Biathlon

Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for Wednesday's MLB games

Everything you need to know to place your MLB bets and set fantasy baseball lineups for Wednesday, May 8.

Oilers' Henrique likely out for Gm. 1 vs. Canucks

Adam Henrique, who had a goal and an assist in the Oilers' first-round playoff series, is not expected to play in Game 1 vs. the Canucks because of a lower-body injury.

Braves reliever Matzek to IL with elbow injury

Braves reliever Tyler Matzek, who has allowed 11 runs in 10 innings this season, has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation.

CFL star QB Kelly suspended after ex-coach's suit

The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games for violating its gender-based violence policy.

Garcia wants B-sample analyzed after failed test

Boxing star Ryan Garcia has requested that his B-sample be analyzed, according to a letter obtained by ESPN, after he failed a drug test prior to his upset win over Devin Haney.

Look for our fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings, hitter upgrades and downgrades daily to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions and for MLB betting tips. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET, and fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: This file will be updated with any overnight pitching changes or weather-related game postponements, along with the addition of the latest MLB game odds as of the indicated time of publication.

A traditional doubleheader

The 2024 MLB schedule had a pair of traditional, pre-planned doubleheaders, and the first arrives on Wednesday, as the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics pull an "Ernie Banks" and play two. (The other is on Saturday, July 27, between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.)

Fantasy baseball managers know well the advantages of doubleheaders, whether scheduled or weather-created, the most obvious of which is that 18 innings' opportunity is considerably greater than nine innings' worth. Hitters get a chance at two starts, potentially as many as 10 trips to the plate and sometimes more than that, against an opponent with greater likelihood of a tired bullpen. Relievers, meanwhile, have twice the prospect of logging work.

With the latter, we won't know the availability of certain relievers until the conclusion of Tuesday's game. On the hitting side, however, we can venture a guess at who might earn starts in both doubleheader games, though it's important to remember that teams often look at these as opportunities for days off even for regulars.

For the Rangers, Marcus Semien has started 330 consecutive games for the team, so he'd be a natural double-dip starter -- though that could make it just as likely he's due a game off -- while Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia shape up as natural two-game starters. The Athletics will start a left-hander, JP Sears, and probably right-hander Osvaldo Bido, boosting the matchups for lefty Evan Carter, catcher Jonah Heim and switch-hitter Leody Taveras, even if each makes only one start. Taveras might be the next most-likely Rangers hitter to get starts in both games.

For the Athletics, a righty/lefty matchups-oriented offense, no one player stands out as a lock to start both games. New No. 2 hitter Tyler Nevin, a .261/.327/.544 hitter with four home runs in his past 12 games, but hitless in his past 15 at-bats entering play on Tuesday, and Brent Rooker, the team's designated hitter and No. 3/4 hitter, are the closest things to it. As the Rangers are likely to start a pair of right-handers, Michael Lorenzen and probable 27th man Jack Leiter, JJ Bleday, a .348/.500/.913 hitter with three home runs in his past eight games, is worth the add-and-start.

None of the starting pitchers scheduled stands out for standard-league fantasy purposes, however, barring either team announcing a pre-Game 1 lineup missing one or more key hitters. Sears and Lorenzen enjoy modest projections, so any hitter absences could push either into fantasy-relevant territory.

Everything else you need to know for Wednesday Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Aaron Civale has been in a funk, his ERA 11.85 in his past three starts, and has been one of the most-dropped players in fantasy. A home matchup against the Chicago White Sox, however, represents a big bounce-back opportunity with Chicago's offense grading as the majors' worst and Tropicana Field rating as one of the game's most pitching-friendly environments. Starting pitchers have averaged 13.2 fantasy points per outing while delivering a quality start 48.6% of the time against the White Sox, both second-most in the majors (the Rockies' 13.6 points per start, and Cardinals' 51.4% quality start rate, are the only ones better). Nick Pivetta rejoins the Boston Red Sox's rotation for a road start against the Atlanta Braves, one of the least-favorable matchups a pitcher could draw. The Braves are a top-three graded offense, and Truist Park leans slightly hitter-friendly. Pivetta walked four batters and threw only 36 of 62 pitches for strikes in a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Worcester last Thursday. The shaky outing, coupled with his likely being in the 75-pitch range, makes him wiser to bench for evaluation. Kyle Bradish's return to the Baltimore Orioles was brilliant, as he held a potent New York Yankees offense to one run on four hits in 4⅔ innings' work last Thursday. In the outing, he generated nine swings and misses and 19 called strikes, maintained near-identical four-seam fastball and sinker average velocities to his 2023 breakthrough, and had a right-in-line-with-2023 38% whiff rate with his slider. After throwing 84 pitches in that game, Bradish should be close to full stamina for his second start, a favorable road matchup against the Washington Nationals, whose offense grades bottom-four run-producing but as one of the most contact-oriented. Giants hitters stand out in a big way in a Coors Field game against hittable Rockies right-hander Peter Lambert. Lambert delivered negative fantasy point totals in each of his two starts against the Giants in 2023, and his fastball/changeup repertoire against lefties represents a favorable matchup for LaMonte Wade Jr., a .301/.432/.506 hitter against fastballs since the beginning of 2023. Minnesota Twins right-hander Chris Paddack is a useful pickup for his home start against the Seattle Mariners, graded the best matchup in baseball for strikeouts. Paddack has been excellent at home thus far, with a 1.02 ERA and 30.0% strikeout rate in his three starts at Target Field.

It's not too late to start a free fantasy baseball league. Leagues drafted this week will start scoring fresh the following Monday. Come and join the fun!

Starting pitcher rankings for Wednesday

Reliever report

To get the latest information on each team's bullpen hierarchy, as well as which pitchers might be facing a bit of fatigue and who might be the most likely suspects to vulture a save or pick up a surprise hold in their stead, check out the latest Closer Chart, which will be updated every morning.

Best sub-50% rostered hitters for Wednesday

Best and worst hitters from the day are generated by THE BAT X, a projection system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing and lots more.

Nathaniel Lowe (TEX, 1B -- 20%) at Austin Adams and JP Sears Leody Taveras (TEX, CF -- 3%) at Adams and Sears Ryan Mountcastle (BAL, 1B -- 32%) at Mitchell Parker Wilmer Flores (SF, 1B -- 11%) at Peter Lambert Joc Pederson (ARI, LF -- 4%) at Graham Ashcraft Matt Chapman (SF, 3B -- 44%) at Lambert Alex Verdugo (NYY, RF -- 19%) vs. Spencer Arrighetti Jose Fermin (STL, 2B -- 0%) vs. Jose Quintana Jonathan India (CIN, 2B -- 12%) vs. Jordan Montgomery Thairo Estrada (SF, 2B -- 30%) at Lambert Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Wednesday Michael Busch (CHC, 3B -- 65%) vs. Dylan Cease Jeff McNeil (NYM, 2B -- 62%) at Sonny Gray Rafael Devers (BOS, 3B -- 99%) at Chris Sale Dansby Swanson (CHC, SS -- 77%) vs. Cease Spencer Torkelson (DET, 1B -- 56%) at Tanner Bibee Nick Castellanos (PHI, RF -- 61%) vs. Chris Bassitt Luis Campusano (SD, C -- 52%) at Hayden Wesneski Evan Carter (TEX, LF -- 79%) at JP Sears Brandon Nimmo (NYM, CF -- 80%) at Gray Gabriel Moreno (ARI, C -- 73%) at Graham Ashcraft