May 24 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Alek Manoah, Cristopher Sanchez, James Paxton and More
A look at Friday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Many people are heading into a long weekend with Memorial Day coming up on Monday. That means summer is pretty much here, as school is ending and warm weather is going to force people outside (even against our best efforts).
Each team is around 50 games into their season, just about one-third of the slate. Things are what they are at this point: some will perform better or worse as the season continues, but teams and players are what the numbers say they are until further notice.
Let’s look at 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 MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Matt Manning, Detroit Tigers vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers
Two guys facing each other who are conveniently in alphabetical order: Let’s group them together! Both the Blue Jays and Tigers have sported bottom-10 offenses basically all season, allowing opposing pitchers to find fantasy value that’s not there against better lineups.
Runs scored, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS: These are all statistics in which both Toronto and Detroit are in the bottom 10. That alone gives most pitchers streaming value regardless of their own skills.
Manning’s results have been fairly average in 254 innings, holding an ERA a little below 4.50 and limiting walks to the league average. He doesn’t strike out many hitters, though, capping his ceiling. While he struck out more than a batter per inning in the minors, that hasn’t translated to the big leagues.
Manoah went from having two All-Star caliber seasons in 2021-22 before catching a case of the yips last season and falling off. He spent time in the low minors trying to iron things out and threw just 87.1 innings for Toronto.
This season has looked more like the old Manoah in a small sample, as he has struck out 19 batters and walked just six in 18 innings. It’s premature to assume the All-Star is back, but Manoah has shown enough to be considered for a roster spot given his upside.
Manning is a low- to mid-level streamer because of his lack of strikeouts. Manoah is a high-end streamer, conversely, given his strikeout upside and good matchup.
James Paxton, Los Angeles Dodgers @ Cincinnati Reds
It must be a pretty sweet life playing with the Dodgers, especially a middling player like Paxton. Though he was better earlier in his career, Paxton has a well below-average strikeout rate and well above-average walk rate (both falling on the negative side). Despite that fact, he is 5-0 with a 2.84 ERA.
A big part of that is luck, but it also has to do with the talent in LA, especially in terms of win/loss record. The results have been good, but Paxton isn’t doing a lot to help himself through 44.1 innings.
Cincinnati gives Paxton fantasy value here as a bottom-line offense with few impact hitters. I gave some stats yesterday about Elly De La Cruz being the only Reds batter finding real success. He is surrounded by hitters performing at replacement level or worse, making it hard for the Reds to score runs.
Paxton is a low- to mid-level streamer. He has a great strikeout rate in his career, but it has tanked this season, leaving a lower ceiling than Paxton has had in past seasons.
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies @ Colorado Rockies
This game taking place at Coors Field brings Sanchez down a notch. I’ve recently noted that Colorado hits like a top-10 team by many measures at home but a bottom-10 team on the road.
There is still a chance for a successful outing for Sanchez, though, as he has excelled in striking batters out in his career, helping to negate some of the advantages of Coors Field. He has walked a few too many guys, but Sanchez has struck out 47 batters in 49 innings and holds an ERA just a little over 3.00.
Sanchez is a mid-level streamer in this one. He would be at a level higher if he were pitching in Philly, but he’s still a valuable fantasy player this time around.
Whoever starts for the Braves and Nationals
As of midnight, Pacific time, there is no listed starter for either of these teams. They are facing the Pirates and Mariners, respectively, though, two teams with weaker lineups. I won’t include these two in the rankings, but if the starters end up being unowned in your league, they will have streaming value.
Friday’s Streamer Rankings
- Alek Manoah, TOR
- Cristopher Sanchez, PHI
- James Paxton, LAD
- Matt Manning, DET
