Saturday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Bubba Chandler, Parker Messick, and More

Two weekends from now, we will be in the final series of the MLB season. After a long journey, more than six months in the making, we are down to the final stretch, with both division titles and wild cards on the line. There is still plenty to be decided; things will only heat up from here on out.

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.

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Andrew Alvarez, Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Bubba Chandler, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Washington Nationals

The Nationals won the first game of this series 6-5, maybe higher scoring than we would think from these teams, but only five of those runs came off the starters. Both Washington and Pittsburgh have bottom-10 offenses that are worth targeting every day.

Alvarez has made just two big-league starts, combining for just four hits and two runs allowed in 9 2/3 innings with five walks and six strikeouts. Alvarez was a little below average with strikeouts in the minors, something that will probably hold. He has found early success, but we just don't know enough to have a real read on Alvarez.

Chandler is just a prospect himself, having made four appearances in the big leagues and only one start. In his first two appearances, Chandler combined for eight innings pitched and no runs allowed. In his two latest appearances, he has given up 12 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Part of the issue might be the matchups; the first two games were against the Rockies and Cardinals, and the last two were against the Dodgers and Brewers.

Alvarez is a low-to-mid-level streamer and Chandler a mid-level streamer. Chandler did really good strikeout work in the minors and has a higher floor and ceiling because of it.

Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland Guardians

Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox

Two division foes here at opposite sides of the playoff race, the Guardians are 3.5 back in the wild card race while the White Sox are the only AL team officially eliminated from the playoffs (only Colorado has been eliminated in the NL). Cleveland's offense is at risk of holding them back, though they did get a 4-0 win in the series opener. Chicago has been better recently but is bad overall.

Martin is average with walks and below average with strikeouts, a very common type here on our streamer list. He has allowed fewer than one hit per inning and a homer every 7.5 innings, slightly above-average numbers; Martin would get more attention on a better team, though his lower strikeouts bring down his fantasy value just a bit.

Messick is another brand-new rookie, just four starts and 23 1/3 innings into his career. He has allowed 28 hits in that time but only three walks and five runs, mixing luck and timely pitching. His strikeout rate is below average, but Messick did high-level work in the minors, so that will probably improve with more time.

Martin and Messick are both low-to-mid-level streamers. Messick has a higher ceiling because of expected better strikeout work, but the White Sox have been much better since the trade deadline and might not offer quite the same great matchup.

Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks @ Minnesota Twins

Nelson is better than average with walks and generally a little worse with strikeouts, but he has been right in the middle this year with Ks. Nelson has also been good limiting hitters, allowing just 108 hits in 137 innings and a home run every 9.1 innings. It has all worked out to a 3.48 ERA and Nelson looking like one of Arizona's best pitchers at times.

Minnesota has been floundering the entire second half, and it didn't help matters when they traded away half their roster at the deadline. The Twins have been a middling offensive team in the past 30 days and a below-average unit over the full season. They are a team I feel confident about targeting, though not as one of the top options.

Nelson is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is more of a good one than a great one, but his own work, including the strikeouts, gives him a nice ceiling. Nelson might deserve a little more fantasy awareness next season.

Saturday's Streamer Rankings

1. Bubba Chandler, PIT
2. Ryne Nelson, ARI
3. Parker Messick, CLE
4. Davis Martin, CWS
5. Andrew Alvarez, WAS