April 18 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Jameson Taillon, Jack Leiter and Ryne Nelson
Three starters with good matchups who are probably available in your fantasy league and can be expected to perform well
Let’s go through Thursday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from ESPN.
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Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers
Leiter was a star at Vanderbilt before the Rangers took him second overall in 2021. FantasyPros provided the tidbit that he has struck out 25 batters in just 14.1 innings in the minors this year, a phenomenal rate.
He won’t keep up that level of dominance in the big leagues, but Leiter will likely strike out at least a batter per inning with the chance of finding his ace upside early. Regardless of the opponent, Leiter is probably worth picking up just to see how it goes.
In this case, though, he also has a great matchup. Detroit has consistently been among the bottom offenses for multiple seasons and offers a chance for pitchers of all talent levels to have good outings. When considering the star potential of Leiter, this has the makings of a great first start.
Leiter is a high-level streamer in this one. There is risk that his first big league action doesn’t go according to plan, but the odds are in his favor.
Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants
Nelson has had below average results in 176 career innings, most of which came last season. He threw six innings in his last start against St. Louis and allowed just one run while picking up the win.
In his first two starts, however, he gave up eight runs (seven earned) in 8.2 innings against Atlanta and the Yankees. Nelson has struck out 13 batters to boost his value, but he tops out as a middling option.
The Giants are right around the league average in most offensive stats after sporting a below-average offense last season. They made a few moves to increase their offensive talent this offseason, signing Matt Chapman at third base and Jung Hoo Lee to man centerfield. The improvements might be real, but San Francisco is likely to top out around the middle of the league.
With a pitcher near the middle against a lineup near the middle, we can expect middling results. Nelson is a low-end streamer, but with so few fantasy options on Thursday, he’s worth a spot in your lineup.
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs vs. Miami Marlins
Taillon has struck out batters at nearly a league-average rate in his career and has been above average at limiting walks. This will be his first start of the season after beginning the season on the IL, so he might be on a pitch count, which limits his value.
The Marlins have been a bottom-10 offense this year by any measure, which has helped lead to their 4-15 record. Any pitcher has to be considered against Miami, and a guy who has had success in the past like Taillon is a must-start player in this one.
Taillon is a mid- to high-level streamer here, only brought down due to the chance for a short outing.
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