August 20 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Robbie Ray, Shane Baz, D.J. Herz and More

After a few light days, we have both quality and quantity on the streamer list today. Good pitchers are going against weak offenses, and some of the bottom teams might be getting even worse as we near the end of the season.

Let’s run through Tuesday’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.

Shane Baz, Tampa Bay Rays @ Oakland Athletics

Joey Estes, Oakland Athletics vs. Tampa Bay Rays

While the A’s are out of the playoff race completely, the Rays are still alive but playing their way out of contention. Both are among the worst offensive teams this month, looking as bad or worse than they did over the first half of the season.  Both teams have bottom-10 offenses worth targeting with essentially every starting pitcher.

Baz was the 12th overall pick in 2017, but his promising career has been interrupted by injuries, most recently missing all of 2023 after Tommy John surgery. He’s done high-level strikeout work both in his short major league time (76.2 innings) and in the minors, and the Rays surely still have high hopes for 25-year-old.

Estes does very well limiting walks but has also been below average striking guys out. He’s struggled to prevent runs as well, holding an ERA near 5.00 in about 100 innings. He made one start against the Rays back in May and allowed one run in five innings, striking out five and walking two.

Baz is a mid- to high-level streamer, and Estes is a low-level streamer. While Estes is here simply for the matchup, Baz has big upside. It’s dangerous to count on that production when he is just returning, but Baz has the pedigree of a player who can excel.

Cody Bradford, Texas Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Bradford has thrown just 92 big-league innings, but he has a strikeout rate a little higher than average and a walk rate close to half the league average. His appearances were mostly out of the bullpen last season, but he has started this year when healthy; Bradford missed about three-and-a-half months with a rib injury. He’s been a little up and down, but the strikeouts are there.

Pittsburgh is another great team to target with a streamer every day. The recently injured Andrew McCutchen is leading the team in runs scored, third in hits and home runs, fourth in RBI and fifth in doubles. This isn’t meant to be a celebration of McCutchen; instead, it’s a demarcation on the Pirates’ lineup that the 37-year-old (38 during the playoffs) is a driving force on a team with faint wild card hopes. The young pitching is about the only positive driving force.

Bradford is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is nice, and his strikeout work gives him a little upside against a team in the top 10 in most batter Ks.

D.J. Herz, Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are away from home: Another streaming option is born. Colorado hitters are a top-10 unit at Coors Field but a bottom-10 team everywhere else. This isn’t a surprise, but it is something backed up by the numbers. They strike out among the most no matter where they are playing, a huge plus.

Herz has thrown 55 innings in his first season, owning a walk rate at the league average and a strikeout rate well above average. He started once against the Rockies in Colorado back in June: Though he allowed four runs (three earned) in 3.2 innings, he also struck out five batters with no walks. Herz looks like another young contributor on a team with an upward trajectory.

Herz is a mid- to high-level streamer. His strikeout work gives him a big ceiling, especially against a team that strikes out as much as almost anyone.

Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox over the past 15 days: last in runs; bottom five in home runs, on-base percentage and OPS; and in the bottom 10 in hits and slugging percentage. It’s not a new trend, either, as they are in the bottom 10 in all those stats over the full season (and bottom three in many of them).

Ray has made just five starts and thrown 21 innings after missing the bulk of the season on the IL. He has been great with strikeouts (30) but has also walked too many guys (12). He has big upside with ace-level work in his past, but he has also struggled in a few of his starts, and it’s hard to expect sustained success from a guy who is still working into shape.

Ray is a mid- to high-level streamer. His strikeout work gives him a great ceiling, and the matchup couldn’t be much better.

Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks @ Miami Marlins

Add Miami to the group of bottom offenses we can target today. The Marlins rank in the bottom four in runs scored, doubles, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Miami is fighting to finish as the worst team in the National League (no one is catching the White Sox).

Rodriguez has made just two starts this season, both times lasting around five innings and allowing three runs. He hasn’t struck many guys out, but he has K'd batters at an above-average rate over his career, so hopefully it will come with more innings. It’s best to expect Rodriguez to make another short start given his lack of innings this year.

Rodriguez is a mid-level streamer. It’s hard to know what his ceiling is at this point in his season, but the matchup puts Rodriguez on the streaming radar.

Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Robbie Ray, SF
2. Shane Baz, TB
3. D.J. Herz, WSH
4. Cody Bradford, TEX
5. Eduardo Rodriguez, ARI
6. Joey Estes, OAK