Here are Friday, 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: 87-77
My pick yesterday: J.T. Ginn @ CHW – L
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 93-71
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Patrick Corbin vs. MIA – W
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.
My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.
Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Ronel Blanco @ LAA – It’s weird to put Blanco first, but we have zero aces for Sunday and he has the best matchup. So it goes.
Jared Jones vs. KCR – The curveball showed up and it was AWESOME.
George Kirby vs. TEX – If he can make sure his heater isn’t sat on and tagged, he’ll make you happy. It’s in Seattle, after all.
Zac Gallen vs. MIL – The mix of BSB with low heaters is actually working well for Gallen lately and we even saw his slider wake up last time out.
Carlos Rodón vs. BOS – It’s the Red Sox on the road and his changeup feel is where we want it to be.
Probably Starts
Cristopher Sánchez vs. NYM – He’s the Spider-Man of the year.
Andrew Heaney @ SEA – This is a delicious matchup, y’all.
JP Sears @ CHW – A LHP against the ChiSox with any sort of upside is all you want.
Brady Singer @ PIT – He’s a Cherry Bomb, but it’s the Pirates.
Cade Povich @ DET – The Tigers will be tougher than the White Sox, but Povich has a solid Win chance here.
Questionable Starts
Ben Lively vs. TBR – He was removed last game after taking a comebacker to the thigh and he’s a RHP against the Rays. I’m still a little worried his Vargas Rule magic has fully faded, though.
Martín Pérez @ SFG – I wasn’t overly impressed by Pérez’s ability last time out, but it’s the Giants and you have a solid Win chance.
MacKenzie Gore vs. MIA – He’s a Cherry Bomb against a weak team. I’m not willing to throw away his last outing.
Kutter Crawford @ NYY – It’s the Yankees. Kutter’s eponymous kutter is as reliable as ever, with his sweeper taking a back seat. I dig the move given Crawford’s over-the-top arm angle, though I question if leaning two-pitch is enough to deal with the tough lineup.
David Festa vs. CIN – Festa let us down earlier in the week and the Twins have a terribly short leash for their young arms.
Rhett Lowder @ MIN – He’s been able to keep runs off the board, but I’m still skeptical of his ability to locate and avoid damage.
Adam Oller @ WSN – Oller was a bit unfortunate last time out, but I recognize he’s more of a Cherry Bomb without a massive ceiling than I was giving credit for.
Taj Bradley @ CLE – He’s a Cherry Bomb in a HR-heavy park.
David Peterson @ PHI – It’s the Phillies and his BSB wasn’t there in his last start.
Do Not Starts
Keider Montero vs. BAL – It’s the Orioles, not the White Sox.
Charlie Morton vs. LAD – He’s a Cherry Bomb against the Dodgers.
Walker Buehler @ ATL – I can’t do this anymore.
Miles Mikolas @ TOR – Maybe he can go six frames for those desperate for a QS.
Yariel Rodríguez vs. STL – He’s gone five before, but often its fewer than that without enough.
Caden Dana vs. HOU – He’s not the prospect arm you want.
DL Hall @ ARI – I would love for Hall to dominate, but I’m scared of the Sneks.
Landen Roupp vs. SDP – Against the Padres? Naaaah.
Kyle Hendricks @ COL – It’s Coors.
Cal Quantrill vs. CHC – It’s Coors in a “Still ILL.
Sean Burke @ OAK – This ain’t it y’all. Let’s wait and see.
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.
Sunday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto Starts
Paul Skenes @ STL – Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga vs. OAK – Aces gonna ace.
Seth Lugo vs. DET – Aces gonna ace. Yes, after cruising through three tough lineups, he deserves it.
Pablo López @ CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Sean Manaea vs. WSN – He’s been unreal.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto @ ATL – How long will Yamamoto go?
Probably Starts
Reid Detmers vs. CHW – He’s been solid with his slider and it’s a LHP against the CrySox.
Matthew Boyd vs. MIN – Boyd’s changeup has been fantastic, he survived against the Dodgers with a BSB intact, and his start against the White Sox was interrupted by an error.
Max Fried vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers and Fried doesn’t have his changeup. Still a solid chance of success.
Questionable Starts
Yu Darvish vs. HOU – I’m not expecting 80 pitches, making this a tough gamble for five innings of production.
Spencer Arrighetti @ SDP – Save for a chaotic first frame in Cincinnati, The Pasta Pirate has found a way across the last month and change. However, the Padres are elite at the moment.
Andre Pallante vs. PIT – His last two starts have been rough. The Pirates should make for an easier time, though, and he has a better chance of boring production than those below.
Merrill Kelly @ COL – It’s Coors. Kelly’s command has improved lately, though, and I can still see him making through six frames with a Win.
Ranger Suárez @ MIL – Suárez is not in the groove you want him to be in. However, his Win chance is higher than others and if he finds his changeup, he’ll make it work.
Aaron Civale vs. PHI – His breakers are still not where we want them to be, making this a difficult sell against the strong Philadelphia crew.
Jake Irvin @ NYM – He found a way with just heaters (mostly) against Atlanta and I don’t have confidence he can replicate those results.
Joey Estes @ CHC – Estes survived once, I would hate to rely on him doing it again.
Do Not Starts
Jonathan Cannon @ LAA – Cannon has his moments when he avoids the heart of the plate consistently and at least it’s the Angels. This is a desperate QS play.
Reese Olson @ KCR – He’s back! And failed to hit 50 pitches in his final rehab start…We’ve seen guys go five innings in 60 pitches before, right?
Antonio Senzatela vs. ARI – Absolutely not.
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)
You obviously are working to get yourself kicked upstairs and I commend you for that. However, how about you get off your fat ass and produce results on the field instead of mathing away numbers that don’t add up to what Vegas thinks?
Wow, this guy is so smart.