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

Everything you need to know to place your MLB bets and set your fantasy baseball lineups for Sunday, June 1.

Real Madrid strike late to win 15th European Cup

Real Madrid were crowned kings of Europe for a record-extending 15th time with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday.

Yates lays Bears platform before spinners tie Notts in knots

Briggs, Lintott and Mousley share seven wickets as visitors lose all 10 for 73

Madrid cap '10/10 season' with 15th UCL title

Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid achieved a "10 out of 10" season after winning the Champions League for a record 15th time with a 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Fenerbahce tease Mourinho hiring in social post

Fenerbahce have all but confirmed the hiring of José Mourinho as the club's new manager, posting a video of the Portuguese boss on Saturday welcoming fans to an event on Sunday.

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.

What is that Snell?

The elongated free agency aside, SP Blake Snell was an enigma during draft season. He was coming off winning the NL Cy Young. Using outcomes, he certainly deserved the award. However, the underlying metrics suggested he tag-teamed with Lady Luck for most of the season. Snell benefited from a .256 BABIP and 86.7% left-on-base mark. Both of those were driven by an 83rd percentile Hard-Hit%. Snell's 31.5% strikeout rate was 94th percentile, but his 13.3% walk rate was just 4th percentile, and highest ever for a Cy Young winner.

Research indicates that a pitcher has a limited influence on his Hard-Hit%. Last season, Snell consistently located in zones conducive to generating soft contact, so from that perspective, the low Hard-Hit% was warranted, and not good fortune. That said, it's hard to fathom how a pitcher with such poor control can flip the switch and command his pitches to this area. Further, if this was by design, it's essentially a skill. As such, the southpaw should have been expected to maintain the ability this season.

The catch is, even those adept at analyzing pitching didn't expect Snell to repeat last season's exploits. If that's the case, maybe the luck aspect wasn't the low Hard-Hit%, but rather the extended period Snell was able to have his pitches land in the zones resulting in softer contact.

Unfortunately, circumstances have delayed learning the answer. Snell's dawdling signing and subsequent late start to the season cast a shroud over his early performances. The subsequent Grade 2 adductor strain costing Snell over a month further clouds matters.

In two starts since coming off the injured list, Snell has been pitch inefficient. He tossed 87 and 90 pitches, but logged only 3⅓ and four innings, respectively. The lefty fanned 12 but walked six over those 7⅓ frames. He's giving up harder contact, though his .480 BABIP is higher than expected when factoring in the elevated average exit velocity and Hard-Hit%.

Snell deserves the benefit of the doubt, so he should be considered a work in progress. In fantasy terms, he's someone to hold in reserve. Only those who live dangerously should have Snell active against the New York Yankees on Sunday. His next start lines up in Arlington, another tough matchup, but after that the schedule gets easier. The Giants-Yankees tilt comprises one of the standard 15-game Sunday ledger. Action commences at 1:05 p.m. ET with the Houston Astros hosting the Minnesota Twins, then culminates with the Philadelphia Phillies entertaining the St. Louis Cardinals in the ESPN Sunday night affair.

Everything else you need to know for Sunday

The top-ranked streaming option is Arizona Diamondbacks SP Brandon Pfaadt (24.1% rostered in ESPN league). Pfaadt will take the hill in Citi Field to face the lineup averaging the third-fewest runs per game in home games. Pfaadt's 4.16 ERA is judged half a run too high by the associated 3.65 xFIP and 3.56 SIERA. The safest streaming candidate is SP Gavin Stone, who will toe the rubber in Dodgers Stadium for a home date with the Colorado Rockies. Stone is also coming off a gem, tossing seven shutout stanzas against the Mets, with seven punchouts and no free passes. For the season, Stone has only 41 strikeouts in 57 frames, but he's limiting walks and keeping the ball in the yard. The Rockies' lineup is one of the least productive on the road in the league, in part due to an elevated strikeout rate. Cincinnati Reds SP Nick Lodolo (42.3%) will be making his second start since coming off the injured list after nursing a groin strain. In his return, Lodolo picked up where he left off, yielding just one run in 5⅓ innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in Great American Ballpark. Lodolo has rung up 46 in 40⅓ innings, walking just four while surrendering only four homers. On Sunday, Lodolo has a road date in Wrigley Field against a Chicago Cubs offense with a below-average wOBA and above-average strikeout rate.

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 Sunday

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. 

Hitting report

Plan ahead in fantasy baseball with help from our Forecaster projections. Each day, we will provide an updated preview of the next 10 days for every team, projecting the matchup quality for hitters (overall and by handedness) as well as for base stealers.

Best Sub-50% rostered hitters for Sunday

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. 

Jesse Winker (WSH, DH -- 10%) at Darren McCaughan Keibert Ruiz (WSH, C -- 45%) at McCaughan Luis Garcia Jr. (WSH, 2B -- 11%) at McCaughan Rhys Hoskins (MIL, 1B -- 35%) vs. Nick Nastrini Wenceel Perez (DET, 2B -- 5%) at Brayan Bello Wilyer Abreu (BOS, CF -- 18%) vs. Casey Mize Eddie Rosario (WSH, LF -- 4%) at McCaughan Ryan O'Hearn (BAL, 1B -- 22%) vs. Zack Littell Davis Schneider (TOR, 2B -- 9%) vs. Quinn Priester Alec Burleson (STL, LF -- 7%) at Taijuan Walker Worst Over-50% rostered hitters for Sunday Ian Happ (CHC, LF -- 64%) vs. Nick Lodolo Elly De La Cruz (CIN, SS -- 99%) at Ben Brown Dansby Swanson (CHC, SS -- 62%) vs. Lodolo Taylor Ward (LAA, LF -- 82%) at Luis Castillo Gabriel Moreno (ARI, C -- 55%) at Jose Quintana Luis Rengifo (LAA, 2B -- 68%) at Castillo Christopher Morel (CHC, CF -- 64%) vs. Lodolo Brent Rooker (OAK, RF -- 57%) at Charlie Morton Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 86%) at Blake Snell Gleyber Torres (NYY, 2B -- 64%) at Snell