Fantasy baseball lineup advice for Monday: Avoid starting Rays, Guardians if you're looking for steals

ESPN FantasyAug 23, 2026, 04:00 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 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
14.2	Zack Wheeler	R	@SEA	98.4%	36%	6.0	6.5	2.1	6.9
13.8	Chase Burns	R	@SF	98.3%	43%	6.2	7.1	2.2	6.5
13.0	Logan Gilbert	R	PHI	98.4%	31%	5.8	6.3	2.1	6.3
11.8	Braxton Ashcraft	R	@SD	89.5%	28%	5.4	6.0	1.8	5.2
11.2	Parker Messick	L	@LAA	94.7%	41%	5.8	7.1	2.6	5.8
11.2	Robbie Ray	L	PIT	67.4%	33%	5.5	6.8	1.9	5.3
10.6	Drew Rasmussen	R	@DET	94.3%	28%	5.5	6.4	2.2	5.0
10.5	Ranger Suarez	L	@MIA	71.9%	34%	5.2	6.4	2.0	5.2
10.1	Framber Valdez	L	TB	69.3%	37%	6.0	8.0	2.7	5.4
9.8	Kevin Gausman	R	@ARI	80.8%	34%	5.6	7.1	2.6	5.4
9.6	Cade Cavalli	R	COL	59.3%	33%	5.5	7.3	2.7	5.6
8.0	Kumar Rocker	R	@CWS	3.9%	26%	4.9	6.5	2.4	4.6
7.5	Jose Urquidy	R	TEX	0.3%	9%	3.9	4.3	1.5	3.5
7.5	Merrill Kelly	R	CHC	19.6%	24%	5.1	7.0	2.7	4.7
7.4	Tyler Phillips	R	BOS	1.8%	17%	4.7	6.2	2.2	4.1
7.2	Carson Whisenhunt	L	CIN	0.5%	20%	4.8	6.7	2.3	4.2
5.8	George Klassen	R	CLE	4.5%	19%	4.9	7.2	2.8	4.3
5.8	Ryan Feltner	R	@WSH	0.4%	28%	5.3	7.8	3.2	4.1
3.5	Zebby Matthews	R	@ATH	3.7%	34%	5.3	8.4	4.7	5.3
1.5	Jeffrey Springs	L	MIN	7.3%	17%	4.5	7.5	4.2	4.0

Pitchers to stream on Monday

Spoiler alert: This could be the worst day for streaming pitchers all season. There are only 10 games, with only nine scheduled starters rostered in fewer than 50% of ESPN leagues and they're the bottom nine on today's rankings. In the spirit of highlighting the best available, Kumar Rocker heads the list. He has seven quality starts this season, so he can produce although the matchup must be favorable. The Texas Rangers open a road series against the Chicago White Sox. It's a potent offense, but they're strikeout prone. When he's on, Rocker can miss bats and rack up collect punchouts.
As fate would have it, the next highest-ranked option is Rocker's opposition, as Jose Urquidy is likely to get the nod for the White Sox. There is a good chance he serves as the bulk reliever, after excelling in the role in his last outing. He tossed six scoreless frames against the Chicago Cubs, fanning eight with no free passes.

Hitters to stream on Monday

For the past month, teams have been running at will against the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. The former is off on Monday, but the latter opens a road set with the San Francisco Giants. While it will be a challenge to get on base with Chase Burns on the hill for the Reds, expect the Giants to be aggressive on the basepaths. Jung Hoo Lee is the top candidate with Christian Koss and Osleivis Basabe in the mix.

Hitters to avoid on Monday

The Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels have been the best at defending the steal for the past month, and both are in action on Monday. Something will have to give when the Tampa Bay Rays head to Detroit since the Rays have swiped the third most bases over the past month. Chandler Simpson is a must-start, but it's best to avoid Taylor Walls and Jonny DeLuca, even though both have active runners lately.
The Angels host the Cleveland Guardians, another team with a penchant to run. Normally, streaming Petey Halpin and Steven Kwan on Monday is a sage move when trying to add steals, but not this time.