August 9 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Jameson Taillon, Jose Quintana, Mitchell Parker and More

I’m going to be careful what I say here today, because words can be powerful. In the preamble to yesterday’s starting pitcher streamers, I talked about Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol likely losing his job soon because of the teams history-chasing ineptitude.

I wake up this morning and: “Pedro Grifol out as White Sox manager.” I’m not saying the White Sox read what I wrote and made the decision, but do I have a Midas-like touch of poison for anyone I doom? Let’s find out: the next manager to be fired will be Oakland’s Mark Kotsay.

He’s been the manager since 2022, and the team is leaving Oakland for a stopover in Sacramento for three years before settling in Las Vegas. A move to a new location would be a good time to bring in a new manager to create new vibes.

Let’s look at Friday’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.

Mitchell Parker, Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Angels

Parker is in his first season, and in 106.1 innings he’s holding an ERA right at 4.00 with both a walk rate and strikeout rate a little lower than average. He’s been inconsistent among the good things, as would be expected with any rookie, but he’s been good enough to be on the streaming radar.

The Angels rank in the bottom 10 in runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and all four slash categories. There’s not a lot else to say. I keep saying some variation of, “Mike Trout isn’t coming back, they’re screwed.” That’s about the gist of it.

Parker is a mid-level streamer. A decent pitcher with a good matchup; it’s what streamers are made of.

Martin Perez, San Diego Padres @ Miami Marlins

Miami continues their season of futility: They rank in the bottom three in runs scored, doubles, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. While their contact hitting is a little better, Miami doesn’t have any power or enough good hitters to score runs.

Perez made his first start with the Padres last Saturday, holding the Rockies to one run in six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. (Yes, he was listed here as a streamer.) Perez made one start against Miami while with the Pirates, lasting just 4.1 innings while giving up one run with two strikeouts and three walks. March 29 was a long time ago, though, and Perez is better suited for a strong outing this time around.

Perez is a mid-level streamer. He’s well below average with strikeouts while sitting in the middle in walk rate. It’s another case of the right pitcher with the right matchup.

Jose Quintana, New York Mets @ Seattle Mariners

Quintana just seems like the quintessential streamer (pun intended…I think). Years ago, I remember one of ESPN’s fantasy analysts using the term “Wandy Rodriguez Line.” The basis was that if a pitcher was better than Wandy, he should be owned in fantasy leagues; pitchers worse were streamers. Quintana’s career mirrors that concept, though he’s regressed a bit from his prime.

Seattle’s best asset as a streaming target is their strikeouts: Mariner batters have struck out almost 60 more times than any other team and more than 10 times per game. They add to it by ranking in the bottom five in essentially every major offensive box stat, though they are a bit above average with home runs.

Quintana is a mid-level streamer. His strikeout work is good enough to give him a chance at a big outing with Seattle’s major K numbers.

Mitch Spence, Oakland Athletics @ Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto is more of an OK matchup than truly good. They’ve been below-average most of the year, but there is enough talent to produce runs on a semi-regular basis. The Blue Jays will be looking to contend next season, so they might be one of the biggest teams to watch this offseason as they try to capitalize before their young stars hit free agency.

Spence has allowed 100 hits in 100.1 innings; I thought that was cool. His strikeout and walk rates are both a hair lower than average. Spence made a start against the Blue Jays back in June and allowed just two runs in seven innings with three strikeouts and no walks.

Spence is a low-level streamer. The matchup isn’t great, and Spence is a below-average pitcher with a limited ceiling, though his last start against Toronto is encouraging.

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox

We already touched on the White Sox, and while they won’t have the worst record ever, this team is still historically putrid. Their offensive numbers aren’t just bottom-10 or bottom-five; they’re bottom-two in many cases. This might be the worst offense in the league.

Taillon is owned in less than half of leagues, which is surprising. He’s a little below average striking batters out, but he has a miniscule walk rate and 3.25 ERA. Usually, a number like that last one would have him on a team in most fantasy leagues, but everyone is apparently smartening up to the fact that ERA and record aren’t the most important measures of success (though they are fantasy categories).

Taillon is a mid- to high-level streamer. His career strikeout work is average, but he’s been lower this season, bringing down his ceiling just a bit. The matchup couldn’t be better, though.

Friday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Jameson Taillon, CHC
2. Jose Quintana, NYM
3. Mitchell Parker, WSH
4. Martin Perez, SD
5. Mitch Spence, OAK