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: 83-68
My pick yesterday: Keider Montero vs. LAA – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 84-67
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Keider Montero vs. LAA – L
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Friday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Blake Snell vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga @ WSN – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ LAA – It’s a great matchup and Kirby’s floor is still high…even if the fastball/slider combo isn’t at its peak.
Pablo López vs. TOR – His velocity is up and he has a better feel for his sweeper and change than we’ve seen for most of the season.
Framber Valdez vs. KCR – The curve is still legit.
Reynaldo López @ PHI – ReyLó returned ten strikeouts last time he faced them. He’s good to go.
Kevin Gausman @ MIN – You may want him higher after returning double-digit strikeouts against the Angels, but this is a different squad and the splitter isn’t returning an elite number of whiffs. Still.
Tanner Houck @ DET – He’s been awfully shaky with his splitter, but it’s the Tigers and Houck is certainly good enough to roll with here, outside of Fenway.
Probably Starts
Ben Lively vs. PIT – Don’t question the Lively. Feel the Lively.
Martín Pérez @ TBR – It wasn’t his best display of command in his last outing, but this is Tampa Bay and he pitches for a winning club. The Rays are better against LHP. Ehhh, I’m still doing it.
Questionable Starts
Seth Lugo @ HOU – It may seem strange, but Lugo has a 5.58 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across his last eight starts with multiple blowups. Now he gets the Astros and hasn’t had his best command is months.
Marcus Stroman vs. STL – This is a solid Win chance at the cost of middling ratios and few strikeouts.
Ranger Suárez vs. ATL – I didn’t love Suárez’s precision in his return from the IL, though I expect better in his second game. A start with Ranger is believing that the Atlanta offense is a step down without Riley, despite their recent showcases of power.
Clayton Kershaw @ ARI – I worry that Kershaw’s slider can’t do it all. He’s not TATIAGA anymore.
Zac Gallen vs. LAD – This hasn’t been the premier Gallen season we’ve wanted, rooted in his inability to find a consistent four-seamer. We saw an extreme BSB approach last time that could be the answer, yet I don’t want to experiment with it against the Dodgers.
Taj Bradley vs. SDP – He’s a Cherry Bomb. Good luck.
JP Sears @ TEX – 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.
Carson Fulmer vs. SEA – He performed well last time out and now gets the Mariners. It could work with a decent ratio floor but not a ton of length.
Jake Irvin vs. CHC – He’s a Cherry Bomb against a Cubs team that is kinda good offensively…?
DL Hall @ CIN – He’s throwing 94/95 mph in the minors (and in his one start back!), but is the command there? Are the changeup and slider ready to go? I’m super curious about what we get. That heater wasn’t quite good enough in his last tune-up across 65 pitches, but it could wake up here. I’m just sad Jacob Misiorowski only threw 20 pitches in the same game. Sigh…
Tylor Megill @ CHW – He’s back! He had a great outing in Triple-A on the 18th with consistent four-seamers gloveside to return ten whiffs…then it was chaotic in the zone the following outing, failing to record five full frames. We’ve also seen cutters and sliders get us excited in the past and sadly, it’s mostly middling sliders as his #2 pitch around 20-25% of the time. This start is a gamble for a Win in hopes of his four-seamer finding enough outs.
Adam Oller @ SFG – If he’s able to spot four-seamers Oller round the zone, he can go through a pedestrian lineup.
Do Not Starts
Colin Rea @ CIN – He was on a roll, then ran into trouble in his final two frames last time out, doing his ole thing of fastballs well over the plate + cutters and sweepers in the mix. You could find six frames here, though the ceiling seems limited for the risk you’re taking.
Erick Fedde @ NYY – Hey, the Yankees haven’t been destroying a ton of poor pitchers lately…
Casey Mize vs. BOS – He’s returning from the minors and the slider isn’t fixed yet. But the splitter! He did earn ten whiffs on the pitch in his last outing, but is that enough? CAN WE TRUST IT?
UPDATE: Samuel Aldegheri vs. SEA – It’s one of two Double-A SP callups for the Angels this weekend against Seattle and Aldegheri is the lesser hyped of the two, but may be the better arm out of the gate. The southpaw’s best quick comp is Lodolo in the low-90s with a slider he sits down-and-gloveside to both LHB and RHB with a changeup to keep RHB off balance. He’s shot up the system quickly and I haven’t gotten much of a look at his heater, though, and if he’s not earning strikes with the breaker, this could get ugly quickly. He has a better theoretical schedule than Caden Dana, FWIW, as he’d be missing a series against the Astros, but I think the Shag Rug is too present to chase this for now.
Albert Suárez @ COL – It’s Coors, sadly.
Bailey Falter @ CLE – Falter is a borderline streamer and Cleveland doesn’t help.
Rhett Lowder vs. MIL – He’s the #1 prospect for the Reds and I’m…not that hyped? His heater didn’t grade well in his sole Triple-A outing last week [94.7 mph, 6.1 extension (poor), 14.7 iVB (below average), 0.7 HAVAA (steep = bad for high four-seamers)]. That’s an average four-seamer that may not perform well sitting upstairs, which he did achieve in this outing. The slider was located down effectively and paired well with the heater, and the changeup went 50% strikes with 0/14 whiffs. But it was 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 0 BBs, 7 Ks! I know, right? Maybe he’s a command specialist who’ll churn more strikeouts than we’d expect in the majors. Without an electric heater and wielding a slider that isn’t the dopest of dope (4/27 whiffs but good locations down to make the BSB), I’m cautious with Lowder, before even considering Cin City as his home park. I’m curious to see his debut and see if this assessment changes at all.
Jonathan Cannon vs. NYM – He has moments of brilliance, and maybe it will last for six innings here.
Jon Gray vs. OAK – He isn’t stretched out and the slider isn’t back to elite status yet.
Austin Gomber vs. BAL – It’s Coors. And the Orioles.
Nick Martinez vs. MIL – How long is he going to go? Does it matter?
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.
Saturday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Zack Wheeler vs. ATL – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal vs. BOS – Aces gonna ace.
Bryan Woo @ LAA – He sure looks like an ace at 90 pitches.
Max Fried @ PHI – It’s his AGA test.
Cole Ragans @ HOU – Can Ragans hold onto AGA? I don’t think this is the last one before losing it, but he hasn’t had that stretch of ultra dominance for a bit with his velocity dropping a touch and the cramps last time. He’s not at his peak.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. KCR – The four-seamer and slider are working well, I just wish the curve or change were able to help a bit more.
Probably Starts
Zebby Matthews vs. TOR – He’s rostered in just 14% of leagues (that’s bananas) and I absolutely love this for Zebby.
Cody Bradford vs. OAK – He’s been a stable Toby and borderline Holly and this is a solid matchup.
Nick Pivetta @ DET – Be happy it’s the Tigers, worry he won’t have his secondaries to prevent the Tigers from hunting heaters.
Tyler Anderson vs. SEA – Anderson’s changeup is still legit and it’s Seattle. They hate changeups for LHP.
Gavin Stone @ ARI – He’s been great as of late, but this is a tough date with the Sneks.
Shane Baz vs. SDP – Baz’s stuff is good enough to start him against a good offense. I don’t expect a hiccup due to the flu – if anything he might be energized with a fully-rested arm.
José Berríos @ MIN – Berríos has been cruising as The Great Undulator has officially hit his expected 3.72 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. It blows my mind how much he lives up to his name.
Matthew Boyd vs. PIT – He’s a solid floor pick against the Pirates, though the changeup and slider aren’t firing on all cylinders yet.
DJ Herz vs. CHC – The four-seamer and changeup have looked great and I sure hope it’s a tweak that sticks. This is a strikeout-focused play with a lower floor than Boyd and Randy.
Randy Vásquez @ TBR – It’s the Rays and Randy has made it work. Just don’t expect strikeouts to follow.
Questionable Starts
Javier Assad @ WSN – It seems like a Probable Start, but I just don’t trust what he does. It’s so basic and puts himself into the hands of Koufax too often.
Edward Cabrera @ SFG – Ah yes, the Cherry Bomb poster boy of the season.
Jose Quintana @ CHW – His command was terrible last start and I’m concerned he’s lost his rhythm to take advantage of this opportunity.
Will Warren vs. STL – He’s failed us twice as a streamer against weak lineups, it’s hard to lean into it again.
Frankie Montas @ CIN – Montas’ velocity has risen as he’s started to lean into high heaters at 97 mph that kinda works…?
Luis L. Ortiz @ CLE – Ortiz’s four-seamer has taken the lead in his arsenal, though the secondaries aren’t doing their part as much as I’d like + this is HR-heavy Cleveland.
Joey Estes @ TEX – The Rangers aren’t so scary, but Estes isn’t all that great.
Davis Martin vs. NYM – Martin has a fun change and decent slider, though he’s still a touch unrefined. Oh, and Wins n all.
Do Not Starts
Merrill Kelly vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers + Kelly’s velocity has dipped, leading to fewer whiffs.
Kyle Gibson @ NYY – Gibson is awfully mid and has to deal with the Yankees. Maybe the sweeper is enough to nullify them for 5+?
Carson Spiers vs. MIL – We saw the floor two games ago. It’s not a fun stretch of lava. Is there a fun stretch of lava? Uhhh absolutely. I can’t be the only one that looks at lava and thinks “Man, that looks so gooey and fun to poke,” like a toasted marshmallow.
Dean Kremer @ COL – Kremer has rare moments and this could be one of them, but hot dang THE RISK.
Mason Black vs. MIA – It’s Miami and cool to see another Mason in San Francisco (whatup Justin) but sadly, I don’t expect him to go long, nor have his best efficiency in what I’d expect to be an emotional start given his extended time away from the club in the minors
Ryan Feltner vs. BAL – It’s Coors. It’s the Orioles. It’s PAIN.
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
Dylan Cease @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Bailey Ober vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Aaron Nola vs. ATL – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Webb vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Spencer Schwellenbach @ PHI – Aces go—Oh. Right. He’s not there yet. But we know…
Bryce Miller @ LAA – It’s the Angels, even if he’s not at home. If you’re not in the know, Bryce is so much better at home.
Sean Manaea @ CHW – Manaea has been dominant with his elevated heaters, which are masking his secondaries well. And now it’s the White Sox—which means it’s going to be a terrible start—Will you not interrupt in the future? K thx.
Ronel Blanco vs. KCR – Blanco hasn’t been his best self, but you’re still rolling with it. Too big-brain to avoid this.
Gavin Williams vs. PIT – This could be Alex Cobb if he’s ready to go (He’d be at the bottom of Questionable). I love Gavin’s four-seamer and as long as one of his breakers are earning strikes, he’ll cruise through this one.
Ryan Pepiot vs. SDP – It’s a tougher matchup than ideal for Pepiot, but the skills are too good to pass up.
Probably Starts
Nestor Cortes vs. STL – It’s a solid Win chance, even if Cortes was a little shaky last time with Koufax bringing some balls back into the yard.
Tobias Myers @ CIN – Myers is turning into more two-pitch with heaters and sliders and I bet we’ll see more of a varied approach here to keep his Vargas Rule flowing.
Questionable Starts
Zach Eflin @ COL – It’s a Still ILL in Coors. And yet it’s Eflin and the Orioles offense…
Jameson Taillon @ WSN – He’s a decent QS arm who throws a fair number of strikes. It can work.
Caden Dana vs. SEA – It’s hard to tell what we’ll get with just Double-A data to work with for the 20-year-old, but here’s what I can tell. He’s 93-95 with a generally up-right four-seamer that speaks to mid-extension but decent iVB (I hope! No data y’all…) with a strong slider that he can land inside and outside the zone without the absurd chaos of most young arms. There’s a curve in there for Free Real Estate and the biggest question is the dominance of his fastball. It’s the Mariners for a pitcher who has better-than-average mechanics that speak to a good zone rate, which makes me more inclined than other MLB debuts to give it a shot. Good luck.
Mitchell Parker vs. CHC – The Cubs are a dangerous lineup lately, though Parker could go six if he has most of his supporting cast available.
Garrett Crochet vs. NYM – Who knows. He tossed just four pitches last time out due to rain, maybe that lets him go more than four…? Probably not. Sigh.
Mitch Keller @ CLE – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Mitch Spence @ TEX – Spence made me a bit hyped two starts ago, but didn’t carry over the same precision last time out. Still, his cutter and slider combo are great at creating weak contact and the sinker has a place to make the whole approach flow through five frames, if not more.
Ty Madden vs. BOS – I don’t love the heater, I don’t love the slider, I don’t love the whole schtick. But hey, the Red Sox away from Fenway and he could be better after some initial jitters fade.
Cooper Criswell @ DET – Maybe he goes five frames, maybe it’s Rich Hill getting some more time. He’s gone a full start with solid marks before and gets the Tigers, but I’m inclined to leave him closer to his friends in the Do Not Start tier.
Do Not Starts
Justin Wrobleski @ ARI – He’s getting the call for a tough Diamondbacks start and I imagine the squad will micromanage this game plenty given what’s at stake in the NL West.
Brandon Pfaadt vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers but maybe he’s got it in him for this adrenline-heavy start.
Yariel Rodríguez @ MIN – Is he going to go five full with production? Probably not?
Miles Mikolas @ NYY – He has a long leash, but it’s the Bronx.
Alec Marsh @ HOU – Marsh has done it before and likely won’t again.
Dane Dunning vs. OAK – How long does Texas let him go?
Cal Quantrill vs. BAL – It’s Coors and the Orioles and the splitter is blegh. But at least the leash is good?
Jakob Junis vs. MIL – I don’t expect Junis to be let loose here.
Xzavion Curry @ SFG – Same with Xzavion, let alone the lack of expected production.
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)