The starting pitching landscape for Sunday is a bit of a minefield, with just a handful of slam-dunk names at the top — your Sandy Alcantaras, Zac Gallens and Kevin Gausmans — followed by a bunch of guys who don’t fill you with a ton of confidence but who you could make an argument for. All of which makes things particularly tricky for those looking for pitching for their fantasy baseball squads; with precious few weeks left in the season, you don’t want to choose unwisely now and risk imploding your ratios. Luckily, our daily rankings are here to help, with recommendations on who to start, who to sit and who to stream off the waiver wire.
Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday, September 3
Pitchers to stream
Tyler Anderson, Los Angeles Angels — Anderson certainly isn’t the sexiest pick — he carries a 5.58 ERA and 1.55 WHIP into his start on Sunday, after all — but his changeup his earned a ton of whiffs lately, and after a brutal stretch of schedule things get substantially easier with a matchup against the Athletics. Oakland has the league’s eighth-worst OPS (and fifth-highest K rate) against left-handed pitching since the start of August, and the Coliseum is among the friendliest places to pitch in the Majors. Plus, the Angels are guaranteed to let Anderson go for as long as he can, giving him a better-than-average shot at a win and a quality start.
Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays — With the Rays rotation seemingly in a constant state of injury-related flux, Bradley — the team’s top pitching prospect — will get the call back up the Majors to make Sunday’s start against the Guardians. Bradley’s MLB experience so far has been about as up-and-down as you’d expect from a rookie, with flashes of brilliance punctuated by frustrating inconsistency. Still, his stuff is as good as anyone’s (99 Ks in just 74.2 innings) and he’s put up a 2.91 ERA at Triple-A since being sent down in late July. Plus, Cleveland is a friendly matchup no matter who’s on the mound.
Tylor Megill, New York Mets — This may strike some as an odd pick considering how badly Megill struggled to start 2023 — so badly he fell out of New York’s rotation entirely until they pulled the cord on this season — but the righty finally showed signs of life earlier this week, striking out eight over six innings of one-run ball against the Rangers while finally showcasing the slider he had last year (when batters hit just .061 against the pitch). The righty-heavy Mariners have cooled off a bit at the plate of late, and they could be susceptible to an arsenal like Megill’s if he’s got it clicking again. The floor here is pretty low, but the strikeout upside — and the likelihood that Buck Showalter will let Megill go as deep into this game as he can at the end of a lost year — make it worth it.
And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Sunday, September 3.
