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: 83-66
My pick yesterday: Simeon Woods Richardson vs. ATL – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 84-65
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brant Hurter vs. LAA – W
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Chris Sale @ MIN – Aces gonna ace.
Paul Skenes vs. CHC – Aces gonna ace.
Luis Castillo vs. TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Joe Musgrove @ STL – His cutter/slider combo is legit right now. The dude is at his peak.
Carlos Rodón @ WSN – It’s the Nationals.
Freddy Peralta vs. SFG – Please don’t unleash Professor Chaos…
Probably Starts
Tanner Bibee vs. KCR – He’s weird but not weird enough to bench.
Andrew Heaney @ CHW – It’s the White Sox and Heaney was able to make easy work of the Pirates last time out. It’s unfortunate Crochet is on the other side, but this is still worthwhile.
Jack Leiter @ CHW – I normally don’t encourage starts like these, especially a once exciting arm who hasn’t done well so far in the majors, and hasn’t proven he can handle it. HOWEVER, the floor is higher with the CrySox, and his four-seamer has taken another leap in Triple-A, even sitting 98/99 mph on 8/15, then 97/98 with elite shape + a slider he confidently threw for strikes. He’s a Jared Jones type and with the luxury of facing the White Sox (But Jones was terrible on Monday! Stop that.), I’m encouraging y’all to stream this and see what you have. Someone will take a chance on Leiter in your league and it should be you.
Brayan Bello vs. TOR – Bello’s changeup feel was off last game and even in Fenway, I’m banking for him to get it back.
Chris Bassitt @ BOS – It’s Fenway…but it’s Bassitt. You generally roll with Bassitt.
Questionable Starts
Brandon Pfaadt vs. NYM – He’s a bit of a Cherry Bomb as he couldn’t even take down the Marlins in his last start. I’m still going for this as I want to believe the command is better than normal, but there’s more risk than I’d like.
Luis Severino @ ARI – I think Severino is in a good spot, but the Diamondbacks are a solid offense and dampen the Win chance.
Corbin Burnes @ LAD – Burnes’ cutter isn’t elite anymore and the Dodgers are the Dodgers.
David Festa vs. ATL – I like Festa’s skills, but the slider hasn’t been what we want it to be + Atlanta woke up against Ober.
Spencer Arrighetti @ PHI – I want to trust The Pasta Pirate but it’s Philly and he has displayed volatility with his fastball.
UPDATE: Eduardo Rodriguez vs. NYM – His changeup was leaned upon heavily last time out and can get him through this one for a good Win or QS chance.
Andre Pallante vs. SDP – The cut-fastball is working over the plate, but this is a tougher offense. I’m not terribly confident here, but if you want to Vargas Rule, you do you.
Griffin Canning @ DET – Ehhhhh, Canning hasn’t consistently taken advantage of good matchups like this.
Tyler Alexander @ SEA – It’s Seattle! And we’ve seen T-Lex perform decently across five frames before. This seems pretty meh. It sure is.
Michael Wacha @ CLE – Wacha can make it work with his changeup, but I hate this matchup in Cleveland. A decent Quality Start play.
Osvaldo Bido @ CIN – He’s on a roll with a great schedule ahead, but Cin City may be a stumble before the climb.
Kyle Harrison @ MIL – He’s a desperate strikeout play.
Walker Buehler vs. BAL – WHO. KNOWS. It’s likely gonna be terrible. Probably.
Do Not Starts
Kenta Maeda (Opener) vs. LAA – Even against the Angels, I think the floor is too dang low.
MacKenzie Gore vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees. It’s also Gore and his absurd cratering of 2024.
Kyle Hendricks @ PIT – At least it’s Pittsburgh…?
Chris Flexen vs. TEX – Is this by the gulf? I really hope it’s by the gulf. Gotta get Flexen at the beach! Keep in mind, Flexen isn’t technically starting this game – Crochet will have technically started after the game was suspended after just four pitches thrown – which means you’re starting Flexen for…what, exactly?
Kyle Freeland vs. MIA – It’s the Marlins! It’s in Coors. Ah. And it’s Freeland. Right…right…
Taijuan Walker vs. HOU – Absolutely not.
Max Meyer @ COL – Meyer hasn’t had a good arsenal and it’s Coors.
TBD CIN vs. OAK – I wonder what the plan is here. There was some rumbling about Rhett Lowder making an MLB debut, it could be a bullpen game led by Jakob Junis, I don’t know. If it’s Lowder or another hard throwing prospect, I’d still hold off (MLB debuts are not streams you want), but at least monitor it to see if they are worth the pickup.
TBD CHW vs. TEX – It’s likely a bullpen game and that’s not fun at all.
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.
Thursday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Michael King @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
Nathan Eovaldi @ CHW – It’s the White Sox.
Sonny Gray vs. SDP – Gray has a 30% strikeout rate. The home runs are to blame for the 4.07 ERA and even though he’s gone through more turbulence in the summer, you can’t afford to bench him.
Probably Starts
Hunter Brown vs. KCR – He’s on a roll, even if there isn’t a straightforward approach.
Ryne Nelson vs. NYM – The four-seamer is just too dang good. Hopefully the cutter supports it enough.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. ATL – It’s the final questionable matchup for Sánchez and his elite O-Swing% should carry him through the game.
Kutter Crawford vs. TOR – We all feel weird about Crawford, especially inside Fenway. The Jays lineup is pretty dang blegh, though.
Bowden Francis @ BOS – It’s been a stupid good run and I imagine you’re going for it…even in Fenway. Be careful, the skills haven’t matched the elite results.
David Peterson @ ARI – Peterson looks like a major regression candidate. Up to you to decide if you want to follow the Vargas Rule or not.
Questionable Starts
Bobby Miller vs. BAL – He returned nine strikeouts, but the slider is the major gap in his approach that may come to bite him against the Orioles.
JP Sears @ CIN – Sears was on a heater, then got burned last time out and you’re in a tough spot. His four-seamer was still well-located despite the poor results, which makes me inclined to believe he can pull it off here.
Charlie Morton @ PHI – He’s a Cherry Bomb, regardless of opponent.
Brady Singer @ HOU – He’s a Cherry Bomb, regardless of opponent.
Keider Montero vs. LAA – I find Montero’s four-seamer/slider approach pedestrian, though the Angels lineup is far below that. This may work across 5-6 frames.
Aaron Civale vs. SFG – Civale’s breakers haven’t been there and even against the Giants, I have little confidence he can come through.
Hayden Birdsong @ MIL – This is a strikeout upside play. Birdsong’s command just isn’t that great.
Do Not Starts
Jack Kochanowicz @ DET – He’s a sinkerballer with good command at 96 mph, which leads to few walks, an inflated hit rate, a minuscule strikeout rate, and a prayer for ratios. Here’s your dire QS option.
Cade Povich @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers. Sorry Cade, we’ll be back in on this in a few weeks.
Julian Aguiar vs. OAK – Maybe this works? Aguiar is a 94 mph sinkerballer, but the Athletics in Cin City terrifies me.
Bradley Blalock vs. MIA – Blalock may be intriguing if he weren’t pitching for Colorado.
Nick Nastrini vs. TEX – Oh snap! He’s back! PLEASE THROW YOUR HEATER FOR STRIKES. Seriously, his fastball and slider are legit stuff pitches, and it seemed as though he had the yips during his trials earlier in the year. If he has them fixed…
Valente Bellozo @ COL – He’s a Canibal McSanchez arm without good stuff and command that fluctuates. In Coors. For the Marlins.
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)
In what order would you rank these remaining streamers . Civale, Montas, Zebby Matthews, Albert Suarez, Boyd, and Martin Perez.?? This is for Qualiy Starts and Ks ,whip and era?? I have 2 moves remaining? Thanks in advance!!!