Our daily starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball are back for another installment on Saturday, August 5. It’s a day that has a little bit of everything: from top-shelf names (Tyler Glasnow, Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcantara, Brandon Woodruff in his return from the IL) to intriguing young arms (Kyle Bradish, Luis Medina, Chase Silseth, Bryce Miller) to some under-the-radar arms getting some very tasty matchups. As always, we’re here to break it all down with recommendations on who to start, who to sit and who to stream off the waiver wire.
Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday, August 6
Pitchers to stream
Luis Medina, Oakland Athletics — Far be it from me to ever willingly recommend a member of Oakland’s historically bad pitching staff, but Medina has quietly acquitted himself quite well in his rookie season. The former Yankees farmhand has faced the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies (at Coors) over his last three starts and come out unscathed, with just three runs allowed and 18 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. His slider carries a whopping 52.6% whiff rate, and as long as he keeps his four-seamer up in the zone and out of trouble, he should continue to find success — especially in a pitcher-friendly park against a slumping San Francisco Giants lineup.
Chase Silseth, Los Angeles Angels — Silseth followed up his 10-K dominance of the New York Yankees with 5.2 innings of one-run ball against the fearsome Atlanta Braves, and now injury has opened up a path for the young righty to stick in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Griffin Canning was just put on the injured list with a calf strain; Silseth is set to fill his spot for at least a couple of weeks, starting with a friendly matchup against a middling Seattle Mariners lineup. If his new breaking ball is here to stay, he’s got big-time upside.
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates — Oviedo comes with some boom-or-bust risk, but the Milwaukee Brewers remain a maddeningly inconsistent offense, and the Pirates righty has fired three quality starts in his last four outings. Pittsburgh is going to let the youngster go as deep into this game as he can manage, which gives him win and quality start upside if his slider is cooking.
And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Sunday, August 6.
