Starting pitcher streamer rankings for fantasy baseball for Thursday, June 29

It’s a surprisingly full slate for a Thursday, with 12 games on tap around MLB, but the starting pitcher situation remains … pretty dire. Max Scherzer, Joe Musgrove and an intriguing showdown at Fenway Park between Jesus Luzardo and Brayan Bello highlight things at the top, but from there, things get bleak quickly if you’re looking for pitching in your DFS or fantasy baseball lineups.

Luckily, our daily starting pitcher rankings are here to help. We break down every arm on the schedule, telling you who to start, who to sit and who to stream off the waiver wire.

Starting pitcher rankings for Thursday, June 29

Pitchers to stream

Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs — Hendricks has been turning back the clock lately, with just three earned runs allowed over 19.1 innings across his last three starts — including a near-no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants a couple weeks ago. Even more impressively, Hendricks has managed this without getting his changeup and curveball — his best two pitches — fully locked in, and once that happens, look out. Hendricks should get better with every start as he works his way back from the shoulder surgery that cut his 2022 season short, and as long as he’s commanding everything and avoiding the heart of the plate, good things will happen. An inconsistent Philadelphia Phillies lineup isn’t too tall of a task this week.

Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees — Schmidt has turned it on after a dismal first six weeks, pitching to a 2.19 ERA over his last seven starts (which includes some tough matchups against the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox). The righty is still a bit too shaky to trust against the best offenses, but luckily for us, he’ll get to face off against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday — who currently rank last in baseball in team OPS against right-handed pitching. The game will take place in the spacious Oakland Coliseum, too, making Schmidt a juicy streaming play.

J.P. France, Houston Astros — France isn’t anything spectacular, but he chews up innings, having put together four straight quality starts. The St. Louis Cardinals have been slumping badly this month, putting France in prime position to navigate five or six frames and come out with a win.

And now, without further ado, here are your full starting pitcher rankings for fantasy baseball on Thursday, June 29.

Update — Hogan Harris is expected to start/open for the A’s against the Yankees this afternoon. James Kaprielian could operate as an opener for Harris, who would see the bulk of the innings.