue Jays in an interleague matinee. The visitors put the ball in play, but they are not patient and bring below average power into Wrigley Field.

Hitters to stream on Friday

As usual, Coors Field checks in as one of the best hitting venues on the slate, so available hitters when the Pittsburgh Pirates open a road set with the Colorado Rockies are in play. Pirates' right-handers Nick Gonzales, Marcell Ozuna, Esmerlyn Valdez and Jared Triolo enjoy the platoon edge on Rockies' southpaw Kyle Freeman.
Kauffman Stadium also sets up for a lot of scoring, with hot and humid conditions and the wind blowing out to left field. The Kansas City Royals will give the ball to Seth Lugo, while the visiting St. Louis Cardinals are set to send Michael McGreevy to the hill. Both right-handers can be effective, but neither is dominant, thus vulnerable in favorable hitting conditions. Lefty swingers Lars Nootbaar, Jimmy Crooks and Nathan Church have the platoon edge and stand out for the Cardinals. Meanwhile, left-handers Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone, Michael Massey and Kameron Misner have the edge on Lugo.