September 3 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: David Festa, Walker Buehler, Cade Povich and More
Tuesday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Baseball is a team game. It’s not the same as basketball or football when five or 11 guys are moving in unison; it’s more of a collection of individual plays strung together with the best total unit winning the game. Sometimes that means great individual efforts are undermined by poor individual results.
Cubs’ pitcher Jameson Taillon was listed here yesterday as a streamer, and things looked great by the time he left the game: seven innings, no runs allowed, three strikeouts and a walk. His team led 3-0. Then the eighth inning happened.
Chicago reliever Jorge Lopez entered the game, allowed the first two batters to reach, then gave up a game-tying home run to the next batter. In just three batters (eight pitches), seven great innings from Taillon were wasted. One individual on the team performed his role about as well as could be asked, but another player’s negative performance was more impactful on the outcome.
Let’s look at Tuesday’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.
Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers @ Los Angeles Angels
Picking up Buehler means betting on upside. He made just 12 starts in 2022, missed all of 2023 and has now made 11 starts in 2024 because of Tommy John surgery and probably won’t reach previous heights until next year at the earliest (if ever again). His 2019 and 2021 were Cy Young worthy, though, with over 200 strikeouts and an ERA near 3.00 both years.
LA’s other team is set to remain that way for a while. Oh, the Angels: not enough big-league talent; not enough top-tier talent; not enough minor league talent. Where does the reprieve come from? The Angels won’t ever compete with the Dodgers for control of LA, but how long is it going to take to even compete in their own division (the worst in baseball this season)?
Buehler is a low- to mid-level streamer. We can’t expect him to pitch like his old self, but with a good matchup and more work under his belt, Buehler is to the level of a streaming pitcher.
Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals @ Miami Marlins
Corbin keeps running out there and making his start every five days. I thought the team would put him on ice by now and get more innings for young pitchers, but apparently they want to get something out of the $25 million they are paying him this year (plus $10 million deferred to 2025; that’s a nice little retirement present). Corbin is around average with walks but well below average striking batters out.
In an April 28 meeting, Miami scored seven runs (four earned) in four innings against Corbin. They don’t have many big games, and that was way back in April, but it’s something, right? There’s not much else to celebrate in Miami. They are a bottom-five offense across the board.
Corbin is a low-level streamer. He has performed poorly, but the matchup is right to maybe get a little value from the last spot on your roster if you’re desperate.
David Festa, Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Festa is 42.1 innings into his first season and holds a better-than-average walk rate and well above-average strikeout rate. He’s been hit hard, having given up eight home runs, but his results have often been positive: Festa hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last seven appearances.
Over the past 30 days, Tampa only has three batters hitting over .250 and just four more over .200. Nine players have hit a home run, and only three of them have hit more than two. Their offensive rankings in that timeframe are at the bottom of the league, and that includes no real standout individual.
Festa is a mid-level streamer with upside. His strikeout work makes him intriguing, and the matchup puts him in a good position. His lack of track record is the only thing holding Festa back.
J.T. Ginn, Oakland Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners
Ginn has made just two relief appearances and one start in the majors. Those 8.2 innings aren’t near enough to glean any real information, but Ginn was below average striking guys out in the minor leagues, so there’s not much upside there. He has also struggled with run prevention; Ginn would still be at a lower level if Oakland wasn’t desperate for contributors.
Seattle might help things: They are in the bottom five in runs scored, hits, doubles and all four slash categories (sixth worst in on-base percentage, actually, but whatever). They have also struck out more than any other offense, giving opponents a high ceiling.
Despite the great matchup, Ginn is a low-level streamer. We haven’t seen enough to expect much, so this is more about the matchup.
Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
When writing the headline here, instead of “vs. Pittsburgh Pirates,” I almost wrote “vs. Paul Skenes;” I think that says more about the Pirates than it does about my deteriorating memory. Pittsburgh houses a bottom-10 lineup that has long stretches of ineptitude. I mentioned above that Taillon shut them out for seven innings yesterday, and that’s a more regular occurrence than the four-run inning that won the game for the Pirates.
Hendricks probably has about five or six starts left in his Cubs career (and maybe big-league career). He has fallen precipitously from his Cy Young heights, holding a well below average strikeout rate and an ERA near 7.00. His last start was against these same Pirates, when he gave up six runs in 1.2 innings with three walks and two strikeouts.
Hendricks is a low-level streamer. His performance is bad enough that Hendricks can only be considered a desperation arm for someone who needs to fill a spot.
Cade Povich, Baltimore Orioles vs. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox have lost their last 11 games. They have lost at least 10 games in a row three times this season, topping out at 21. Monday’s starter Chris Flexen earned a dubious honor when the team lost his 20th straight start. Not that he has earned the loss in 20 straight, but the team has lost the last 20 games that he took the mound. It does reflect on Flexen (2-14 record), but that’s more about the whole team; remember, it’s a team game consisting of individual performances.
Povich is another rookie with just 52 innings under his belt. It hasn’t been a great start: 1-7 record, 6.58 ERA and both a walk rate and strikeout rate well worse than average. On a team fighting for the best record in baseball, Povich isn’t ready for the spotlight; injuries have forced him into action at the top level.
Povich is a low-level streamer. Like Hendricks, Corbin and Ginn, he is more fit for the last spot in your lineup, but the great matchup puts him at the end of the radar.
Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings
- David Festa, MIN
- Walker Buehler, LAD
- Cade Povich, BAL
- J.T. Ginn, OAK
- Patrick Corbin, WSH
- Kyle Hendricks, CHC
