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: 15-5
My Pick yesterday: Jake Irvin @ PIT
My Pick today: Osvaldo Bido @ CHW
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 15-5
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Tyler Mahle vs. LAA
PL Bot's Pick today: Get our Daily & Weekly PLV Projections with PL Bot via PL Pro here.
Note: Names below in Italics are my streaming picks of the day.
Wednesday 4/16 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Aaron Nola vs. SFG - Weird to see Nola at the top given the ink I've spilled on him this year, but it's a great matchup and high floor.
Spencer Strider @ TOR - He's back! And I don't care, you start him. Have fun.
Bryce Miller @ CIN - He's not "@TEA" but in Cincy and that has made a boatload of difference for Miller in the past. Hopefully we can eradicate that narrative this year.
Probably Starts
Brandon Pfaadt @ MIA - I love Pfaadt's embrace of the curve and change to LHB and this is great matchup.
Robbie Ray @ PHI - He's not getting the best schedule luck and it's a little annoying. At least it won't be miserable weather this time out.
Gavin Williams @ BAL - We're still rolling with Gavin in hopes my concerns about the lack of bridge pitch are unfounded. Or maybe just throw the dang cutter, you know?
Nick Martinez vs. SEA - He's a "Toby" and the Mariners are a good matchup, even in GABP.
Mitchell Parker @ PIT - This has "Toby" with a great matchup written all over it.
Nick Pivetta vs. CHC - He demolished "Rockie Road" but the Cubs are a different story.
Chris Bassitt vs. ATL - Bassitt is working the kitchen sink well, even if the velocity is slightly down. There is some caution that Atlanta's offense is waking up after what we saw Monday night.
José Soriano @ TEX - Soriano is embracing sliders to RHB and I sure hope that's a trend that sticks.
Questionable Starts
Ronel Blanco @ STL - Blanco is throwing more curveballs now instead of sliders and that's kinda strange given how the slider was the pitch for him for ages. Welp, it's the Cardinals and this should be a cheap Win.
Osvaldo Bido @ CHW - It's the White Sox. Just throw strikes, Bido.
Matthew Boyd @ SDP - I don't like the matchup but Boyd can go six strong.
Max Meyer vs. ARI - You may disagree with the tier given his success thus far, but the velocity is back to 2024 levels and I question if the new sweeper and sinker are enough to distance Meyer from last year's disaster. Oh, and the Sneks n all.
Kris Bubic @ NYY - Why does it have to be Yankee Stadium?
Bobby Miller vs. COL - HE'S BACK. And he's been atrocious in the minors. But it's "Rockie Road"! Yeah, I know. I'm also hoping there's more adrenaline in this one to whip him into shape. Here's to hoping something clicks.
David Festa vs. NYM - Festa's slider is still a work in progress and the Mets have thump. Be careful, he's not a finished product.
Jose Quintana vs. DET - I'm glad he had "Koufax" on his side for his season debut. Don't let it blind you into thinking he's back to his peak, though.
Keider Montero @ MIL - He just threw 5.2 IP of perfection in his last minor league start...at nearly two ticks less velocity.
Dean Kremer vs. CLE - The 15-teamer "HIPSTER" (Boomer HIPSTER? Williamsburg Deadhead? I dunno) is back at it. Who knows.
Do Not Starts
Sean Newcomb @ TBR - Nah y'all.
Zack Littell vs. BOS - This matchup has all the makings of a slugfest.
Griffin Canning @ MIN - He's the same guy from last year.
Bailey Falter vs. WSN - Falter is doing little to get us excited.
Clarke Schmidt vs. KCR - This seems awfully low, but he tossed just 61 pitches in his last rehab start. Likely rushed due to Stroman's injury, I'm expecting four frames, five at most, and that's disregarding quality.
Steven Matz vs. HOU - The Cardinals are giving him a start to grant some rest to their rotation. Don't expect much here.
Germán Márquez @ LAD - It's the Dodgers. And, you know, Germán.
Jonathan Cannon vs. ATH - He hasn't had that start yet and he may not for a while.
Patrick Corbin vs. LAA - The Rangers have elected to give deGrom some extra rest and pushing him back to...a start against the Dodgers on Saturday. THANKS OBAMA BUSH TEXAS.
Huascar Brazoban @ MIN - Absolutely not.
Thursday 4/17 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Bryan Woo @ CIN - Woo is looking like Wheeler. Oh no. Sorry, good Wheeler. Okay, phew.
Tanner Bibee @ BAL - Bibee had a jagged start to the year and I'm expecting better as he gets regular starts.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. SFG - The sinker is still hittable but it's the Giants.
Probably Starts
David Peterson vs. STL - The velocity is normal with the weather improving and it's the Cardinals.
Brady Singer vs. SEA - I wish he hadn't abandoned wider arsenal, but at least it's the Mariners, even in GABP.
Will Warren @ TBR - Warren flexed a new four-seamer last time out with a lower arm angle and legit "HAVAA". Please be real.
Reese Olson vs. KCR - Olson was pushed back a day with Montero starting to give the Tigers' rotation some rest. He should have a better slider/change than we've seen thus far.
Jordan Hicks @ PHI - Yes, it's not ideal. Hicks also is getting overly punished for a rough rainy day in Yankee Stadium.
Eduardo Rodriguez @ MIA - This is such a good "Toby" matchup. Just look at Merrill from Tuesday night.
Questionable Starts
JP Sears @ CHW - It's the White Sox. It's also Sears and all his volatility.
Taj Bradley vs. NYY - You never know what you'll get from Bradley.
Trevor Williams @ PIT - Remember kids, #NeverTrevor.
Andrew Heaney vs. WSN - He's in a generally good groove, but don't expect the dominance we saw against the Yankees. That was peak.
Jack Kochanowicz @ TEX - The sinker command was off last time. If he can hit the edges per usual, he can go a boring six frames.
Michael Lorenzen @ DET - There's a QS chance here.
Kumar Rocker vs. LAA - Ugh, I guess. The sinker/curve approach just doesn't sit right with me.
Andre Pallante @ NYM - Pallante gets weak contact on the cutter and not much else. It's a desperate play.
Edward Cabrera vs. ARI - He flexed the slider a ton against RHB in his first start back from his blister IL stint, but it's the Sneks and we have no idea how real that is. I sure hope to see it again.
Davis Martin vs. ATH - Davis did well last time out, though I'm not sold he can succeed consistently. Low Win chance too, of course.
Do Not Starts
Tomoyuki Sugano vs. CLE - The juice is simply not worth the squeeze. Low strikeouts and no lock for five frames, nor a Win.
Friday 4/18 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
New for PL Pro members - I am making the streaming table for an extra day out (no write-ups as these pitchers change often). 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.
