Here are today’s and tomorrow’s daily SP Streamer rankings for fantasy baseball.
Every day of the 2024 baseball season, I’ll be looking at today’s 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.
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: 72-63
My pick yesterday: Paul Blackburn vs. OAK – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 77-58
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Taijuan Walker vs. MIA – 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
Bailey Ober vs. KCR – Aces gonna ace.
Cole Ragans @ MIN – Aces gonna ace. What a fun matchup.
Ronel Blanco @ TBR – It’s the Rays. I’m curious if Blanco can limit the ICR rates that have soared over the past month.
Robbie Ray vs. ATL – Ray was effectively wild in his last start, though the general precision of his arsenal was there. Too high of a ceiling to pass on with only one start showcasing the floor thus far.
Bryan Woo @ DET – He’s stretched out to 90 pitches and uses his secondaries for strikes. He’s outside of luscious Seattle now, and I’m curious if that has a large impact on Woo, even against the Tigers.
Tyler Anderson vs. TOR – Anderson holds a 28% strikeout rate across his last six starts. That changeup, y’all.
Probably Starts
Martín Pérez vs. PIT – He’s in a groove for a winning team and now has THE REVENGE GAME. Not the most exciting, but safer than the others.
Grant Holmes @ SFG – The ceiling is fun, but the Giants can score runs…? Not on Monday. That was Sale. Of course not on Monday.
José Berríos @ LAA – Berríos stepped it up last time out (Phew) and he gets the cushy Angels lineup. He is The Great Undulator though…
Jordan Montgomery vs. COL – This is it, JorMont. If you can’t pull it off against Rockie Road, then not only are we completely through, Arizona might be, too.
Questionable Starts
Tanner Houck vs. TEX – Houck was able to survive last time out, but it came with few splitters and just 50% strikes on the slider. He’s not back yet.
Will Warren @ CHW – It was horrific last week against the Angels. I get it. The CrySox just messed up Gil, too, but hot dang, this should be much better.
David Peterson vs. OAK – He went BSB last time out and I’m hoping he does it a second time against a somewhat threatening Athletics crew.
Tyler Phillips vs. MIA – It’s the Marlins (are they a good offense…? No, right?!) and Phillips can throw effective strikes for a winning team.
Mitch Keller @ SDP – I don’t love this, though he’s been able to go six frames consistently regardless of opponent.
Kyle Gibson @ CIN – He’s a Toby and I don’t love pitching in Cin City.
Dean Kremer vs. WSN – Kremer is volatile, but at least there’s a solid Win chance here.
Walker Buehler @ MIL – He’s back! I’m super nervous and hope he can showcase a far better version of himself this time around.
UPDATE: Edward Cabrera @ PHI – I love his stuff and I think he’s slowly ridding himself of the horrific high walk games. Why does it have to be the Phillies?
DJ Herz @ BAL – It’s not a great matchup but he’s surprised us before. It’s a strikeout ceiling play.
Do Not Starts
Mitch Spence @ NYM – He does too little to risk it here.
UPDATE: Joey Estes @ NYM – He generally spots his pitches well, but is the stuff good enough to make this worthwhile? The upside isn’t all that great.
Carson Spiers (Opener) vs. STL – If the command is on point, he could go five in relief and steal a Win. That’s not the best ceiling to chase.
UPDATE: Louie Varland vs. KCR – This is a risky one. I want to like Varland more – his four-seamer could be a legit elevated pitch + his secondaries have shown whiff potential – but he hasn’t put it all together yet.
Alex Cobb vs. CHC – I need to see Cobb’s splitter working before I trust him.
Jameson Taillon @ CLE – Pitching in Cleveland isn’t a fun thing and Taillon isn’t at his peak.
Zack Littell vs. HOU – His stuff is meh and it’s the Astros.
Bryan Sammons (Opener) vs. SEA – Hey, it’s the Mariners! Not in Seattle and Sammons is a ‘Toby” at best without clarity on his leash (like 4-5 frames when he comes in), but at least we’ve got that lineup going for us.
Tanner Gordon @ ARI – If he spots his pitches like last time, there’s a chance.
Frankie Montas vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers.
Davis Martin vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees.
Dane Dunning @ BOS – I’m not a fan of this at all. How long is he even going to go?
Gerson Garabito @ BOS – It’s a guy you don’t know about and won’t need to know about.
Xzavion Curry @ PHI – He’s on the Marlins now?!
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. WSN – Aces gonna ace.
Jack Flaherty @ MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Bailey Ober @ TEX – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried @ SFG – He should be an ace.
Zach Eflin vs. BOS – Eflin is getting comfortable in Baltimore + it’s the Red Sox away from Fenway.
Logan Webb vs. ATL – Webb’s changeup feel is what we want it to be + the sweeper is BACK BAYBEEE.
Probably Starts
Bryce Miller @ DET – I initially had him in the top tier, but Miller’s road marks are terrible and I wonder if it’s a product of the elevated strikeout rate in Seattle. Fewer strikeouts lead to longer at-bats and more responsibility on the secondaries. Oh, and the Tigers also embarrassed Kirby on Monday.
Jose Quintana vs. OAK – Just out of reach to be a streamer at 21% rostered and if he’s still around in your league, I’d go for it. Quintana is in a great rhythm you can capitalize on.
Questionable Starts
Nick Pivetta @ BAL – The Orioles are mighty + Pivetta had diminished velocity and had his last start skipped. Throw in his cutter skipping time on summer vacation and you yourself a Tier 3 rank.
Cody Bradford vs. MIN – Our streaming pick as Bradford looked solid in his second game back. It’s a legit LHP changeup with good extension on the heater, despite its velocity. There’s a decent Win chance here, too, but don’t expect an electric arm.
Tobias Myers vs. LAD – He’s on a Vargas Rule…that may need a sick note for a date with the Dodgers.
Mitchell Parker @ PHI – Parker is a Toby in a tough matchup. If he has multiple secondaries working, he can still pull through.
Do Not Starts
Mitch Spence @ NYM – He does too little to risk it here.
Kenta Maeda vs. SEA – There’s some temptation here as I expect Maeda to get opened for and get a chance to steal a Win, but he just doesn’t do 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)
why does nick think the red sox are a bad offense away from fenway? aren’t they better this year