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: 16-8
My pick yesterday: Reese Olson @ MIN
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 15-9
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Miles Mikolas vs. MIL
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
UPDATE: Tyler Glasnow vs. NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Aaron Nola vs. CHW – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ COL – Aces gonna ace, even in Coors.
Cristian Javier @ WSN – It’s the Nationals + I love Javier’s new changeup. Yes, he’s struggled with four-seamer strikes thus far, and yet, his last start did just that. Even at diminished velocity.
Sonny Gray vs. MIL – He’s back and beautiful.
Merrill Kelly @ SFG – Kelly is a safety blanket against a poor offense.
Tanner Bibee vs. OAK – I’m not loving his overall command but it’s Oakland. Strikeouts will be there.
Probably Starts
Chris Bassitt @ SDP – You start Bassitt. Don’t overthink it.
Joe Musgrove vs. TOR – Musgrove has something to prove against a solid(?) Toronto crew. I’m still going for this everywhere.
Aaron Civale @ NYY – The Yankees are a fierce team, but Civale has come through against top offenses already.
Edward Cabrera @ CHC – This may be a little too high given his track record, and yet, hot dang was that a glorious first outing of the year.
Casey Mize @ MIN – Mize looked his best against the Rangers and now gets to host an easier crew.
Luis Gil vs. TBR – This is Judgement Day for Gil as he faces a weak Rays lineup. If he’s still struggling to earn strikes in this one, it’s likely time to move on. HOWEVER, the ceiling is massive if it clicks, making this one where I’d lean for this start and hope that it propels a trend we know he’s capable of.
James Paxton vs. NYM – The Mets are waking up a bit and Paxton just walked eight…but this also seems like a solid Win chance, regardless. He’s fringe Tier 2/3.
Questionable Starts
Louie Varland vs. DET – Also on the fringe is Varland, who has done little to earn your trust. The appeal here is a fastball that dominates upstairs…if he can actually locate it there. This has potential for an eyebrow raising outing of “Oh snap, do we pick up Varland everywhere now?!” or a confirmation that Varland simply isn’t going to pan out. Think Gil but to a lesser degree.
Frankie Montas vs. LAA – It’s a poor lineup and Montas is a Toby with a little more variance given his slider/splitter approach.
Seth Lugo vs. BAL – I know many like Lugo, though I see the same Toby from last year. It’s the Orioles, be careful.
Jordan Hicks vs. ARI – Hicks’ sinker does a great job at limiting hard contact, but the Diamondbacks are a solid offense and Hicks doesn’t have a whole lot of backup if the sinker doesn’t do enough.
Martín Pérez vs. BOS – It’s a Vargas Rule and this is Boston outside of Fenway, without Devers.
UPDATE: Hunter Brown vs. WSN – With Cristian Javier hitting the IL with neck soreness, Brown gets the start against the Nationals. It was a horrendous day at the park last week, let’s hope he can recover.
Do Not Starts
Nick Nastrini @ PHI – Nastrini impressed me in his debut – a start that usually accompanies shaky command. If Nastrini’s locations are a little better in his sophomore outing, he can survive the Phillies with his fastball, slider, and changeup mix.
José Soriano @ CIN – There’s upside in Soriano’s 96-101 mph fastballs, especially the sinker that dives like a true sinker. His curveball can be a legit CSW pitch as well and it makes for something interesting, though heading to Cincy makes the floor too low for the intrigue.
Cole Irvin @ KCR – He has a chance for 5+ in front of a powerful offense.
Colin Rea @ STL – Rea has the chance to go 5/6 constantly, at the very least.
Emerson Hancock @ COL – Maybe his groundball affinity works in Coors?
Mitchell Parker vs. HOU – Parker was able to go five against the Dodgers and the Astros are worse. It’s still just four-seamer/curve, without an elite heater, though. I do dig the big hook, at least for eye candy.
Adrian Houser @ LAD – Houser is capable of chucking heaters over the plate and getting outs, even against the Dodgers. Obviously terrible risk/reward here.
Josh Winckowski @ PIT – Winck doesn’t have an electric arsenal and I’m not sure he’ll go long enough in this outing to justify a start, even against the Pirates.
Ross Stripling @ CLE – Strip is all kinds of blegh, but at least there’s a chance with his kitchen-sink approach.
Kyle Hendricks vs. MIA – Hendricks is struggling and I wonder how long he’s made for the rotation. He could swerve through five innings against a poor lineup, though.
Cal Quantrill vs. SEA – COL story, bro. The UnQuantrillfiable has done crazier things.
Michael Lorenzen @ ATL – It’s Atlanta + Lorenzen isn’t fully stretched out + is he that good when stretched out?
Darius Vines vs. TEX – It’s the Rangers. Vines also has a decent changeup and Atlanta behind him with a chance for five innings.
Peter Lambert vs. SEA – COL Story, bro.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Jared Jones vs. MIL – You’re not benching Jared.
Dylan Cease @ COL – Coors isn’t the terror it used to be.
Probably Starts
Yusei Kikuchi @ KCR – Kikuchi is dealing, though the Royals are more threatening that usual.
Reynaldo López vs. MIA – López has a solid Win chance here against a poor offense.
Zack Littell vs. DET – He weirds me out but who cares, it’s the Tigers.
Carlos Rodón vs. OAK – Rodón hasn’t put it all together yet. This start against the Athletics could be his first step forward.
Chris Paddack vs. CHW – Our streaming pick of the day may surprise some. Paddack hasn’t been the electric arm some hoped for, though he’s able to go six frames against a horrid ChiSox offense.
Brandon Pfaadt @ STL – This is fine.
Questionable Starts
Reid Detmers vs. BAL – Detmers wasn’t as impressive in his last outing and the Orioles are a fierce offense.
Hunter Greene vs. PHI – He’s a Cherry Bomb against a solid(?) crew.
Jose Quintana @ SFG – A solid stream as Quintana can work the edges well against the Giants.
Albert Suárez @ LAA – His 96/97 mph fastball was there in his season debut, if he can hold it a second start, he’ll do well against the Angels.
Brady Singer vs. TOR – Singer is looking more like the sinker/slider arm of old and that scares me a bit, even against a Jays team that has been Hot/Cold.
Ranger Suárez @ CIN – It’s been a Vargas Rule for Suárez and I’d be cautious inside Cincy.
Do Not Starts
Keaton Winn vs. NYM – I don’t love his arsenal, but there is enough there to survive 5/6 innings.
Jonathan Cannon @ MIN – He’s a sinkerballer with a good sweeper and cutter. Low Win Chance, though.
Joe Ross @ PIT – Ross has moments nailing his slider locations and stealing strikes with his sinker ala Brady Singer.
JP Sears @ NYY – We haven’t seen it all come together yet for Sears and the Yankees are an offense to avoid.
Ryan Weathers @ ATL – He just had a phenomenal showcase of his stuff, but this is Atlanta. Don’t buy into the peak.
Lance Lynn vs. ARI – Sure, this could work, but why chance it?
Austin Gomber vs. SDP – COL story, Bro.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram) –