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: 43-30
My pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney vs. SFG – W
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 42-31
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney vs. SFG – 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
Tarik Skubal vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried @ WSN – Aces gonna ace.
Cole Ragans vs. SEA – Aces gonna ace.
Jared Jones vs. MIN – Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga @ CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Grayson Rodriguez @ TBR – His four-seamers have been spotted incredibly well, can he get his changeup and slider down for a true “BSB?
George Kirby @ KCR – He’s nearing his AGA tag and he’ll get there if his slider is still spotted well and sinkers/four-seamers are used appropriately.
Tyler Glasnow @ NYY – Aces gonna ace…and it’s the Yankees.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. SFG – Now that he’s stretched out and facing the Giants, you should feel solid with this.
Bailey Ober @ PIT – He’s a stable Holly and not facing the Royals.
Justin Verlander @ LAA – It’s the Angels and you’re obviously starting him.
Probably Starts
Luis Gil vs. LAD – The Dodgers are legit, y’all. I know, it’s a tough call given how hot he is, but I get a sense he’s going to have some of the strike problems he’s had simply because he’ll likely be more tepid attacking the zone than per usual.
Questionable Starts
Patrick Sandoval vs. HOU – He’s only had a small collection of poor outings this year, but the Astros are mightier than most.
Frankie Montas vs. CHC – He just executed the BSB for real and I can’t help but wonder whether he can pull it off again across six frames.
Adam Mazur vs. ARI – I consider Mazur a potential Toby or Holly type with far better control than what we saw in his MLB debut. It’s hard to tell if the jitters that caused four walks will be eradicated by Sunday, though.
Do Not Starts
Mitch Spence vs. TOR – I don’t dislike Spence, there’s just not enough to chase here after not locating his cutter and slider well last time out.
Carlos Carrasco @ MIA – Maybe this works, it’s the Marlins after all.
UPDATE: Hurston Waldrep @ WSN – OH SNAP. I’ve labeled Waldrep as a reliever and less of a reliable starter given his fastball/splitter approach, but the slider appeared as a legit strike pitch in his latest Triple-A outing where he returned 6.0 IP, 3ER, 1 BB, 11 Ks. The low rank here is due to the volatility of MLB debuts (remember Skenes?) but he’s a must-add in all formats as we get a sense if Waldrep can be a reliable arm for Atlanta. It’s possible he steals Schwellenbach’s spot if he looks comfortable.
Chris Flexen vs. BOS – He just had a great game and at least the Sawx are on the road in this battle of the pink laundry.
Andre Pallante vs. COL – There’s a part of me that thinks his cut-fastball can make this work, but he needs more of a supporting cast first.
Zack Littell vs. BAL – Littell throws few waste pitches + mistakes and his pitch separation from his last start makes me want to raise him higher…but it’s the Orioles and the ceiling isn’t high enough.
Bryse Wilson @ DET – He’s had one great start and many poor ones.
DJ Herz vs. ATL – Maybe the command is better after the MLB debut?
Bowden Francis @ OAK – The matchup is solid, but the skills are not what you want them to be.
Jose Quintana @ PHI – I’d avoid all starters in London.
Trevor Rogers vs. CLE – Rogers isn’t coming together as we want him to.
Chase Anderson @ CHW – It’s the White Sox…?
Ty Blach @ STL – Blach.
Humberto Castellanos @ SDP – They’re apparently giving him the pearl and I’d avoid it.
Taijuan Walker vs. NYM – This feels like a disaster.
Keaton Winn @ TEX – It’s a Still ILL against a strong offense.
UPDATE: Chase Anderson (Opener) @ CHW – We think it’s at some point Chase, but it may not be long as a follower.
UPDATE: TBD Arizona SP (Bullpen?) @ SDP – With Gallen out, the Sneks will find whatever way they want to navigate this game.
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
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.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)