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: 93-82
My Pick yesterday: Zack Littell @ DET – L
My Pick today: Reese Olson vs. TBR
PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 97-78
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Zack Littell @ DET – L
PL Bot’s Pick today: Get our Daily PLV Projections with PL Bot here.
Thursday 9/26 Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Gerrit Cole vs. BAL – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried vs. NYM – Aces gonna ace. UPDATE: Postponed.
Corbin Burnes @ NYY – Aces gonna ace.
Sean Manaea @ ATL – He’s certainly pitching like an ace as of late. UPDATE: Postponed.
Probably Starts
Michael Wacha @ WSN – Wacha has been in a groove and gets the Nationals. Awwww yeah.
Tyler Anderson @ CHW – This feels like an auto start given Anderson’s amazing changeup and the CrySox’s inability to hit them from southpaws.
Joe Musgrove @ LAD – Musgrove looks fantastic, but it’s the Dodgers.
Questionable Starts
Reese Olson vs. TBR – He just went roughly 60 pitches, outlining about 75 in this big outing for the Tigers. I don’t love the Questionable Start tier on Thursday, making Olson rise to the top in anticipation for five frames.
Aaron Civale @ PIT – It’s a great matchup, but will the curve be there?
David Festa vs. MIA – How long will the Twins let Festa go? Will he be efficient enough across all three pitches?
Kumar Rocker @ OAK – Rocker looked fantastic in his MLB debut, then a bit chaotic in the second. At least he should have a longer leash this time around.
J.T. Ginn vs. TEX – Ginn was able to spot sinkers, sliders, and changeups effectively to maneuver around the Yankee lineup for five innings. If he has the same command, this will work.
Tyler Alexander @ DET – If he gets opened for, T-Lex has a shot at a Win. Yes, I hate it too.
Patrick Corbin vs. KCR – I’m not committed to Corbin’s harder cutter that much, y’all.
Mitch Keller vs. MIL – Keller looked hurt in his last start, failing to hit 94 mph on any fastball. This looks like a another nightmare.
Walker Buehler vs. SDP – The cutter is working, everything else is lagging behind. I hate this one.
Kyle Gibson @ COL – I know, but if you need a QS/Win dart throw, I can see a scenario where Gibson comes through.
Do Not Starts
Valente Bellozo @ MIN – His WHIP is often terrible, the strikeouts aren’t there, and the Win chance is low. It’s not even a good gamble for a solid ERA.
Chris Flexen @ DET – Maybe there’s a great beach in Detroit? HE’S NOT THAT BAD.
Kyle Freeland vs. STL – COL story, bro.
Friday 9/27 Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Chris Sale vs. KCR – Aces gonna ace.
Carlos Rodón vs. PIT – I wouldn’t expect him to be sitting 94 mph again.
Pablo López vs. BAL – Brush off the pair of three-run shots against the Sawx and start PabLó.
José Berríos vs. MIA – He’s been absurd across the last six weeks.
Sean Manaea @ MIL – Manaea is acting like an ace these days.
Ronel Blanco @ CLE – If the Astros are locked in for the playoffs, they may limit Blanco here.
Probably Starts
Luis Castillo vs. OAK – It’s unclear how long he goes after missing almost three weeks on the IL. I say you ride it out and hope for the best.
Nick Pivetta vs. TBR – It’s a great matchup you can’t pass up, even in Fenway.
Jacob deGrom @ LAA – He’s been limited to roughly 60 pitches in each of his two starts, but hopefully he’s able to go to 75 here. The ceiling is too good.
Jameson Taillon vs. CIN – Taillon has been on a roll and gets a lovely matchup to ride into the sunset.
Nick Martinez @ CHC – Since grabbing a rotation spot, Nic kMart has upped the changeup and cruised for fantasy managers.
Ranger Suárez @ WSN – I don’t love Suárez’s ability at the moment, but it’s a strong Win chance against a weak lineup.
Questionable Starts
Frankie Montas vs. NYM – Yes, he was bamboozled by the Diamondbacks (who hasn’t?), but that doesn’t mean he can produce against the Mets.
Garrett Crochet vs. LAA – It could be four innings again…or this could be the start that they unleash Crochet. One more to seal the season, right?
Cade Povich @ MIN – I’d prefer not to face the Twins, but Povich is a decent enough Toby type.
Taj Bradley @ BOS – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Brady Singer @ ATL – He’s a ‘Cherry Bomb”.
Merrill Kelly vs. SDP – I don’t like it at all, but Kelly has been commanding much better lately, with a strong defense behind him, propelling a decent Win chance.
JP Sears @ SEA – He’s a desperate Cherry Bomb play if you’re searching for punchouts.
Adam Oller @ TOR – Oller is a Cherry Bomb without a good offense behind him.
Jared Jones @ NYY – His command has been horrible lately. This is a strikeout upside play.
Trevor Williams vs. PHI – Trevor performed well in his short Still ILL outing and he could do the same against the Phillies if he keeps his sweeper down.
Landen Roupp vs. STL – Roupp is a two-pitch arm who can find his way through at least five frames. At least he faces the Cardinals.
Miles Mikolas @ SFG – Mikoals has a long leash to survive through six frames, but he’s produced so rarely in the second half.
Casey Mize vs. CHW – It’s the CrySox, but Mize’s slider isn’t there.
Joey Cantillo vs. HOU – I hate the matchup and even though I’m skeptical long term about Cantillo’s vulcan changeup, he’s in rhythm with the pitch and could pull through.
Do Not Starts
Reid Detmers vs. TEX – Detmers just got obliterated by both the White Sox and Astros.
Martín Pérez @ ARI – It’s the Diamondbacks and Pérez has been given a quick hook.
Cal Quantrill vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers. In Coors. At least he has a longer leash than the two below.
Tony Gonsolin @ COL – He’ll be used sparingly in what will likely be a bullpen game.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)
I suspect that the Freeland start isn’t the worst stream today. One of the few guys that could get a QS. That said, I am not quite brave enough to use one of my few remaining transactions on it.
PS – your rankings this week have been killing me but it has been really slim pickings