May 4 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Lance Lynn, Erick Fedde, a Rookie Making His Debut and More
A look at Saturday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
The first weekend of May means we are on the precipice of summer. School is almost out, Memorial Day will be here before we know it, and it’s 90+ degrees every day in Arizona.
It also means the dog days of summer will soon be upon us, maybe felt nowhere more than during the grueling baseball season. The fantasy day-to-day is tedious, but it’s necessary to capture glory come October.
Let’s look at Saturday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most rankings and stats are from ESPN. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Erick Fedde, Chicago White Sox @ St. Louis Cardinals
Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago White Sox
I’m just going to mention these two briefly because they are already owned in about half of leagues, but they are both good streamers if available. The Cardinals and White Sox have been among the worst offensive teams of 2024, presenting good matchups for virtually all pitchers.
Pick up one or both guys and get them into your lineup if you can. I slightly favor Fedde because of his strikeout numbers, though Lynn has also been above average. They are both high-level streamers.
Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics vs. Miami Marlins
Blackburn’s first three starts: 19.1 innings, 0 runs allowed, 11 strikeouts, 3 walks
Blackburn’s last three starts: 15.2 innings, 13 runs allowed (all earned), 17 strikeouts, 6 walks
While his strikeout rate improved, Blackburn has seen his season turn from sparkling slipper to pumpkin. Part of that is the schedule: His last two starts were against the Yankees and Orioles. The difference in performance shows that Blackburn is a streamer and not a keeper.
Miami is a good team to stream against, sitting in the bottom 10 in many major offensive stats and among the last three in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. That lack of power makes them attractive for a pitcher who has allowed four home runs in his last two starts (three against Baltimore).
Blackburn is a mid-level streamer with upside, just a notch below the top guys today.
Austin Gomber, Colorado Rockies @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh is the only reason that Gomber is here, as they have regressed to the Pirates of the last few decades rather than a team with young players blossoming. They are among the bottom 10 in most major stats and the bottom five in slugging percentage and OPS.
Gomber has been below average both in his career and this season. He made two decent starts in April and struck out seven in four innings against the Rays, but the season-long numbers are mediocre. Gomber can get into your lineup as a low-level streamer if you’re in need of an arm.
Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals vs. Toronto Blue Jays
After a worse-than-average walk rate in 121 innings last year, Irvin has nearly cut that number in half in 2024 (33.2 innings). The results have still been middling, with his ERA and strikeout percentage both a little worse than league average.
Four Toronto hitters with at least 50 at-bats are batting above .250. None of them are Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette or Daulton Varsho, the supposed young core of the team. Only Varsho and Justin Turner have more than three home runs.
Irvin is a low- to mid-level streamer, listed here mainly because of the matchup.
John Means, Baltimore Orioles @ Cincinnati Reds
Means made just six appearances between 2022-23 because of Tommy John surgery, and he started this season on the IL before being activated for his first start in this one. He has been an average pitcher in his career, striking out batters a little less than league average but also not walking many guys. There is a chance of a short start here due to it being Means’ debut.
Cincinnati, like Pittsburgh, had higher hopes but has looked middling at best. They have done better hitting for power but are near the bottom in batting average and on-base percentage. They don't present the best matchup, but the Reds make Means a low-level streamer in this one.
Trevor Rogers, Miami Marlins @ Oakland Athletics
While Oakland hasn’t embarrassed themselves to the levels of the previous few seasons, they are struggling to hit the ball. The pitching staff has surprised, helping the team sit near .500, but the hitters aren’t going to carry the A’s very often.
His results have been mostly average, with an ERA a little above 4.00 both in his career and in 2024. Rogers has an above-average strikeout rate in his career, and he has 27 Ks in 31.1 innings this year; Oakland has struck out the fourth-most of any team.
Rogers is a mid-level streamer here because of both his and Oakland's performances, but his strikeout ability gives him more of a chance at a good start than some of the others listed.
Christian Scott, New York Mets @ Tampa Bay Rays
Scott will be making his Major League debut in this one, and he couldn’t ask for a much better welcoming party than the Rays. Tampa was in the top four in 2023 in runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. They were sixth in home runs.
Well, the Rays are in the bottom 10 in all those stats so far in 2024 other than batting average. It has been a major dive for Tampa Bay’s offense through the first 30-ish games.
Scott might be New York’s top pitching prospect. He struck out 221 hitters in 174.1 innings in the minors with a 3.30 ERA. The Mets will surely be expecting Scott to pitch well and maybe stick around, though that might not be the case for reasons out of his control.
With the matchup and strikeout numbers, Scott is a mid-level streamer in his first big league start.
Saturday Streamer Rankings
- Erick Fedde, CHW
- Lance Lynn, STL
- Paul Blackburn, OAK
- Trevor Rogers, MIA
- Christian Scott, NYM
- Jake Irvin, WAS
- Austin Gomber, COL
- John Means, BAL
