Is the Veteran Drew Rasmussen a Better Fantasy Baseball Streamer than Rookie Kumar Rocker on Saturday?

Welcome to the weekend: work might stop, but the daily fantasy baseball grind never does. It's not quite summer, but that feeling is also creeping in, so it's a good chance to practice some discipline in setting a lineup every day (in daily leagues).

Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Saturday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Hey Abbott! I'm so glad Abbott is back from the IL because it means the return of my favorite bit. For fantasy purposes, Abbott was well above average with strikeouts in 2023 before falling to a well below-average level last season. He's been a little worse than average with walks, but Abbott also kept an ERA under 3.90 in both seasons.

The Pirates are in the bottom 10 in essentially every offensive box stat, including being last in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. Pittsburgh hitters have struck out the fourth most, and two of the teams in front of them have played one extra game.

Abbott is a mid-level streamer. I was going to bump him up a notch, but his strikeout rate fell way off last year, and that lowers his fantasy value. He's also returning from injury for his first start, so it's unclear how sharp Abbott will be and how long he will pitch.

Richard Fitts, Boston Red Sox @ Chicago White Sox

The White Sox are another team in the bottom 10 in most stats. They don't strike out as much as the Pirates, but they are in the same tier in terms of being inept offensively. This is a multi-year problem that won't be getting better any time soon.

Fitts has just 32.2 big-league innings to his name over six starts. He's been average with walks but well below average with strikeouts in that extremely small sample. Fitts was better with Ks in the minors (more than one strikeout per inning), so there's hope he will improve over a longer period.

Fitts is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup puts him squarely on the radar, but it's hard to trust Fitts right now to pitch at a high level.

Kyle Hart, San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies

Hart has even less big-league experience than Fitts: Hart has thrown just 16.2 innings. Frankly, he's been terrible in that time: 28 runs allowed, six home runs, 15 walks, and 17 strikeouts. That's horrendous, and Hart won't be around much longer if he doesn't improve soon.

Luckily, he has maybe the best matchup in the league against the Rockies outside of Denver. Colorado has scored the fewest runs and struck out the second-most times while sitting below average in all four slash categories. All this is despite the fact that the Rockies have played close to half their games at Coors Field.

Hart is a low-level streamer. The matchup couldn't be much better, but I can't recommend him given his piss-poor performance over a short span. Let's make him show something positive first.

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Atlanta Braves

Rasmussen is owned in more leagues than these other guys, but he's still available enough to be worth looking for in your free agent market. He is several percentage points better than average in both walk and strikeout rate over his career. In two starts this season, Rasmussen lasted five innings each time, first allowing no runs against the Pirates then just one run against the Rangers.

The Braves are tied with the Rockies and White Sox for the worst record in baseball (3-10). They rank in the bottom 10 in most offensive stats, and Atlanta batters have struck out the 11th most.

Rasmussen is a high-level streamer. His strikeout work gives him a high ceiling, and he has been great at run prevention this season. Rasmussen might be a keeper, but he's definitely worth picking up for today's start.

Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers @ Seattle Mariners

Rocker was a high-level prospect who was rushed to the big leagues after a bit of a long journey to pro ball. He's another inexperienced pitcher, owning just 19.2 innings in the majors. He has big-time strikeout potential but also real control issues that can flare up at times.

Seattle is another team in the bottom 10 in most offensive categories, and they have struck out the ninth most. The Mariners do hit home runs, but that's the only thing they do well as a group. This is another franchise with a track record of below-average offensive play.

Rocker is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout rate gives him a high ceiling, but there's also a low floor for the inexperienced pitcher if he loses his control.

Saturday's Streamer Rankings

1. Drew Rasmussen, TB
2. Kumar Rocker, TEX
3. Andrew Abbott, CIN
4. Richard Fitts, BOS
5. Kyle Hart, SD