Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 8/6 & 8/7

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.

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: 68-59

My pick yesterday: David Festa @ CHC  – W

PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 73-54

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: JP Sears vs. CHW  W

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

 

Chris Sale vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.

Dylan Cease @ PIT – Aces gonna ace.

Luis Castillo vs. DET – Aces gonna ace.

Shota Imanaga vs. MIN – Aces gonna ace.

Sonny Gray vs. TBR – Gray looked far better in his last outing and it’s the Rays.

Luis Gil vs. LAA – Gil’s slider has stepped up + the Angels, y’all.

Seth Lugo vs. BOS – Lugo is that lovely rock.

Pablo López @ CHC – López has performed far better as of late and the Cubs aren’t so scary.

Grayson Rodriguez @ TOR – Does Grayson have the command to look like an ace against Toronto?

 

Probably Starts

 

Brayan Bello @ KCR – Bello is on the rise with his full pitch mix working.

Ben Lively vs. ARI – He’s a Vargas Rule against a middling offense.

Nick Lodolo @ MIA – It’s the Marlins.

Hayden Birdsong @ WSN – Was it just the Rockies or actually something Birdsong can continue to showcase? I’m happy the Nationals are the next small step forward.

Framber Valdez @ TEX – He’s a Cherry Bomb. You really don’t know what you’re gonna get.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Chris Bassitt vs. BAL – He’s a Toby and the Orioles are a scary offense.

MacKenzie Gore vs. SFG – The lower velocity + erratic command has made Gore a Cherry Bomb and I’m so sad about it.

Max Meyer vs. CIN – I dislike the four-seamer and his slider is looking like the only pitch we can trust. I’m hoping he shows something different outside of the breaker to get me excited.

Jeffrey Springs @ STL – It’s his second outing and I’m hoping to see more in his fastball and slider.

Cristopher Sánchez @ LAD – The Dodgers y’all…

Jonathan Cannon @ OAK – If he can spot his sinker well and go Neckbeard, he’ll make it work.

Keider Montero @ SEA – Nearly our streaming pick of the day as Montero is capable of taking advantage of the Mariners. I really don’t like it, though.

Ross Stripling vs. CHW – It’s the CrySox, but does Stripling have enough in the tank to seize the opportunity?

UPDATE: Bryce Elder vs. MIL – Elder is throwing harder with improved stuff…? There’s a chance this works and I’m curious if this is the outing that turns heads.

Clayton Kershaw vs. PHI – Kershaw failed to earn a strikeout in his last start and now has to face the Phillies.

Bailey Falter vs. SDP – Falter has been able to churn outs with high heaters based on his extension + mixing in a breaker or two underneath.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Colin Rea @ ATL – Rea has wild chaos magic, like a proper Werewolf.

Luis Severino @ COL – It’s Coors and Severino isn’t pumping the ched we want to see.

Kyle Freeland vs. NYM – He’s had some moments, but it’s Coors. You can’t do this.

Eduardo Rodriguez @ CLE – He’s back! And clearly Still ILL in HR-heavy Cleveland.

Tyler Mahle vs. HOU – He’s back from TJS! And in a clear Still ILL against a strong offense.

Davis Daniel @ NYY – Nah and Naaaaaah.

 

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

 

Tarik Skubal @ SEA – Aces gonna ace.

Chris Sale vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.

George Kirby vs. DET – Aces gonna ace.

Blake Snell @ WSN – Aces gonna ace.

Michael King @ PIT – Aces gonna ace.

Cole Ragans vs. BOS – Aces gonna ace.

Joe Ryan @ CHC – Aces gonna ace.

Taj Bradley @ STL – He wants the AGA status, but we saw the fluctuations last time. It hurt. Expect better.

Jake Irvin vs. SFG – Irvin’s four-seamer has performed better than expected lately and his curveball is still ridiculously good.

Freddy Peralta @ ATL – Peralta is showing signs of Professor Chaos and I sure hope he wrangles in his arsenal for the final two months. The risk/reward is still heavily in your favor to trust him here.

 

Probably Starts

 

Kutter Crawford @ KCR – Like those lamenting over analysts of giving too much love to their favorite teams, The Homers Are Ruining Everything. At least this one isn’t in Fenway and spacious Kansas City and I have to believe the longball rates will regress appropriately.

Yusei Kikuchi @ TEX – Kikuchi made a statement in his first start with the Astros, shelving the curve and whipping out a legit changeup for once. I’m massively in favor of a big second half from Kikuchi, though I understand if you’re hesitant to trust Kikuchi against the Rangers.

Nestor Cortes vs. LAA – Cortes has been granted a lovely gift of the Angels, making this Toby click his heels in the air.

Andrew Abbott @ MIA – It’s the Marlins. You said that so many times last week AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. Fine. It’s Andrew and despite being a Cherry Bomb, he’s worked out far more than not.

Erick Fedde vs. TBR – Fedde has been Spider-Man material all year and now gets the Rays.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Joey Estes vs. CHW – I’m not thrilled to label Estes as my streaming pick of the day, but it’s the CrySox y’all.

Gavin Stone vs. PHI – Stone needs to be sanded around the edges and has to endure the mighty Phillies. Yikes.

Javier Assad vs. MIN – The early season version of Assad is unlikely to return, but his secondaries are faring well enough to make a case for a productive night for your ratios.

Brandon Pfaadt @ CLE – I don’t trust Pfaadt and this is in Cleveland.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Valente Bellozo vs. CIN – You might see a lot more of Bellozo down the stretch with the depleted Marlins rotation and here’s a decent matchup against the Reds. Yes, this is super boring.

Trevor Rogers @ TOR – Who knows, maybe this is the start that Rogers feels the impact of his new Orioles club and displays his proper value. Probably not.

Paul Blackburn @ COL – It’s Coors. Naaaah.

Marco Gonzales vs. SDP – Gonzo has a touch of Toby in him, but the Padres are legit.

Tyler Phillips @ LAD – I think people learned their lesson about Phillips in his last outing and now has to endure the full force of the Dodgers offense.

Carlos Carrasco vs. ARI – At least Carrasco has a long leash.

Carson Fulmer @ NYY – It’s the Yankees. Fortunately, Fulmer is secondary-focused and could squirm around Judge and Soto.

Bowden Francis vs. BAL – Francis has showed some promise as of late, but this is Baltimore away from the safety of Waltimore.

Davis Martin @ OAK – Not to be confused with Daniel, Martin goes against the Athletics and has the poor CrySox offense behind him. He could go Dancing With The Disco but I have many doubts here. Oakland isn’t such a bad offense, y’all.

Ryan Feltner vs. NYM – In Coors? Not a chance.

Jose Urena vs. HOU – Who knows, maybe that changeup has a touch of magic left…?

 

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)