Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Monday: Merrill Kelly, Zebby Matthews are back in the pitching mix

ESPN FantasyMay 24, 2026, 04:45 PM ET
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Check out all our starting pitcher rankings and other lineup selection tools here to help you make smart fantasy baseball lineup decisions. All fantasy advice is geared toward ESPN 10-team leagues with standard scoring.

Note: All information is accurate as of the time of publication. For updates, as well as any breaking news that might impact today's MLB slate, be sure to check out the latest fantasy baseball buzz.

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ESPN's 2026 Draft Guide | Betting notes for Monday

STARTING PITCHERS FOR MONDAY

Pitchers are ranked in order of their Forecaster/Daily Notes projected fantasy points (FPTS), using ESPN's standard scoring system (2 points per win, minus-2 per loss, 3 per inning, 1 per K, minus-1 apiece per hit or walk allowed, minus-2 per earned run allowed).

T: The pitcher's handedness. OPP: Opposing team. RST%: The pitcher's roster percentage in ESPN leagues. W%: The individual starting pitcher's win probability using ESPN projections. IP: Projected innings pitched. H+BB: Projected hits plus walks allowed. ER: Projected earned runs allowed. K: Projected strikeouts.

If a team is planning on using an "opener" to start their game, but will rely on a "bulk pitcher" to follow him on the mound after 1-2 innings, the bulk pitcher is listed and indicated with an asterisk.

FPTS	Pitcher	T	Opp	Rst%	W%	IP	H+BB	ER	K
16.3	Nolan McLean	R	CIN	93.3%	56%	6.5	6.9	1.9	6.7
13.1	Jesus Luzardo	L	@SD	89.9%	39%	6.0	7.0	2.1	6.0
12.5	Emmet Sheehan	R	COL	55.5%	39%	5.6	6.4	2.3	6.4
12.2	Trey Yesavage	R	MIA	70.7%	32%	5.6	6.8	2.1	6.3
12.1	Jacob Misiorowski	R	STL	98.0%	39%	5.3	6.4	2.1	6.4
12.0	Anthony Kay	L	MIN	1.4%	42%	5.9	6.9	2.2	5.3
11.2	Janson Junk	R	@TOR	3.0%	39%	6.4	7.5	2.8	5.0
10.8	Landen Roupp	R	ARI	52.3%	36%	6.1	8.1	2.6	5.7
10.8	Merrill Kelly	R	@SF	26.5%	38%	6.3	8.0	2.9	5.4
10.7	Kyle Bradish	R	TB	62.9%	37%	6.0	7.9	2.9	6.1
10.7	Zebby Matthews	R	@CWS	13.0%	28%	6.0	7.4	2.8	5.9
10.7	Nick Lodolo	L	@NYM	50.2%	17%	5.4	6.4	1.9	5.4
10.4	Tanner Bibee	R	WSH	59.3%	40%	5.7	7.1	2.7	5.6
9.3	Bryce Miller*	R	@ATH	22.8%	28%	5.0	6.1	2.2	4.7
9.1	Kumar Rocker	R	HOU	2.0%	33%	5.8	7.5	3.0	5.3
8.5	Randy Vasquez	R	PHI	45.2%	26%	5.3	6.7	2.2	4.0
8.2	Will Warren	R	@KC	74.4%	32%	5.5	7.5	3.1	5.3
8.1	Shane McClanahan	L	@BAL	64.9%	19%	4.7	6.0	2.2	4.7
7.7	Michael Wacha	R	NYY	73.1%	29%	5.3	7.2	2.9	4.7
7.6	Tatsuya Imai	R	@TEX	17.6%	28%	5.4	7.7	3.1	5.4
7.3	Kyle Freeland	L	@LAD	0.8%	23%	5.3	7.2	2.8	4.5
7.1	Ben Brown	R	@PIT	10.8%	15%	4.3	5.6	2.1	4.2
7.0	Aaron Civale	R	SEA	11.0%	19%	4.7	6.3	2.4	4.1
7.0	Carmen Mlodzinski	R	CHC	4.6%	26%	5.0	7.0	2.6	4.3
6.2	Zack Littell	R	@CLE	1.1%	15%	4.6	5.9	2.5	3.7
4.8	Matthew Liberatore	L	@MIL	5.4%	13%	4.7	7.2	3.0	4.3

Pitchers to stream on Monday

After opening the season with a 9.95 ERA and 2.32 WHIP over his first four outings, Merrill Kelly has posted a 2.05 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in his last three efforts, reestablishing streamer status. Next up is a Memorial Day matchup with the San Francisco Giants in Oracle Park. Kelly may not rack up a bunch of punchouts, but the Giants rarely draw a walk and sport the fifth-lowest wOBA with a righty on the hill.
Zebby Matthews struggled in his two short major league stints each of the past two seasons, but the third time could be a charm. In his first two outings of this season, he's allowed just two earned runs over 13 frames with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. A road matchup against the Chicago White Sox won't be a pushover, but there is strikeout potential in the White Sox lineup, and the wind is forecast to be blowing in, helping mitigate their top-of-the-order power potential.
It appears that Ben Brown has finally developed a third pitch to complement his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve, as he's throwing a sinker 20% of the time and it's ranked as an above-average offering. Monday's road date with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be a good test when the Chicago Cubs open a set in Steel City. The Pirates have been productive facing right-handers, but the success is driven by an unsustainable .320 BABIP.
Randy Vasquez is coming off a rough start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he's in a good spot to rebound when the San Diego Padres host the Philadelphia Phillies. The visitors have improved since firing Rob Thomson and installing Don Mattingly as their interim manager, but they're more productive at home as evidenced by the second lowest road wOBA facing right-handers in May.

Pitchers to avoid on Monday

The last two times through the rotation, the Seattle Mariners have piggybacked Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo, with Miller starting and logging at least five effective innings in each. However, since Castillo has continued to struggle, he's going to serve as the opener this time, with Bryce Miller working as the bulk reliever in Sacramento against the Athletics. Normally, serving as the primary pitcher is beneficial since a reliever doesn't need to compile five innings for a win. However, the wind will be blowing out to center field in Sutter Health Park, so Miller may be facing a deficit before he takes the hill. If Miller were starting, he'd be in play, but he's risky in this scenario.

Hitters to stream on Monday

The Cleveland Guardians are home for an interleague series against the Washington Nationals. Zack Littell and his 5.83 ERA and 1.45 WHIP will get the ball for the visitors. Travis Bazzana, Kyle Manzardo, Daniel Schneemann and Angel Martinez could benefit, as Littell has yielded the second most homers in the league.