When setting your daily fantasy baseball lineups Thursday, don't get cute with pitchers. Today's SP rankings are so bad — in talent and matchups — that only five of the 18 starters are owned in our very deep, very competetive SN Experts' league. (That should also give you an indication that there could be a lot of cheap offense to be found tonight.)
So, go with Corey Kluber, who may be under-owned coming off a hamstring injury, Yordano Ventura or Marco Estrada and then put your effort into hitter research. With that in mind, let's get your daily fantasy baseball lineups ready with our starting pitcher rankings, closer news and weather reports below. As usual, we'll also have hitter matchups and daily fantasy baseball picks to help you win some cash.
MORE: SN Fantasy | Daily hitter splits | DFS Playbook
Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Rankings
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Kluber | Indians | vs. Royals |
| 2 | Yordano Ventura | Royals | at Indians |
| 3 | Marco Estrada | Blue Jays | at Braves |
| 4 | John Lackey | Cardinals | at Brewers |
| 5 | Jose Quintana | White Sox | vs. Athletics |
| 6 | Lance McCullers | Astros | at Rangers |
| 7 | Jimmy Nelson | Brewers | vs. Cardinals |
| 8 | Charlie Morton | Pirates | vs. Cubs |
| 9 | Colby Lewis | Rangers | vs. Astros |
| 10 | Tommy Milone | Twins | vs. Angels |
| 11 | Chris Tillman | Orioles | at Rays |
| 12 | Kyle Hendricks | Cubs | at Pirates |
| 13 | Tanner Roark | Nats | vs. Marlins |
| 14 | Hector Santiago | Angels | at Twins |
| 15 | Mat Moore | Rays | vs. Orioles |
| 16 | Jarred Cosart | Marlins | at Nationals |
| 17 | Sean Nolin | A's | at White Sox |
| 18 | Matt Wisler | Braves | vs. Blue Jays |
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Saves Sleepers
Royals manager Ned Yost gave Greg Holland the dreaded "vote of confidence" on Wednesday, saying, "If it [Holland's effectiveness] gets to be an issue, we’ll evaluate it." Clearly, that's not a ringing endorsement, but with Royals' next-in-line Wade Davis likely owned in most fantasy leagues, there's not much intrigue here unless something also happens to Davis.
Bruce Rondon allowed a run for the third time in his past four appearances and blew a save for the second time in his past three chances on Wednesday. At this point, it's unclear what exactly Rondon has to do to lose his ninth-inning job, but if any closer is on the hot seat, it's him. Alex Wilson anad Neftali Feliz are candidates to earn save chances if the Tigers get sick of Rondon in the ninth.
Weather Watch
The only significant threat of rain Thursday is a 67-percent chance of a thunderstorm in Minneapolis for Angels-Twins. Other than that, it should be a clear day for baseball.