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.
And of course, there are my streaming picks of the day. 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.
(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):
Remember, these offensive rankings are based on each offense's Process+ so far this year and how we project their lineups moving forward. It means you're going to see a little different offensive rankings than you may see elsewhere and there will always be some surprises. This is based on skills, not purely results!
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 PLV, 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.
Note: If no pitcher under 20% rostered would have qualified for a "Streaming Win," no loss is granted.
Nick's 2025 Streamer Record: 36-13
My Pick yesterday: Will Warren @ SEA
My Pick today: Chris Paddack @ BAL
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 34-15
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Eduardo Rodriguez @ SFG
PL Bot's Pick today: Get our Daily & Weekly PLV Projections with PL Bot via PL Pro here. If you already have PL Pro, they are included at the bottom of this article.
Thursday 5/15 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob deGrom vs. HOU - Aces gonna ace.
Hunter Brown @ TEX - You'd be hard-pressed to find a manager not starting Brown.
Probably Starts
Nick Martinez vs. CHW - It's the White Sox, this is what "Tobys" are made for.
Tomoyuki Sugano vs. MIN - Sugano has turned into a reliable "Toby" with stellar command. The Twins shouldn't scare you.
Kevin Gausman vs. TBR - He's a "HIPSTER" and I hate not knowing what we're going to get. It seems as though he's found some consistency on the splitter to prevent nights without a fat zero next to the whiff counter, though his oscillations are maddening. Whatever, it's the Rays.
AJ Smith-Shawver vs. WSN - The splitter is such a strange pitch and I lack faith AJSS has enough in the tank to be a productive 12-teamer play throughout the year. However, this is the Nationals. We start decent arms against the Nationals.
Questionable Starts
Chris Paddack @ BAL - Paddack hasn't been so terrible since the 9 ER nightmare against the White Sox. I wish I liked his breakers more, though.
Do Not Starts
Zack Littell @ TOR - There's a chance Littell goes "Dancing With The Disco" and gets through this one. The ceiling is awfully low, though.
Trevor Williams @ ATL - Remember kids, #NeverTrevor.
Matt Sauer vs. ATH - With Casparius pitching in relief on Wednesday, we get Sauer on Thursday. No thanks.
Bryse Wilson @ CIN - The Reds could be passive enough to let Wilson go five. Naaaaaah.
Osvaldo Bido @ LAD - This isn't to say there isn't some magic in Bido's arm that prevents this from becoming a "Gold Star" worthy game. But you know, the Dodgers.
Friday 5/16 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Cole Ragans vs. STL - Aces gonna ace.
Garrett Crochet vs. ATL - Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan @ MIL - Aces gonna ace.
Logan Webb vs. ATH - Aces gonna ace.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. HOU - Eovaldi sure feels like an ace right now.
Corbin Burnes vs. COL - Let's enjoy this moment of respite before Burnes has to face the Dodgers again. But he did well! Yeah....
Chris Sale @ BOS - Well ain't this a romantic start. Throw strikes with the slider please, thanks.
Carlos Rodón vs. NYM - Rodón has been your consistent #2 SP all year. Thanks buddy.
MacKenzie Gore @ BAL - Alright Gore, let's not go off the rails here.
Jack Flaherty @ TOR - Come on Nick, Flaherty has been struggling lately. It's three games and his season thus far is awfully reminiscent of his first five games of 2024. The skills are very much still there with his breakers and despite not masking the four-seamer as well over the plate lately, that should normalize.
Probably Starts
Ranger Suárez vs. PIT - His command and velocity are there and it's the Pirates.
Tanner Bibee @ CIN - Alright Bibee. You're leaning into the cutter more, now it's about getting the changeup back while finding some whiffs on that breaker. Fortunately, the Reds are incredibly passive on fastballs over the plate, too, dulling your biggest weakness.
Taj Bradley @ MIA - It's the Marlins, which should help nullify Bradley's volatility enough to start.
Cade Horton vs. CHW - I wonder if we'll see more than cut-fastball + sweeper. I love the fastball's ability to induce outs and the White Sox should abide.
Dustin May vs. LAA - Hey May, can you figure out the cutter? Your sinker/sweeper needs some help. Don't be afraid, it's just the Angels.
Questionable Starts
JP Sears @ SFG - Sears is having a silly good season and I understand if you want to "Vargas Rule" this. The sweeper's absurdly low 25% ICR is unlikely to stick with its high zone rate, while the four-seamer is getting obliterated at a 55% ICR. That doesn't seem like the recipe for a guy to hold a 1.00 WHIP.
Cade Povich vs. WSN - Hey Povich, it's the Nationals. You can do this. The leash is long enough that six quality frames are on the table.
Bowden Francis vs. DET - I hate starting against the Tigers right now and Francis doesn't have much outside of a four-seamer that is still fantastic at earning outs.
Brady Singer vs. CLE - Singer is back to the old ways of sinker/slider, though the slider isn't earning the whiffs it used to. Fortunately, the Guardians aren't the biggest challenge.
Tylor Megill @ NYY - Why does it have to be the Yankees?
Shane Smith @ CHC - Smith is improving his stamina throughout the season and I'm a fan long term. That said, his success has been deftly evading regression and this start against the Cubs seems prime for a disaster.
Max Meyer vs. TBR - I don't feel like you should be doing this. Meyer hasn't looked like a stud for a trio of outings but who knows? Maybe this is the one against the lowly Rays offense.
Do Not Starts
Andre Pallante @ KCR - The ceiling is a six inning game with decent ratios and low strikeouts.
Chad Patrick vs. MIN - The cutter and four-seamer could both be whiff pitches for 5+ frames...? It's possible.
Stephen Kolek vs. SEA - Kolek churned a CGSHO in Coors. This is a lot different and may have some slight hangover effects.
Lance McCullers Jr. @ TEX - I'm waiting for McCullers to display better control before we jump back in.
Andrew Heaney @ PHI - You never really know with Heaney but he's on a terrible stretch now after his hot one.
Jack Kochanowicz @ LAD - The Jack of One Trade is now becoming a Master of None.
Jhonathan Díaz @ SDP - Bryce is on the IL, allowing Diaz to get the shot.
Tanner Gordon @ ARI - Absolutely not.
Saturday 5/16 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 from everyone else, and I thought this was a good compromise.
