MLB daily notes: Fantasy rankings for Wednesday

— -- In an effort to serve daily fantasy players and season-long fantasy players who use daily lineup settings, we present daily notes each day of the season. It's a daily version of our Fantasy Forecaster in which we project the best pitcher game scores, as well as the best team-hitting matchups based upon a number of factors.

Pitching

Elite

With a 6:10 p.m. ET first pitch, the contest between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in Progressive Field might not be available for DFS purposes on the main slate, but it should be in play for all day contests and many afternoon slates. If available, Indians right-hander  Corey Kluber is the top tournament option among the elite. He has outpitched his 4.24 ERA, as evidenced by a 2.69 FIP and 3.03 xFIP. The Tigers offense is dangerous, toting a 0.338 weighted on-base average (wOBA) against right-handers, but also is prone to striking out, fanning at a 25 percent clip against righties. With a 9.3 K/9, Kluber is in position to take advantage.

The top cash play, Drew Smyly, will take the hill in Tropicana Field in an interleague tussle between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. A southpaw, Smyly has a 10.6 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9, which are among the league's best peripherals. The visitors sport a 0.295 wOBA and 18 percent strikeout rate against lefties. Those numbers aren't likely to improve that much with a designated hitter, because the Dodgers already platoon their best right-handed hitters regularly, leaving a lesser hitter to use in American League parks. Putting it together, Smyly should be able to go deep into the game with ample whiffs for cash-game reliability.

The Miami Marlins welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks into Marlins Park with right-hander  Jose Fernandez on the hill for the Fish. Fernandez checks in with the top projected Game Score but isn't as strong as Kluber in tournaments or Smyly in cash for DFS purposes. One reason is that even though Fernandez sports an impressive 12.6 K/9, he hasn't tossed more than six innings in any of his five outings thus far. The Snakes hit righties well, with a 0.327 wOBA while fanning a league-average 20 percent of the time.

The final two elite arms are in similar boats, with road tilts against average offenses. They also both had wonderful Aprils after being drafted with some trepidation in seasonal formats. Stephen Strasburg leads the Washington Nationals into Kauffman Stadium to take on the Kansas City Royals, and  Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners visit O. Co. Coliseum for an American League West battle with the Oakland Athletics. Neither ace has the strikeout upside associated with GPP play, but both are safe for cash-game action.

Solid

With the top elite tourney option not available on the main evening slate, consider young southpaw  Steven Matz as the New York Mets host the Atlanta Braves in Citi Field. Don't be swayed by Matz's 1.52 WHIP. He surrendered a whopping seven hits with two walks in 1? frames in his first start. Since that outing against the Marlins, he checks in with a more palatable 1.24 mark. That should drop even more, considering the Braves sport an anemic 0.250 wOBA versus lefties in concert with a generous 25 percent strikeout clip.

Mike Fiers is also in play for tournament action as the Houston Astros right-hander squares off with the Minnesota Twins in Minute Maid Park. The guests fan at an above-average 23 percent pace against righties, which should help Fiers push his current 6.8 K/9 nearer to the batter-per-inning mark he traditionally carries.

A third candidate for tourneys is Los Angeles Angels southpaw  Hector Santiago, who takes the hill in Miller Park for an interleague tilt against the  Milwaukee Brewers. The home team is fanning at a healthy 24 percent rate against lefties with a league-average .309 wOBA. This matchup could get even better for Santiago if Ryan Braun misses a second consecutive game. Braun's absence from Tuesday's contest was attributed to general soreness, so he could be back after a one-game respite.

Streamers

If you're into churning pitchers with favorable matchups, this is your day. There are eight options projecting a Game Score of 51 or 52 while being owned in fewer than 38 percent of ESPN leagues. Here's a brief reason to use each.

There's a lot of risk with Twins righty Phil Hughes' 20 percent ESPN ownership and his fly-ball tendencies in Minute Maid park, but Hughes could rack up a couple of extra strikeouts facing a Houston Astros club that fans at a 27 percent rate against righties.

Sean Manaea's second career start comes in the comfort of O. Co. Coliseum against a league-neutral offense when facing lefties. The Seattle Mariners sport a 0.301 wOBA and 21 percent strikeout rate in this scenario.

Royals right-hander  Kris Medlen is the riskiest of the bunch. His control has been very spotty early on, with 16 walks in 20? stanzas thus far. Medlen welcomes a Washington Nationals squad into The K, and the visitor's offense is another right at league average with a 0.294 wOBA and 21 percent whiff rate.

Tyler Chatwood is getting the reputation of a Colorado Rockies hurler to stream in road contests. This is a perfect opportunity. He'll toe the rubber in Petco Park to challenge a San Diego Padres squad that sports a weak 0.273 wOBA and bloated 27 percent strikeout rate against righties.

St. Louis Cardinals veteran Mike Leake's ownership is the highest among those discussed at 38 percent. His surface stats are rather unsightly, though his skills are in line with previous campaigns. With a date in Busch Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies, Leake should lower his ERA and WHIP against a squad toting a 0.296 wOBA and 22 percent whiff rate against righties.

Warning, not for the faint of heart: Clay Buchholz and his ever-dropping 13 percent ESPN ownership rate takes the hill in U.S. Cellular Field to face the Chicago White Sox. This call isn't as much about the numbers, though the home team isn't daunting against righties as exhibited via a 0.314 wOBA and 19 percent strikeout rate. The reason is more anecdotal. The Boston Red Sox have warned Buchholz to show improvement, given the impending arrival of Eduardo Rodriguez and Joe Kelly to challenge for his rotation spot.

Opposing Buchholz is Carlos Rodon as John Danks was released. As Jose Quintana illustrated last night, the Red Sox can be stifled by a solid southpaw. Rodon isn't nearly as refined as Quintana and at some point the likes of Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez will get it going versus left-handers, but until then someone with Rodon's strikeout upside is in play -- and also makes him an option in DFS GPP action.

The final potential streamer is Padres rookie right-hander  Cesar Vargas in a home game against the Colorado Rockies. There's some risk for Vargas because the Rockies hit righties well, but they do most of their damage at home.

Avoid

Given that anyone with a projected Game Score of 45 or below is reserve fodder, a couple of veterans join that group as Jake Peavy and CC Sabathia are saddled with tough road affairs. Peavy squares off with the Cincinnati Reds in Great American Ballpark, and Sabathia takes on the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards. Both are too risky to deploy when pitching in hitters' parks.

Adam Morgan followed a string of impressive minor league efforts with a solid 2016 major league debut, but with a date in Busch Stadium against the high-flying St. Louis Cardinals on the docket, it's best to wait until next time to deploy what looks to be an improved hurler.

Hitters

The Baltimore Orioles' right-handed contingent takes the top spot, with  CC Sabathia continuing to struggle against righty swingers. A stack of Joey Rickard, Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo should rack up the points.

In terms of DFS, the San Francisco Giants aren't the optimal stacking option because they do their damage with body blows and not knockout punches. As such, it's best to go with one or two of their hitters and not a full-on pig pile. Dan Straily is in line to be their latest victim, with Denard Span, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford the options with the platoon edge, plus Matt Duffy, Buster Posey and Hunter Pence being in play to get a contrarian option as they lack the advantage.

Runs should be plentiful in the Queen City. Straily will be opposed by Jake Peavy, who hasn't thrown as poorly as his numbers indicate, but still, lefty swingers Joey Votto and Jay Bruce are in great spots to produce.

As a team, the Toronto Blue Jays have yet to get their collective wings, but with Colby Lewis taking the hill in Rogers Centre, getting some exposure should be fruitful. A mini-stack of Michael Saunders and Josh Donaldson makes the most sense.

Something has to give in the Windy City, where White Sox southpaw  John Danks takes on the Boston Red Sox. Danks is vulnerable to right-handed hitting, but the visitors check in with a poor 0.272 wOBA against left-handers. Using the small sample as a reason to lean to the sticks, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez are too good not to get it going when enjoying the platoon bump.

Most likely to hit a home run: Josh Donaldson, with nine homers so far, isn't the reason why the Blue Jays offense is scuffling. He's in a good spot to reach double-digits against Colby Lewis.

Most likely to steal a base: Andrew McCutchen doesn't run much anymore, but with Jon Lester on the hill, look for Cutch to make an exception.