Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Saturday: Lefty Thornton has potential against Giants

ESPN FantasySep 5, 2026, 10:16 AM 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 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
13.8	Zack Wheeler	R	ATL	98.0%	46%	5.9	6.6	2.3	6.9
13.3	Zac Thornton	L	SF	16.3%	40%	5.8	6.1	1.7	5.2
12.7	Tyler Glasnow	R	WSH	87.9%	34%	5.2	5.6	1.6	5.6
11.6	Parker Messick	L	DET	95.3%	35%	5.6	6.7	2.3	6.0
11.5	Braxton Ashcraft	R	LAA	91.5%	39%	5.5	6.4	2.1	5.3
11.4	George Kirby	R	ATH	87.1%	44%	5.9	7.2	2.5	5.6
11.4	Robbie Ray	L	NYY	71.4%	36%	5.6	7.0	2.0	5.3
11.2	Carlos Rodon	L	@SD	56.5%	23%	5.1	5.8	1.6	5.1
10.9	Taj Bradley	R	@CWS	67.4%	34%	5.6	7.2	2.5	5.9
10.7	Drew Rasmussen	R	@TEX	94.9%	32%	5.4	6.3	2.3	5.1
10.5	Sonny Gray	R	@BAL	94.5%	41%	6.0	7.6	3.0	6.0
10.4	Brandon Pfaadt	R	@HOU	22.2%	32%	5.7	6.8	2.5	5.1
10.0	Jacob deGrom	R	TB	96.4%	26%	5.2	6.2	2.4	5.5
10.0	Anthony Kay	L	MIN	6.7%	28%	5.4	6.7	2.3	5.0
9.1	Cade Cavalli	R	@LAD	66.1%	22%	4.9	6.3	2.1	5.1
9.0	Framber Valdez	L	@CLE	67.5%	29%	5.7	7.8	2.8	5.5
8.6	Martin Perez	L	@PHI	11.0%	18%	5.1	6.4	2.2	4.4
8.1	Anthony Molina	R	@NYM	0.6%	15%	4.8	6.0	2.0	4.0
8.0	Ethan Pecko	R	ARI	0.4%	21%	4.6	6.0	2.0	4.2
8.0	Yusei Kikuchi	L	@PIT	8.1%	20%	5.4	7.5	2.9	5.6
7.7	Chris Bassitt	R	BOS	5.4%	27%	5.7	8.0	3.1	4.9
7.7	Andrew Abbott	L	MIL	37.0%	21%	5.1	6.9	2.8	5.0
7.6	Ryan Gusto	R	CHC	1.2%	18%	4.7	6.1	2.1	4.2
7.5	Jeffrey Springs	L	@SEA	7.6%	20%	5.1	6.8	2.7	4.6
7.5	Javier Assad	R	@MIA	1.9%	22%	4.7	6.3	2.2	4.1
6.7	Dustin May	R	@CIN	15.1%	18%	4.3	5.9	2.4	4.5
6.6	Seth Lugo	R	TOR	22.9%	34%	5.6	8.0	3.3	4.5
6.3	Max Scherzer	R	@KC	7.1%	24%	4.9	6.7	2.9	4.2
1.3	Mason Adams	R	STL	0.7%	10%	4.0	6.5	4.1	4.1
0.7	Matthew Liberatore	L	@COL	5.2%	23%	5.1	8.8	5.6	5.5

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Since joining the New York Mets rotation full-time in late June, Zac Thornton has recorded a 2.53 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. His 3.84 xFIP in that span suggests some good fortune, but the expected mark is still well below league average. Thornton's 18.4% strikeout rate is modest, but he compensates with a stingy 5.7% walk rate and by yielding only seven home runs in 61 innings. Look for another solid effort when the lefty faces the San Francisco Giants at home. The visitors sport the third-lowest wOBA against southpaw pitching.
Brandon Pfaadt rebounded from a couple of subpar efforts with a quality start against the Philadelphia Phillies in his last outing. Before the two-game slide, he recorded five straight quality starts. The righty has a chance to extend his current streak to two with a road affair against the Houston Astros, a lineup posting the lowest wOBA versus right-handers over the last month.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

Down the stretch, the focus of this section is going to be individual players projecting for the most productive games. However, several New York Yankees hitters populate Saturday's projected points rankings, so they'll be included together. They'll face Robbie Ray, whose strikeouts have waned and walks ballooned since joining the San Diego Padres. It's likely happenstance, but the lefty has fanned just 19 while issuing 16 free passes over his previous 26 1/3 frames. Paul Goldschmidt, Heliot Ramos, Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario all enjoy the platoon edge for this road tilt.
The Giants have played Jonah Cox nearly every day since mid-August. He's batting .283/.353/.543 over 17 games, also chipping in with five steals, and his numbers against left-handed pitching are even better. Even though Thornton made the streaming list, Cox lines up for a productive evening.
Heading into Friday's action, Connor Norby's line over the prior 18 games was .286/.338/.460. He was just 1-for-13 in a midweek home series between the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles but is set up for a rebound with the St. Louis Cardinals visiting Coors Field over the weekend. Norby enjoys the platoon edge on Matthew Liberatore, whose 25 homers allowed is the 13th most in MLB.