Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Saturday: Take a chance on Kade Anderson in debut

ESPN FantasyAug 21, 2026, 04:40 PM ET
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Check out all of 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.

Other resources: RP depth chart | 2026 Rankings
ESPN's 2026 Player Rater | Betting notes for Saturday

STARTING PITCHERS FOR SATURDAY

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
15.9	Tarik Skubal	L	PIT	99.4%	41%	6.1	6.3	1.9	7.3
14.7	Hunter Brown	R	ATH	90.7%	46%	6.2	6.9	2.0	6.6
14.1	Dylan Cease	R	@NYY	99.3%	36%	6.0	7.2	2.2	7.5
12.8	Eury Perez	R	WSH	81.3%	41%	5.7	6.5	1.9	5.8
11.9	Ryan Weathers	L	TOR	47.4%	31%	5.7	6.6	2.2	5.7
11.5	Kade Anderson	L	CHC	25.1%	30%	5.3	5.9	1.8	5.2
11.0	David Peterson	L	@SEA	5.2%	32%	5.6	7.1	2.2	5.8
10.9	Dean Kremer	R	@SD	3.4%	33%	5.5	6.6	2.1	5.0
10.5	Jacob Lopez	L	@HOU	6.6%	20%	5.3	6.5	2.0	5.6
10.3	Luis Castillo	R	NYM	48.4%	35%	5.6	6.8	2.5	5.3
10.2	Casey Mize	R	MIN	37.4%	28%	5.3	6.3	2.1	4.8
10.2	Logan Henderson	R	ATL	64.6%	32%	5.0	5.9	2.2	5.3
10.1	Christian Scott	R	@CWS	11.6%	24%	5.1	6.3	2.1	5.6
9.9	Michael Soroka	R	CIN	51.9%	29%	4.9	5.9	2.1	5.2
8.1	Jared Jones	R	@LAD	13.5%	17%	4.6	5.9	2.1	4.7
8.0	Andre Pallante	R	@PHI	21.1%	32%	5.6	7.7	2.7	4.5
7.9	Jake Irvin	R	@MIA	0.7%	21%	5.5	7.4	2.7	4.6
7.8	Andrew Painter	R	STL	6.8%	27%	5.2	6.9	2.8	4.7
7.7	Brandon Young	R	TB	16.4%	34%	5.5	7.6	3.0	4.6
7.6	Yusei Kikuchi	L	@TEX	6.9%	27%	5.2	7.4	3.0	5.5
7.4	Shane McClanahan	L	@BAL	44.7%	8%	4.2	5.1	1.9	4.0
7.2	Michael Wacha	R	DET	59.3%	33%	5.8	8.0	3.4	4.7
7.2	Rhett Lowder	R	@ARI	2.8%	24%	5.2	7.2	2.7	4.5
6.8	Cody Bradford	L	LAA	2.5%	16%	4.5	5.9	2.4	4.2
6.7	Blade Tidwell	R	@BOS	1.0%	17%	4.8	6.8	2.6	4.5
6.5	Martin Perez	L	@MIL	11.3%	12%	4.4	6.0	2.1	3.8
6.3	Patrick Sandoval	L	SF	2.3%	24%	4.6	6.8	2.8	4.7
4.9	Drew Anderson	R	@KC	0.9%	8%	3.8	5.3	2.1	3.4
2.5	Tanner Bibee	R	@COL	62.0%	31%	5.6	8.7	5.5	5.4
1.1	Gabriel Hughes	R	CLE	0.4%	15%	4.5	7.2	4.4	3.8

Pitchers to stream on Saturday

Ryan Weathers is coming off his longest outing of the season, logging 7 1/3 innings in a no-decision last Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The New York Yankees southpaw fanned only four with just one walk, helping to keep his pitch count reasonable. He'll take the hill with five days of rest when he faces the Blue Jays again, this time in the Bronx. Look for another strong effort, though the Blue Jays' approach is putting the ball in play, so Weathers may record another modest strikeout total.
Kade Anderson broke most projection systems based on age-adjusted MLEs (major league equivalencies). That's what happens when a 21-year-old posts a 1.06 ERA and 0.64 WHIP with 135 strikeouts in 93 1/3 Double-A innings. As they do with many of their young pitchers, the Seattle Mariners shielded Anderson from Triple-A in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, leaving him with Tacoma. His long-awaited debut comes at home against the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are potent away from Wrigley Field, but T-Mobile Park is an extreme pitching venue, and Anderson is a special talent.
Anderson will be opposed by fellow left-hander David Peterson, though it could come in the form of a bulk reliever role. Peterson was moved to the bullpen, but with Edward Cabrera back on the 15-day IL, the club needs Peterson to again provide length. He'll face a lineup with the second-lowest wOBA and 10th-highest strikeout rate facing lefties.
Since being dealt to the Chicago White Sox, Luis Castillo bookended two subpar efforts around a stellar outing. This inconsistency has marred his effort over the past few seasons. The White Sox hope they can work with the right-hander down the stretch, having him produce more efforts like he did in his second start with the club, fanning 10 Cincinnati Reds in seven frames. Next up is a home matchup against the New York Mets. For the season, the Mets sport the fifth-lowest wOBA facing right-handers, but they've been more productive since the break.
After struggling in his debut with the San Diego Padres, Casey Mize posted quality starts in his next two outings and is looking for his third straight at home against the Minnesota Twins, a club Mize frequently faced during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers. The Twins were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend but rebounded by sweeping the Atlanta Braves to begin this week. For the season, they check in with slightly below-average production against righties.
Patrick Sandoval is coming off his sole clunker since making his Boston Red Sox debut in early July. That said, he has surrendered a lot of traffic, as shown with a 1.85 WHIP, but he's fanning a batter an inning while keeping the ball in the yard, so his ERA was a palatable 3.30 before his blow-up last time out ballooned it to 4.76. The lefty should send it in the other direction with a favorable home matchup with the San Francisco Giants, who sport the lowest wOBA against left-handers over the past month.

Hitters to stream on Saturday

Jake Irvin has struggled since coming off the injured list after missing over two months, but the Washington Nationals lack alternatives, so Irvin and his 7.32 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over his last four starts will take the hill on the road against the Miami Marlins. Jakob Marsee, Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernandez and Owen Caissie line up for a productive evening in South Beach.