September 24 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Tobias Myers, Mitch Spence, Jack Kochanowicz and Jonathan Cannon
Tuesday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Heading into the final two series of the year, each team has about six games remaining in the season. While the NFL will always command the most attention, the playoff races don’t get any more exciting than this time, so more eyes will waver toward the final week of baseball.
Only one division is within five games; those races likely are already settled. Four AL teams are within two games of two wild card spots, though, and the Braves are two games back in the NL with a chance to catch the Diamondbacks or Mets.
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.
Jonathan Cannon, Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels
Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels @ Chicago White Sox
The White Sox and Angels have the two worst records in the American League. Sure, Chicago has a record 120 losses while the Angels are just run-of-the-mill bad at 63-93, but both teams likely feel a similar amount of hopelessness. At least a long season is ending, and players and teams alike can reflect on what feels like a lost year.
Cannon’s last start was against these same Angels, when he threw 6.2 innings, gave up four runs, struck out seven and walked two while earning the win. That was the first time he had gone more than six innings since July 30. Cannon has been average with walks but well below average with strikeouts in his rookie season.
Kochanowicz also faced the White Sox his last time out and excelled: seven innings, one run allowed, five strikeouts and no walks. The strikeout work might be most important, as Kochanowicz has a K rate of less than 10%, which is unsustainably low. Things will likely even out over time, but Kochanowicz must figure out his strikeout pitches.
Cannon and Kochanowicz are both low- to mid-level streamers. The great matchups give them a little bump, but both pitchers are below-average with strikeouts and have lower ceilings.
Tobias Myers, Milwaukee Brewers @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Myers made two starts against the Pirates during the first half of the season with stellar results:
- April 23 @ Pittsburgh: 5 innings, 1 run allowed, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk
- July 10 vs Pittsburgh: 8 innings, 0 runs allowed, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk
He’s been a revelation for a playoff team as a rookie, throwing 130 innings with better-than-average walk and strikeout rates and an ERA just over 3.00.
The Pirates offer another chance for Myers to excel. This team is a bottom-10 offense, and even as they’ve played better over the last month, they still lack power and rank among the top 10 in batter strikeouts. Pittsburgh offers a high ceiling for strikeout pitchers.
Myers is a high-level streamer. His individual work has been very impressive, and the matchup is right for another good day.
Mitch Spence, Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers
The Rangers could qualify as one of the more disappointing teams of the season coming off a World Series title, but there doesn’t seem to be much panic in Texas. Once things were going wrong and injuries added up, they kind of accepted their fate, not mortgaging the future at the trade deadline and instead focusing on 2025. It’s a major surprise to see them finish as a bottom-10 offense.
Spence has made 22 starts and 11 relief appearances this season, racking up the first 142.1 innings of his career. The results have been very average, as Spence holds both a strikeout and walk rate a few percentage points lower than average and an ERA of 4.30. He pitched once in relief and once as a starter against Texas, combining for eight innings, three runs allowed, six strikeouts and three walks.
Spence is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, but his strikeout work is a little low to project a high ceiling.
Tuesday’s Streamer Rankings
- Tobias Myers, MIL
- Mitch Spence, OAK
- Jack Kochanowicz, LAA
- Jonathan Cannon, CWS
