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: 39-15
My Pick yesterday: José Soriano @ ATH
My Pick today: Chris Paddack vs CLE
My Pick tomorrow: Cade Horton @ MIA
My Pick day after tomorrow: Unlock with PL Pro
My picks for the day after tomorrow are located at the bottom of this article for PL Pro members.
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 39-15
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: José Soriano @ ATH
PL Bot's Pick today: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick tomorrow: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick day after tomorrow: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Picks are located at the bottom of this article for PL Pro members.
Tuesday 5/20 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal @ STL - Aces gonna ace.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. ARI - Aces gonna ace.
Dylan Cease @ TOR - The Jays are now a top tier offense according to PL Bot - they've been super unlucky. And we don't care...?
Spencer Strider @ WSN - If you have Strider, how can you not? You're getting Natty Light and Strider in your lineup is hype.
Jesús Luzardo @ COL - Coors is getting a little rougher now and yet I don't care.
Probably Starts
Jameson Taillon @ MIA - Miami is an average offense?! Meh, we start Taillon.
Nick Martinez @ PIT - It's the Pirates.
Gavin Williams @ MIN - The Twins are not scary and Gavin still has it in him to be better. You can't say that all year. There are four months left!
Clay Holmes @ BOS - It's Fenway and that's terrifying. The Adobe better pack that clay to weather a potential storm.
Questionable Starts
Chris Paddack vs. CLE - Paddack has been on a fantastic run since his season debut and the Guardians are sure to throw LHB against him, leaning into Paddack's strength - the split-change. It also allows him to rest the highly suspect breakers without facing many (or any?) RHB.
Gunnar Hoglund vs. LAA - I like his four-seamer, but it needs to be spotted higher in the zone. The sinker is stellar against RHB based on location (not its meh 15" of horizontal) and the changeup is strong against LHB. I want to see more slowballs and the sweeper become a proper weapon to RHB, while the four-seamer should be handled with care. The pieces are there.
Ryan Weathers vs. CHC - He did well in his "Still ILL" outing and that's lovely. The velocity could be lower in his second start of the year without the adrenaline and the Cubs are a scary crew.
Will Warren vs. TEX - Warren has all the tools you want, it's a matter of execution at this point. I can't bank on him returning strong ratios quite yet.
Chris Bassitt vs. SDP - Bassitt is sure to throw enough sinker and cutter strikes. Will the curve and friends help enough?
Bailey Falter vs. CIN - It may be a surprise to see Falter so high, but two things are at play. One, his extension is now sitting above 7.5 feet (99th percentile!) and he's getting to stroll down the "Reds Carpet".
Logan Henderson vs. BAL - I kinda like Henderson, the question is if the "Shag Rug" will tip the scales away from fantasy relevancy. It's not an arsenal that demands success.
Michael Lorenzen @ SFG - Lorenzen, sure. There's a chance for a Quality Start each time, even if it's super boring.
Do Not Starts
Erick Fedde vs. DET - Fedde has surprised us a bit this year as a "Toby", but I don't want to take the chance against the Tigers.
Zack Littell vs. HOU - Littell could go "Dancing With The Disco" against a ton of RHB. And I still hate it.
Walker Buehler vs. NYM - Buehler isn't the stud of old and just one game removed from his IL stint.
Hayden Birdsong vs. KCR - HOW COULD YOU PUT HIM SO LOW?! Because he isn't striking everyone out in relief, still struggles with getting strikes, and doesn't have elite stuff? It's weird, I know. I don't like quoting high level stats, but it's not like he was insane in the pen - low ERA, yes, but a 1.29 WHIP, 25% K rate with a 10% walk rate. That is with max effort and getting saved when things are bad. All I'm saying is sure, go pick him up. I did! Just don't start him here. It's four-seamer/cutter (the slider is 88/89 with ~5 inches less drop this year) with a changeup that can be dope but goes in-and-out and he's unlikely to go efficiently through five. It COULD happen, just more likely to hurt.
Mitchell Parker vs. ATL - Atlanta is heating up, and Parker is here only because of his long leash.
Chayce McDermott (Opener) @ MIL - McDermott has a fun arsenal, he just needs more reps to wield it. It's unlikely this is the game it all clicks, but at least he has an opening, increasing the odds of a potential Win.
Ryne Nelson @ LAD - It's the Dodgers. But you love Nelson! I kinda do...? I feel like he would be an overnight stud if traded to a team that could let him go every five days and figure out a better #2 pitch for him. His four-seamer is absolutely legit, though. Locate the dang thing up, please.
Kyle Hendricks @ ATH - Hendricks could befuddle with changeups.
Bryse Wilson vs. SEA - Bryse? No dice.
Patrick Corbin @ NYY - He made it work against "Rockie Road" and we're happy for him.
Antonio Senzatela vs. PHI - Senz-A does what Senz-A does.
Brandon Walter @ TBR - The Astros are giving the pearl to Brandon Walter, who does his best "The Fratty Pirate" impression by leaning into sweepers and cutters from the left side. It's a little harder at 91 mph when he elects to go with heat, but it's far too reliant on grounders and avoiding hard contact for us to chase, especially in an MLB debut.
Jhonathan Díaz @ CHW - How long will he even go? Does it matter?
Wednesday 5/21 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob deGrom @ NYY - Aces gonna ace. This is going to be so fun.
Garrett Crochet vs. NYM - Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan vs. CLE - Aces gonna ace.
Logan Webb vs. KCR - Aces gonna ace.
Hunter Brown @ TBR - Aces gonna ace. Brown has five straight games of nine strikeouts and it sure feels like he's an ace...right? I'm inclined to give it to him after this, though I have to mention two things: He's doing it with four-seamer/sinker to RHB with the former returning a highly unsustainable 30-40% putaway rate (should be around 25%), while LHB is a little more precarious. Lots of hard contact on both heaters while the changeup's low strike rate is a bit worrisome. The lack of an overwhelming secondary pitch is the main reason for my lack of enthusiasm relative to everyone else, especially as I question his heaters' ability to perform at a high level.
Probably Starts
AJ Smith-Shawver @ WSN - I don't buy it long term, but I sure buy it short term against Natty Light.
Andrew Heaney vs. CIN - I hate trusting Heaney and yet he gets to stroll down the "Reds Carpet" and had great command last time out.
Brady Singer @ PIT - It's the Pirates, even if Singer's slider isn't doing all the things we love.
Cade Horton @ MIA - The Marlins are shockingly decent as an offense according to PL Bot and I don't care. Let's roll, Horton.
Questionable Starts
Tanner Bibee @ MIN - This would have been an auto-start last year, but Bibee isn't getting whiffs on his secondaries and he's stuck in purgatory. Please take off that "TIARA".
Corbin Burnes @ LAD - It's the Dodgers, even if he took them just a moment ago. It's too risky.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ MIL - I could be a little too low on Sugano here, facing a weak Brewers squad. That said, I'm not sure where he is with his command at the moment.
JP Sears vs. LAA - After sparkling ratios for the first month and change, the real Sears appeared in his last outing against the Giants. It could be better here, though.
Logan Evans @ CHW - It's the White Sox, but does Evans have enough in the tool chest to make it work a second time?
Shane Smith vs. SEA - I dig Smith, though he's been getting better results than he's deserved and the Mariners are not a team to be trifled with away from Seattle.
Kevin Gausman vs. SDP - Guasman is a "HIPSTER". Good luck.
Taj Bradley vs. HOU - Same with Bradley.
Tylor Megill @ BOS - Megill's command has been far worse lately and this is Fenway. Here's to finding the top of the zone with his four-seamer and getting all the strikes down with his slider.
Do Not Starts
Dustin May vs. ARI - May is essentially two-pitch these days and I'm not in until he gets the cutter and/or change and/or four-seamer working well with the sinker/sweeper. Oh, and it's the Sneks.
Max Meyer vs. CHC - Meyer showed more promise last time out, but it's the Cubs. I want to be blown away again before jumping back in against difficult lineups.
Chad Patrick vs. BAL - Sure, the cutter and four-seamer could be at their peak, but is the ceiling all that great?
Andre Pallante vs. DET - He's at 94/95 mph (not 92/93!) and that's still not enough for the Tigers.
Randy Vásquez @ TOR - The benefit of Vásquez is opportunity in the Padres' rotation. He can find 5-6 innings via strikes over the plate, though the Jays have been hot over the last two weeks + have been getting unlucky on top of it.
Jack Kochanowicz @ ATH - The Jack of One Trade had his sinker feel working last time out and it could be the bounce back we've been waiting for.
Ryan Yarbrough vs. TEX - It feels weird placing "The Fratty Pirate" this high, but he could potentially have an opener and steal a Win.
Trevor Williams vs. ATL - #NeverTrevor.
Taijuan Walker @ COL - It's Coors and Taijuan?!
Luinder Avila @ SFG - Avila is making his MLB debut and we don't start those. He has a big curve with a cut-fastball that could be a combo of whiffs + weak contact...or hittability without enough control. Be careful here.
Carson Palmquist vs. PHI - I wish Palmquist wasn't on the Rockies.
Brant Hurter @ STL - It's a bullpen game as the Tigers pushed Flaherty a day to face the Guardians.
Thursday 5/22 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.
