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: 75-63
My pick yesterday: Ryne Nelson @ TBR – W
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 79-59
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney vs. MIN – L
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Chris Sale @ LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Luis Castillo @ PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Dylan Cease @ COL – Aces gonna ace.
Justin Steele vs. TOR – He’s pitching better as of late and the Jays lineup is highly suspect.
Carlos Rodón @ DET – Rodón has a much better approach with his secondaries in the second half.
Zac Gallen @ TBR – He hasn’t been at the top of his game, but it’s the Rays.
Hunter Brown vs. CHW – He just sat 97/98 mph and gets the White Sox. Please stick. It won’t. BUT I WANT IT TO.
Freddy Peralta vs. CLE – The four-seamer command is still making me a little nervous. The ceiling is obvious, though.
Probably Starts
Cristopher Sánchez vs. WSN – It’s been a tough month for Sánchez, but at least it’s the Nationals.
Tanner Bibee @ MIL – Bibee’s shoulder has been bothering him and yet he still performs…?
Jeffrey Springs vs. ARI – He’s two starts removed and the changeup looks great. I still have some worries about the fastball and slider.
Chris Bassitt @ CHC – I know the ups-and-downs y’all. You roll with it.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. MIN – Is he making this start? Is he going to go long? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOUR LAT?!
Luis Severino vs. MIA – He didn’t come through in Seattle and that shouldn’t deter you much for this start against Miami.
Brayan Bello @ BAL – I’m digging Bello’s arsenal at the moment, but why does it have to be the Orioles?
Nick Lodolo vs. KCR – I think we can trust him? He’s acting more Cherry Bomb than ideal and this is Cin City…it’s a close call.
Questionable Starts
Cade Povich vs. BOS – He’s making the start instead of Suárez and given the high Win chance and home park, Povich has a decent chance to pull through.
Hayden Birdsong @ OAK – The strikeout ceiling is there, the command floor is super present, too.
UPDATE: Bobby Miller @ STL – Miller returns from Triple-A to take over for the hurt Tyler Glasnow. I haven’t been impressed with Miller’s Triple-A approach, but the stuff is still very much there. It’s a gamble.
Bailey Falter vs. SEA – It’s the Mariners and Falter’s four-seamer command has been solid. It’s still Falter. Yeah, I know.
Michael Wacha @ CIN – Wacha’s changeup needs to be on point for this to go your way in Cin City.
David Festa @ TEX – I dig Festa over the long haul, but this matchup makes me queasy.
Osvaldo Bido vs. SFG – Bido has been finding a way and it’s weird. I totally understand if you want to Vargas Rule this one.
Do Not Starts
Griffin Canning vs. ATL – Canning feels close in multiple starts and doesn’t quite get there. Stop being so dang hittable.
Max Meyer @ NYM – Meyer, are you able to do more with anything but your slider?
MacKenzie Gore @ PHI – These are the days we live in. Sigh. I wonder if 97 mph is still on the table.
Andre Pallante vs. LAD – Who knows, maybe the cut-fastball finds gloves.
Keider Montero vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees.
Kyle Freeland vs. SDP – It’s Coors.
Chris Flexen @ HOU – There are no beaches in Houston. Yes there are. THEN THERE’S A CHANCE.
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.
Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Blake Snell @ OAK – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal vs. NYY – Aces gonna ace.
Framber Valdez vs. CHW – He is in a GROOVE. And it’s the White Sox. Don’t let us down.
George Kirby @ PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Pablo López @ TEX – He rebounded and had some of his best command of the year, save for a dumb changeup over the plate. I’m in.
Probably Starts
Merrill Kelly @ TBR – It’s just his second start back, following an outing with very few whiffs. I’m cool with this, but not ready to push into the top tier given the small sample.
Clayton Kershaw @ STL – He’s not TATIAGA, but the slider command certainly looked like it last time out. He’s a Holly and that’s cool.
Sonny Gray vs. LAD – Ohhhh boy, this is a challenge. The skill set makes it worth the gamble.
Taj Bradley vs. ARI – Bradley has wavered with his four-seamer locations and all I want is for him to get everything out of y-mLoc as much as possible while maintaining 65%+ strikes on splitters and heaters. It’s been a trio of starts since we’ve seen it, but it’s in there. I think.
Marcus Stroman @ DET – He’s a Toby in a great matchup and an elevated Win chance.
UPDATE: Albert Suárez vs. BOS – It’s a solid Win chance with a fair number of strikeouts.
Questionable Starts
Joe Musgrove @ COL – We’re just one game back and he’ll likely be around 75 pitches in Coors. He’ll likely have the green light in full after this one.
Kutter Crawford @ BAL – His gauntlet of a schedule continues. Good luck.
JP Sears vs. SFG – Sears has earned plenty of whiffs on his four-seamer across three straight starts and now has a solid matchup. I’m not convinced he’s breaking out. Yet. I hope he convinces me and you may want to take the gamble, even with the 8 ER potential clunker lurking somewhere.
Charlie Morton @ LAA – He’s a Cherry Bomb. Flip the coin if you like.
Brady Singer @ CIN – He’s a textbook Cherry Bomb heading into a HR haven.
Andrew Abbott vs. KCR – Two starts of Abbott going BSB has me a little excited, but this is Cin City.
Paul Blackburn vs. MIA – Blackburn failed in his revenge game, but the Marlins are an easier time.
Tyler Mahle vs. MIN – His four-seamer is looking somewhat back to normal with a little less velo, while I’m waiting for the splitter or slider to provide proper support.
Valente Bellozo @ NYM – We saw Bellozo take down the Phillies with a Canibal McSanchez approach merged with high heaters. Can he do it again?
Jake Irvin @ PHI – I think the days of celebrating Irvin are done, but maybe the curveball wakes back up. After all, the four-seamer has improved.
Trevor Rogers vs. BOS – Is this the start where we see a new-and-improved Rogers in Baltimore?
Bowden Francis @ CHC – Earning 15 strikeouts across two starts generally earns a higher ranking, but I have major questions about Francis’ arsenal. There isn’t a whole lot there and he’ll need to locate his four-seamers incredibly well to make it work.
Colin Rea vs. CLE – He was cruising until he ran into the Dodgers, maybe that was just a “hey, it’s the Dodgers” thing?
Ben Lively @ MIL It certainly seems like his Vargas Rule has ended after showcasing the same approach that worked for ages in his last start and coming up way short.
Do Not Starts
Taijuan Walker vs. WSN – I take no joy in rostering Taijuan. So why do you do it? Uhhh, I don’t?
Jack Kochanowicz vs. ATL – He just had an incredibly surprising outing that had all the makings of a Birthday Party via armside sinkers. It’s not sustainable.
Jake Woodford vs. SEA – The Amish Mustang pitching on a Sunday?! Yeah, not Saturday. Ah. Right.
Bradley Blalock vs. SDP – Blaclock is actually kinda interesting…if he weren’t pitching for Colorado.
Ky Bush @ HOU – Absolutely not. Bush is not the prospect you should scrutinize.
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)