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: 9-3
My Pick yesterday: Richard Fitts vs. TOR
My Pick today: Landen Roupp vs. CIN
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 10-2
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Hayden Wesneski @ SEA
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 4/8 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler @ ATL - Aces gonna ace.
Garrett Crochet vs. TOR - Aces gonna ace.
Paul Skenes vs. STL - Aces gonna ace.
Chris Sale vs. PHI - Aces gonna ace.
Cole Ragans vs. MIN - Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal vs. NYY - Aces gonna ace. Against the Yankees. Blegh.
Dylan Cease @ ATH - Aces gonna ace.
Framber Valdez @ SEA - It's in Seattle. Note: Valdez is a little under the weather and fatigued. He's likely to still start, but it may be a bit worse than usual.
Pablo López @ KCR - López isn't at his peak yet, but this is a lovely situation.
Sonny Gray @ PIT - Gray has the velocity and sweeper back.
Luis Castillo vs. HOU - I don't love it, but he has that dawg in him. I think.
Freddy Peralta @ COL - He's looking incredible and even in Coors, Peralta should be started.
Shane Baz vs. LAA - Baz came out with guns ablazing. No way you're denying this.
Probably Starts
Nick Lodolo @ SFG - Lodolo has his health and should grow as the season continues.
Clay Holmes vs. MIA - It's a great matchup, but can The Adobe throw enough strikes?
Landen Roupp vs. CIN - The first start is out of the way. Now we can get the wider arsenal + a Reds team who recently had a nightmarish scoreless streak.
Jeffrey Springs vs. SDP - Not the best matchup, but Springs should be sunshine and rainbows after the struggles against the Cubs.
Questionable Starts
Ben Lively vs. CHW - He throws effective strikes and it's the White Sox.
Justin Wrobleski @ WSN - The Dodgers are likely turning to Wrobleski to replace Snell and his heater + breakers could be enough here.
Merrill Kelly vs. BAL - It's the Orioles, though Kelly is not nearly as poor as that Yankees start made him look.
Jameson Taillon vs. TEX - Taillon nibbled better in his last start and I hope he can do so again when he faces the Rangers.
Kyle Hendricks @ TBR - The Rays are not scary and Hendricks has been a shocking "Toby".
Shane Smith @ CLE - Smith should ascend by month, hopefully a direct incline start-to-start. It's all about stamina and refining the secondaries throughout the start.
Carlos Carrasco @ DET - There may be a cheap Win here. Just saying.
Charlie Morton @ ARI - Morton had ten strikeouts last time out if you're desperate for it. That's highly unlikely to return, but there's more upside here than in the bottom tier.
Do Not Starts
Kyle Freeland vs. MIL - Freeland isn't the worst! But it's Coors. Womp womp.
Connor Gillispie @ NYM - There are little pieces of the arsenal that work but I'm not ready to commit.
Easton Lucas @ BOS - He swapped days with Berríos and it's Fenway. Absolutely not.
Patrick Corbin @ CHC - He's back! Against the mighty Cubs! And not fully stretched out!
Brad Lord vs. LAD - Is this an opener or actually starting? Regardless, this isn't set to be a day of shocking production for so many reasons.
Wednesday 4/9 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Max Fried @ DET - Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan @ KCR - Aces gonna ace. You're fine, right?
Hunter Brown @ SEA - Brown and Valdez are both under the weather. If Brown is starting, then you start him, but it may be a little worse.
Shota Imanaga vs. TEX - Show me the man inside. IM. AN. AGA.
Ryan Pepiot vs. LAA - Pepiot is dope and makes us feel dope. But his last start...I STAND BY IT.
Seth Lugo vs. MIN - This should be an easy time at the park.
Jack Flaherty vs. NYY - Yikes, that matchup hurts, though Flaherty looks like the guy we loved in 2024's first half.
Probably Starts
Tylor Megill vs. MIA - Alright Megill. You've gone two starts with your four-seamer upstairs, a new slider down, and sinkers for strikes. It's the Marlins now. This is a slam dunk. FOCUS.
Yusei Kikuchi @ TBR - It's the Rays. It's also Kikuchi showcasing a worse arsenal.
Nick Martinez @ SFG - The Giants should be a dream outing for a potential "Holly".
Max Meyer @ NYM - The slider velocity came down two ticks last time out. All I want to see is that velocity holding at 95/96 mph on the heater with sliders hovering 90 mph. He should be solid if those hold.
Erick Fedde @ PIT - I moved him up because this is too good of a situation for a "Toby".
Brandon Pfaadt vs. BAL - I'm starting to dig Pfaadt after flexing a legit LHB approach in his last outing, building upon the curveball usage in his season debut. He threw more curves and changeups than sweepers, if you can believe it. Do it again.
Justin Verlander vs. CIN - Verlander is a "Toby" and I'm not scared of the Reds in the bay. Doesn't that mean it's a shark attack? NOT THAT RED.
Grant Holmes vs. PHI - We're finally getting a second start from The Real Estate Broker and it's so unfortunate he has to face the Phillies. I know how brutal this is, but we keep holding. The skills are great.
Questionable Starts
Landon Knack @ WSN - He's getting the call to space out the rotation and just went 4.2 IP in the minors. This could be a cheap Win, though I don't love it.
Mitch Keller vs. STL - It's Keller against a weak squad. Do what you want, I'd prefer to avoid.
Kevin Gausman @ BOS - Gausman went 2/34 splitter whiffs last time out. Yeah.
Logan Allen vs. CHW - Hey, it's the White Sox. There's a chance!
Tanner Houck vs. TOR - He's looked really bad. Maybe the slider bend returns and he can nail down the splitter.
Tyler Mahle @ CHC - Mahle's ceiling isn't super high, but at least he can flirt with 93 mph and throw some strikes with his secondaries now.
Dean Kremer @ ARI - Kremer is the 15-team "HIPSTER". Not 12-teamer.
Sean Burke @ CLE - Burke's velocity has dropped and the breakers are not as whiffable as they were in the fall. But maybe he needs to warm up?
Osvaldo Bido vs. SDP - I'm not a fan of chasing Bido regularly and this isn't a great matchup. I don't love this coin flip.
Do Not Starts
Jake Irvin vs. LAD - It's the Dodgers.
Taijuan Walker @ ATL - It's Taijuan and Atlanta.
Randy Vásquez @ ATH - Vásquez's upside is heavily limited.
Tyler Alexander @ COL - Yes, he went no-hit ball for a while. This is Coors.
Antonio Senzatela vs. MIL - Senz-A does what Senz-A does.
Luis F. Castillo vs. HOU - It's The Wrong Castillo!
Thursday 4/10 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.
