seaming wickets against them because theyve got the seamers to exploit those conditions, left-arm and the right-arm and of course youve got a world class legspinner, so youve got all the ingredi

After Thursday and Friday brought us only two elite options combined, Saturday is a breath of fresh air. Not only are there four hurlers who crack the elite tier, but there are also numerous midrange options who could be just as widely owned. Theres a lot to get to, so lets not waste any more time.?PitchingEliteIts a bit crowded at the top Saturday, with four hurlers earning elite scores within a point or two of each other. Coming out on top is Stephen Strasburg, who has a home date with the Giants. Its hard to find fault with the Nationals righty -- he boasts a top-five strikeout rate (10.8 K/9), has a nice offense behind him and has allowed zero or one runs in six of his last seven starts. That said, the Giants are not an ideal opponent. While they are only average against right-handed pitching, they are whiffing just 16.8 percent of the time, the lowest rate in the National League. Strasburg remains a strong cash option, but its hard to pay the premium for a guy whos facing a team that makes so much contact.Corey Klubers matchup against the Yankees is more appealing. The Cleveland right-hander cant quite match Strasburgs swing-and-miss potential, but hes still whiffing a batter per inning and owns a 2.34 ERA and 0.92 WHIP since June 1.The Yankees, meanwhile, struggle against right-handed pitching (86 wRC+) and have been particularly punchless since the break, putting up a 71 wRC+ that ranks in the bottom five in baseball. Theyve also been whiffing at a 21 percent clip since the All-Star break, up from 18 percent in the first half. Kluber is one of my favorite plays of the day. The only catch that his DFS availability is limited with an afternoon start time.Also getting an afternoon start time are Jake Arrieta and the Cubs, who travel to Oakland. The Cubs ace is an elite fantasy hurler, though his monthly ERAs show that hes trending in the wrong direction: April - 1.00 ERA; May - 2.08 ERA; June - 3.54 ERA; July - 4.88 ERA. Still, despite heading to the AL and having to face a DH, this is a favorable spot for Arrieta. The O.co Coliseum is more favorable to pitchers than Wrigley Field, and the As lineup is well below average. The only downside is that, like the Giants, the As are a tough team to strike out, which caps Arrietas upside.Although he draws the lowest Game Score of the group, Chris Archer might offer the most upside with a home start versus Minnesota. The Twins sticks have heated up since the break, sporting a 111 wRC+. However, they are also whiffing at a 22 percent clip. That pairs well with Archers 10.5 K/9. He makes for an intriguing tournament play on Saturday.SolidIf youre not paying up for one of the elite, Carlos Martinez is a fine alternative. While the Ks might not be there, he should have little trouble mowing down a Braves lineup that is the worst in baseball against right-handed pitching (79 wRC+). Martinez is also in a great spot to pick up a win against Mike Foltynewicz, the owner of a 6.56 ERA so far in the second half.The Blue Jays announced on Wednesday that Aaron Sanchez will remain in the starting rotation for the time being. Fantasy owners can rejoice -- the 24-year-old has been brilliant this season. He owns a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts, and hes surrendered more than two runs just once in his last 11 outings. While hes not overpowering hitters (7.6 K/9), he owns the second-highest GB rate in baseball (58 percent), and his 22 percent soft-hit percentage is top-three in the American League. On Saturday, hes in a very favorable spot, facing a Royals team thats the worst in the AL against righties (85 wRC+) and has been even worse since the All-Star break (58 wRC+).Chris Tillman is one of the days lesser exciting options, but he still deserves mention here. The right-hander has been pitching some of his best ball of late, posting a 2.72 ERA over his last six starts, and he gets a White Sox team that brings little to the table against right-handed pitching (86 wRC+) and has stumbled out of the gate in the second half (80 wRC+). If youre paying up in your first pitcher slot, Tillman makes for a solid, cost-effective SP2.With so many elite options available, itd be easy to ignore Danny Duffy in a tough matchup against Toronto. However, the Royals lefty has just been too good lately to look over. Over his last seven starts, he holds a 2.52 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 9.9 K/9, which includes eight shutout innings of one-hit ball and 16 Ks against Tampa Bay his last time out. The Blue Jays handle southpaws well, but they also whiff 23 percent of the time. Duffy is a really intriguing GPP option.StreamersAvailable in 87 percent of leagues, Eduardo Rodriguez is a prime streamer on Saturday as the Red Sox head to LA to face the Dodgers. Not only does Rodriguez trade in the DH for a hitting pitcher, but he gets to square off against a Dodgers lineup thats one of the worst in the game against lefties (81 wRC+, 21 percent whiff rate). While Rodriguez holds a 5.91 ERA this season, hes shown promise of late, post a 2.63 ERA over his past four starts.Tyler Skaggs has made only two starts this season, but over those two starts hes tossed 12 1/3 scoreless frames with 13 whiffs and only three walks. With the Mariners on tap, the left-hander gets an average offense that strikes out at a 22 percent clip. Thats enough to make Skaggs a quality streaming option. Hes available in more than half of ESPN leagues.Whichever starting pitcher is set to face the Padres usually gets mentioned in this space, and were going to keep that trend going. Saturdays lucky winner is rookie right-hander Jake Thompson, making his long awaited debuted in Petco Park. The Padres, of course, are prime matchup for right-handed pitchers, as they sport an 83 wRC+ and a bloated 25 percent whiff rate.AvoidTaijuan Walker returns to the mound on Saturday against the Angels after missing time with tendinitis in his right foot. The Angels may have one of the worst records in the AL, but its still a tough matchup. The Angels are above average versus righties, strike out less than any team in baseball (15 percent), and have been the best offense in baseball since the break (115 wRC+). Walker is a talented pitcher, but Im avoiding him in his first start back.His game score falls in the automatic avoid range, but in case you are wondering, yes, thats Roberto Dont call me Fausto Hernandez making the start for the Atlanta Braves. Either that or the Internet has been hacked.HittingTheres no way around it: Matt Garza has been really bad this year. Whenever he takes the mound, I usually try to get some exposure to the team going up against him. On Saturday, that team is the Diamondbacks. Garza has been an equal opportunity hurler this season -- both left- and right-handed batters have him hit hard -- so theres no reason to avoid hitters who dont have the platoon advantage. That said, lefty Jake Lamb is one of the more appealing plays, as hes batting .305 against right-handed pitching this season with 19 of his 23 homers coming against pitchers from that side.Im also targeting left-handed bats against Matt Cain. The right-hander has been bludgeoned for a .403 wOBA by lefty hitters this season. The Nationals are light on left-handed bats, but Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper are two awfully good ones.With struggling left-hander Patrick Corbin toeing the rubber against the Brewers on Saturday, Ryan Braun, Chris Carter, Hernan Perez and switch-hitter Jonathan Villar are all in play. Corbin has actually had more trouble with left-handed batters this season, but historically righties have given him more trouble.Of course, youll also probably want some exposure to the Coors Field game. Rockies right-hander?Chad Bettis sports a 5.47 ERA at Coors this year, and because hes shown reverse splits in his career (.370 wOBA allowed to righty batters), you dont have focus only on hitters with the platoon advantage. The Marlins 3-4-5 of Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna are all on the radar.Andrew Cashner has been much better of late, but this is still Coors were talking about. He holds a 6.23 road ERA this season, and his career ERA at Coors sits at 6.94 in eight appearances. Feel free to fire up the usual suspects in the Rockies lineup on Saturday.Most likely to go yard: Bryce HarperHarper is hitting just .131 with one home run in the second half, but a matchup against Cain is a great opportunity for last years MVP to bust out of his slump and hit one over the boards.Most likely to swipe a bag: Marcus SemienArrieta is tough to reach against, but once you do, swiping second is much, much easier. Semien is sitting on nine steals and will have his eyes set on reaching double digits for the second straight season. Matt Joyce Jersey . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/josh-tomlin-braves-jersey/ .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Phil Niekro Braves Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Adam Duvall Braves Jersey . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistans Test captain, has expressed confidence in international cricket returning to the country soon, and said it was ironic his teams rise to No. 1 in the ICC rankings had to be accomplished without home-crowd support.The ICC chief executive David Richardson presented Misbah with the Test mace at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, after Pakistan had risen to No. 1 for the first time since the current Test rankings were introduced in 2003, by virtue of their 2-2 draw in England this summer. Pakistan are the fifth side after Australia, England, India and South Africa to top the ICC Test rankings.There is nothing better than being No. 1 in the Test rankings, Misbah said. Its one of the best days in my life; the happiest day in my cricketing career. And there cant be a better location to receive the ICC Test Championship mace than this ground where we last played a home Test seven years ago. It is ironic for both the players as well as the fans that the journey to the No. 1 position has been outside Pakistan.The players have missed on the crowd support, while the spectators have been unable to watch live some magnificent team and individual performances. But I am confident that things will change and international cricket will soon return to Pakistan.I would like to congratulate everyone who has been part of this achievement and part of this journey; every individual, every coach, every selector who has worked hard for this No. 1 position.The families of the players have really sacrificed a lot too. We have to spend almost six to seven months out of the country without them and thats difficult [for both parties]. Credit should be given to the families. Its a proud moment for all of us and I hope we can go together at the top for a long period.Apart from a visit by Zimbabwe in 2015, no Full Member country has toured Pakistan since March 2009, when gunmen attacked the bus transporting the Sri Lankan team to Gaddafi Stadium on a morning of the Lahore Test.dddddddddddd Since then, Pakistan have had to host their home fixtures at neutral venues, primarily the UAE.Being part of a team that is ranked No.1 in Test cricket is a pinnacle achievement for any cricketer. Pakistan is a deserving recipient of the mace, Richardson said. It is all the more impressive that it has reached the number-one Test ranking despite not being able to play a series in front of its home crowd since March 2009.Today is all about the team, today its all about Misbah. One of the things that makes Pakistan one of the most watchable teams in the world is the fact that theyve got a man for all occasions. Theyve got batsmen who can deal with a tight situation, and on the bowling side, you cant prepare seaming wickets against them because theyve got the seamers to exploit those conditions, left-arm and the right-arm and of course youve got a world class legspinner, so youve got all the ingredients for a top team and we are looking forward to Pakistan if not staying at No. 1 then certainly challenging for good many years to come. A strong Pakistan side is good for international cricket.Pakistan face a challenge to hold on to their No. 1 Test ranking. India, presently No. 2, will displace Pakistan if they beat New Zealand in the upcoming three-Test series at home. Pakistans next Test series is in October against West Indies in the UAE. The team that is No. 1 on April 1, 2017, will receive $ 1 million from the ICC.The next target we have set for ourselves is to finish as the No. 1 Test side at the April 1 cut-off date, Misbah said. It is not going to be easy as we have series against formidable sides like the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia. But instead of getting overawed by our opponents, we need to trust in our abilities, focus on our strengths and try to be as consistent as possible. ' ' '