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: 50-39
My pick yesterday: Zack Littell vs. SEA – W
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 50-39
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney @ MIL – W
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
Chris Sale @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga @ SFG – Aces gonna ace. He won’t allow 10 ER again, y’all.
Grayson Rodriguez vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
UPDATE: Reynaldo López @ STL – Reynaldo has been so consistent and get the Cards.
Luis Gil @ NYM – The Orioles jumped on him and the Mets won’t do the same, Grimace n all.
Dylan Cease vs. WSN – Cease has too much of an upside to get hung up on the days where his mechanics are off.
Ryan Pepiot vs. SEA – Pepiot hasn’t had the best command as of late, but I believe he’s better than a General Disarray.
Jack Flaherty vs. PHI – THIS IS YOUR AGA FINAL BOSS.
Gavin Stone @ CHW – Stone has been cruising and it’s the CrySox.
Kutter Crawford vs. TOR – Crawford allowed a trio of HRs last time out and should be fine against the Jays.
Probably Starts
Nathan Eovaldi @ MIL – It’s the Brewers, but Eovaldi is sturdy enough to let him fly.
Andrew Abbott vs. PIT – He just fanned ten with four-seamer precision and could carry it over against the Pirates. He still weirds me out.
Brady Singer vs. MIA – Singer is sinker/slider once again, but it’s the Marlins.
Questionable Starts
Spencer Turnbull @ DET – He’s back in the rotation and would be in the second tier if not limited to roughly 70 pitches.
Simeon Woods Richardson @ ARI – He’s throwing a bit harder and has figured out how to utilize his slider in the zone to earn a ton of strikes. Not my favorite streamer given the lack of overall electricity, but this could easily work out.
DJ Herz @ SDP – I’m a little worried that the changeup isn’t doing what we want it to, but the Padres are without Tatis and Machado isn’t the scary man he used to be.
UPDATE: Kyle Gibson vs. ATL – Gibson has found himself this year, but it’s Atlanta.
Do Not Starts
Joey Estes @ LAA – It’s a solid matchup, but Estes doesn’t have much of a ceiling.
Spencer Arrighetti vs. COL – As much as I want to believe in this, the Pasta Pirate has failed to come through for two straight great matchups (even if one was likely a product of getting pushed up a day early). I can’t trust it.
UPDATE: Graham Ashcraft vs. PIT – He’s back from the minors in a good matchup and if you need a dice roll, we’ve seen Ashcraft get by with his cutters and sliders.
UPDATE: Bryce Elder @ STL – If Elder has his sinker/slider cooking, he’ll be fine against the Cardinals. It’s been a while, though.
UPDATE: Hayden Birdsong vs. CHC – He throws hard (95/96) without good vert and a slider that can be helpful inside the zone. It’ll be a fun debut as I have to imagine he’ll be amped and flirting with upper 90s at times. Take a chance if you like, I have some worry that the shape of his heater isn’t good enough, the control is weird, and the breakers need some work.
Trevor Rogers @ KCR – Rogers has located better as of late and the Royals aren’t dominating offensively, but I’d still not risk it.
Davis Daniel vs. OAK – He had some moments in the rotation last year, but the ceiling is too low + the obvious Shag Rug risk.
Erick Fedde vs. LAD – Fedde has been a great command arm and sadly he has to get the Dodgers.
Sean Manaea vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees.
UPDATE: Hayden Wesneski @ SFG – He’s getting another chance to start and the biggest concern is how long he’ll go in this one. His arsenal doesn’t demand production, either, of course.
Colin Rea vs. TEX – Rea has his moments and the Rangers aren’t firing on all cylinders.
Ryne Nelson vs. MIN – Nelson has survived in the zone lately and it shouldn’t linger.
Mason Black vs. CHC – Black is back in the rotation and it’s unlikely we’ll see his peak right out of the gate.
Carlos Carrasco @ BAL – It’s the Orioles, though Carrasco has the ceiling of going six.
Andre Pallante vs. ATL – Pallante has been able to survive with his cut four-seamer and curve, but Atlanta is too fearsome.
Luis Ortiz @ CIN – With the addition of a cutter, Ortiz can actually become something real. It’s a long journey from here, though.
UPDATE: Keider Montero (Opener) vs. PHI – If Montero can land sliders in the zone, he can survive with his fastball/slider approach. The Phillies make this much harder to digest, even if the Win chance is slightly higher due to having an opener.
UPDATE: Roansy Contreras vs. OAK – Oh snap, he’s with the Angels now! And we have no faith in this!
UPDATE: Matthew Liberatore vs. ATL – Liberatore is getting the pearl now, not Pallante. Maybe it’s a bullpen game? Regardless, you’re better off avoiding.
Ryan Feltner @ HOU – Feltner? Against the Astros?! Absolutely not.
UPDATE: Dallas Keuchel vs. TEX – Yuuuuup. This is happening.
UPDATE: Valente Bellozo @ KCR – He doesn’t have a whole lot to write home about. Just one game above three strikeouts in five games of Triple-A, a poor heater and cutter…let’s not do this.
Yariel Rodríguez @ BOS – He’s unlikely to go long in this and the quality isn’t there.
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 vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Chris Sale @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
Corbin Burnes vs. TEX – Aces gonna ace.
Jack Flaherty @ LAA – Okay, it’s no longer your final boss, but if you are stupid good, you get the AGA tag.
Shota Imanaga @ SFG – Aces gonna ace. He won’t allow 10 ER again, y’all.
Probably Starts
Carlos Rodón @ TOR – He had a rough day at the park last week and we can’t be that reactive.
Andrew Abbott vs. PIT – He just fanned ten with four-seamer precision and could carry it over against the Pirates. He still weirds me out.
Questionable Starts
Ben Lively @ KCR – He had a hiccup before last start, where he seemingly righted the ship. The Royals are laboring and this could be the same Lively we’ve adored.
Jordan Hicks vs. CHC – Hicks has been struggling and his sinker has been hit harder this year with an ICR over 40%. If he can get his sweeper and/or splitter working, everything gets better. It’s a 50/50 if it’ll be there.
Michael Wacha vs. CLE – Wacha’s changeup is coming alive and I wonder if he’ll continue the trend against the guardians.
David Festa @ ARI – It’s the MLB debut for Festa, who carries a legit four-seamer with an array of secondaries. Fun stuff here.
Jordan Montgomery vs. MIN – Monty has more polish as of late, but I’m still afraid of the Twins.
José Berríos vs. NYY – The Yankees make this rough. Berríos’ overall numbers are good, but hot dang has he been rough the last six weeks.
Jon Gray @ BAL – It’s Baltimore and Gray only has his slider. Well, multiple versions of his heater but it’s not a good heater.
Do Not Starts
Drew Thorpe vs. ATL – If his changeup is working, he has a shot. A long shot.
Trevor Rogers @ PHI – Rogers has located better as of late but it’s the Phillies.
Zach Plesac vs. DET – Plesac is back and ready to disappoint.
Andre Pallante vs. ATL – Pallante has been able to survive with his cut four-seamer and curve, but Atlanta is too fearsome.
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)