Monday's Fantasy Baseball Streamer Rankings: Is Rookie Chase Burns on the Verge of Becoming an Ace?

Welcome to another week. At least it's a short work week for most people, as Friday is July 4, a welcome day off as we continue slaving away. They can take our time and our joy for life, but they can't take our Independence (Day)!!!

Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Monday 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.

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Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds @ Boston Red Sox

Almost every streamer I put on this list most days shows up because of his weak opponent as much as his own pitching ability. This is a rare exception. The Red Sox are a top-10 offensive team, ranking in that group (or very close to it) in essentially every box stat. The only reprieve they offer is striking out a lot (third most behind the Rockies and Angels). We are almost never going to target Boston.

Burns was the second overall pick last year out of Tennessee. He cruised the minor leagues, totaling only 66 innings with 89 strikeouts and a 1.77 ERA. Burns has the makings of a future ace if he can put it all together, though that's not a level we can expect from him right now on a consistent basis.

Burns is a low-level streamer. The matchup isn't one I'm looking to chase; this is more about getting Burns' name out there as a future fantasy fixture (especially with a light schedule today). He will probably face Philadelphia in his next start, another tough team, but is in line to start against the Rockies in Cincinnati right before the All-Star break if the rotation holds.

Patrick Corbin, Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles

Trevor Rogers, Baltimore Orioles @ Texas Rangers

We have just one matchup of weak offensive teams today, but both units are great ones to target with fantasy pitchers. Both Baltimore and Texas are clear bottom-10 offenses and might be in the bottom five. The Orioles have also struck out the ninth most, though the Rangers are down near average.

Corbin continues doing well with walks, but he has been a below-average strikeout pitcher since after the COVID season. He has had something of a rejuvenation this season, currently holding a 4.24 ERA while allowing less than a hit per inning. Corbin hasn't had an ERA under 5.00 since 2020 and hasn't allowed less than one hit per inning since 2019. It has been helpful for Texas, who owns a top-five pitching staff, but I don't trust Corbin to keep finding success like this.

Rogers has made just three starts this season after beginning the year on the IL. He ran into trouble in his second start (five hits, three runs, and three walks allowed in 2 1/3 innings), but his other two outings combined for 14 1/3 innings with five hits allowed, no runs, no walks, and nine strikeouts. The most previous start was against these same Rangers, when Rogers went eight scoreless to pick up his first win of the season.

Corbin is a low- to mid-level streamer and Rogers a mid-level streamer. Again, I don't trust Corbin after a half-decade of below-average pitching, so I can't place him too high. Rogers is the better pitcher right now, while both have fantastic matchups.

Erick Fedde, St. Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Fedde has done well limiting hits and homers this season, but his walk rate is several percentage points worse than average, and his strikeout rate is far below average. He has the opposite profile of a pitcher who is generally successful, but Fedde has been able to put up decent results, owning an ERA of 4.11.

I was talking trash about the Pirates over the weekend (as I often do), but they made a statement by sweeping the Mets by a combined score of 30-4 over three games. The Mets were 48-34 and leading the NL East entering that series. We'll probably just look back on this as a fluke when the end of the season comes, but maybe Pittsburgh is showing a little life? We need to see a sustained run before changing too many opinions, though.

Fedde is a low- to mid-level streamer. He keeps having success, and the matchup couldn't be much better, but Fedde's rates bring him down in fantasy, and it's likely to start affecting him in games if he doesn't get back on the right side of things.

Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants

Nelson has accumulated 60 2/3 innings in seven starts and 10 relief appearances, sitting right around average with both walks and strikeouts. He has done really well limiting hits (43) and runs (26), though his results might not be quite as sparkling if he's working exclusively as a starter. In his last three starts, Nelson has given up exactly one run each game while lasting at least five innings, combining for 14 strikeouts and six walks.

San Francisco ranks in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They draw a lot of walks, which is very helpful for the offense, but they are also just outside the top 10 in most batter strikeouts. It has been about two weeks since the Giants traded for Rafael Devers, but in that time, they are still in the bottom 10 in pretty much every category, again only excelling with walks.

Nelson is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is a strong one, and Nelson has looked good recently.

Monday's Streamer Rankings

1. Trevor Rogers, BAL
2. Ryne Nelson, ARI
3. Erick Fedde, STL
4. Patrick Corbin, TEX
5. Chase Burns, CIN