Two pieces of advice when setting your daily fantasy baseball lineups Friday. First, watch out for Hurricane Joaquin (more on that below). Second, beware starting pitchers on playoff-bound teams with nothing to gain. While we would normally love Noah Syndergaard and Jaime Garcia, their starts Friday may be nothing more than five-inning tune-ups (if that), and there are threats of rain.
That's why we're going with Dallas Keuchel in Arizona while the Astros chase a wild-card berth and/or Jake Arrieta as he tries to strengthen his Cy Young resume in Milwaukee. If you go with the aces, we'll help you squeeze in the hitter values in the right matchups. Also be sure to check out Fantasy Alarm's MLB DFS Playbook, too. Good luck in all your daily fantasy baseball contests!
MORE: SN Fantasy | Daily hitter splits | DFS Playbook
Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Rankings
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Keuchel | Astros | at D-backs |
| 2 | Jake Arrieta | Cubs | at Brewers |
| 3 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Mariners | vs. Athletics |
| 4 | Chris Sale | White Sox | vs. Tigers |
| 5 | Noah Syndergaard | Mets | vs. Nationals |
| 6 | Jaime Garcia | Cardinals | at Braves |
| 7 | Francisco Liriano | Pirates | vs. Reds |
| 8 | Ervin Santana | Twins | vs. Royals |
| 9 | Gio Gonzalez | Nats | at Mets |
| 10 | Alex Wood | Dodgers | vs. Padres |
| 11 | Julio Teheran | Braves | vs. Cardinals |
| 12 | Josh Tomlin | Indians | vs. Red Sox |
| 13 | Luis Severino | Yankees | at Orioles |
| 14 | Erasmo Ramirez | Rays | vs. Blue Jays |
| 15 | Wei-Yin Chen | Orioles | vs. Yankees |
| 16 | Chris Young | Royals | at Twins |
| 17 | Henry Owens | Red Sox | at Indians |
| 18 | Jered Weaver | Angels | at Rangers |
| 19 | Justin Nicolino | Marlins | at Phillies |
| 20 | Mark Buehrle | Blue Jays | at Rays |
| 21 | Alfredo Simon | Tigers | at White Sox |
| 22 | Chris Heston | Giants | vs. Rockies |
| 23 | Kyle Kendrick | Rockies | at Giants |
| 24 | Ariel Pena | Brewers | vs. Cubs |
| 25 | Martin Perez | Rangers | vs. Angels |
| 26 | Aaron Harang | Phillies | vs. Marlins |
| 27 | Rubby De La Rosa | D-backs | vs. Astros |
| 28 | Casey Kelly | Padres | at Dodgers |
| 29 | Keyvius Sampson | Reds | at Pirates |
| 30 | Aaron Brooks | A's | at Mariners |
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Saves Sleepers
There were random saves all over the place on Thursday. With Brad Ziegler away on paternity leave, Silvino Bracho picked up a save for the D-backs. Daniel Hudson recorded a save on Wednesday and still seems more likely to get save chances until Ziegler returns, but if you're scrounging for every stat, Bracho is worth an add.
Philadelphia's Ken Giles, who worked Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, got the day off on Thursday. Luis Garcia filled in and picked up his second save of the season. Expect Giles to get the call the next time the Phillies have a save opportunity.
Felipe Rivero worked two scoreless innings to pick up Washington's first post-Papelbon-suspension save. He has as good of a chance as any of Washington's relievers to earn saves over the final weekend.
With Wade Davis out due to back stiffness, Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve Kansas City's 6-4 lead on Thursday. There's a decent chance Madson continues to serve as Kansas City's closer until the playoffs start.
Dellin Betances picked up a save on Thursday working in place of Andrew Miller, who needed a rest after throwing two innings on Wednesday. Miller will likely be back in the ninth the next time the Yankees have a save chance.
Check our MLB Closer Depth Chart for potential changes.
Weather Watch
Thanks to Hurricane Joaquin, there are at least 90-percent chances of rain along the East Coast in Baltimore (Yankees-Orioles), Philadelphia (Marlins-Phillies) and New York (Nats-Mets). There's also a 60-percent chance of rain in Atlanta (Cardinals-Braves). Be careful relying on any players in those games Friday.