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Aces are certainly wild on Saturday, with one of the strongest pitching slates of the entire season — from Shohei Ohtani to Clayton Kershaw to Luis Castillo to the long-awaited return of Tyler Glasnow. There’s even a robust middle class, too, with just six arms landing in the do-not-start section of our daily starting pitching rankings for fantasy baseball. That means plenty of chances to find value both in DFS lineups and on the waiver wire, and we’re here to help you navigate it all. Let’s break it down.
Starting pitcher rankings for Saturday, May 27
Pitchers to stream
Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians — Make it back-to-back quality starts for the top prospect, as he’s immediately settled into the Majors. The St. Louis Cardinals offense has some thump to it now after a slow start, but if Bibee has his full repertoire working, he can absolutely navigate five or six innings — his slider and changeup have baffled hitters so far and give him options against both lefties and righties to pair with that 95-mph heater.
Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals — I fully understand if you aren’t comfortable taking the leap after Flaherty struggled again last time out, but that was against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he gets a much friendlier matchup in Cleveland this time around. If he has his same fastball velocity that he did when he struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers earlier this month, he could cruise and offers massive upside.
Michael Lorenzen, Detroit Tigers — Lorenzen hit a bit of speed bump against the Kansas City Royals last time out, but he’s still allowed just seven runs across 25.2 innings in four starts this month. Don’t expect a ton of strikeouts, but the righty has been working deep into games consistently, and he could produce a quality start against a Chicago White Sox lineup that’s still very beatable in pitcher-friendly Comerica Park.
And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Saturday, May 27.
Starting pitcher rankings 5/27
| Rank | Pitcher | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Pitcher | Matchup |
| Must-start | ||
| 1 | Shohei Ohtani | vs. Marlins |
| 2 | Framber Valdez | @ Athletics |
| 3 | Luis Castillo | vs. Pirates |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | @ Rays |
| 5 | Corbin Burnes | vs. Giants |
| 6 | Logan Webb | @ Brewers |
| 7 | Charlie Morton | vs. Phillies |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | @ Braves |
| 9 | Chris Bassitt | @ Twins |
| 10 | Pablo Lopez | vs. Blue Jays |
| 11 | Justin Verlander | @ Rockies |
| Strong plays | ||
| 12 | Luis Severino | vs. Padres |
| 13 | Josiah Gray | @ Royals |
| 14 | Tanner Bibee | vs. Cardinals |
| 15 | Tyler Glasnow | vs. Dodgers |
| Questionable | ||
| 16 | Andrew Heaney | @ Orioles |
| 17 | Jack Flaherty | @ Guardians |
| 18 | Michael Lorenzen | vs. White Sox |
| 19 | Michael Wacha | @ Yankees |
| 20 | Edward Cabrera | @ Angels |
| 21 | Garrett Whitlock | @ Diamondbacks |
| 22 | Jameson Taillon | vs. Reds |
| 23 | Brandon Williamson | @ Cubs |
| 24 | Dean Kremer | vs. Rangers |
| Don't do it | ||
| 25 | Brady Singer | vs. Nationals |
| 26 | Roansy Contreras | @ Mariners |
| 27 | Jesse Scholtens | @ Tigers |
| 28 | Zach Davies | vs. Red Sox |
| 29 | Chase Anderson | vs. Mets |
| 30 | Hogan Harris | vs. Astros |