September 29 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Clarke Schmidt, Mitch Spence, Jack Kochanowicz and Quinn Priester

We finally made it: The last day of the Major League Baseball regular season. (The Braves and Mets will play a double-header Monday to make up for games postponed last week, but everyone else should finish up today.) It’s been a long six months, but there are worse ways to spend half a year.

It’s the last chance to set your fantasy baseball lineup. That might be more of a relief than a tragedy, especially with football well underway, but a regular part of your life is going to go away for a while. Take a second to reflect, even if your team has been out of the running for a few weeks.

Let’s look at Sunday’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.

Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers

Kochanowicz ended up appearing here on a somewhat regular basis since making his debut right before the All-Star break. Seattle, Oakland and the White Sox accounted for almost half of his starts, so the matchups have been right to get him on the streaming radar. He also made a start against the Rangers on September 9 and did OK: six innings, three runs allowed, no strikeouts and one walk. The lack of strikeouts has been a huge issue, as he has a K rate less than half the league average.

The Rangers are a surprise underperformer on offense. Josh Jung was limited to 46 games, and Corey Seager missed about 40 games, but the hitters were otherwise healthy. Instead, guys like Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim had rough seasons, and no one really stepped up to carry the load. The big names will still be there next season, when the Rangers will look to compete again.

Kochanowicz is a low-level streamer. His lack of strikeouts puts a major cap on his ceiling no matter who he is facing.

Quinn Priester, Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Priester has worked both as a starter and reliever, and he gets the call to start the last game of the season. His strikeout rate is well below average, but at least he cut his walk rate in half from last year, a necessary improvement. Priester has worry of a short start, but he is also starting and might be given the chance to go as long as he can.

The Rays are surely ready for this season to end. Injuries added up, guys underperformed, and Tampa was ready to send away big-league talent by the trade deadline. They have been a bottom-10 offense most of the season; we can take advantage one more time before the end of 2024.

Priester is a low-level streamer. He could make a short start, and his lack of strikeouts severely caps his ceiling.

Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Schmidt has a walk rate right at league average over his career and is an above-average strikeout pitcher. Schmidt missed about three and a half months from late May into September with an injury. His numbers have been good when he’s been on the field, particularly his 88 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. The Yankees are surely happy to have Schmidt back before the playoffs, whether he starts or works out of the bullpen.

The Pirates will finish in the bottom 10 in runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs and all four slash categories; they’re in the top five in most batter strikeouts. It feels like a very “Pirates” season. I talked several times about Andrew McCutchen being their third-best hitter and the fact that it’s not a good thing: McCutchen isn’t having a vintage season. The team needs to add multiple players to complement their young pitching if they want to compete for the playoffs next year.

Schmidt is a high-level streamer. The matchup is right, and Schmidt would probably be owned in most leagues if he didn’t miss so much time with injury.

Mitch Spence, Oakland Athletics @ Seattle Mariners

There’s a chance Seattle pitchers finish first in ERA, WHIP, batting average allowed, hits allowed, runs allowed and least walks. They will be 10th or 11th in strikeouts. They probably have the best pitching staff in baseball. I say all that to point out how disappointing the offense truly is to bring this team down below a playoff level. Their biggest issue was batter strikeouts, where Mariner hitters will finish atop the league after being second last year.

Spence has both a walk rate and a strikeout rate just a little lower than average. He has made 23 starts and 11 relief appearances, sticking in the rotation by the end of May. Spence threw one scoreless inning in relief against the Mariners, then he made a start in which he gave up four runs in six innings to Seattle, striking out three and walking one.

Spence is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, but his strikeout rate keeps his ceiling down just a bit.

Sunday’s Streamer Rankings

1. Clarke Schmidt, NYY
2. Mitch Spence, OAK
3. Jack Kochanowicz, LAA
4. Quinn Priester, BOS