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):
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.
To spice up these streaming recommendations, I’ve included our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, and I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
These projections are different from your typical projections as they incorporate our pitch quantifier, assessing pitcher and hitter skills at a much more granular level than your standard box score.
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: 43-31
My pick yesterday: Patrick Sandoval vs. HOU – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 42-32
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Bowden Francis @ OAK – L
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 @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert vs. CHW – Get through this and have your final boss for AGA after.
Dylan Cease vs. OAK – It’s Oakland and Cease has too much of a ceiling to deny.
Carlos Rodón @ KCR – Rodón has been a consistent Holly with too many Wins to bench.
Probably Starts
Ryan Pepiot vs. BAL – Despite the matchup, Pepiot’s four-seamer is cooking and I’d let him fly here.
José Berríos @ MIL – He’s the Great Undulator and you’re going for it.
Questionable Starts
Seth Lugo vs. NYY – The Yankees are such a hot offense that I’d have a bit of caution here.
Erick Fedde @ SEA – I dig the matchup for Fedde and he’s been an incredible Toby for the year.
Spencer Arrighetti @ SFG – The Giants are not a team to fear and if Spencer keeps his heater upstairs with decent secondaries, he should come out ahead.
Chris Paddack vs. COL – I’m not the biggest fan of Paddack’s arsenal, but his great extension should keep Rockie Road at bay.
Joey Estes @ SDP – A tough call here and I think Estes is a Toby against a team missing Machado on their roster.
Do Not Starts
Kyle Harrison vs. HOU – I simply don’t think Harrison brings enough to the table and it’s the Astros.
Colin Rea vs. TOR – Sure, maybe it’s his Birthday Party and we weren’t invited.
Dakota Hudson @ MIN – Who knows, maybe the breakers are legit and the sinkers find gloves?
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
Auto Starts
Zack Wheeler @ BOS – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried @ BAL – Aces gonna ace.
Paul Skenes @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
Bryan Woo vs. CHW – It’s the White Sox and Woo has been cruising despite the whole forearm stuff.
Ronel Blanco @ SFG – Blanco hasn’t been as sturdy as pre-suspension, but it’s the Giants. We’re obviously doing this.
Probably Starts
Zach Eflin vs. CHC – He’s expected to be limited here in his second start back from the IL and I’d let him fly.
Yusei Kikuchi @ MIL – After giving us some anxiety, Kikuchi eased our fears in a gorgeous outing against the Orioles. As long as he doesn’t run away from any foul balls, he should be back to normal against the Brewers (and feature more sliders than changeups, please).
Marcus Stroman @ KCR – He’s been a sturdy arm all year with a great Win chance.
Jesús Luzardo @ NYM – I know. Nine ER. He is who he is and the Mets are not a team to run away from. The positives outweigh the negatives in the long run.
Mitchell Parker @ DET – He’s the clear streaming pick of the day against the Tigers. Parker’s four-pitch mix should get this one done.
Tylor Megill vs. MIA – The Marlins are far from a strong offense, though Megill isn’t looking as polished as I want him to be. Still a decent stream here, I wish I had more confidence in his execution.
Questionable Starts
Kutter Crawford vs. PHI – It’s a bit tenuous given Crawford’s recent struggles and I understand those who want to bench Kutter. Personally, I think Kutter has better skills than the results have been over the last month and he should be able to produce here.
Jordan Hicks vs. HOU – It’s a mighty Astros crew, but if Hicks has either his splitter or sweeper working, he’ll get through it.
JP Sears @ SDP – Sears’ command was as good as ever in his last start, with precise pitch separation I’ve been dreaming of seeing from the southpaw for ages. Can he replicate it?
Jordan Montgomery vs. LAA – I know how bad this has been. It’s also the Angels and The Bear is still a decent Toby.
Albert Suárez vs. ATL – It’s not a great matchup, but there is a decent Win chance here…? Against Fried?! Okay, fair.
Triston McKenzie @ CIN – He’s gotten more curve whiffs than expected as of late, but the command is wonky and I have little faith in Triston these days.
Nick Martinez vs. CLE – He’s back in the rotation with Ashcraft out and I’m super curious if we’ll see a 30%+ changeup usage game again. Please!
Jameson Taillon @ TBR – He couldn’t come through against the White Sox and I’d be cautious here, too. Even with the solid matchup.
Cal Quantrill @ MIN – His splitter has been bad for two starts now. I think the Vargas Rule is coming to a close.
Do Not Starts
Brady Singer vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees. This is too scary.
Randy Vásquez vs. OAK – I was tempted to place him in the second tier, but Vásquez just doesn’t do a whole lot with his arsenal.
Kenta Maeda vs. WSN – Maybe he’s just a Cherry Bomb. Or maybe he’s a Werewolf. Or maybe you should just ignore him.
Miles Mikolas vs. PIT – Naaaaaaah. I guess if you’re in a QS league…?
Drew Thorpe @ SEA – We have three (Well, two, but Boushley’s is being promoted for his first career start and third career game) MLB debuts on Tuesday, with Thorpe being the biggest name of the bunch. He’s a changeup-first arm who had depressed velocity in the spring at 89-90mph and we have zero minor league data for the season with his promotion skipping Triple-A entirely. Good luck, I don’t have the highest hopes, but the Mariners are weak against changeups.
Caleb Boushley vs. COL – He’s a low velocity, command-focused arm making his first career start after tossing 4.1 IP across two games between 2023 and earlier this year. I can’t get behind that.
Carlos F. Rodriguez vs. TOR – It’s cutter first with a Canibal McSanchez approach at times with breakers underneath, or a reliance on mediocre fastballs to get to his slider and curve. It’s not the approach that speaks to dominance in an MLB debut.
James Paxton vs. TEX – We’re done here unless you’re desperate for a Win.
Dane Dunning @ LAD – The same as Paxton but facing a tougher challenge.
José Suarez @ ARI – He’s been in relief all year and I don’t expect him to be stretched out long enough to make this work for your fantastic teams.
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.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)