Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Saturday: Taj Bradley, Connelly Early set to shine?

ESPN FantasyJun 19, 2026, 04:08 PM ET
Close
Follow on X

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 Saturday

STARTING PITCHERS FOR SATURDAY

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
15.9	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	BAL	99.8%	50%	6.4	6.8	2.0	7.0
15.6	Cristopher Sanchez	L	NYM	99.8%	52%	6.6	6.9	2.2	6.7
13.8	Chris Sale	L	MIL	99.6%	45%	6.2	7.5	2.6	7.5
13.0	Connelly Early	L	@SEA	28.0%	44%	5.9	6.9	2.1	6.0
13.0	Ian Seymour	L	WSH	9.2%	36%	5.3	5.6	1.6	5.6
13.0	Spencer Arrighetti	R	CLE	56.3%	44%	6.0	7.3	2.2	6.5
12.0	Nathan Eovaldi	R	SD	83.5%	47%	6.2	7.3	2.9	6.0
11.8	Andrew Abbott	L	@NYY	43.3%	36%	6.2	7.5	2.6	5.8
11.7	Will Warren	R	CIN	68.7%	35%	5.6	6.9	2.4	6.3
11.1	Max Meyer	R	SF	82.8%	38%	6.3	8.3	2.8	6.2
11.0	Freddy Peralta	R	@PHI	91.7%	26%	5.6	6.8	2.3	5.9
10.5	Troy Melton	R	CWS	15.4%	43%	6.3	8.0	3.2	5.6
10.2	Trevor McDonald	R	@MIA	4.4%	36%	5.9	7.7	2.6	5.1
10.1	Paul Skenes	R	@COL	99.9%	55%	6.4	8.6	4.4	7.6
9.5	Taj Bradley	R	@ARI	43.7%	36%	5.9	8.0	3.0	5.7
9.3	Trevor Rogers	L	@LAD	29.1%	21%	5.3	6.7	2.2	4.8
8.5	Emerson Hancock	R	BOS	80.3%	19%	5.2	6.4	2.3	4.4
8.1	Kyle Harrison	L	@ATL	82.8%	23%	5.0	6.6	2.6	5.0
8.0	Joey Cantillo	L	@HOU	15.9%	19%	4.9	6.9	2.4	5.4
8.0	Zac Gallen	R	MIN	45.1%	31%	5.5	7.6	3.0	5.0
7.2	Miles Mikolas	R	@TB	1.1%	21%	4.9	6.4	2.4	3.8
7.1	J.T. Ginn	R	LAA	28.0%	35%	5.5	8.0	3.7	5.7
7.0	Patrick Corbin	L	@CHC	1.4%	21%	4.8	6.5	2.4	4.1
6.6	Colin Rea	R	TOR	3.9%	19%	4.6	6.1	2.4	3.7
6.2	Joe Rock	L	@DET	0.0%	18%	4.6	6.3	2.5	3.9
6.0	Walker Buehler	R	@TEX	8.0%	21%	5.1	7.4	3.0	4.3
3.8	Walbert Urena	R	@ATH	16.5%	29%	5.6	9.2	4.3	5.0
-2.5	Tomoyuki Sugano	R	PIT	2.7%	17%	5.4	9.3	6.6	4.2

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Connelly Early tops the streamers, as his ranking reflects his seasonlong performance as opposed to struggling in his past two outings. He also benefits from a big park upgrade with the Boston Red Sox visiting the Seattle Mariners. Lastly, the Mariners sport the second-lowest wOBA facing left-handed pitching.
Ian Seymour has filled many roles for the Tampa Bay Rays, from late-inning reliever (2 saves, 9 holds), opener, bulk reliever and now traditional starter. He's not fully stretched out, but he compiled 72 pitches in his last outing, so he should be able to handle at least five frames when the Rays host the Washington Nationals. The southpaw is in a rut with 11 walks over his last 12⅓ innings, and he faces a lineup that is tough on lefties, but Tropicana Field provides a big boost so expect Seymour to deliver a solid effort.
Troy Melton was scheduled to take the hill last Monday, but he was scratched with back tightness, and the Detroit Tigers decided to skip his turn. He delivered three solid starts after being inserted into the rotation in late May, then surrendered four home runs to the Minnesota Twins in his last outing. He'll try to rebound at home against a surprisingly productive Chicago White Sox lineup, though they sport a generous 26.1% strikeout rate on the road versus right-handers.
Despite allowing four earned runs in his last start, Taj Bradley pitched better than in his prior few efforts, with seven punchouts and just one walk over 6⅔ innings. The Minnesota Twins visit the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving Bradley a chance to build on last week's outing as the Diamondbacks sport the third-lowest wOBA facing right-handed pitching.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

The Chicago Cubs host Patrick Corbin and the Toronto Blue Jays in an interleague affair. They teed off on Kevin Gausman in the series opener and should be able to keep it going against Corbin. Most of the Cubs are unavailable in standard ESPN leagues, but Matt Shaw has taken over in right field and enjoys the platoon edge. Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson are also in play.
Miles Mikolas has performed much better as a bulk reliever, though it's unclear if he'll start on Saturday or pick up after an opener. Either way, the Rays are the type of team that can give the Washington Nationals' righty fits, as they like to put the ball in play and Mikolas doesn't miss many bats. Jonathan Aranda, Cedric Mullins, Richie Palacios, Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson all enjoy a favorable matchup.