Sunday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Gavin Williams, Jameson Taillon and More
Five starting pitchers in action on Sunday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues.
Two weeks from today is our first NFL Sunday of the year. This is a baseball column, and I love baseball, but there's nothing like the NFL. MLB gets hurt by the fact that their final month and playoffs take place during the first half of the NFL season; it has to affect ratings on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays.
Moving to fantasy baseball, let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Sunday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable pitchers. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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McCade Brown, Colorado Rockies @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Brown is making his major league debut in this one. He was drafted in the third round in 2021, but injuries have limited him to just 54 appearances (51 starts), 20 of which came this season. He has done high-level strikeout work when he has been on the field, a good sign moving forward.
Pittsburgh is one of the best matchups around. They rank in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, strikeouts (most), batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are in the bottom five in many of those categories, including ranking last in both runs and home runs.
Brown is a mid-level streamer. I might be a little too bullish on him given it's his first start, but Brown did good work in the minors, and the matchup couldn't be much better. I have faith (but you should also be a little cautious if you don't need innings).
Yoendrys Gomez, Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
We should have known it was over for the Twins when they lost two out of three games to both the Rockies and Nationals within 10 games of the All-Star break ending. They followed soon after by trading most of their big-league squad near the deadline. Minnesota is a prime target the rest of the way.
Gomez has pitched for the Yankees, Dodgers, and White Sox this season, most recently being claimed off waivers by the Sox from LA. He has started two games for Chicago, both in the past two weeks, and picked up two wins, combining for 10 innings, eight hits, five runs (four earned), 10 strikeouts, and just two walks; that's decent enough work to consider in fantasy.
Gomez is a low-level streamer. He is a little below average with strikeouts and walks way too many guys, holding a walk rate near 11.5% (versus league average around 8%). The matchup is good but not great, leaving me not wanting to count on Gomez.
Kyle Hendricks, Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago Cubs
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs @ Los Angeles Angels
We have two playoff hopefuls here, though in different stages of contention. The Cubs have an outside chance at the division, as they are six behind the Brewers but also 5.5 ahead in the wild card race. The Angels are probably done, though, 7.5 back in the wild card and needing to pass five teams to get into playoff position. It's about time for LA to call it.
Hendricks, the former Cub, makes his first start against his old squad here. He was a Cy Young contender with his old team, but now at 35 years old, Hendricks has been way down since 2021 and is on his last legs. He's good with walks but far below average with strikeouts.
Taillon missed a month and a half with injury, returning last Tuesday when he had a good first outing back, giving up just one run in six innings with four strikeouts and one walk. Taillon is always really good with walks, but he has been a little below average with strikeouts for a few years now, lowering his fantasy value a bit.
Hendricks is a low-level streamer and Taillon a low-to-mid-level streamer. The former is at the end of his rope, taking the ball every fifth day but not adding much positive value. The latter is a fine pitcher, both in real life and in the fantasy world, and he has the better matchup in this one.
Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians @ Texas Rangers
Williams is owned in about half of leagues, on the line of not being eligible for our streamer list anymore. He is a little better than average with strikeouts but walks too many guys. He has found success so far, but walking over 11% of the hitters he faces isn't a way to find consistency, even with good K work. Williams has fewer than 300 career innings, so he has time to figure it out.
Texas has fallen back in the wild card race, sitting 4.5 out of playoff position and one game under .500. The Rangers have a top-five pitching staff that is carrying them, but the offense regularly disappoints. I'm rooting for the Rangers to make the postseason because of their pitching, but it's looking more unlikely as they continue to disappoint offensively.
Williams is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout work and his success so far make him someone worth considering in every start, especially against a weak offensive team like the Rangers.
Sunday's Streamer Rankings
- Gavin Williams, CLE
- McCade Brown, COL
- Jameson Taillon, CHC
- Yoendrys Gomez, CWS
- Kyle Hendricks, LAA
