June 24 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Taj Bradley, Matt Waldron, Carson Spiers and More

Another Monday. In fact, it’s the last Monday of June, meaning we are about halfway through the baseball season. Summer is all downhill from July 4 on, so get out there and enjoy the weather before it’s time to start thinking about fall again.

Let’s run through Monday’s probable starters (according to MLB.com) who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups, creating streaming value. Most stats and rankings are from MLB. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Seattle Mariners

Bradley has struck out more than 28% of the hitters he has faced in both 2023 and 2024. He holds an ERA over 5.00, though, in part because he gives up too many home runs (one HR every 4.7 innings). His strikeout rate, walk rate, ERA and WHIP are all better than last season, and Bradley has been an average pitcher in 2024.

The Mariners are a great team to come up against for any pitcher, and great strikeout guys get even more benefit because Seattle hitters have struck out more than any other team this season, averaging exactly 10 Ks per game. They hit home runs, but that’s about the end of their offensive prowess.

Bradley is a mid- to high-level streamer in this one. The strikeout upside is about as good as any streamer can hope for, something that doesn’t come around often with this group.

Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels vs. Oakland Athletics

Speaking of strikeouts, Oakland hitters have struck out the second most behind Seattle. They follow a similar profile in that they hit home runs but struggle elsewhere. The A’s are even worse than the Mariners, though, reaching the bottom five in runs scored, hits, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS.

Canning had an above-average strikeout rate in every previous season he pitched before 2024. That number has fallen well below average this year to 15.4% (league average is around 21-22%). His ERA and WHIP are close to his career numbers, so Canning has only shown a real difference in the number of hitters he strikes out.

Canning is a mid-level streamer. His sudden loss of strikeout acumen lowers his value, but the matchup is right, and there’s a history of high-level K work.

Bailey Falter, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cincinnati Reds

Falter is very good at limiting walks, but he also is well below average striking batters out. His results have been positive, as Falter has thrown essentially the same number of innings as he did in 2023 but has allowed about 30 less hits and 15 less earned runs. He probably won’t ever excel consistently, but Falter is a streamer-worthy pitcher.

Cincinnati is closer to middling than the basement in most areas, though they have their lows as well. They are dead last in hits and 27th in batting average coming out of the weekend, and Reds batters have struck out the eighth most. There is upside in this matchup, even if they aren’t as lowly as the previous few teams listed.

Falter is a low- to mid-level streamer here. His lack of strikeouts is a real issue for his fantasy value, and the matchup is just OK.

Carson Spiers, Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Spiers worked as a long reliever in his first five outings this season before making his first start last Monday against these same Pirates. It wasn’t a great performance, but it also could have been worse: six innings, seven hits and four runs allowed, five strikeouts and one walk. He lost to Paul Skenes, which will happen to plenty of great pitchers. Spiers’ short time in the majors (38.1 innings) doesn’t give us a lot of clues, but he has lower-than-average walk and strikeout rates.

There’s not a lot to say about the Pirates; they are in the bottom 10 in essentially every major offensive category, and Pittsburgh hitters have struck out the fifth most. There aren’t many better matchups a pitcher could hope for.

Spiers is another low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup gives him value, but it’s hard to expect more than an OK start.

Matt Waldron, San Diego Padres vs. Washington Nationals

I like focusing on teams who rank in the bottom 10 in a lot of stats, but there’s a difference between the teams near 20th and those who are regularly in the bottom five. Washington is in the former group, consistently below average but not in the basement like the White Sox, for example.

Waldron has a little bit better-than-average walk rate, strikeout rate and ERA this season. In four of his 15 starts, he allowed four or more runs. In the other 11, he allowed two or less runs, looking good more than he has struggled. Each of those rough outings came on or before May 5, so he has been on a good roll lately.

Waldron is a mid- to high-level streamer here. An average strikeout rate and decent matchup gives Waldron a nice floor, and his recent success points toward another possible quality outing this time around.

Monday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Taj Bradley, TB
2. Matt Waldron, SD
3. Griffin Canning, LAA
4. Carson Spiers, CIN
5. Bailey Falter, PIT