Here are today and tomorrow’s daily SP Streamer rankings for fantasy baseball.
Every day of the 2024 baseball season, I’ll be looking at today and tomorrow’s slate of scheduled starting pitchers and ranking their matchups for your fantasy baseball streams.
There’s a lot that goes into this and you can hang out with me on Playback.tv/pitcherlist to talk about the specific ranks as I make them every weekday morning from 10am – 12pm ET. If you have questions about these ranks, please ask during the morning Playback AMA. Those are my office hours as I generally don’t answer comments on the site.
There are four tiers to these rankings with 12-teamers in mind:
Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man. This includes “if I have them rostered, I’m starting them” pitchers.
Probably Start – I’m likely starting these arms, though I recognize there is more risk than we’d like there to be. Either it’s a tough matchup for a good-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view and I’m starting them in the majority of situations.
Questionable Start – Think of this tier as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I’m targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.
Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.
Obviously, there will be circumstances where pitchers should move between teams for your situation specifically and these new tiers should act as a little more help than the straight table from last year.
Please keep in mind that streaming is far from a perfect play. In fact, if they work out over half the time, I’d consider it a success. These matchup rankings & streamer picks are going to be wildly different than the actual results throughout the year, so please, have sympathy before the scathing comments and tweets. I’m only trying to help!
Make sure to read the notes if you’re wondering why I’m favoring certain pitchers over others – I won’t get to everyone and hopefully I answer what questions you will have.
There is a second table for tomorrow’s starting pitcher matchups as well, helping everyone get a jump on their nightly pickups. Please note that these matchups are subject to change, though, and there will be times when I have the incorrect pitcher going. I thank you for your future understanding.
Finally, there are my streaming picks of the day, and please keep in mind that I am forced to pick a streamer every day. Those highlighted in Green are that day’s streaming pick in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow are in the third tier and should be okay if you’re searching for something on a given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you’re in need. Finally, those are Red are those I really don’t want to start (they are labeled as “Do Not Start”, after all) but have no other choice. Don’t stream these guys until you are truly desperate. A streaming pick is defined as “rostered in 20% or fewer leagues according to Fantasy Pros. This really emphasizes the point that I’d be happy if over 50% of these worked. I could do the whole sub 30/40% rostered, but there’s no fun in that. You can use the rankings to realize who those picks would be instead.
(Opener) – Outlines that a pitcher is being opened for that day & the pitcher listed will follow the opener.
As I do my rankings, I thought it would be helpful to showcase a table of how we’re ranking offenses (in alphabetical order by tier):
I’m sure it’ll change through the year + there are differences to be made about teams vs. LHP or RHP, but it works as a general table that y’all should keep in mind.
Alright, let’s get to it.
To spice up these streaming recommendations, I’ve included our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, and I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
These projections are different from your typical projections as they incorporate our pitch quantifier, assessing pitcher and hitter skills at a much more granular level than your standard box score.
To get access to PL Bot’s picks each day, sign up for PL Pro here.
The streaming record is determined by “Was this a productive game for 12-teamers if I started them?” Roughly a PQS with a Win and a strikeout per inning with a sub 1.20 WHIP, with a minimum of 5 IP. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.
Nick’s 2024 Streamer Record: 48-37
My pick yesterday: Keaton Winn @ STL – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 48-37
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Keaton Winn @ STL – L
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Shota Imanaga vs. NYM – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Jack Flaherty vs. CHW – He’s on the verge of AGA, but his breakers were off last time out. Expect a return to form after momentary hiccup caused by a barking back.
Chris Sale @ NYY – Aces gonna ace. Even against the Yankees.
Ryan Pepiot @ PIT – Pepiot’s command wasn’t the best last time out, but this is the Pirates. he should be fine.
Grayson Rodriguez @ HOU – Aces gonna ace.
Bailey Ober @ OAK – It’s Oakland and Ober just had his best command of the year.
Probably Starts
Carlos Rodón vs. ATL – Rodón is in a groove. Atlanta is a little scarier than usual and I don’t care…?
Kutter Crawford @ CIN – Crawford just survived the Phils and Yankees. That should have earned your trust.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. KCR – Things didn’t go his way last time out. He’s fine.
Dylan Cease vs. MIL – He’s a premium Cherry Bomb, showcased by his nightmarish outing where he constantly fought his mechanics.
Erick Fedde @ DET – Fedde is a lovely Toby and gets the Tigers. Yes please.
Questionable Starts
Landon Knack vs. LAA – Our streaming pick of the day is Knack, who earned seven strikeouts in eight outs across his last minor league start with just over 60 pitches. It’s a solid Win chance here with strikeout potential. Just let him go five, please.
DJ Herz @ COL – He just fanned 13 batters, but that was the Marlins. Coors should negatively impact his heater and changeup, so be careful.
Andrew Abbott vs. BOS – I don’t know what to make of Abbott. It could work…?
Jose Quintana @ CHC – He’s looking more like the Toby we want him to be and the Cubs aren’t too threatening.
Brady Singer @ TEX – Singer is a Cherry Bomb while the Rangers are a bit more digestible these days.
UPDATE: Chris Paddack @ OAK – Paddack is a Cherry Bomb without the upside you typically want.
UPDATE: Jordan Montgomery @ PHI – With Gallen needing more time, The Bear is getting another start a day early. He was locked in last time out, but this is the Phils, y’all.
Trevor Rogers vs. SEA – It’s the Mariners and maybe Rogers can exploit them?
Colin Rea @ SDP – He’s been on a decent stretch of command and it’s possible he comes through in this revenge game.
Do Not Starts
Dakota Hudson vs. WSN – He’s found a way to discover outs none of us plebs can find. Maybe he does it again.
Joey Estes vs. MIN – There isn’t a whole lot to chase here.
Patrick Sandoval @ LAD – The Dodgers, y’all.
Taijuan Walker vs. ARI – Walker has pulled Wins out of a hat, then shoved them back in, muttering “this isn’t what I was looking for.”
Jake Bloss vs. BAL – It’s his MLB debut as the Astros want to give Blanco an extra day of rest. He’s performed incredibly well in the minors since getting drafted last season and I’m awfully curious if he finagles his way into the rotation instead of Arrighetti. It’s an obvious wait-and-see.
Carlos Carrasco vs. TOR – At least he has a long(ish) leash…?
Luis Ortiz (Opener) vs. TBR – It’s such an outside chance he comes through.
Yariel Rodríguez @ CLE – He won’t go long, right? Maybe Bowden Francis vultures a Win?
Enjoy these rankings? Support my work and Pitcher List by getting PL+ or PL Pro! You’ll get an Ad-Free website, access to our incredible non-toxic baseball Discord community, my weekly PL Pro exclusive SP FAAB Forecast podcast, a full suite of fantasy baseball tools, and much more. Get 10% off yearly with code SPSTREAMERS here.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Zack Wheeler vs. ARI – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow vs. LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Corbin Burnes @ HOU – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert @ MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Jared Jones vs. TBR – Jones. Buddy. You. GOT. THIS.
Bailey Ober @ OAK – It’s Oakland and Ober just had his best command of the year.
Probably Starts
Nick Pivetta @ CIN – He’s had a little more turbulence than ideal, but I still believe in his four-pitch mix.
Zach Eflin @ PIT – Eflin is a Toby, borderline Holly, and it’s Pittsburgh. Get the idea of his ace persona of 2023 out of your head.
Jesús Luzardo vs. SEA – He’s a premium Cherry Bomb against a poor offense. He claims to be healthy after the back issue that lowered his velocity last start.
Ronel Blanco vs. BAL – The Orioles are so hot right now. Blanco is so hot right now. True! Back-to-Back King Cole awards.
Marcus Stroman vs. ATL – Stroman is a great Win chance with a solid floor.
José Berríos @ CLE – He’s the Great Undulator. You ride it out.
Jordan Hicks @ STL – Hey Hicks, you’re not still sick with the flu at all, right?
Tylor Megill @ CHC – Megill’s cutter is making a huge difference masking his questionable heater command.
Mitchell Parker @ COL – I like Parker’s four-pitch mix, though I understand trepidation given Coors n all.
Questionable Starts
Cal Quantrill vs. WSN – It’s a better matchup here and I think the splitter will be back, but it’s a little scary. I need to see him rolling again to feel better.
Miles Mikolas vs. SFG – Mikolas has been quietly solid over the last month.
Max Scherzer vs. KCR – Scherzer is expected to start and make his 2024 debut as he returns from the IL. I’d temper expectations not only in the first start (Still ILL, of course), but with his season outlook. He’s turning 40 in a month and is recovering from injury as we’ve seen his skills degrade over time. I’m not saying he won’t help, just don’t expect the world here.
Jameson Taillon vs. NYM – The final five of this tier are much more on the cusp than the top three, but they have a conceivable chance of helping more than the final tier. Taillon is able to throw strikes and has a long leash and the Mets have lost the power of Grimace due to the Grim Ace that is Heaney.
JP Sears vs. MIN – He’s a Cherry Bomb. His last outing was closer skills wise than the line would suggest.
Ben Lively vs. TOR – Lively had a hiccup with an “undisclosed injury” that he apparently was cleared of, then pitched his worst game in ages. This could be the end of the line.
Kenta Maeda vs. CHW – He’s a Cherry Bomb that’s generally not worth it. But the CrySox! I know, that’s why he’s here.
Drew Thorpe @ DET – We saw a debut where he had his changeup, then a start of nightmares when the slowball was gone. At least he has a better floor against Detroit, but the back-up plan is non-existent if he can’t find his changeup.
Do Not Starts
Charlie Morton @ NYY – The Yankees, y’all. Throw in Morton’s volatility and you have a dart throw that will keep me up all night.
Michael Wacha @ TEX – Texas isn’t as intidimating this season, but starting Wacha is trusting that his command is there. I’m not ready to do that in a Still ILL.
Frankie Montas vs. BOS – Sure Montas, at least you’re allowed to go six.
Carlos Rodríguez @ SDP – The best facet of Rodriguez is his lean into the Neckbeard approach. He still has polish left to add before we’re ready to chase it.
Randy Vásquez vs. MIL – Randy isn’t a strong play, let alone against the tough Brewers crew.
Tommy Henry @ PHI – Against Philly. Where he’ll go few innings. Opposite Wheeler.
Zach Plesac @ LAD – Zach? Please.
Enjoy these rankings? Support my work and Pitcher List by getting PL+ or PL Pro! You’ll get an Ad-Free website, access to our incredible non-toxic baseball Discord community, my weekly PL Pro exclusive SP FAAB Forecast podcast, a full suite of fantasy baseball tools, and much more. Get 10% off yearly with code SPSTREAMERS here.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)