You'll have your choice of aces in our pitcher rankings for daily fantasy baseball lineups on Friday. From Zack Greinke to Drew Smyly, the top 10 features high-upside pitchers of varying price ranges to help you find the right balance between luxury and value.
There is also a trio of intriguing youngsters taking the hill in the Reds' Brandon Finnegan, the Mets' Steven Matz and the Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman. It may be too risky to use those guys on a day with so many aces pitching, but they could certainly be the right high-upside, value plays you need to take down a DFS tournament. So, get your rotation set, and check out our hitter matchups and daily fantasy baseball picks to fill out the rest of your DFS lineups.
MORE: SN Fantasy | Daily hitter splits | DFS Playbook
Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Rankings
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Greinke | Dodgers | vs. Pirates |
| 2 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | vs. D-backs |
| 3 | Max Scherzer | Nats | vs. Marlins |
| 4 | Chris Sale | White Sox | at Indians |
| 5 | Masahiro Tanaka | Yankees | at Mets |
| 6 | Jose Fernandez | Marlins | at Nationals |
| 7 | Justin Verlander | Tigers | vs. Royals |
| 8 | Lance Lynn | Cardinals | at Cubs |
| 9 | Johnny Cueto | Royals | at Tigers |
| 10 | Drew Smyly | Rays | vs. Orioles |
| 11 | Brandon Finnegan | Reds | at Brewers |
| 12 | Steven Matz | Mets | vs. Yankees |
| 13 | Marcus Stroman | Blue Jays | vs. Red Sox |
| 14 | Dan Haren | Cubs | vs. Cardinals |
| 15 | Mike Fiers | Astros | vs. Athletics |
| 16 | Andrew Heaney | Angels | at Twins |
| 17 | Rick Porcello | Red Sox | at Blue Jays |
| 18 | Ian Kennedy | Padres | at Rockies |
| 19 | Cody Anderson | Indians | vs. White Sox |
| 20 | James Paxton | Mariners | at Rangers |
| 21 | Yovani Gallardo | Rangers | vs. Mariners |
| 22 | Jeff Locke | Pirates | at Dodgers |
| 23 | Rubby De La Rosa | D-backs | at Giants |
| 24 | Mike Pelfrey | Twins | vs. Angels |
| 25 | Tyler Wilson | Orioles | at Rays |
| 26 | Adam Morgan | Phillies | at Braves |
| 27 | Felix Doubront | A's | at Astros |
| 28 | Zach Davies | Brewers | vs. Reds |
| 29 | Williams Perez | Braves | vs. Phillies |
| 30 | Chad Bettis | Rockies | vs. Padres |
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Saves Sleepers
Orioles RP Darren O'Day picked up his third save Thursday with closer Zach Britton getting a second straight day off after his recent heavy workload. Resting Britton could become a trend for the Orioles, so O'Day could sneak in a few saves in the next couple weeks.
Astros closer Luke Gregerson, who has been away from the team for the birth of his child, will likely rejoin the Astros on Friday. Pat Neshek would presumably get the ball in a potential save situation on Thursday, but things should be back to normal this weekend.
Weather Watch
The biggest weather threat Thursday is a 78-percent chance of rain in Chicago for Cardinals-Cubs this afternoon. There's also roughly a 40-percent chance of rain in Detroit for Royals-Tigers and in Minneapolis for Angels-Twins. Keep that in mind when setting your daily fantasy baseball lineups.