Monday's probable starters who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
The White Soxset their franchise record for losses when they dropped yesterday’s game to the Mets 2-0. Chicago is now 31-107. They might set the record for most losses in a season, which is 120. It couldn’t be much worse for the 2024 season.
And regardless, it’s only one season. What’s the real difference between the record they have and Miami’s 50-86 mark? You might say the difference is 20 wins, and you’d be right, but both teams are well behind everyone else in their respective divisions and cruising to last-place finishes.
Even if the Sox reach futile history, it won’t affect anything differently than if they won 20 more games. They’ll be the worst team, but we’ll forget about it in a few years. It’ll get mentioned when a team is on a brutal stretch or showing season-long malaise, but it’s not like wins and losses carry over: Chicago will start next season 0-0. As awful as it is (I’m a fan, so I feel it as much as anyone), 2024 only represents one year in a history of over 100 seasons.
Let’s look at Monday’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.
Osvaldo Bido, Oakland Athletics vs. Seattle Mariners
Bido is 56 innings into his second season after debuting with 50.2 last season with the Pirates. He has split his time between starting and the bullpen, though he has now been in the rotation since July. Bido has done very good strikeout work this year but has also walked too many guys; those rates were both lower last year, and Bido has found much more success this season.
Seattle had a clear path to the playoffs with Houston struggling hard to start the year and the defending champion Rangers toiling most of the season and now out of the race. The offense has sunk their battleship, though, as a top-five pitching staff hasn’t been able to carry a bottom-five offense to a high enough level. They’re about five games back in both the division and wild card, so they’re not out of it yet, but time is running perilously short.
Bido is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is good, and his strikeout work should play against a Mariners lineup that strikes out more than anyone else.
Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs
Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
I’ll hit on Jones quick: He was pitching at a high level before getting hurt at the beginning of July and missing nearly two months, making his return last Tuesday against these same Cubs. It wasn’t great, as he gave up five runs in four innings, but Jones did better in two starts against Chicago back in May when he combined for 12 innings, five earned runs, 11 strikeouts and just two walks.
Jones is a mid- to high-level streamer. The Cubs are just an OK matchup, and Jones is owned in more leagues than a lot of our streamers, but he is free in a chunk of leagues because of the injury time, and it’s a great time to jump on him as a keeper if you’re able to steal him this late in the season.
Taillon gets the better matchup in this one, as the Pirates are a consistently poor team. There’s more hope than there is for a team like the White Sox because Pittsburgh has exciting young pitching, but the impact offensive players are few and far between, leaving too many holes in Pittsburgh’s lineup. A major influx of talent is needed.
Taillon’s last start was a middling effort against these Pirates, allowing four runs in 6.2 innings with three strikeouts and no walks. The Cubs won 18-8, so Taillon did what he needed and picked up the win. He wasn’t much better when he faced Pittsburgh in May, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings, striking out four and walking two.
Taillon is a mid-level streamer. He’s been fine, though his strikeout work is down from his career numbers, and the matchup is good enough to put Taillon on the streaming radar.
Simeon Woods Richardson, Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay surely has plans to contend next year. Since 2018, they have won 86 games every year (except for the Covid-shortened season) and won 90+ in four of five seasons. This team was regularly contending for the playoffs for more than a half-decade before everything went wrong this season. Injuries are the biggest hurdle, as an entire starting rotation has missed most or all of the season. The Rays traded big-league talent at the deadline rather than giving up future assets to fight a big, muddled, wild card group.
Woods Richardson has pitched well in his first full season, holding both a walk rate and strikeout rate just a hair lower than average and an ERA under 4.00 for a team in the thick of the playoff race. He started against the Rays once in June, allowing just two runs in six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. A similar outing is likely in store.
Woods Richardson is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, and the rookie looks like he belongs in the majors.
Monday’s Streamer Rankings
- Jared Jones, PIT
- Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN
- Jameson Taillon, CHC
- Osvaldo Bido, OAK
#waivers #2024-fantasy-baseball
