Sunday is a big day for many of you with the semifinals in ESPN standard head-to-head leagues coming to a close. For some, this means go big or go home. Fortunately, we're looking at a friendly slate, especially for those seeking a last-minute boost in pitching. Hitters are also plentiful.
Good luck to everyone, not just in head-to-head formats but also those of you grinding out the past few weeks in rotisserie scoring. Categories are tight; every stat matters. Here's some guidance to fortify your roster with every option available in at least half of all ESPN leagues.
Pitching
Pitchers to stream
Jakob Junis (R), rostered in 49 percent of ESPN leagues, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins: It's been a long season for the Royals with one of the bright spots being Junis' strong finish. In his past seven outings, Junis has spun an impressive 2.15 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, supported by a healthy 44 punch-outs to a scant five walks in those 46 innings. The Twins are slightly below average with a righty on the hill, setting Junis up for another quality effort. Note, the Royals have crushed right-handed pitching for the past month, suggesting run support will be there as well.
Shane Bieber (R), 45 percent, Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers: Many like to use K%-BB% to evaluate pitchers. Considering Chris Sale, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom are the top five, the metric has merit. Of the 141 arms hurling at least 90 innings, Bieber ranks an impressive 18th. Further, his 3.00 FIP and 3.26 xFIP indicate he's pitched better than his actual 4.32 ERA hints.
Mike Minor (L), 34 percent, Texas Rangers at San Diego Padres: Minor has quietly enjoyed a majorly strong second half, posting a 2.70 ERA and 0.86 WHIP since the break, fanning 42 with just 10 walks in those 46.2 frames. He's in a good spot to continue, facing the Padres and their lower-third offense versus southpaws. Plus, he won't face a designated hitter.
Lucas Giolito (R), 24 percent, Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles: A 4.98 ERA since the break may not seem promising, but since Giolito posted a 6.18 mark the first half of the season, it's at least encouraging. Digging deeper, his second half 4.37 FIP and 3.99 xFIP raise the bar to promising. Sure, he's had some blips along the way, but that's part and parcel to all young pitchers. Look for Giolito to record another solid effort, facing an Orioles lineup second to last in terms of production with a righty on the hill for the past month.
Pitchers to avoid
Chris Sale (L), 99 percent, Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets: Don't worry, this isn't a "the Mets own Sale and will light him up" hot take. It's merely a reminder the southpaw is earmarked for only three innings, so if you're in a league with an innings or games started limit and are chasing wins or quality starts, Sale isn't an option.
Bullpen
First Brandon Morrow, now Pedro Strop is lost for the season, forcing the Cubs to turn elsewhere for their ninth-inning stopper. Steve Cishek and Jesse Chavez are the leading candidates, though you never know what Joe Maddon might do. Would it be that much of a surprise if he brought Cole Hamels in on his throw day to close out a contest, especially since the Brewers aren't going away.
The Rays are looking at another bullpen game to close out their set with the Athletics. Jalen Beeks lines up as the primary pitcher. While the lefty has pitched well since being acquired from Boston in the Nathan Eovaldi trade, Oakland is largely a right-hanged hitting club, posing an issue for the young southpaw.
Projected game scores
GS is the projected game score for the pitcher. The "*" symbol means the pitcher lacks requisite career major league data to produce an accurate rating; these are the author's ratings.
Hitting
Catcher
Omar Narvaez (L), 3 percent, Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles (RHP David Hess): Narvaez has been in a tailspin lately, registering a .442 OPS the past two weeks. However, streaks aren't predictive, and for the season, he's recorded a useful .781 mark. Perhaps Friday's homer will serve as a launching point for a strong finish. Narvaez excels with the platoon edge, swatting all seven of his long balls off righty pitching.
First base
Ryan O'Hearn (L), 11 percent, Kansas City Royals vs. Minnesota Twins (RHP Kyle Gibson): As alluded to earlier, the Royals boast the top weighted on-base average facing righties for the past month. O'Hearn has been a major reason, checking in with a 1.150 OPS featuring eight dingers in that span.
Second base
Jonathan Villar (B), 49 percent, Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago White Sox (RHP Lucas Giolito): Apologies for going to the well again after an ill-fated recommendation against James Shields on Friday, but the matchup warrants attention, especially for those chasing steals. As ESPN Research Associate Kyle Soppe points out, would-be base steals are 23-for-27 against Giolito this season.
Third base
Yandy Diaz (R), 1 percent, Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers (LHP Francisco Liriano): Brandon Guyer is the go-to Indian with a lefty on the hill, and he's still in play. But since there are other fly-chasers worthy of a spot, let's give the nod to Diaz, who's been seeing action versus southpaws down the stretch. With a playoff encounter with the lefty-leaning Red Sox a possibility, Terry Francona needs to decide if Diaz deserves a spot on the postseason roster. Diaz's calling card is hitting the ball hard, albeit mostly on the ground, matching up well with Liriano.
Shortstop
Brandon Crawford (L), 28 percent, San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies (RHP Antonio Senzatela): After starting the season posting an .825 OPS through the break, Crawford has plummeted to a .481 mark since. Still, due to trades and injuries, Crawford finds himself batting cleanup down the stretch, affording him a chance for a productive finish if he can get in the groove again. Senzatela and his pedestrian 6.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 peripherals on the road could be the perfect panacea.
Corner infield
Rowdy Tellez (L), 3 percent, Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees (RHP Lance Lynn): While Lynn has fixed his home run issue, allowing just two over his previous 41.1 stanzas, he's still hittable with 46 knocks against in that span. This bodes well for Tellez, as he's more of a gap hitter than slugger, though he certainly can send a souvenir into the short right-field porch in the Bronx.
Middle infield
Kevin Kramer (L), under 1 percent, Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Jhoulys Chacin): Colin Moran, Josh Bell and Adam Frazier have been regulars in this space and are still very much in play. However, let's dig deeper and feature Kramer, who's been platooning at the keystone with Kevin Newman. Kramer's calling card is good on-base skills, useful in points leagues.
Outfield
David Dahl (L), 14 percent, Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants (RHP Dereck Rodriguez): With ten homers and five steals in what amounts to one-third of a season worth of at-bats, Dahl is teasing the fantasy goodness yearned for the past few years. He's incurring a big park downgrade, though he has the power and speed to take advantage of "triples alley" in AT&T Park.
Joc Pederson (L), 13 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals (RHP Adam Wainwright): Back to leading off with a righty on the hill, Pederson's power stroke has reemerged, swatting a pair of homers and a double the past week.
Nick Williams (L), 7 percent, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Miami Marlins (RHP Jose Urena): Williams' recent woes are one of the reasons the Phillies have fallen back in the NL East. Still, with 25 of his career 29 blasts, including 15-of-17 this season coming with a righty on the mound, Williams is a threat.
Hitter matchup ratings
Hitter ratings account for the opposing starting pitcher's history (three years' worth), as well as ballpark factors. "LH" and "RH" ratings account only for left- and right-handed batters, respectively.
Weighted on-base average (wOBA) is the primary statistic used in the calculation. Ratings range from 1 to 10, with 10 representing the best possible matchup, statistically speaking, and 1 representing the worst. For example, a 10 is a must-start rating, while a 1 should be avoided (if possible); a 1-2 is poor, 3-4 is fair, 5-6 is average, 7-8 is very good and 9-10 is excellent.