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.
2023 Results:
Nick’s Record: 101-77
PL Bot’s Record: 90-89
Nick’s 2024 Streamer Record: 6-0
My pick yesterday: Reynaldo López @ CHW
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 5-1
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Reynaldo López @ CHW
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
Spencer Strider @ CHW – Aces gonna ace.
Corbin Burnes vs. KCR – Aces gonna ace.
Zack Wheeler vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal @ NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow vs. SFG – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Nick Pivetta @ OAK – Not an ace, but hot dang is this a juicy matchup.
Cole Ragans @ BAL – Aces gonna ace…but gets Baltimore and the Win chance is lower than Pivetta, who gets the Quad-A’s.
Probably Starts
Joe Musgrove vs. STL – He was rough early, then settled down and should be fine against the Cardinals. He’s in this tier because I know, I feel the anxiety too. We just need one solid outing to purify our emotions.
Casey Mize @ NYM – I’m absolutely stoked to watch Mize and his new four-seamer go after a mediocre Mets lineup.
Merrill Kelly vs. NYY – The Yankees are looking great, though Kelly seems to be in his groove.
Cristian Javier vs. TOR – The changeup is fantastic, though we don’t have a large sample of its consistency. I want to believe, even against the Jays.
Nathan Eovaldi @ TBR – The Rays are tough, but I believe in the pitchability of Eovaldi.
Chris Bassitt @ HOU – Same with Bassitt. Don’t overthink Bassitt.
Mitch Keller @ WSN – I’m not a fan of Keller for the full year, but this is the Nationals. You do this.
Carlos Rodón @ ARI – We’re not out of the woods yet with Rodón as I want to see another outing above 95.5 mph, especially during the later frames.
A.J. Puk vs. LAA – It was a horrible season debut, though we shouldn’t expect his control to be nearly as poor again. And it’s the Angels, y’all.
Questionable Starts
Logan Allen @ SEA – The Mariners lack bite and Allen is decent enough to go six frames.
Aaron Civale vs. TEX – I hate the matchup, even if Civale excelled against the Jays. I’m still a little cautious here.
Adrian Houser vs. DET – There’s a decent shot at a QS or Win here for Houser as he pumps heater after heater into the zone against a poor lineup.
Jose Quintana vs. DET – It’s the Tigers and Quintana’s curve + change are in a good place.
Chris Paddack @ MIL – Ayyy, we finally get Paddack! I’m being conservative and waiting until Paddack gives us a full outing to witness his arsenal.
Frankie Montas @ PHI – He gave you a stream on opening day against the Nats and who knows, maybe he can spin enough sliders and force heaters into gloves against the threatening Phillies crew.
Do Not Starts
Kyle Harrison @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers + Harrison is as volatile as it gets. I guess there’s a chance he pulls it off, but the risk is massive.
Cal Quantrill @ CHC – Quantrill has the ability to survive outside Coors, for what it’s worth. But why chase it? Win chance! He’s opposite Assad! Maaaaaybe.
Patrick Sandoval @ MIA – The Marlins could make for a better day at the park than the Orioles last week, though I don’t dig Sandoval’s command, even with a harder heater.
Ross Stripling vs. BOS – Stripling isn’t the guy you want to chase.
Joe Ross vs. MIN – The Twins are a good team to stream against with Royce on the mend, but does Ross have enough in the tank to take advantage? Probably not.
Trevor Williams vs. PIT – #NeverTrevor.
Zack Thompson @ SDP – Thompson’s command is actually solid, but the four-seamer’s velocity is down and the Padres can mess up guys quickly.
Drew Smyly vs. COL – I don’t expect many frames here – maybe it’s a Ben Brown vulture Win?
Nick Nastrini? vs. ATL – I don’t know if Nastrini will get called up here to make his MLB debut (it’s 11:20am ET and WE STILL DON’T KNOW), and if he does, y’all know I’m against MLB debuts for the most part + he walked five and strikeout none in his final spring start + the low Win chance on the ChiSox + IT’S ATLANTA. We do know it’s an opener at the very least, but that’s not enough intel, of course.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Pablo López vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal @ NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Probably Starts
Seth Lugo vs. CHW – The White Sox are terrible as an offense and Lugo is a lovely Toby with potential for a strikeout per inning.
Tanner Bibee @ MIN – It wasn’t a fun first outing for Bibee. The Twins should help his recovery, even if I don’t like his four-seamer shape in the slightest.
Questionable Starts
Jose Quintana vs. DET – It’s the Tigers and Quintana’s curve + change are in a good place.
Ryan Weathers @ STL – I like the look of Weathers’ heater from his season debut and the focus on changeups could be a proper step forward. It’s still early, though, and the Cardinals pack punch in their bats. We’ve seen Weathers degrade over the season, too.
Martín Pérez @ WSN – The Win chance is great as Pérez’s command is above the streamable threshold. If only he was, you know, a little better.
Lance Lynn vs. MIA – He survived the Dodgers and the Marlins aren’t looking so mighty. Not a bad shot for strikeouts, though the floor is still looking like lava.
Do Not Starts
Josiah Gray vs. PIT – The Pirates are looking better than we expected + Gray is a HR machine. There is some strikeout upside if you’re in dire need.
Michael Soroka @ KCR – It was a horrible season debut and while I expected Soroka to find a groove with more outings, it’s hard to endorse a complete reversal.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram) –