Here are Saturday’s and Sunday’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: 86-75
My pick yesterday: Adam Oller @ PIT – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 90-71
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Keider Montero vs. COL – 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
Zack Wheeler vs. TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Michael King @ SEA – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried @ WSN – Aces gonna ace.
Blake Snell vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Sean Manaea @ TOR – He’s been so good.
Hunter Brown vs. OAK – He’s also been so good.
Bowden Francis vs. NYM – Francis’ last outing was the most convincing one he’s had thus far and it should be an easier time against the Mets. He’s also also been so good.
Cole Ragans @ NYY – Why does it have to be the Yankees? Aces gonna ace.
Bryan Woo vs. SDP – The Padres are legit, but it’s in Seattle y’all.
Probably Starts
Matthew Boyd @ CHW – His slider and change are cooking and the CrySox are miles easier to deal with than the Dodgers.
Luis Gil vs. KCR – I’m a little worried that Gil sat about two ticks down last time out, but the Royals aren’t as fearsome as earlier this year.
Cody Bradford @ ARI – He’s cruising. Sadly it’s the Sneks, but we still go with it.
Merrill Kelly vs. TEX – Kelly came through against the Giants, looking more like his former self. The Rangers offense isn’t enough to bench him.
Questionable Starts
Nick Pivetta vs. BAL – Can we trust Pivetta in Fenway? Against the Orioles? I think so…?
Zebby Matthews vs. LAA – I know, I know. BUT IT’S THE ANGELS. He really isn’t as poor as the last two starts and nearly gave us a streaming victory last week if not for a 1-2 single with two outs.
Shane Baz @ PHI – It’s the Phillies but Baz can make this work with his heater and at least one of his breakers on call.
Bailey Falter vs. MIA – It’s the Marlins, though Falter doesn’t have the greatest ceiling.
Colin Rea @ SFG – The same goes for Rea, who will likely have a shorter leash.
Bobby Miller vs. CHC – What are we gonna get? I have no idea + the knee is likely still bothering him.
Dean Kremer @ BOS – It’s Fenway and I don’t trust Kremer. He’s had his moments, though, so go with what you feel.
JP Sears @ HOU – He’s a Cherry Bomb who could make the strikeouts happen, even against the Astros.
Jack Kochanowicz @ MIN – Need a Quality Start? The Jack of One Trade has you covered with 70%+ sinkers.
Davis Martin vs. CLE – I dig Martin’s changeup, and the slider looks better, too. That said, the Guardians aren’t the easiest time at the park and Davis isn’t electric.
Do Not Starts
Jake Irvin vs. ATL – We’re done here, yeah? There’s a chance the curve shows up but let’s not.
Casey Mize vs. COL – I need to see Mize have a proper heater and slider before trusting him, even against Rockie Road.
Austin Gomber @ DET – It’s outside of Coors and Gomber has found some magical starts here and there.
Lance Lynn vs. CIN – It’s a Still ILL, as if we needed more Ls here.
Joey Estes @ HOU – It’s the Astros and Estes has to be at his best to come through or have slipped a whole lot to Koufax.
Brandon Williamson @ STL – He’s been limiting to roughly 65 pitches, without his changeup coming through.
Tanner Gordon @ DET – He’s starting in Gomber’s place and I have very low expectations.
Jonathan Bermúdez @ PIT – He’s getting his first chance to start with a sub 90 mph four-seamer. It’s just a sweeper, y’all.
Adam Mazur @ PIT – I wonder how long his leash is and if he can actually find whiffs.
Jordan Wicks @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers. Nooooope.
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 Sit/Start Grid, a full suite of fantasy baseball tools, and much more. Get 10% off yearly with code SPSTREAMERS here.
Wednesday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. COL – Aces gonna ace.
Framber Valdez vs. OAK – He’s been an ace in the second half.
Sonny Gray vs. CIN – The strikeouts are very much alive.
Bryce Miller vs. TEX – It’s in Seattle.
Probably Starts
Gavin Williams vs. TBR – Ignore the start against the Dodgers. He was pushed up a day early and out of his expected routine and it was the Dodgers. This is a RHP against the Rays, sporting an elite four-seamer and solid secondaries. Go for it.
Clarke Schmidt vs. BOS – The matchup is too favorable to deny.
Frankie Montas @ SFG – It’s a great matchup and Montas is throwing harder at 96/97, fresh off ten punchouts against Rockie Road. Oddly safe…?
Questionable Starts
Ryan Pepiot @ CLE – It’s a poor matchup and Pepiot overly relied on his heater last time out. He still has some Cherry Bomb tendencies.
Kumar Rocker @ SEA – I’m going for it, breaking my “Don’t start in MLB debuts” rule that has destroyed me this year (Skenes, Leiter, etc.) BUT I CAN’T RESIST. It’s a great situation in Seattle, he’s on a heater, and his four-seamer + slider are truly elite. The fact that he’s on a roll in the minors makes me encouraged he’ll have the confidence to remove those jitters we see so often.
DJ Herz vs. MIA – The question is if the changeup will be there or not. I wonder if he can provide enough value if it’s just four-seamers leading the charge.
Alex Cobb vs. TBR – It seems like an obvious play, expect that this dang blister has pushed back his starts – a blister that I’d imagine would impact his ability to throw his splitter.
Do Not Starts
Mitch Spence @ HOU – It’s the Astros. Sadly that’s too much risk for me as Spence rarely hits his peak.
Darren McCaughan @ WSN – At least he has a decent matchup and a long enough leash for five frames?
Cooper Criswell @ NYY – It’s the Yankees and how long does he even go?
Ryan Feltner @ DET – Even outside Coors, Feltner is not the guy to chase.
Jakob Junis @ STL – He made it to five last time and I doubt he’ll do it again, unless his sinker is blessed by Koufax and finds gloves.
Hayden Birdsong vs. MIL – He can’t throw strikes, but if you’re desperate for strikeouts, you can slot him higher than others on the off-chance he finds a groove with his curveball.
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 Sit/Start Grid, 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)