September 17 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Lance Lynn, Griffin Canning, Bobby Miller and More

I referenced Wally Pipp in a football article I wrote yesterday. If you’re unfamiliar, Pipp played first base for the Yankees for 11 years, spanning from 1915 to 1925. That final year is important, because it’s the first season that Lou Gehrig had more than 30 at-bats.

Pipp needed a day off because of a headache, and Gehrig stepped in for the first of his then-record 2,130 straight games started. Pipp was in Cincinnati the next season, permanently displaced in New York.

Let’s look at 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.

Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox @ Los Angeles Angels

The White Sox are on a continued parade of futility through the end of the season: They played the A’s over the weekend before shifting to LA, and they finish the season with the Angels again then the Tigers. It’s a lot of losing baseball (though a series against Cleveland splits up the Angels games).

Neither team here has any offensive firepower and might not make noise for several more years. It bodes well for the starting pitchers.

Canning had an above-average strikeout rate every season between 2019-2023 (missing 2022 with injury) but has curiously dropped well below average this year. His walk rate is a little higher than his career average, which has fluctuated. Canning must have changed something in his pitch usage or maybe has made an effort to lengthen his starts by working more efficiently, cutting long at-bats and strikeouts.

Martin has just over 100 career innings, owning both a walk rate and strikeout rate a hair lower than average. He did high-level strikeout work in the minors, so there’s hope for improvement there over a longer stretch. We just don’t know a lot about Martin right now given his lack of innings.

Canning is a low- to mid-level streamer, and Martin is a low-level streamer. Canning has the better matchup, giving him a slight edge, but neither pitcher here is likely to produce a big day.

Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh wants to be a league-average offense. They were among the worst in the league in many categories for much of the year but sit closer to 20th now, creeping toward the middle. That won’t help anything this year, but maybe there is a silver lining outside the silhouette of Paul Skenes.

Lynn is striking batters out at an average rate and is just a hair worse than average with walks. It’s gone well enough, as Lynn has seen very average results. In two starts against the Pirates this season, Lynn has combined for 9.1 innings, three runs allowed, seven strikeouts and six walks.

Lynn is a mid-level streamer. It’s a good matchup, and he’s striking out guys well enough to have a decent ceiling.

Bobby Miller, Los Angeles Dodgers @ Miami Marlins

Miller has seen his season stop and start a few times, first missing several months with injury and then getting demoted to the minors to work out some kinks. Control issues were a big part of the problem, as Miller has walked nearly 12% of the batters he has faced this season (league average is around 8%). Miller has struggled in his two September starts, throwing 9.1 innings and allowing 13 runs with 10 strikeouts and seven walks.

Miami is a good team to help Miller get back on track, as they are in the bottom five in runs scored, doubles, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. They have the worst record in the National League and might only be spared baseball’s worst record by the hapless White Sox.

Miller is a low-level streamer. The matchup is right, but his performance hasn’t been good enough to expect anything better.

Jordan Wicks, Chicago Cubs vs. Oakland Athletics

Wicks has thrown just 75.2 big-league innings (over 2023-24) and has been worse than average with both walks and strikeouts. This year is worse than last in both categories, so Wicks still has some work to do to get to an acceptable level. He was better with both in the minors; there’s hope it will work itself out over time.

The A’s are in the bottom 10 in most offensive stats, but they are a good home run hitting team. That is a repeatable skill that teams can ride to great offensive seasons, but it takes a lot more to be successful, like getting runners on base before the ball flies over the fence. Striking out the fourth most in the league doesn’t help.

Wicks is a low-level streamer. Like Miller, Wicks hasn’t done enough to get a high ceiling no matter the matchup.

Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Lance Lynn, STL
2. Griffin Canning, LAA
3. Bobby Miller, LAD
4. Davis Martin, CWS
5. Jordan Wicks, CHC