Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 9/19 & 9/20

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: 90-78

My pick yesterday: Alec Marsh vs. DET – L

PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 95-73

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Landon Knack – W

Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign up for PL Pro here.

My streaming pick of the day is Underlined and Italicized.

 

Thursday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Auto Starts

 

Chris Sale @ CIN – Aces gonna ace.

Jack Flaherty @ MIA – Aces gonna ace.

Yusei Kikuchi vs. LAA – It’s the Angels and yessss.

Zach Eflin vs. SFG – This is a safe play.

Logan Gilbert vs. NYY – It’s a little risky against the Yankees, but aces gonna ace.

 

Probably Starts

 

Kevin Gausman @ TEX – Gausman is earning more splitter whiffs and the Rangers aren’t a tough crew.

Clarke Schmidt @ SEA – It’s in Seattle.

Logan Webb @ BAL – It’s the Orioles…who aren’t that tough right now?

Brayan Bello @ TBR – He’s been pushed up a day and now gets to face the Rays…but he’s a Cherry Bomb…but it’s a right-hander against the Rays in Tampa Bay…

 

Questionable Starts

 

Kumar Rocker vs. TOR – I was tempted to put him and the next two into the second tier as Rocker was explosive in his MLB debut. It was just one outing, though, and the Jays have some surprise thump.

Luis Severino vs. PHI – It’s the Phillies. Solid QS/Win chance, though.

Joey Cantillo vs. MIN – Cantillo has been fantastic in his last two starts…against the CrySox and Rays. His vulcan change has performed well, though I worry its volatility will appear against a stronger lineup.

Javier Assad vs. WSN – Assad has made it work, even if I don’t buy his skills for a large sample. The Nationals are an improvement from his previously schedule matchup against the Athletics, too. Just a bit more boring than the trio above.

Luis L. Ortiz @ STL – Same with Ortiz. He can find six, but his inability to execute for whiffs when needed makes him a middling 5-6 inning play.

Brandon Pfaadt @ MIL – Pfaadt was obliterated last time out, though his Cherry Bomb nature suggests a productive rebound may be in store

Edward Cabrera vs. LAD – He’s a Cherry Bomb, regardless of opponent. And yet, it’s still the Dodgers.

UPDATE: Tobias Myers vs. ARI – It’s a tough matchup, though Myers has certainly flexed a high enough ceiling to make this considerable.

Zack Littell vs. BOS – Littell had a lot working last time out and has a better matchup this time around. I’m not expecting a replication of skills from his last start, though. That felt like “one of those days” and not a tweak that holds.

Erick Fedde vs. PIT – It’s the Pirates for this former Toby.

Patrick Corbin @ CHC – He’s been making it work with his harder cutter, though the Cubs are tougher than the lineups he’s taken advantage of.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Julian Aguiar vs. ATL – He’s a sinkerballer, creating a minuscule chance for 5+ frames as heaters find gloves.

Colin Rea vs. ARI – Rea has a terrible floor + the Sneks are the Sneks.

Simeon Woods Richardson @ CLE – SWR isn’t going long these days + it’s HR-heavy Cleveland.

Taijuan Walker @ NYM – He’s back from the IL and obviously we want nothing to do with this.

José Suarez @ HOU – Oh snap! He’s getting a start again? That’s cool, that’s cool. Welp, see ya later.

 

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.

 

Friday’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Auto Starts

 

Corbin Burnes vs. DET – Aces gonna ace.

Gerrit Cole @ OAK – Aces gonna ace.

Joe Musgrove vs. CHW – This is too good.

Jacob deGrom vs. SEA – How long will he go?

 

Probably Starts

 

José Berríos @ TBR – Berríos has saved his season and gets a gift in Tampa Bay.

Cristopher Sánchez @ NYM – Sánchez is the Spider-Man of the year.

Zac Gallen @ MIL – Gallen’s four-seamer approach has me with an eyebrow raised and Milwaukee isn’t the best place to pitch.

Michael Wacha vs. SFG – He’s been on a roll and the Giants are not a detterent.

Justin Verlander vs. LAA – Verlander isn’t the stud of old, but this is the Angels.

David Peterson vs. PHI – You’ll be hard pressed to find a manager avoiding Peterson after his dominance of the Phils last start.

Charlie Morton @ MIA – He’s a Cherry Bomb…though it’s the Marlins and Morton has been far more reliable of late than usual.

Walker Buehler vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road and yet, Buehler could easily fail to hit five frames. He’s so weird.

Jameson Taillon vs. WSN – Taillon has been in a groove and let’s hope he has one more in him against the Nationals.

Nick Martinez vs. PIT – Nic kMart has taken full advantage of his time in the rotation and while I’ve bumped him slightly into this tier, I’m still wary of his floor that could easily spill 3+ ER before six full frames.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Kyle Gibson vs. CLE – This is your standard a Toby play and Gibson could snag a QS with the Guardians away from their home park.

Mitch Keller @ CIN – He’s a Cherry Bomb. Good luck.

Ben Lively @ STL – Lively is a strange one and maybe there’s one more Win tucked away for us to uncover in this Baha Man season.

Brant Hurter @ BAL – I’m stunned by Hurter’s sinker effectivenes (5.92 PLV against LHB?!) and he just flirted with perfection against said Orioles. It’s strange and I guess we’re doing it.

Tyler Anderson @ HOU – If Anderson’s changeup is thriving with his four-seamer or cutter, he could provide value, even against the Astros.

Richard Fitts vs. MIN – I kinda dig Fitts, but the Twins in Fenway gives me Shag Rug vibes.

David Festa @ BOS – The Twins are a bit stingy with letting their young arms go more than five frames + it’s Fenway. Great strikeout upside, though.

Mason Black @ KCR – Black has been surprising and may be able to sneak through 5-6 innings here.

Garrett Crochet @ SDP – Y’all know he’s still limited to roughly 60 pitches but you could find 6+ strikeouts along the way.

 

Do Not Starts

 

J.T. Ginn vs. NYY – It’s the Yankees and Ginn is terrible against LHB.

Valente Bellozo vs. ATL – His ERA magic is likely not sustainable + you’re not getting much else.

Emerson Hancock @ TEX – Hancock could throw enough sinkers and changeups to find his way through five inning s. Yay.

Tyler Alexander vs. TOR – With the terrible options below, I’d rather see if T-Lex can vulture a Win. Highly unlikely.

DL Hall vs. ARI – Hall is a fun arm for 2025, but he’s too risky now, and definitely not worth the gamble against the Sneks.

Kyle Freeland @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers.

Trevor Williams @ CHC – He’s returning from the IL and #NeverTrevor.

 

 

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)