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 would be those picks, 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):
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.
This year, with our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
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: 11-6
My pick yesterday: Matt Manning vs MIN
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 11-6
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Matt Manning vs MIN
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
Corbin Burnes vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Zack Wheeler vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Cole Ragans @ NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Luis Castillo vs. CHC – Aces gonna finally stop letting the cold get to him.
Zac Gallen vs. STL – Aces gonna ace.
José Berríos vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road.
Blake Snell @ TBR – He should be good for five innings this time around.
Bailey Ober @ DET – Last start quelled our fears and it’s Detroit.
Brayan Bello vs. LAA – Bello is solid + the Angels.
Nestor Cortes @ CLE – Cortes just went eight frames and has only had trouble in the first frame of his previous two outings.
Probably Starts
Nathan Eovaldi @ HOU – Eovaldi is looking solid. We’re doing this even against the Astros.
Cristian Javier vs. TEX – Jaiver hasn’t survived even not at his best. The changeup should perform well against the Rangers.
Yu Darvish @ LAD – A bit contentious (like the rest of this tier) and I believe Darvish is better than his last outing.
Jack Flaherty vs. MIN – I don’t think Flaherty’s last outing is indicative of who he is as his slider and curve were doing what they should.
James Paxton vs. SDP – You’re here for a solid Win chance.
Charlie Morton @ MIA – You’re also here for a solid Win chance.
Questionable Starts
Jesús Luzardo vs. ATL – Luzardo is a bit of a Cherry Bomb going against one of the most Bomb-heavy offenses.
Graham Ashcraft @ CHW – I still wonder if Ashcraft can find the right groove. Last start came with too many sinkers over the plate and the White Sox are the best crew to figure things out.
Javier Assad @ SEA – He’s performed well as a starter, though the arsenal does little to excite. There’s a chance for 5/6 frames here against a middling team.
Mitch Keller @ PHI – He’s the poster child for Cherry Bomb.
Tyler Anderson @ BOS – Not the worst idea on a desperate Sunday.
Tyler Alexander vs. SFG – T-Lex hasn’t been terrible and the Giants aren’t the most intidimating.
Logan Allen vs. NYY – I kinda dig Allen’s approach lately, though the Yankees are a scary team to face.
Alex Wood vs. WSN – It’s the Nats, does Wood have enough in the tank?
Miles Mikolas @ ARI – Mikolas has survived with his secondary focus more than expected.
José Buttó vs. KCR – I’m a little afraid of the Royals at the moment, though Butto has shown to be able to find outs.
Do Not Starts
Colin Rea @ BAL – The Orioles are too hot right now and Rea is too cold.
Trevor Williams @ OAK – #NeverTrevor.
Michael Soroka vs. CIN – Soroka isn’t there yet.
Kyle Freeland @ TOR – Freeland ain’t it.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tyler Glasnow vs. WSN – Aces gonna ace.
Aaron Nola vs. COL – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Sonny Gray @ OAK – He’s BACK BAYBEEE. And gets the Athletics.
Zach Eflin vs. LAA – The Angels shouldn’t scare you.
Joe Musgrove @ MIL – Musgrove isn’t lighting up the scoreboard quite yet (or denying the lighting…?), but is breakers are working well.
Seth Lugo @ CHW – A safe matchup for a solid arm.
Probably Starts
Merrill Kelly vs. CHC – Kelly’s solid, even against the Cubs.
Chris Bassitt vs. NYY – Don’t overthink it with Bassitt.
Cody Bradford @ DET – He’s on too good of a roll to deny him this start against the Tigers. Let’s be thankful the Rangers didn’t displace him for Lorenzen.
Kutter Crawford vs. CLE – As long as Crawford finds enough strikes, he’s worthwhile.
Luis Gil @ TOR – The hot/cold Jays carry enough reward. We should see his first 5+ IP start here.
Frankie Montas @ SEA – Montas is a toss-up each game, but at least it’s the Mariners.
Martín Pérez @ NYM – He’s been rolling and gets a manageable offense.
Kyle Harrison @ MIA – Harrison effectively kept his four-seamers inside the zone effectively last time out, while flexing a changeup to mix with his breaker. He could be turning a corner.
Questionable Starts
Reese Olson vs. TEX – Olson was a heavy disappointment in his last start as he’s struggling to find his slider. It could very well click back into place, but the Rangers make it a little tougher to buy into.
Ben Brown @ ARI – I don’t love his two-pitch mix (control is inconsistent, few four-seamer whiffs) and it’s the Sneks.
Adrian Houser vs. PIT – Houser has proven he can survive just by hurling heaters into the zone against pedestrian offenses.
Do Not Starts
A.J. Puk vs. SFG – The matchup is good, the stuff is not. We wait until Puk proves he’s capable.
Joe Ross vs. SDP – He had great slider command last time, maybe it repeats?
Patrick Sandoval @ TBR – The Rays aren’t intimidating, but the Irish Panda isn’t demanding our endorsement.
Erick Fedde vs. KCR – He’s a Toby against a strong offense.
Cole Irvin vs. MIN – Irvin’s velocity hasn’t jumped back up, nor has he showcased command we expect from a Toby.
Louie Varland @ BAL – I want to believe in Varland. He needs to display his upside first + this is the Orioles.
Ross Stripling vs. STL – Strip’s kitchen sink approach isn’t enough.
Cal Quantrill @ PHI – COL story, bro.
Patrick Corbin @ LAD – At least he has a longer leash than the other three below.
Xzavion Curry @ BOS – It’s the “best” matchup of these bottom three.
Darius Vines @ HOU – Maybe his changeup is good enough? How long are they letting him go?
Spencer Arrighetti vs. ATL – It was a horrific debut and now he gets Atlanta.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram) –