Fantasy baseball pitcher rankings, lineup advice for July 9 (2024)

Look for our fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings, hitter upgrades and downgrades daily to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions and for MLB betting tips. MLB game odds are provided by ESPN BET, and fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: This file will be updated with any overnight pitching changes or weather-related game postponements, along with the addition of the latest MLB game odds as of the indicated time of publication.

Don't overlook Erick Fedde

At 26-66, the Chicago White Sox currently own the worst record in baseball, sitting 32 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. Not surprisingly, the Sox are expected to be big sellers at the trade deadline later this month. Left-hander Garrett Crochet and outfielder Luis Robert are the two biggest names we'll likely hear discussed a lot in the coming weeks, but don't overlook the market for righty Erick Fedde.

Fedde, 31, reinvented himself after spending the 2023 season pitching in South Korea, and he has been a strong asset for the team this year, pitching to a 3.13 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 18 starts and 106⅓ innings. He's also consistently pitched deep into games, lasting six or more innings in nine of his last 11 starts.

Although Fedde's 8.0 K/9 rate has limited his ceiling as a fantasy option this season, he's been a quality streamer for most of 2024, and that's the case again on Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins. The Twins' offense has been tough on right-handed pitching in 2024, but without Royce Lewis, who recently landed on the injured list with a groin injury, the sledding will be a little easier. Available in 50% of ESPN leagues, Fedde is worth streaming consideration if you have an empty roster spot.

What you may have missed on Monday

• The Cincinnati Reds placed OF Stuart Fairchild on the 10-day IL Monday, then called up OF Rece Hinds for his MLB debut. Hinds was batting just .219/.293/.409 line with Triple-A Louisville., however, he poked 13 homers and stole 12 bases. His bugaboo was a 38.3% strikeout rate. Hinds impressed in his first game, going 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a double in last night's 6-0 blanking of the Colorado Rockies. Hinds' performance may have saved his spot on the MLB roster as newly acquired OF Austin Slater is expected to join the club in advance of Tuesday's contest. Speaking of which, weather permitting, Cincinnati Reds SP Nick Lodolo will be activated in advance of Tuesday's matchup with the Rockies. Lodolo has been out with a blister and the Reds decided to activate him from the IL without sending him on rehab. There is over a 50% chance of rain in the Cincinnati area, so the game is in jeopardy.

• Rain is expected elsewhere with the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox entertaining the Minnesota Twins both very much in doubt. Weather may also affect the Cleveland Guardians visiting the Detroit Tigers.

• The Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen catcher will be busy, with three injured starting pitchers all slated to throw off the mound. Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly will all take the next step in their effort to join the MLB rotation. Montgomery is the closest. If all goes well Tuesday, he could start this Sunday, but the club could also opt to wait and have the lefty return after the All-Star break.

• Pittsburgh Pirates SS Oneil Cruz left last night's contest for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. Cruz was 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs and two RBI before exiting. Cruz likely hurt his hamstring in the sixth inning, but with the club up 7-2 heading into the eighth, manager Derek Shelton played it safe and removed Cruz. The Pirates won 8-2 behind a solid eight-inning effort from Mitch Keller. Cruz's availability for tonight's opener with the Milwaukee Brewers in American Family Field is unclear.

Everything else you need to know for Tuesday

• In news we didn't see coming, Jake Irvin (53% rostered in ESPN leagues) has been the second-best starting pitcher in fantasy baseball over the past month, according to the ESPN Player Rater. Dating back to April 29, he has posted a 2.18 ERA over 13 starts, with multiple double-digit strikeout performances. While the Mets offense has been hot of late, Irvin had no trouble shutting them down in his last outing, when he fired eight shutout innings with eight Ks and only one hit allowed. Bet on the Nationals righty again on Tuesday.

• You wouldn't know it from his 11% rostered percentage, but Michael Wacha has been on a roll of late. Over his past eight starts, he has produced a 2.31 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 46 ⅔ frames. He's held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in all eight of those starts. That success should continue on Tuesday against the Cardinals, whose offense has been roughly average (102 wRC+) over the last month.

• Although Dean Kremer (19%) has delivered less start-to-start consistency than Wacha this season, he does provide more strikeout upside. The Orioles right-hander sports a 9.3 K/9 rate, and he has racked up eight or more punchouts in three of his past six outings. On Tuesday, he matches up nicely against a Chicago Cubs lineup that's striking out at a 25.2% clip over the last 30 days (the fourth-highest mark in baseball), putting him on the streaming radar if you're needing Ks.

• It should come as no surprise that the Tigers' Kenta Maeda is one of the hurlers we want to target Tuesday. Not only does the veteran right-hander carry a 6.71 ERA across 15 starts, but he's coming off his worst performance of the season, a nine-run pummeling at the hands of the Twins his last time out. Maeda has been particularly susceptible to righty batters, who are slashing .313/.362/.588 against him in 2024. Streaming Guardians batters and stacking them in DFS should pay off here.

• Betting tip of the day: Taking the OVER on 2.5 earned runs allowed (-130) for Kenta Maeda looks like a profitable play on Tuesday. The veteran right-hander has been tagged for three or more earned runs in three of his last four starts, and the Guardians' lineup ranks third-best in the AL over the last month with a wRC+ of 115.

It's never too late to start a free fantasy baseball league. Leagues drafted this week will start scoring fresh the following Monday. Come and join the fun!

Starting pitcher rankings for Tuesday

Reliever report

To get the latest information on each team's bullpen hierarchy, as well as which pitchers might be facing a bit of fatigue and who might be the most likely suspects to vulture a save or pick up a surprise hold in their stead, check out the latest Closer Chart, which will be updated every morning.

Hitting report

Plan ahead in fantasy baseball with help from our Forecaster projections. Each day, we will provide an updated preview of the next 10 days for every team, projecting the matchup quality for hitters (overall and by handedness) as well as for base stealers.

Best sub-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

Best and worst hitters from the day are generated by THE BAT X, a projection system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing, and lots more.

• Oneil Cruz (PIT, SS -- 47%) at Colin Rea

• JJ Bleday (OAK, LF -- 19%) at Brayan Bello

• Jonathan India (CIN, 2B -- 36%) vs. Cal Quantrill

• Nathaniel Lowe (TEX, 1B -- 23%) at Roansy Contreras

• Masataka Yoshida (BOS, LF -- 48%) vs. Joey Estes

• Wyatt Langford (TEX, LF -- 50%) at Contreras

• Rhys Hoskins (MIL, 1B -- 29%) vs. Martin Perez

• Rowdy Tellez (PIT, 1B -- 2%) at Rea

• Leody Taveras (TEX, CF -- 3%) at Contreras

Worst over-50% rostered hitters for Tuesday

• Anthony Volpe (NYY, SS -- 82%) at Ryan Pepiot

• Teoscar Hernandez (LAD, RF -- 92%) at Zack Wheeler

• Ryan Jeffers (MIN, C -- 51%) at Erick Fedde

• Marcell Ozuna (ATL, DH -- 98%) at Zac Gallen

• Gabriel Moreno (ARI, C -- 51%) vs. Charlie Morton

• Francisco Alvarez (NYM, C -- 54%) vs. Jake Irvin

• Brice Turang (MIL, 2B -- 81%) vs. Perez

• Ha-Seong Kim (SD, 2B -- 94%) vs. Logan Gilbert