Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Tuesday: High-risk, high-reward pitcher picks

ESPN FantasySep 14, 2026, 04:00 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 Tuesday

STARTING PITCHERS 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. 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
14.9	Cristopher Sanchez	L	@WSH	99.5%	55%	6.2	6.9	2.2	6.9
14.4	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	R	@CIN	99.6%	51%	6.0	6.8	2.3	7.1
13.9	Jacob Misiorowski	R	@PIT	99.3%	37%	5.6	6.4	1.8	6.8
12.8	Hunter Brown	R	KC	89.9%	37%	5.7	6.7	2.0	6.3
11.9	Shane Baz	R	@NYM	30.3%	36%	5.8	7.0	2.1	5.7
10.9	Logan Gilbert	R	@LAA	97.1%	36%	5.7	7.0	2.8	6.2
10.8	Sean Manaea	L	BAL	5.3%	23%	5.1	5.8	1.9	5.4
10.7	Max Fried	L	@MIN	96.5%	29%	5.0	5.8	1.7	5.0
10.6	Kevin Gausman	R	ATL	81.4%	33%	5.8	7.3	2.6	5.8
10.3	Michael Wacha	R	@HOU	70.3%	29%	5.9	7.2	2.6	5.2
10.3	Blade Tidwell	R	@STL	0.7%	30%	5.4	6.7	2.1	4.9
8.9	Andre Pallante	R	SF	14.0%	31%	5.8	7.7	2.5	4.4
8.9	Foster Griffin	L	CWS	67.5%	28%	4.9	6.3	2.4	5.2
8.8	Drew Anderson	R	@TOR	1.3%	36%	5.2	6.8	2.4	4.6
8.7	Michael Soroka	R	MIA	29.7%	25%	5.0	6.5	2.4	5.0
8.5	Jack Perkins	R	@TB	1.2%	18%	4.7	6.4	2.1	5.1
8.4	Griffin Jax	R	ATH	36.2%	16%	4.2	5.1	1.6	4.3
7.6	Bailey Ober	R	NYY	15.8%	24%	5.1	6.8	2.8	4.6
7.3	Ryan Johnson	R	SEA	2.4%	26%	5.3	7.2	2.9	4.5
7.2	Jackson Kent	L	PHI	0.2%	16%	5.0	6.7	2.6	4.4
7.0	Martin Perez	L	@CHC	9.6%	26%	4.9	6.8	2.4	3.9
6.7	Janson Junk	R	@ARI	2.1%	15%	4.5	5.7	2.1	3.4
6.1	Davis Martin	R	@CLE	30.9%	19%	4.7	6.6	2.5	4.0
5.9	Patrick Sandoval	L	@TEX	1.9%	25%	4.8	7.2	2.9	4.7
5.7	Wilber Dotel	R	MIL	0.1%	12%	4.4	6.2	2.4	3.7
4.5	Rhett Lowder	R	LAD	2.4%	15%	4.9	7.4	3.3	4.4
4.3	Cody Bradford	L	BOS	1.1%	12%	4.4	6.5	2.8	3.7
3.6	Spencer Miles	R	DET	1.5%	2%	2.3	3.0	1.1	2.2
0.3	Walker Buehler	R	@COL	8.3%	17%	4.3	7.4	4.6	4.1
-1.7	Kyle Freeland	L	SD	0.7%	17%	4.8	8.5	5.8	4.3

Pitchers to stream on Tuesday

A month ago, this would have been a no-brainer with Sean Manaea coming off four straight quality starts. However, the New York Mets lefty has stumbled over his last five outings, posting a 7.22 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with just 20 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. Home runs are also an issue with seven in this span. Next up is a home date with the Baltimore Orioles. There is risk, considering the Orioles handle left-handed pitching well, but that also carry one of the highest strikeout rates facing southpaws.
Ryan Johnson has shown flashes of parlaying his deceptive delivery into success, but he's also served up 18 home runs in only 84 1/3 frames. After three straight starts without allowing a long ball, he surrendered a pair in his last outing. The Los Angeles Angels host the Seattle Mariners. Even though they are both in the AL West, this is just Johnson's second encounter with the M's as he didn't join the rotation until mid-June. Even so, it's a favorable matchup for the right-hander.
Andre Pallante has not surrendered a home run since his start before the All-Star break. That's eight homerless starts, spanning 46 innings. He punched out just 30 over that stretch, but keeping the ball in the yard is crucial in this environment. The St. Louis Cardinals host the San Francisco Giants, who will be without slugger Rafael Devers for the final two weeks.

Hitters to stream on Tuesday

The signs point toward the Colorado Rockies activating lefty Kyle Freeland for the second game of their home set with the San Diego Padres. Lately, the Padres have been successful using platoons, so the focus is on their right-handed batters, including Xander Bogaerts, Austin Hays, Samad Taylor and Luis Campusano.
Recently, the focus of this space has been highlighting individual players, especially those in a great spot to generate a home run or steal. While that remains the case, there is another team stack meriting attention. The Philadelphia Phillies are also deploying more platoons, and their right-handed contingent enjoys a favorable matchup facing Washington Nationals lefty Jackson Kent. Derek Hill, Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa and J.T. Realmuto are the chief options.
The Boston Red Sox are also set to face a southpaw when they visit Cody Bradford and the Texas Rangers. In two September starts, Bradford sports a 9.00 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. Look for Jahmai Jones and Trevor Story to enjoy productive evenings.
Josue De Paula slugged his first career home run on Sunday. Through his first four games, the 21-year-old top prospect walked four times without striking out. The Los Angeles Dodgers face the Cincinnati Reds on the road, with Rhett Lowder getting the nod. The right-hander has struggled with command and control. De Paula wasn't with the team when Lowder yielded seven runs on seven hits to the Dodgers in only 3 1/3 innings, but the lefty-swinger will face the right-hander on Tuesday.