September 28 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Andrew Heaney, Yariel Rodriguez, Joey Estes and Griffin Canning
Saturday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Two more days. That’s how long most teams have left in the season is just two days. It’s a six-month season; it drags on. When the end is this close, you can start to taste it.
A lot has already been figured out, like the White Sox being crowned the worst team ever and every division champion already being sealed, but the wild card races and playoff positioning will still be determined over the next 72 hours (including Monday for the Braves/Mets hurricane re-schedule).
Let’s run through Saturday’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.
Griffin Canning, Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers
Andrew Heaney, Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels
Two teams playing out the last weekend before starting their vacation, these AL West foes both have bottom-10 offenses this year. While the Rangers seemingly have more hope in 2025, the Angels are far away from contention, and Mike Trout might be gone by the next time they have a good team.
I’ve written before about Canning’s odd season: After having an above-average strikeout rate in each previous season, Canning has dropped to a rate several percentage points lower than average. His walk rate and ERA aren’t terribly different than his career numbers, so it’s strange to see big the drop in Ks.
Heaney is likely ready to get a fresh slate. Despite both a walk rate and strikeout rate several percentage points better than average and an ERA under 4.00, Heaney has a 5-14 record. That’s more of a product of his team’s shortcomings than anything Heaney is doing, as nearly the same numbers last year earned him a 10-6 record.
Canning is a low-level streamer and Heaney a mid- to high-level streamer. Heaney’s strikeout work gives him the extra bump, though both pitchers have juicy matchups.
Joey Estes, Oakland Athletics @ Seattle Mariners
Estes is below average with strikeouts, but he is great at limiting walks, bordering on half the league average in BB rate. His first two starts against the Mariners this season were really good: 11.1 combined innings, one run allowed, 10 strikeouts, no walks. The most previous start against Seattle went just four innings with four runs allowed, though three strikeouts and no walks were nice.
The Mariners are just desolate. I’m really intrigued by the thought of what they might do over the offseason to improve one of the worst lineups in the league. They could trade from their impressive pitching to add a high-ceiling hitter, but pitching depth goes fast when injuries start adding up, so that’s risky. While spending money in free agency might be the best path, it remains to be seen if ownership will approve a spike in the payroll.
Estes is a low- to mid-level streamer. His lack of strikeout work holds him down just a little, but the matchup is right.
Yariel Rodriguez, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Miami Marlins
Speaking of the matchup being right, Miami is one of the few teams who might be worse than the Mariners on offense. After trading Luis Arraez at the beginning of May, they had no high-ceiling hitters and only a few young players with potential to be excited about. This team has a multi-year build just to become an average team.
Rodriguez has an above-average strikeout rate but is also walking way too many guys; that’s the profile of a reliever, not a starter. It’s only his first year, and Rodriguez has plenty of time to find better control, but it’s been a clear issue over his 81.2 innings.
Rodriguez is a mid-level streamer. The matchup couldn’t be much better, and his strikeout work gives him a nice ceiling.
Saturday’s Streamer Rankings
- Andrew Heaney, TEX
- Yariel Rodriguez, TOR
- Joey Estes, OAK
- Griffin Canning, LAA
