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Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitcher Streaming Options: April 29 – May 5

Originally posted on Just Baseball | By Nate Miller | Last updated 4/25/24

Here are three streamers to consider grabbing off the waiver wire ahead of their upcoming two start weeks, headlined by Rangers’ righty Jon Gray.

Streaming starting pitchers is a common strategy that often leads to success in fantasy baseball. For those unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is simply to pick up a “lesser” pitcher for an inviting matchup or two that is soon to come. The strategy certainly comes with risk, as there is usually a good reason, or several, that a particular hurler is rostered at a lower rate in most leagues. Still, the gamble can pay off nicely if a fantasy manager gets it right and their waiver add delivers.

The goal of this weekly article is to help fantasy managers pinpoint some two-start streamers with favorable matchups for the following week of the 2024 MLB season. These suggestions should be able to help out in a variety of season-long formats, but they can be especially useful to gain an edge in weekly head-to-head leagues.

*** Each SP below was rostered in less than 60% of Yahoo leagues at time of writing

Next Week’s Best Two-Start SP Streamers

Jon Gray (TEX) – vs. WSH, at KC – 31%

Gray has proven to be one of the most difficult starting pitchers to gauge pretty much throughout his career. That inconsistency is what often keeps his rostered rate relatively low across the fantasy landscape. This is his third year with the Rangers, and, for the most part, he has been a serviceable if not solid hurler. Here in his age-32 season, the big right-hander is off to a nice start.

Well, Gray’s first outing of the season back on March 31 against the Cubs was rough, as he gave up five earned runs in 3.2 innings. Since then, however, Gray has allowed just three earned across 21 frames. In that same span, he’s punched out opposing hitters at an elite 33.7-percent clip, leading to a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio.

Jon Gray's 4Ks in 1.2 innings. pic.twitter.com/FPI8ZoNdxc
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 21, 2024

As was the case in his most recent start this past Wednesday, which was quite good (1 ER, 7 K, 4.2 IP), Gray is prone to short outings due to often running high pitch counts. He’s made six appearances (five starts) so far this season and has gone five or more frames in only two of them. Still, he’s managed to pile up at least seven strikeouts three different times already and a 14.1 SwStr% since that first start suggests there’s plenty more to come.

Jameson Taillon (CHC) – at NYM, vs. MIL – 19%

Taillon wasn’t all that good in his first year with the Cubs, as he finished 2023 with a 4.84 ERA across 154.1 innings. Hoping to rebound here in 2024, the veteran righty unfortunately began the campaign on the IL due to a back issue. He’s back and looking quite healthy now though.

In his season debut on April 19, Taillon held the light-hitting Marlins to just one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts. He followed that up with another positive effort, limiting the Astros to two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out four more.

Overall, Taillon is sporting a 1.69 ERA with a 2.45 xERA backing up that mark. The K potential isn’t all that high, but he’s mixing his pitches well, getting a healthy amount of groundballs (42.4%), and inducing quite a bit of weak contact (89.0 mph EV). The ceiling is limited but the floor should be quite safe next week.

Bailey Falter (PIT) – at OAK, vs. COL – 4%

On the riskier side, Falter is pitching very well right now and has a couple of inviting matchups on the docket so long as the Pirates don’t shuffle up their rotation again.

Things appeared dire for the fourth-year lefty after he was hammered by the Marlins for six earned runs over four innings in his first start of the season back on March 31. Since the calendar flipped to April, however, Falter has been a completely different pitcher.

Through four starts this month, Falter has cruised to the tune of a 1.57 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 16-to-4 K/BB across 23 innings. Falter’s .161 BABIP is obviously going to climb, but his 34.4 HardHit% and 87.3 mph EV are still quite promising. Shockingly enough, all of this has come against teams that currently hold winning records and rank among the top half of the league in runs per game.

Bailey Falter's 5th and 6th Ks pic.twitter.com/zQ8jqmxBV4
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 24, 2024

Last time out, Falter held the Brewers to just one run over seven innings while tying a career-high with eight strikeouts. He is worth a roll of the dice given his recent form. Surely, he can maintain it opposite two of the bottom five offenses in the game. Oakland is a great place to pitch, and he gets the Rockies away from Coors Field.