August 4 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Simeon Woods Richardson, River Ryan, Jose Quintana and More

Every division in baseball is within six games at the top, and just eight teams are 10 or more games out of first place. Ten teams are within nine games of the wild card in the National League, and eight teams are within the same margin in the AL. It’s going to be a good finish to the 2024 season; we’ve just got 50+ games to go.

Let’s run through Sunday’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.

Spencer Arrighetti, Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Arrighetti is in his first season and has thrown 92 innings with 104 strikeouts and 47 walks. His strikeout rate is well above average, but his walk rate is also three percentage points higher than average, so Arrighetti both helps and hurts himself. He has struggled with run prevention (5.58 ERA) and has allowed three or more runs in five of his past eight starts.

Tampa has been an average offensive team since the All-Star break, hitting well for power but with a low hit total and team batting average. They are a bottom-10 offense over the full season, and the exodus of veterans at the trade deadline means things will probably stay light for the rest of the season.

Arrighetti is a low- to mid-level streamer. His strikeout work means that Arrighetti can save a poor start with a lot of Ks, but he has struggled to be consistently good.

Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Nelson is coming off his best start of the season: seven shutout innings with just two hits allowed, two walks and nine strikeouts. Arizona won that game 17-0 over the Nationals, so he didn’t have to be that dominant, but Nelson enjoyed a big day. His season-long (and career) numbers are those of a pitcher who does well limiting walks but also is below average striking batters out.

Keeping the focus on the post-All-Star schedule, Pittsburgh is in the bottom 10 in runs scored, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS; it’s very similar to their work over the full season. Pirate batters are also fifth in most strikeouts this year.

Nelson is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup is right to find success, but Nelson is a middling pitcher whose dominant starts are few and far between.

Jose Quintana, New York Mets @ Los Angeles Angels

The veteran Quintana keeps plugging away, totaling 113.1 innings for a team fighting for a wild card. That’s valuable enough, but he has done it with an ERA under 4.00, though his strikeout and walk rates are both a little worse than average. Quintana has given up more than two runs just once in his last eight starts.

I forgot how hot Mike Trout started the season: He had 10 home runs in 29 games before getting hurt. It would be nice to have a player like that in the lineup, wouldn’t it? Without their superstar, though, LA is in the bottom 10 in runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and all four slash categories.

Quintana is a mid-level streamer. Decent pitcher, decent matchup; sounds like a decent guy to have in your lineup.

River Ryan, Los Angeles Dodgers @ Oakland Athletics

Ryan has made just two starts but has impressed: 11 innings, six hits, one earned run (and one unearned), six walks and 10 strikeouts. The walks are a little high, but Ryan has otherwise been about as good as the Dodgers could ask for. He was a high-level pitcher in the minor leagues, so there’s reason to believe he can continue to succeed, even as he regresses to the mean.

The A’s are a good power-hitting team but fall short in other areas. They rank fourth in home runs and near the middle of the league in slugging percentage and OPS. They are in the bottom 10 in runs scored, hits, batting average and on-base percentage, though, and rank third in most batter strikeouts.

Ryan is a mid- to high-level streamer. He’s not going to keep dominating every time out, but Ryan has a track record of professional success and a good matchup. I’m tempering expectations slightly because of his short time in the big leagues.

Simeon Woods Richardson, Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have lost 18 in a row. They last won on July 10 in the first game of a doubleheader. They’ve only won three games since the start of July. It’s bad. It’s really, really bad. The offense is maybe the worst in the league and won’t get any better this season.

Woods Richardson has put together a good rookie season, sitting close to league average in both strikeout and walk rate over 91.1 innings. He started twice against the White Sox back in April, combining for 8.2 innings with four runs allowed (three earned) and eight strikeouts to three walks. It was an OK showing, and Woods Richardson has thrown over 80 innings since that time and is surely a better pitcher today than he was on April 30.

Woods Richardson is a mid- to high-level streamer. The matchup couldn’t be any better, and his successful work this season portends good things, especially if he can find his strikeout touch.

Sunday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN
2. River Ryan, LAD
3. Jose Quintana, NYM
4. Ryne Nelson, ARI
5. Spencer Arrighetti, HOU