Another day, another big name back on the mound: 24 hours after Clayton Kershaw made his return to the Dodgers rotation, Chris Sale is scheduled to make his first start in over two months for the Red Sox. And Sale is just the tip of the iceberg of a full, 15-game slate that’s chock full of compelling pitching matchups, from Luis Castillo taking on the Orioles to Corbin Burnes and Justin Verlander looking to keep things rolling amid their teams’ respective playoff pushes. As always, our daily starting pitcher rankings are here to break it all down from a fantasy baseball perspective, with recommendations on who to start, who to sit and who to stream off the waiver wire.
Starting pitcher rankings for Friday, August 11
Pitchers to stream
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies — Sanchez struggled last time out against the Royals, giving up six runs in five innings, but I’m still not backing off the lefty. His sinker looked as good as ever, and he still provided 7 Ks over those five frames. Sanchez had been on a roll for weeks prior to that clunker, and he gets a dream matchup on Friday night against a Minnesota Twins offense that ranks among the very worst in the Majors against left-handed pitching this season — especially with Byron Buxton on the IL.
Johan Oviedo, Pittsburgh Pirates — Speaking of on a roll: Last weekend’s gem against the Brewers in Milwaukee makes it back-to-back seven-inning outings for Oviedo, who’s now allowed one run or fewer in four of his last five starts. The floor is still fairly low here — he doesn’t have much of anything to compliment his wicked slider — but he’s got great feel at the moment, and he carries some big upside against a free-swinging Reds team that’s slumped a bit at the plate of late.
Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics — In his last two starts — one of which took place in the unforgiving environs of Coors Field — Blackburn has allowed just two earned runs while striking out 14 batters over 12 innings. He’s struggled to maintain start-to-start consistency this year, but he appears to be rounding into form, and the Nationals are among the league’s worst offenses against righty pitching.
And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Friday, August 11.
