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: 14-7
My pick yesterday: Dane Dunning @ DET
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 13-8
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Steven Matz @ OAK
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
Logan Webb vs. ARI – Aces gonna ace.
Ryan Pepiot vs. LAA – If you have Pepiot, there’s no way you’re denying this start against the Angels.
Probably Starts
Ryne Nelson @ SFG – His four-seamer & cutter is doing exactly what we want (95 and 91 mph!) + it’s the Giants.
Questionable Starts
Jack Leiter @ DET – Oh snap, it’s another MLB debut! He’s worth a spec add and possibly a start given it’s the Tigers, though I generally avoid MLB debuts given their volatility for many reasons. Leiter’s skill set = 97+ mph heaters with great extension mixed with a solid breaker. The biggest concern is his control and if he can earn enough strikes with the rest of his arsenal, while we also need to see his heaters earning the whiffs his Triple-A starts have tallied.
Griffin Canning @ TBR – I’m not a massive fan of Canning this season given his velocity drop and inability to avoid hits on his secondary offerings. That said, he still carries a strikeout per inning ability + the Rays are not a scary set of bats.
Do Not Starts
Kenta Maeda vs. TEX – Maeda could have his slider and splitter working and I’m tempted to put him in the third tier simply due to that upside. However, it is the Rangers and the floor outweighs the potential.
Jameson Taillon vs. MIA – He’s returning from the IL and had a bit of a shaky rehab start as most of his arsenal was well over the plate. I’m excited to see him turn into a potential Holly in time, though it’s wise to sit out this one.
A.J. Puk @ CHC – I really want Puk to click into place. I think we all do. That doesn’t mean we should gamble on it happening against a strong Cubs crew.
Cooper Criswell (Opener) vs. CLE – I don’t think Criswell is all too poor of a pitcher, but he doesn’t pack a punch and I’m not sure he’ll be able to go more than five frames, if even that. UPDATE: The Sawx are using an opener, which makes Criswell appealing for a vulture Win. The volume ceiling isn’t there, so play to your need and slot him above Taillon if you need the Win.
Carlos Carrasco @ BOS – Carrasco’s velocity has fallen this year, his secondaries are worse, and it’s Fenway. Nope.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Freddy Peralta @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan vs. DET – Aces gonna ace.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. NYM – Aces gonna ace. Get yer four-seamer elevated PLEASE.
Shota Imanaga vs. MIA – Hey, it would be lovely if you also worked in your splitter, sweeper, and curve a bunch, too.
Garrett Crochet @ PHI – The matchup ain’t great, but come on. You’re starting Crochet.
Probably Starts
Justin Verlander @ WSN – Is it a Still ILL? Possibly, but Verlander just hurled 77 pitches in his final rehab start and this is the Nationals. I expect Verlander to have it all working in his first start of the year.
Brayan Bello @ PIT – This looks like another six inning outing and I’m all for it.
Nick Lodolo vs. LAA – He was so dang good with his breaker last time out and even in Cincy for this one, you should be rolling with it.
Chris Sale vs. TEX – It’s a tough matchup, but you should be starting Sale with confidence, even after his last outing.
Jesús Luzardo @ CHC – Luzardo is a volatile arm and the Cubs are capable of exploiting his mistakes over the zone. And yet, you’re still starting this as Luzardo helps more than hurts.
Jordan Montgomery @ SFG – He’s back! I originally had him higher but I imagine Monty will have a little more ironing out to do than Verlander.
Blake Snell vs. ARI – It’s pretty fun to see Snell vs. JorMont in what the Playback chat likes to call “The Battle of Four Innings”. It should be better than that all around, though I understand if you’d like to sit Snell until he displays the absurdity of last year.
Clarke Schmidt vs. TBR – The Rays are floundering and Schmidt is a solid Toby for a winning team.
MacKenzie Gore vs. HOU – The Astros are not as scorching hot as we normally see + Gore is trending up in all the right places.
Spencer Turnbull vs. CHW – Turnbull’s arsenal doesn’t get me amped, but you should be safe here with the Phils offense behind him.
Jack Flaherty @ MIN – Flaherty’s breakers are looking great, and I’d trust the fastball not to get absolutely pummeled against the Twins.
Questionable Starts
Triston McKenzie vs. OAK – I’ve watched all of McKenzie’s starts and felt massive anxiety as he shoves pitches over the plate without the same electricity of the past. That said, it’s the Athletics. Considering McKenzie isn’t on the IL, there’s a chance he breaks out of his funk here.
Do Not Starts
Yariel Rodríguez @ SDP – I’m not as much of a fan of Yariel’s fantasy value as much as others and the Padres are a solid offense. His innings seem capped around five frames + his slider/fastball combo isn’t incredibly alluring. Good breaker, thoughg.
Dean Kremer @ KCR – If Kremer has his splitter, he could stave off the Royals offense and give him a shot at a Win.
Tyler Alexander @ NYY – T-Lex has been surprisingly great at times this year, though I’d stay away from the Yankees.
Tyler Anderson @ CIN – We saw a pair of great outings from Tyler, then struggle in Fenway and now it’s Cincy. This ain’t it for me, but if he’s nailing his changeup and four-seamer, he can survive six.
Matt Waldron vs. TOR – Maybe the knuckleball befuddles enough batters? Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.
Alec Marsh vs. BAL – Marsh had one great start against the Orioles already and expecting two from his middling arsenal is asking too much.
Joe Boyle @ CLE – His stuff is great, his command is not. He’s above the others simply for the shot at helping your strikeout numbers in a pinch.
Kyle Gibson vs. MIL – Gibson does what he does. Good luck.
Sean Manaea @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers and Manaea’s repertoire hasn’t won me over.
Emerson Hancock @ COL – Coors is not the scary beast of old so far this year, but Hancock is going to be relying on spotting his sinker/change/slider combo instead of strikeouts.
Andrew Heaney @ ATL – It’s Atlanta. It’s Heaney. It’s a no from me.
Dakota Hudson vs. SEA – COL story, bro.
Quinn Priester vs. BOS – Apparently he’s much better now? Naaaaaaah. The slider precision in the spring was cool, but he needs much more than that.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram) –
What you think about streaming Brennan Bernardino today against the Guardians?
I don’t think Nick responds to these questions.