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: 56-42
My pick yesterday: Cade Povich @ OAK – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 56-42
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Logan Allen vs. SFG – 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
Tarik Skubal @ CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Grayson Rodriguez @ OAK – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Reynaldo López vs. PHI – It’s ReyLó and the Phillies don’t have their best lineup.
Dylan Cease vs. ARI – You’re taking the chance for Cease to have his mechanics working and avoid cataclysmic ratios. The ceiling is too good to pass up.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. TBR – Eovaldi is sturdy and gets a weak lineup.
Kutter Crawford @ NYY – The Yankees are cold and Crawford is in rhythm.
Probably Starts
José Berríos @ SEA – He’s The Great Undulator with as good a matchup as you could hope for.
Luis Gil vs. BOS – It’s a tough call with Gil in his worst stretch of the year. I’d personally go for it as I’m a believer in the long term, even if his iVB has dipped as of late.
Kyle Gibson @ WSN – He’s been a solid “Tovy” and gets a middling offense.
Jonathan Cannon @ MIA – Our streaming pick of the day as Cannon is equipped with a strong enough arsenal to take down the Marlins. Don’t let the one-inning performance dissuade you.
Sean Manaea @ PIT – Manaea has been surprisingly solid and now gets a poor offense.
Zack Littell @ TEX – He’s fine and it’s the middling Rangers.
Questionable Starts
DJ Herz vs. STL – It feels strange to be so low on an arm who has two double-digits strikeout games across the month, though Herz has been forthright in showcasing himself as a proper Cherry Bomb. But hey, maybe the feel for high heaters and low changeups returns for a second straight start.
Brady Singer @ COL – He’s also a Cherry Bomb and has a tougher matchup in Coors. Same old, same old.
José Soriano @ CHC – Soriano returned from the IL to toss just 62 pitches last time out. Expect roughly 75-80 this time around.
Do Not Starts
Michael Mercado @ ATL – I kinda dug what Mercado brought to the table in his second MLB game, first as a starter. It’s possible his solid control with four-seamers, cutters, and curveballs works against Atlanta, though the ceiling seems capped + the Shag Rug is very much present against a strong offense.
Hayden Wesneski vs. LAA – Wesneski’s sweeper is good, the other stuff isn’t. Maybe that’s enough for the Angels, especially after getting fully stretched out in his last outing.
Hayden Birdsong @ CLE – I’m not a big believer in Birdsong as he wastes too many heaters + doesn’t have secondaries that impress me plenty. Throw in the HR-heavy Cleveland park and I’d personally stay away from this one.
Graham Ashcraft vs. DET – Maybe Ashcraft keeps his cutter and slider down. That would be nice.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. HOU – SWR doesn’t go long and it’s the Astros crew.
Carlos Carrasco vs. SFG – At least he has a solid leash that allows him to find he sixth inning…if he’s pitching well enough.
Spencer Arrighetti @ MIN – We know the ceiling is there, but hot dang does it like to rarely appear.
Edward Cabrera vs. CHW – He’s returning from the IL and tossed under 70 pitches in his final rehab. Throw in a history of inefficient starts and I’d be surprised to see a full five frames.
Mitch Spence vs. BAL – Spence has a low ceiling + it’s the Orioles.
Justin Wrobleski vs. MIL – He’s making his MLB debut for the Dodgers after just two startsin Triple-A, including a game of 11 strikeouts. It’s a 94/95 mph heater from the left side with atrocious pitch shape (super poor extension, little iVB, below-average HAVAA), with a decent slider as a pairing. I don’t think this is the next big thing, but hey, who knows.
Quinn Priester vs. NYM – Priester ain’t it.
UPDATE: Luis L. Ortiz vs. NYM – Ortiz is getting the ball and if he’s able to have his cutter, slider, and sinker working, he can pull this off. That’s a lot of IFs. Sure is.
Ryne Nelson @ SDP – Nelson isn’t either.
Ryan Feltner vs. KCR – …or Feltner.
Dallas Keuchel @ LAD – Keuchel?! Against the Dodgers?!
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
Chris Sale @ ARI – Aces gonna ace.
Jack Flaherty vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Probably Starts
Christian Scott @ PIT – It’s a great matchup and Scott’s ratios were intact until the final pitch last time out.
Mitchell Parker vs. STL – He’s been a solid Toby.
Mitch Keller vs. NYM – It’s been a good run, but this is the Mets with the Power of Grimace.
Gavin Williams @ DET – His heater had questionable iVB last time out, here’s to hoping it was just rust.
Andrew Abbott vs. COL – Abbott has been a Cherry Bomb and walked ten in his last two, but this is an easy time at the park.
Questionable Starts
Jon Gray @ LAA – I simply don’t trust him.
Chris Flexen vs. MIN – Flexen’s arsenal and command have been better than you’d think + it’s the Twins without Royce.
Miles Mikolas @ WSN – Mikolas had the 9 ER clunker, but has been decent otherwise.
Davis Daniel vs. TEX – Daniel doesn’t have a whole lot in the arsenal to get you excited, but he could find a way through the Rangers.
Do Not Starts
Chris Paddack @ CHW – It’s a Still ILL for a highly questionable arm before his IL stint.
Yilber Diaz vs. ATL – It’s an MLB debut for a pitcher profiled out as a reliever. Expect a whole lot of inefficient pitches.
Ryan Feltner @ CIN – At least he’s on the road…? It’s Cin City. It’s not Coors. Close enough.
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)
As always, great work Nick. Looking forward to the casts this week and 2 starts from C. Scott!