SP Streamers for today's, tomorrow's and the day after tomorrow's games for fantasy baseball.
Every day of the 2025 baseball season, I'll be looking at today's and tomorrow's slate of scheduled starting pitchers and ranking their matchups for your fantasy baseball streams.
There's a lot that goes into this and you can hang out with me on Playback.tv/pitcherlist to talk about the specific ranks as I make them every weekday morning from 10am - 12pm ET. If you have questions about these ranks, please ask during the morning Playback AMA. Those are my office hours as I generally don't answer comments on the site.
There are four tiers to these rankings with 12-teamers in mind:
Auto-Start - Just do it. Don't overthink this, start the man. This includes "if I have them rostered, I'm starting them" pitchers.
Probably Start - I'm likely starting these arms, though I recognize there is more risk than we'd like there to be. Either it's a tough matchup for a good-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view and I'm starting them in the majority of situations.
Questionable Start - Think of this tier as "I don't want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse." Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I'm targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.
Do Not Start - The reward is not worth the risk. Don't do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.
Obviously, there will be circumstances where pitchers should move between teams for your situation specifically and these new tiers should act as a little more help than the straight table from last year.
Please keep in mind that streaming is far from a perfect play. In fact, if they work out over half the time, I'd consider it a success. These matchup rankings & streamer picks are going to be wildly different than the actual results throughout the year, so please, have sympathy before the scathing comments and tweets. I'm only trying to help!
Make sure to read the notes if you're wondering why I'm favoring certain pitchers over others - I won't get to everyone and hopefully I answer what questions you will have.
There is a second table for tomorrow's starting pitcher matchups as well, helping everyone get a jump on their nightly pickups. Please note that these matchups are subject to change, though, and there will be times when I have the incorrect pitcher going. I thank you for your future understanding.
Finally, there are my streaming picks of the day, and please keep in mind that I am forced to pick a streamer every day. Those highlighted in Green are that day's streaming pick in the second tier and I'd roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow are in the third tier and should be okay if you're searching for something on a given day, but I don't recommend streaming unless you're in need. Finally, those are Red are those I really don't want to start (they are labeled as "Do Not Start", after all) but have no other choice. Don't stream these guys until you are truly desperate. A streaming pick is defined as "rostered in 20% or fewer leagues according to Fantasy Pros. This really emphasizes the point that I'd be happy if over 50% of these worked. I could do the whole sub 30/40% rostered, but there's no fun in that. You can use the rankings to realize who those picks would be instead.
(Opener) - Outlines that a pitcher is being opened for that day & the pitcher listed will follow the opener.
As I do my rankings, I thought it would be helpful to showcase a table of how we're ranking offenses, granted by our PLV powered Projections (in alphabetical order by tier):
I'm sure it'll change through the year + there are differences to be made about teams vs. LHP or RHP, but it works as a general table that y'all should keep in mind.
To spice up these streaming recommendations, I've included our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, and I'll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
These projections are different from your typical projections as they incorporate our pitch quantifier, assessing pitcher and hitter skills at a much more granular level than your standard box score.
To get access to PL Bot's picks each day, sign up for PL Pro here.
The streaming record is determined by "Was this a productive game for 12-teamers if I started them?" Roughly a "PQS" with a Win and a strikeout per inning with a sub 1.20 WHIP, with a minimum of 5 IP. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.
Nick's 2025 Streamer Record: 1-0
My Pick yesterday: Sean Burke vs. LAA
My Pick today: Jeffrey Springs @ SEA
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 1-0
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Sean Burke vs. LAA
PL Bot's Pick today: Get our Daily & Weekly PLV Projections with PL Bot via PL Pro here.
Friday 3/28 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. DET - Aces gonna ace.
Dylan Cease vs. ATL - Aces gonna ace.
Ryan Pepiot vs. COL - It's not quite "Rocky Road" yet since Colorado players haven't experienced Coors yet to be thrown off outside of it. But it's Pepiot and I love Pepiot + the lineup isn't great in neutral park, either.
Luis Castillo vs. ATH - The Athletics are kinda good, but Seattle should still be heavily favorable. Castillo's velocity is lower than we'd like from spring, though...
Hunter Brown vs. NYM - The Mets are a legit offense, but if we have Brown, we're gonna roll with it. For now.
Jack Flaherty @ LAD - Are the Dodgers as scary with Betts recovering from losing 20 pounds and Freeman's injuries questions?
Probably Starts
Jeffrey Springs @ SEA - It's in Seattle and Springs was far better in his final tune up.
Kevin Gausman vs. BAL - I don't love Gausman, but he should be good enough here.
Questionable Starts
Reynaldo López @ SDP - I'm terrified about his 93 mph heaters in the spring + I heavily question if his slider and curve can earn strikes.
Mitch Keller @ MIA - It's the Marlins. It's also Keller.
Merrill Kelly vs. CHC - Kelly's command and velocity are normal with a great defense behind him. He could be this year's "Spider-Man".
Tanner Houck @ TEX - Houck was an atrocity in his final spring start and the Texas lineup isn't friendly.
Jack Leiter vs. BOS - I so want this to go well. Leiter hasn't given us that dominant start yet and I get a sense he'll need a handful of starts before he comes into his arsenal properly.
Charlie Morton @ TOR - Ehhhhh, there's a decent Win chance here?
Jameson Taillon @ ARI - Taillon will throw strikes and lean into the sweeper to RHB with a good defense behind him, but Arizona isn't a fun matchup.
Do Not Starts
Tylor Megill @ HOU - I don't like the matchup and I don't trust Megill's command at all. It has looked a touch better in the spring, but I'm not risking it here.
Kyle Freeland @ TBR - Freeland has had moments and it's not in Coors. But it's George Steinbrenner Field. Fair. Let's not.
Connor Gillispie vs. PIT - WHO?! The Marlins needed a starter. Yikes.
Saturday 3/29 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Joe Ryan @ STL - Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried vs. MIL - Aces gonna ace and hopefully not continue his trend of being mid for his first few starts.
Bryce Miller vs. ATH - He's hurling baseballs in Seattle. That's lovely.
Spencer Schwellenbach @ SDP - It's Mr. Crescendo and I'm excited to watch the start of what should be a super fun sophomore campaign.
Shota Imanaga @ ARI - The Sneks are not a fun crew to face, though Imanaga should be solid.
Roki Sasaki vs. DET - I wonder how long he'll go and if he has more than four-seamers (without whiffs) and splitters.
Seth Lugo vs. CLE - Lugo is a "Holly". We start those.
Gavin Williams @ KCR - Hey, you're gonna show us that cutter, right? Cool.
Probably Starts
Jesús Luzardo @ WSN - He's a "Cherry Bomb" and I really hope not a "HIPSTER".
Nick Lodolo vs. SFG - Lodolo is healthy and I'm excited to see him with his GLORIOUS NEW CAMERA ANGLE. Finally.
Max Scherzer vs. BAL - Scherzer has been solid this spring, though the thumb injury may limit him in this one.
José Soriano @ CHW - It's a great matchup and he'll come through as long as the sinker and curve earn strikes.
Questionable Starts
Walker Buehler @ TEX - What are we gonna get y'all? Likely fewer four-seamers than last year and he displayed in the spring,
Tyler Mahle vs. BOS - I'm wondering if I actually like Mahle or not. He's at 92/93 mph so far with a decent splitter and slider, but is that enough?
Reese Olson @ LAD - I like Olson for the season, I hate this start against the Dodgers.
Spencer Arrighetti vs. NYM - "The Pasta Pirate" is terrifying me with poor command throughout the spring and depressed velocity (younger arms are usually throwing at their season velocity in the spring - look at Sean Burke!).
Osvaldo Bido @ SEA - It's Seattle, it's also a question of Bido throwing enough fastballs for strikes.
Brandon Pfaadt vs. CHC - I really hate leaning on Pfaadt regularly and the Cubs are a tough offense.
Justin Verlander @ CIN - Is Cincy that scary? Is Verlander good enough to power through 5+ frames?
Nestor Cortes @ NYY - It's a wild reunion for Cortes - his first start out of the Bronx is in the Bronx - and this could be adrenaline-fueled in the wrong way. I'm curious if the changeup to RHB appears, though.
Dean Kremer @ TOR - Kremer is so dang volatile. Good luck.
Erick Fedde vs. MIN - Fedde may actually be a "Toby" after abandoning the four-seamer this spring.
Do Not Starts
Jake Irvin vs. PHI - Is the curveball there? Is that enough?
Zack Littell vs. COL - It's not quite "Rockie Road" yet without Colorado playing in Coors before this game and I highly question if Littell has the quality or length in this one.
Jonathan Cannon vs. LAA - He has moments, this is likely not one of them.
Griffin Canning @ HOU - Despite some hype from Mets fans, Canning is still the same SL/CH focus arm heading into a tough Houston matchup.
Bailey Falter @ MIA - It looks like it could work, but I really don't want to trust Falter. Until he's traded to the Rays. Maaaaaybe.
Antonio Senzatela @ TBR - Senz-A. Welcome back. Yes, I know this is a sneaky start for some of you. I will never get behind this.
Valente Bellozo vs. PIT - He's had random days pulling of the "Cannibal McSanchez", so that's cool...?
Randy Vásquez vs. ATL - He won the job and has to deal with one of the best offenses. Fun.
Sunday 3/30 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
New this year for PL Pro members - I am making the streaming table for an extra day out. I wanted to add a bonus for those who support us without taking anything away to everyone else and I thought this was a good compromise.
