August 26 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Ryan Pepiot, Jameson Taillon, Ty Madden and Davis Martin

It’s a light day for streamers today. Ten teams have the day off, so just 10 pairings match up (with Toronto/Boston and Kansas City/Cleveland playing double-headers). Only seven teams I am looking to target with fantasy pitchers are in action, and the Marlins and Rockies are playing at Coors Field, making that a much less appealing situation.

But we’ll make do; that’s what streaming is all about. We don’t have the best players in mind when we are looking at who to stream, so a day without much of our normal group is more of a dare to find feasible players than a true hindrance.

Let’s look at Monday’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.

Ty Madden, Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox vs. Detroit Tigers

Though they are both out of the playoff race in the AL Central, the White Sox and Tigers are on different paths right now. Detroit has some young talent and was able to stay in the division race for a few months, but there’s not quite enough to contend. The Tigers have something to build around, though.

The White Sox just hit 100 losses, the second quickest a team has ever reached that mark. The best players in Chicago are more likely to be sent out in trades this winter than they are to be around the next time the Sox are even an average team. They might be the worst offense in the league.

Madden is making his Major League debut after being drafted 32nd overall in 2021. Madden has had some control issues which in turn led to allowing runs. He is an above-average strikeout pitcher, though, having totaled 403 Ks in 337.1 minor league innings. If nothing else, Madden enters the league with one positive trait.

Martin has more experience than Madden but not much, owning 85.2 big-league innings with both a strikeout rate and walk rate a hair worse than average. There’s not much to mine from Martin’s work in the majors so far; he has pitched better against weak teams (Mariners, Athletics) and struggled more against better teams (Giants, Twins).

Madden and Martin are both low-level streamers. We’ve seen Martin produce a low ceiling and floor, and while there’s intrigue with Madden, it’s impossible to expect a high-level debut.

Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays @ Seattle Mariners

Pepiot is owned in a lot of leagues, to the point it’s tough to call him a streamer, but we’ll include him on a light day. Pepiot does high-level strikeout work while sitting around average with walks, setting a good base for himself. In his one start against Seattle earlier this season, Pepiot allowed just one run in 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks (June 26).

Seattle is kind to every pitcher, not just Pepiot. The team has a bottom-five lineup to go with their top-five pitching staff, pulling them down to the point that they fired coach Scott Servais a few days ago to try to salvage 2024. Chances are the team will continue sputtering and miss the playoffs despite season-long dominance from the starting pitchers.

Pepiot is a high-level streamer. Again, he’s not available in a ton of leagues, but if you are able to grab him, he’s probably worth keeping unless you have a strong pitching staff. Nestor Cortes, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford are other Monday starters owned in a lot of leagues but with some availability and good matchups.

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are like the Las Vegas Raiders of baseball: They have a storied history and won championships in previous generations, but they’ve mostly been bad over the last 20-30 years and haven’t won the big one in 40+. Pittsburgh isn’t doing anything new this season, on pace to miss the playoffs but with the promise of young pitchers (the most volatile resource).

Taillon has pitched well, holding a walk rate below 5% and a strikeout rate a little below average. In his one start against the Pirates this season, Taillon allowed three runs in 4.2 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. His last three starts have spanned 16 innings with 13 runs allowed, though 15 strikeouts with just four walks is a good ratio.

Taillon is a mid-level streamer. He throws the ball well, and the Pirates present a good matchup for all pitchers.

Monday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Ryan Pepiot, TB
2. Jameson Taillon, CHC
3. Ty Madden, DET
4. Davis Martin, CWS