May 3 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Jose Quintana, Martin Perez, Patrick Corbin and More
A look at Friday's probable pitchers who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Yesterday, I laid out my technique for identifying teams to target with fantasy pitchers after the first month-plus of the season. It’s not overly complicated: essentially, I was looking for teams that are in the bottom 10 in several offensive stats.
Eleven teams stood out, with a few usual suspects (White Sox and Rockies) and some surprises (Blue Jays and Rays). For the next few weeks, those are the teams I am going to be looking to target with starting pitching streamers.
Let’s run through Friday’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. The full streaming rankings are listed at the bottom.
Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals vs. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays were seen as one of the top offensive teams coming into the season, and I have been hesitant to target them with the thought they would right the ship. It’s time to trust the numbers, though, and go after Toronto’s lineup.
Corbin’s last good season was 2019, and his strikeout rate has plummeted in the time since. It’s hard to trust him in any start, but this is one of the few times he is feasible as a streamer, albeit a low-level one.
Cole Irvin, Baltimore Orioles @ Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati had high hopes coming into the season after sporting an above-average offense in 2023, but injuries and underperforming players have put them among the bottom 10 in 2024. Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer are the only guys excelling.
Irvin both walks and strikes out hitters at below-average rates, not hurting himself but also holding a low fantasy ceiling in most outings. In his last two starts, Irvin has combined to throw 13.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Because of the lack of strikeouts, Irvin is just a mid-level streamer, but he has a chance to be successful again in this one.
Brad Keller, Chicago White Sox @ St. Louis Cardinals
Keller has thrown just 1.2 innings this year after starting the season on the IL. He has worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates in his career over six-plus seasons, and the results have been a little worse than average.
St. Louis has been among the worst offensive teams in the league, seeing their best hitters struggle mightily through April. Despite Keller’s underwhelming numbers, the matchup makes him a low- to mid-level streamer in this one.
Martin Perez, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Colorado Rockies
Perez has been really good in four of six starts while laboring in the other two. He has an ERA under 3.00 this year despite a below-average strikeout rate, something that has been constant in his career.
Perez has taken care of the worst lineups, and he gets another one in this game against the Rockies. Colorado has performed poorly at the plate, a multi-year trend. They are in the bottom six in runs scored and home runs and among the bottom 10 in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.
Again, the lack of strikeouts keeps him from the top level, but Perez is a solid mid-level streamer on Friday.
Cal Quantrill, Colorado Rockies @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Opposing Perez is Quantrill, a pitcher who strikes batters out at a low rate but holds a career ERA under 4.00 in more than 600 innings. He has been worse than his career averages in strikeout rate, walk rate and ERA this season, making him a streaming option only against the worst lineups.
Pittsburgh fits that description. In the exercise yesterday to identify teams to target, the Pirates appeared in the bottom 10 more than any other team. A franchise that was supposed to have young players growing into upside is instead in last place.
Quantrill is a low- to mid-level streamer because of the tasty matchup, but he has a defined ceiling.
Jose Quintana, New York Mets @ Tampa Bay Rays
Quintana has had only one poor start, otherwise ranging from OK to good in his other outings. A lack of strikeouts has kept his value from reaching another level. Quintana has been league-average in terms of strikeout rate in his career, so there is reason for optimism there.
Tampa Bay is one of the most surprising teams through April, and not in a good way. After multiple seasons near the top of the league on offense, they have fallen off a cliff. The Rays have performed like a bottom-10 team in 2024.
Quintana is a mid-level streamer, again hurt a little by the lack of strikeouts. The matchup makes him a good option.
JP Sears, Oakland Athletics vs. Miami Marlins
Miami is one of the teams fighting for the bottom spot in the league, giving opposing pitchers a great matchup. They have struggled to hit for power or average; things look bleak.
Sears fits the theme of the day as a slightly below-average starter who doesn’t strike out a lot of batters. He had three good starts in mid-April that were sandwiched between three rough outings, showing uneven results. Sears is a mid-level streamer because of the matchup.
Ryan Weathers, Miami Marlins @ Oakland Athletics
Copy and paste the same explanation for Weathers. He’s not the best option, but a matchup against the moribund A's puts him on the streaming radar.
Weathers is a mid-level streamer without a ton of upside, though he did strike out 10 batters in six innings on April 16 against the Giants.
Friday SP Streamer Rankings
- Martin Perez, PIT
- Jose Quintana, NYM
- Cole Irvin, BAL
- J.P. Sears, OAK
- Ryan Weathers, MIA
- Cal Quantrill, COL
- Brad Keller, CWS
- Patrick Corbin, WAS
