Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 5/18 & 5/19 | Pitcher List

Here are today and tomorrow’s daily SP Streamer rankings for fantasy baseball.

Every day of the 2024 baseball season, I’ll be looking at today 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.

This year, with our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.

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: 30-21

My pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney vs. LAA

PL Bot’s 2024 Streamer Record: 29-22

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Andrew Heaney vs. LAA

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

Zac Gallen vs. DET – Aces gonna ace.

Shota Imanaga vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.

Kevin Gausman vs. TBR – Aces gonna ace.

Luis Castillo @ BAL – Aces gonna ace.

Bailey Ober @ CLE – He’s been a stud after his initial horrific outing.

Seth Lugo vs. OAK – Lugo is at his peak. You’re not sitting him.

Kutter Crawford @ STL – He’s been gold save for one inning against the Rays last week.

Zach Eflin @ TOR – Eflin is more of a Holly these days and the Jays are not what they used to be.

Probably Starts

Jack Flaherty @ ARI – Flaherty has been on a roll as he’s avoided damage off his four-seamer while carrying the same stellar breakers.

Justin Verlander vs. MIL – He faced the Yankees and got trounced. The Brewers are not the Yankees.

Luis Gil vs. CHW – It’s the CrySox and Gil is throwing more strikes.

Jordan Hicks vs. COL – Enjoy Rockie Road, let’s hope the sweeper or splitter are earning all the strikes.

Cristopher Sánchez vs. WSN – He’s a bit Cherry Bomb flavored these days, but it’s the Nats.

Dean Kremer vs. SEA – Kremer’s sinker has earned all the called strikes, his splitter has appeared at times, and his cutter + four-seamer have earned whiffs more than usual.

MacKenzie Gore @ PHI – Gore is a budding ace. I know it’s Philly but I don’t care.

Walker Buehler vs. CIN – Buehler isn’t locked in yet. Here’s to a step in the right direction.

Yu Darvish @ ATL – I know it’s Atlanta, but Darvish just took down the Dodgers. He’s looking lovely.

Luis Severino @ MIA – Sevy is a Toby facing a poor offense. We go with those.

UPDATE: Grayson Rodriguez vs. SEA – It’s a Still ILL, though I think I’d throw Grayson out there given the matchup.

Questionable Starts

UPDATE: Kyle Harrison vs. COL – Harrison is a Cherry Bomb, even against Rockie Road.

Braxton Garrett vs. NYM – It was just sinker/slider in his debut start of the year and it came with rough ratios merged with plenty of strikeouts. Expect a step forward.

Logan Allen vs. MIN – He’s our streaming pick of the day based on the middling lineup and a solid approach. I have some worry given the massive HR spike in Cleveland this year (is it really the new wind patterns due to seating changes?) and how Allen is still a bit shifty start-to-start.

Bryce Elder vs. SDP – This is a Win chance play. I don’t like Elder a whole lot, but a manager’s gotta do what a manager’s gotta do.

Do Not Starts

Patrick Sandoval @ TEX – He’s been better than usual with his changeup and slider and he’s a decent quality start if you’re in dire need of one.

Ross Stripling @ KCR – Maybe it works against the Royals?

Bailey Falter @ CHC – The Cubs are good now. Be careful.

Bryse Wilson @ HOU – He had one start of dominance + one with horrific command. Nope.

José Ureña vs. LAA – If you start José, Ureña boatload of trouble. There is a slight Win chance here given he can stumble into five innings, though.

Miles Mikolas vs. BOS – Hey, at least he has a long leash.

Graham Ashcraft @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers and Ashcraft can’t strike batters out.

Brad Keller @ NYY – Keller isn’t what you want.

Ty Blach @ SFG – Blach.

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

Corbin Burnes vs. SEA – Aces gonna ace.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.

Aaron Nola vs. WSN – Aces gonna ace.

George Kirby @ BAL – Aces gonna ace. Worst matchup here, sadly.

Probably Starts

Nick Pivetta @ STL – He looked far better in his second start back from the IL and it’s the Cardinals.

Carlos Rodón vs. CHW – He’s in a good place and gets the CrySox.

Jordan Hicks vs. COL – Enjoy Rockie Road, let’s hope the sweeper or splitter are earning all the strikes.

Reynaldo López vs. SDP – He’s been too good to sit.

Tanner Bibee vs. MIN – He’s a Cherry Bomb, though I want to believe he’s still more harmful than detrimental.

Jordan Montgomery vs. DET – He’s a Toby with a good matchup.

Jameson Taillon vs. PIT – He’s a Toby with a good matchup.

Brady Singer vs. OAK – Singer has returned to his normal Cherry Bomb self.

Sean Manaea @ MIA – He’s a Toby with a good matchup.

Questionable Starts

Joe Musgrove @ ATL – It’s a difficult matchup and Musgrove has been a bit off this year, save for his most recent matchup. Let’s hope he’s all good.

Aaron Civale @ TOR – He was a bit better last time out, but I’d still be cautious here.

Michael Lorenzen vs. LAA – Our streaming pick of the day as Lorenzen could cruise to six innings and a Win.

Spencer Arrighetti vs. MIL – Not a bad streaming option either, though Arrighetti has yet to display consistency.

Hunter Greene @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers. At least Greene’s velocity was back up last start (though, it didn’t have the same vert on the heater).

Mitch Keller @ CHC – He’s a Cherry Bomb.

Alek Manoah vs. TBR – I’m not ready to buy back in.

José Soriano @ TEX – It’s a tough matchup, though Soriano can still overcome it as long as he hurls enough strikes.

Matt Manning @ ARI – Manning’s command has been off. The upside is still there making this a decent dart throw.

Do Not Starts

JP Sears @ KCR – He’s a Cherry Bomb without the best upside.

Trevor Williams @ PHI – I know he’s been far better than expected, but it’s unsustainable + the Phillies.

Chris Paddack @ CLE – Paddack doesn’t have enough in the arsenal.

Dakota Hudson @ SFG – Sure, it could happen.

Colin Rea @ HOU – It’s the Astros.

Sixto Sánchez vs. NYM – Sánchez is not the man you remember from years ago.

Chris Flexen @ NYY – Noooope.

Matthew Liberatore vs. BOS – Is he even going to go deep enough into this one?

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)