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: 20-6
My Pick yesterday: Erick Fedde @ ATL
My Pick today: Nick Martinez @ MIA
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 20-6
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Erick Fedde @ ATL
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.
Tuesday 4/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jack Flaherty vs. SDP - Flaherty's breakers are as good as ever.
Cristopher Sánchez @ NYM - Please go 50% changeups again.
Bailey Ober vs. CHW - It's the White Sox and I'm hoping this start helps calibrate Ober a bit.
Shota Imanaga vs. LAD - Terrible matchup, but you roll with Imanaga.
Nick Pivetta @ DET - He's cruising at the moment and I love the added arsenal to RHB.
Probably Starts
Kris Bubic vs. COL - Oh how I love ascending pitchers facing "Rockie Road".
Bryce Miller @ BOS - It's awfully scary. He's away from @TEA and Fenway is a terrible place to pitch. Feels weird, I know.
Brandon Pfaadt vs. TBR - Pfaadt's new LHB approach helps raise the floor.
Nick Martinez @ MIA - This is a clear stream if you can do it.
José Soriano vs. PIT - So is this.
Jordan Hicks vs. MIL - And this...13% of leagues?! He's at 99 mph! And has had a horrible schedule! Add him where you can.
Dustin May @ CHC - He's really hard to hit, even if the Cubs are on the tougher side of lineups.
Chris Bassitt @ HOU - Did you realize Bassitt has a 0.77 ERA this season?
Questionable Starts
Jose Quintana @ SFG - This looks like a "Vargas Rule", but he's gotten super lucky in his first two outings. At least it's the Giants.
Tanner Bibee vs. NYY - Yikes. His arsenal hasn't come together one all year and while that should get corrected in time, you don't want to test it here.
Ronel Blanco vs. TOR - This would be a decent shot for a cheap Win if Bassitt weren't on the other side.
Will Warren @ CLE - I love his lower arm slot, though he's coming off one of those poor days at the park. Hopefully this is the one where he gets settled in.
Dean Kremer @ WSN - He's a 15-teamer "HIPSTER". Always a chance here.
Brayan Bello vs. SEA - He was wat 64 pitches in his penultimate rehab start, which suggests something around 80 pitches here. It's a "STILL ILL" as we're not entirely clear what we're going to get, even against the Mariners. Pitching in Fenway isn't great.
Mitchell Parker vs. BAL - Parker has potential for a "Toby" tag, I hope he can get there,
Edward Cabrera vs. CIN - I hope the slider continues to be favored to RHB and he can earn enough strikes to LHB. There's legit potential, STILL.
Osvaldo Bido vs. TEX - Ehhhh, just throw strikes and this can work.
Do Not Starts
Bailey Falter @ LAA - I know it's the Angels, but I don't like the breadth of Falter's arsenal.
Andre Pallante @ ATL - Pallante doesn't do enough to warrant the risk.
Davis Martin @ MIN - He hasn't displayed consistency and the White Sox provide terrible support.
Griffin Canning vs. PHI - I know he just pitched a gem. It's the Phillies and he's not doing anything new.
Zack Littell @ ARI - Littell by Littell, you're understanding how Zack shouldn't be rostered.
Ryan Feltner @ KCR - Feltner has had rare moments. Rare moments.
Patrick Corbin @ ATH - We are so not ready to do this. Love the slider and cutter embrace though!
Dylan Lee vs. STL - Strider hurt his hamstring playing catch yesterday. You can't be serious. I am and stop calling me Shirly.
Wednesday 4/23 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler @ NYM - Aces gonna ace.
Logan Webb vs. MIL - Webb is getting strikeouts and it's AWESOME.
Carlos Rodón @ CLE - Rodón is in a good place with his arsenal.
Freddy Peralta @ SFG - Mr. Chaos, sir? Yes, you're 10:00 has been cancelled. I know, I know, we're all very disappointed too.
Sandy Alcantara vs. CIN - It's been rough, though you're still rolling him out there against a road Cincy squad.
Probably Starts
Brady Singer @ MIA - He's not featuring the wide arsenal that made me excited a few weeks ago, but it's the Marlins.
Jack Kochanowicz vs. PIT - Feels weird to have the Jack of One Trade this high, but it's the Pirates and he should cruise through six.
Bowden Francis @ HOU - Come on Bowden, you can do this.
Andrew Heaney @ LAA - Heaney is rolling and it's the Angels.
David Festa vs. CHW - Festa feels like he should be the streamer, though you never know what his efficiency will look like on a given day, even against the White Sox.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. TBR - This is a pretty obvious play with the way Erod has found strikeouts in two of his starts thus far.
David Peterson vs. PHI - Peterson is on the verge of becoming a reliable "Holly" and all we need to see is the slider and changeup down.
Reese Olson vs. SDP - Olson's changeup is so fun to watch, though we haven't seen a peak slider pair with a peak slowball for a full start yet.
Questionable Starts
Kumar Rocker @ ATH - I'm so glad he went back to four-seamer slider and went ham on the breaker for 50%+ usage last time out. He'll get more LHB this time around, though, which may be a bit of a struggle. And Kurtz is there now. YES I KNOW SOME HITTERS.
Michael Lorenzen vs. COL - It's "Rockie Road" and as luxurious of a matchup you could hope for.
Taj Bradley @ ARI - Bradley's command is too inconsistent for me.
Matthew Boyd vs. LAD - Boyd gets the Dodgers and I'm hoping he can grind out production across 5+ frames, if not six.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ WSN - Sugano has the spirit of a "Toby" inside, but he hasn't let it come to fruition quite yet.
Luis L. Ortiz vs. NYY - Ortiz's increase in high heaters makes me excited, but this is the Yankees and we've seen volatile command from him in the past. Here's to hoping the intent is real and he can continue showcasing the pitch upstairs.
Do Not Starts
JP Sears vs. TEX - Sears is just too..meh.
Kyle Hart @ DET - Maybe he can prove himself as a "Toby"?
Ryan Gusto vs. TOR - How long will he go? Does he have anything else outside of the high heater? Is the fastball enough? I can taste Gusto becoming something real, but he needs to cook for another month or two until the soup is ready.
Trevor Williams vs. BAL - #NeverTrevor.
Bryce Elder vs. STL - There's a chance he can squeeze out a Win.
Sean Newcomb vs. SEA - It's in Fenway and it's a struggle to get through five.
Miles Mikolas @ ATL - Sure. Maybe. The floor is so dang low.
Germán Márquez @ KCR - At least he's not in Coors?
Tyler Gilbert @ MIN - Wait, you? The no-hitter guy?
Matt Sauer @ CHC - You didn't realize he was on the Dodgers and this feels like a bullpen game.
Emerson Hancock @ BOS - Sure, there's at least a chance at something working out, but the heavy weight of a poor outing is too risky to chase any sort of upside.
Thursday 4/24 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.
