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Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 5/8 & 5/9

Nick Pollack ranks the starting pitcher streamers for today & tomorrow.

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):

Nick’s Loose Team Offense Rankings (Updated 5/6)

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: 26-15

My pick yesterday: José Buttó @ STL

PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 24-17

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Logan Allen vs. DET

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

 

George Kirby @ MIN – Aces gonna ace.

Aaron Nola vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.

Chris Sale vs. BOS – Aces gonna ace.

Sonny Gray vs. NYM – Aces gonna ace in the near future. He’s on the verge of the label.

Kyle Bradish @ WSN – Aces gonna return to the podium, too. Just show me a legit curve once again and you’re there after your next start.

Dylan Cease @ CHC – The Cubs aren’t back to full strength and Cease’s four-seamer + slider have been cruising.

Tanner Bibee vs. DET – I almost put him in the second tier after showcasing poor secondary command last time out. It’s the Tigers, ultimately, and Bibee should come through.

 

Probably Starts

 

Aaron Civale vs. CHW – I know, it’s been a trio of poor outings. Civale is not this poor of a pitcher and the CrySox are the perfect team to get back on the right foot.

Martín Pérez vs. LAA – He’s our streaming pick of the day despite a stumble the last time he got the pearl. The Angels are really rough.

Reese Olson @ CLE – Olson is coming into his own with his changeup and slider. Let it ride.

Gavin Stone vs. MIA – It’s a great matchup and Stone had a wonderful change in his last outing. Definitely a chance it disappears, with a Win opportunity tipping the scales in Stone’s favor.

Chris Bassitt @ PHI – With his sinker still being a called strike monster, I have faith in Bassitt routinely despite the rugged April.

Jordan Hicks @ COL – Coors isn’t as scary as it used to be. Just have something outside of your sinker, k thx.

Brady Singer vs. MIL – Singer is back to his old two-pitch ways, though this year’s edition comes with more arm-side sinkers. Does that make him shed the lamented Cherry Bomb label?

José Soriano @ PIT – Soriano does enough with his sinker and curve that I’d give this a whirl against the lowly Pirates. Nearly in the third tier given his wonky command.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Jack Leiter @ OAK – Leiter didn’t have the MLB debut we hoped for, but I didn’t see a pitcher lost on the bump. The innate skills are legit and the Athletics could buckle quickly.

Jordan Montgomery @ CIN – I’m not the biggest fan of The Bear and Cin City carries heavy skepticism. Still, he’s a good chance for six frames.

Carlos Rodón vs. HOU – Rodón’s slider has been better, but the Astros are not a fun team to face, especially for a hot/cold arm like Rodón.

Michael Lorenzen @ OAK – I’m not a Lorenzen fan, but the Athletics (even in their recent hot stretch) could succumb to his heavy slider/change usage with fastballs all around the zone. Six innings for a Win is very much in the cards.

Spencer Arrighetti @ NYY – Opposite Rodón is Arrighetti, who has a strong high-heater and an array of secondaries. As long as one supporting cast member is reliable, Arrighetti may find his way through 5-6 innings with production.

Chris Paddack vs. SEA – He came through against both Sox and the Mariners aren’t that rough, right? At least he has a solid leash to go five or more frames.

Joe Ross @ KCR – His sinker/slider has been better than expected and the Royals aren’t killing it.

Jose Quintana @ STL – Yes, he just allowed 8 ER to the Rays. I’ve seen worse performances on the hill from Quintana, though, and the Cardinals could fold under well-spotted pitches.

JP Sears vs. TEX – He’s a Cherry Bomb who is more opponent agnostic than others – just locate heaters well and get sweeper strikes…which is a somewhat tall order for Sears.

Graham Ashcraft vs. ARI – His cutter has befuddled many and you could be looking at 5/6 innings of ratio production. Just don’t anticipate a high strikeout total.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Mitchell Parker vs. BAL – He had a hot start to his career, but the overall approach isn’t holding up + it’s a LHP vs. Baltimore.

Hayden Wesneski vs. SDP – He had a great outing last time with his sweeper and not much else. I don’t think it continues.

Nick Pivetta @ ATL – It’s a Still ILL against Atlanta. Noooope.

Chris Flexen @ TBR – It’s the Rays, but it’s also Flexen.

Ryan Weathers @ LAD – The Dodgers, yo.

Peter Lambert vs. SFG – Hey, it could happen.

Osvaldo Bido vs. TEX – I’m amazed the Athletics are giving Bido any sort of shot. Probably not five frames here.

 

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.

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Auto Starts

 

Pablo López vs. SEA – Aces gonna ace.

Logan Gilbert @ MIN – Aces gonna ace. This is going to be THE BEST matchup.

Ronel Blanco @ NYY – It’s close between top and bottom tier. Blanco has proven himself against strong offenses already and if you have him, you’re letting him fly.

 

Probably Starts

 

Hunter Greene vs. ARI – Greene’s four-seamer has improved this year and even in Cin City, I’m going to take the gamble.

Ben Lively @ CHW – He’s been on a roll and this is likely the end of the line. Enjoy the grand finale against the CrySox.

Marcus Stroman vs. HOU – Stroman hasn’t had a major secondary pitch work for him across his last two games, though I expect it to return.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Keaton Winn @ COL – It was a rainy day last time out and Coors isn’t as bad as it used to be. Still, I’m not a major believer in Winn’s splitter & friends.

Michael Wacha @ LAA – Despite a great matchup, Wacha’s command hasn’t been on point for a few outings. I’m not jumping over hurdles to start him here.

Reid Detmers vs. KCR – His command has been worse as of late and he’s been branded the dreaded Cherry Bomb label.

Erick Fedde vs. CLE – He fanned 20 batters across two starts, then had his worst command of the season. He shouldn’t be in the valley for a second straight start.

Tobias Myers vs. STL – Myers looked terrible in his third outing. The Birthday Cards grant gifts, though, and if Myers has his four-seamers upstairs again, we could have a solid outing with a Win.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Lance Lynn @ MIL – Like your four-year-old who doesn’t stop talking, you can’t trust Lynn anywhere these days.

Cal Quantrill vs. SFG – Yes, he just had a marvelous start. How wonderful.

Slade Cecconi @ CIN – We’ve seen moments of bliss, but this is Cin City.

 

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

Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram) – 

Nick Pollack

Founder of Pitcher List. Creator of CSW, The List, and SP Roundup. Worked with MSG, FanGraphs, CBS Sports, and Washington Post. Former college pitcher, travel coach, pitching coach, and Brandeis alum. Wants every pitcher to be dope.

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