Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Friday: Give Seymour the nod vs. Red Sox

ESPN FantasySep 17, 2026, 03:45 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 THURSDAY

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	Tyler Glasnow	R	SF	87.8%	46%	5.8	6.6	1.9	6.5
12.7	Ranger Suarez	L	@TB	76.7%	40%	5.7	6.6	1.9	5.7
11.4	Paul Skenes	R	KC	99.4%	38%	5.4	6.3	2.1	5.4
11.4	Nick Pivetta	R	MIA	68.6%	32%	4.9	5.4	1.6	5.0
11.3	Ian Seymour	L	BOS	40.3%	20%	5.0	5.6	1.9	5.8
11.3	Dylan Cease	R	@TEX	99.3%	35%	5.4	6.8	2.4	6.5
11.1	Peter Lambert	R	ATL	27.8%	38%	5.6	7.0	2.2	5.4
10.7	Zac Thornton	L	PHI	11.4%	29%	5.3	6.0	1.9	4.5
10.7	Cade Cavalli	R	@STL	77.8%	34%	5.4	6.8	2.2	5.5
9.4	David Sandlin	R	DET	1.2%	26%	5.0	6.1	1.9	4.6
9.3	Clay Holmes	R	@CIN	40.9%	33%	5.5	7.4	2.6	5.2
9.2	Chase Burns	R	CHC	95.5%	14%	4.5	5.4	2.0	5.4
9.1	Tyler Mahle	R	@HOU	40.5%	24%	5.3	6.9	2.3	4.9
8.9	Gerrit Cole	R	@ARI	87.5%	29%	5.3	6.6	2.6	5.0
8.2	Tyler Phillips	R	@SD	3.0%	16%	4.7	5.9	1.9	4.1
8.1	Dustin May	R	@BAL	18.8%	29%	5.1	6.9	2.7	4.9
8.1	Andrew Sears	L	@CWS	0.3%	21%	4.7	6.1	2.0	4.2
7.8	Jose Urquidy	R	@NYM	0.8%	9%	3.9	4.4	1.3	3.5
7.5	Eduardo Rodriguez	L	NYY	77.5%	32%	5.6	8.2	3.3	5.2
7.1	Bryan Woo	R	@COL	96.7%	42%	5.8	7.9	4.6	6.3
6.6	Cesar Perdomo	L	@LAD	1.5%	14%	4.8	6.4	2.5	3.9
6.4	Cade Povich	L	MIL	0.5%	18%	4.8	6.5	2.7	4.3
6.0	Randy Dobnak	R	@PIT	5.5%	18%	5.1	7.4	2.7	3.8
5.8	Connor Prielipp	L	@LAA	3.5%	16%	4.2	6.0	2.4	4.1
5.7	Kyle Leahy	R	WSH	23.4%	6%	3.8	5.1	1.8	3.5
5.7	Kumar Rocker	R	TOR	3.9%	16%	4.6	6.6	2.7	4.1
5.2	Grayson Rodriguez	R	MIN	3.8%	26%	5.3	8.1	3.5	4.6
5.0	Mason Barnett	R	@CLE	0.1%	21%	4.8	7.3	2.9	3.8
2.2	Daniel Espino	R	ATH	0.3%	1%	1.4	1.9	0.7	1.4
-2.5	Ryan Feltner	R	SEA	0.4%	14%	4.7	8.9	5.8	4.2

Pitchers to stream Friday

Given that winning and losing streaks can flip at any time, Ian Seymour and the Tampa Bay Rays are catching the Boston Red Sox at the right time, with the visitors struggling in September, especially facing left-handed pitching. The Rays have clinched a playoff berth, but until they secure the AL East and the No. 1 seed in the American League, they'll play their regulars. Barring a collapse, the Red Sox appear locked into the second AL wild-card spot. Ceddanne Rafaela remains sidelined for the Red Sox, aiding Seymour.
The Chicago Cubs visit the Cincinnati Reds in an NL Central matchup. Clay Holmes takes the hill for the visitors and faces a lineup with the second-lowest wOBA and highest strikeout rate against righties for the season. Recently, the Reds have been even worse, sporting a lower wOBA and higher strikeout rate.
Dustin May was initially set to start Thursday's series finale with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the Milwaukee Brewers opted to give Kyle Harrison the nod in Steel City. Instead, May draws the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards. He'll pitch in a better hitter's park, but the Orioles have been far less productive than the Pirates facing right-handers. May is trying to earn a spot in the Brewers' playoff rotation and is coming off a solid effort where he tossed six scoreless innings against the Reds, fanning six with just one walk.

Hitters to stream on Thursday

Seattle Mariners hitters are enjoying a huge park upgrade, leaving T-Mobile Park for a weekend set against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford reap a further benefit, holding the platoon edge on Ryan Feltner and his 5.71 home ERA.
Randal Grichuk is batting a robust .389/.410/.694 in September. The veteran right-handed hitter will be in the Chicago White Sox lineup when they take on the Detroit Tigers and lefty Andrew Sears at home.
Henry Bolte is quietly putting up a solid final two months. Since July 31, he's hitting .311/.395/.503 with eight homers and eight steals over 43 games. The Athletics are on the road to play the Cleveland Guardians. The righty swinger will lead off the game against right-handed opener Daniel Espino, but then he should see lefty bulk reliever Joey Cantillo a couple of times.
Teoscar Hernandez has accrued ample career plate appearances for his success facing left-handers to be statistically significant. The Los Angeles Dodgers host the San Francisco Giants and rookie southpaw Cesar Perdomo.
Paul Goldschmidt is another example of a veteran right-handed batter with meaningfully elevated splits against left-handers. The New York Yankees are in the desert with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez getting the call for the Arizona Diamondbacks.