Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Friday: Can Clay Holmes shake off the rust?

ESPN FantasyAug 13, 2026, 04:20 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
14.1	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	MIL	99.8%	34%	6.0	6.4	1.8	6.3
12.2	Peter Lambert	R	SEA	39.5%	36%	5.6	6.6	1.9	5.6
12.0	Gerrit Cole	R	@TOR	89.9%	43%	5.9	6.8	2.4	5.5
11.6	Chris Sale	L	ARI	99.6%	38%	5.7	7.0	2.5	6.4
11.4	Chase Burns	R	MIA	98.1%	29%	5.5	6.5	2.4	6.3
10.8	Andrew Alvarez	L	@NYM	1.0%	30%	5.1	5.9	1.6	4.6
10.6	George Kirby	R	@HOU	91.7%	28%	5.5	6.5	2.3	5.4
10.5	Sandy Alcantara	R	@CIN	90.4%	36%	6.1	7.8	3.1	6.0
10.2	Kyle Freeland	L	@SF	1.0%	35%	6.1	7.8	2.8	5.1
10.2	Gavin Williams	R	SD	96.5%	29%	5.5	7.3	2.6	6.2
10.1	Kyle Bradish	R	@TB	68.4%	37%	4.9	6.3	1.9	5.0
9.9	Robert Gasser	L	@LAD	4.8%	21%	4.7	5.4	1.7	4.7
9.6	Landen Roupp	R	COL	23.7%	32%	5.5	7.3	2.3	5.1
9.5	Michael King	R	@CLE	83.8%	32%	5.6	7.5	2.6	5.5
9.3	Jake Bennett	L	@PIT	30.2%	33%	5.2	6.4	2.1	4.3
9.2	Robert Stock	R	WSH	0.4%	18%	4.8	6.1	1.8	4.8
8.8	Clay Holmes	R	STL	21.8%	32%	5.3	7.0	2.3	4.4
8.7	Bubba Chandler	R	BOS	20.4%	22%	5.1	6.8	2.2	4.7
8.6	Anthony Kay	L	@DET	5.7%	24%	5.3	6.9	2.5	4.8
8.1	Jackson Jobe	R	CWS	17.9%	24%	4.6	5.7	2.0	3.9
7.7	Seth Lugo	R	@LAA	23.1%	37%	5.7	7.9	3.2	4.9
7.2	Shane Bieber	R	NYY	18.3%	16%	4.7	6.1	2.3	4.3
6.6	Brandon Pfaadt	R	@ATL	16.9%	24%	5.4	7.4	3.2	4.5
5.8	Matthew Liberatore	L	@CHC	3.4%	18%	4.8	7.1	2.8	4.4
4.7	Gage Jump	L	TEX	8.0%	22%	4.6	7.2	3.5	5.1
4.5	Grayson Rodriguez	R	KC	2.5%	22%	4.9	7.7	3.4	4.5
3.0	Kumar Rocker	R	@ATH	5.3%	19%	4.7	7.5	4.0	4.6
	TBD		BAL	0.0%	0%	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Pitchers to stream on Friday

Peter Lambert has yielded more than three runs just three times all season, the last coming June 29. Since then, he has posted a 2.29 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. Those ratios are impressive, but even more enlightening is that he fanned 43 over these 39 1/3 innings, as compared to 68 punchouts over his first 74 1/3 innings. It's his perceived lack of dominance that keeps Lambert's rostership below 50%, but the righty sets up to pad his total when the Houston Astros host the Seattle Mariners, whose lineup sports the ninth-highest strikeout rate facing righties.
Landen Roupp's season has been uneven. In 23 outings, he has 10 quality starts but has also surrendered at least four runs on eight occasions. The San Francisco Giants host the Colorado Rockies on Friday, which portends another quality effort from Roupp. The righty faces a lineup with the seventh-highest strikeout rate and 11th-lowest wOBA on the road against right-handers.
Clay Holmes is set to make his second start for the Chicago Cubs since coming off the IL after recovering from a broken fibula. He'll look to shake off the rust and pitch more like he did before getting hit in the leg when he takes the hill against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. It's a favorable matchup with the Cardinals struggling versus right-handed pitching, especially after dealing Lars Nootbaar at the trade deadline
After winning five straight decisions, Jake Bennett has lost two of his last three starts for the Boston Red Sox. He'll aim to get back on track in a road affair against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bennett's control has been iffy lately, but the Pirates sport the seventh-lowest walk rate when facing left-handed pitching, along with the third-highest strikeout rate.

Hitters to stream on Friday

Kumar Rocker has a 6.07 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over his past five games, and that includes six scoreless innings in one game. The Texas Rangers are in Sacramento for a set against the Athletics. The Athletics lineup is dangerous -- even without Nick Kurtz -- especially in Sutter Health Park. Jacob Wilson, Carlos Cortes, Lawrence Butler, Jonah Heim and Henry Bolte are the best options.