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.
Nick's 2025 Streamer Record: 30-9
My Pick yesterday: Shane Smith @ KCR
My Pick today: Lucas Giolito vs. TEX
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 29-11
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Miles Mikolas vs PIT
PL Bot's Pick today: Get our Daily & Weekly PLV Projections with PL Bot via PL Pro here.
Tuesday 5/6 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler @ TBR - Aces gonna ace.
Paul Skenes @ STL - Aces gonna ace.
Chris Sale vs. CIN - He lost his ace status and effectively cut up his ranking on the list in outrage.
Seth Lugo vs. CHW - Lugo is such a lovely "Holly".
Michael King @ NYY - It's the Yankees and I don't care.
Pablo López vs. BAL - We're obviously rolling with PabLó until further notice.
Nathan Eovaldi @ BOS - All four pitches are working in tandem. It's lovely, even if he's in Fenway.
Drew Rasmussen vs. PHI - The last two lines haven't been as pretty as we've hoped. The stuff is still incredible, though.
Probably Starts
Tony Gonsolin @ MIA - It's the Marlins again.
Matthew Liberatore vs. PIT - The Pirates are exactly what we want.
Lucas Giolito vs. TEX - I was impressed by Giolito's four-seamer and changeup in his first game back. I do have some concerns about his #3 pitch, though. That slider was rough and it may still be off in this one. Maybe a cutter shows up (it's the Red Sox) or maybe we get a better breaker. Don't feel that you have to start Giolito here (same goes for all four below!)
Zac Gallen vs. NYM - Gallen suddenly went "Canibal McSanchez" against the Mets and it was brilliant. Don't expect replication, though Gallen obviously has the ability to adjust and find a way to get through games as a vet.
Jackson Jobe @ COL - Coors doesn't help things, but their lineup certainly does. You're okay starting road pitchers in Coors this year. Weird, right? The one concern we may have is Jobe's hyper reliance on sliders lately, which may get distorted by Coors' effect on breakers (thin air = less movement). I'm still going for it.
David Peterson @ ARI - The Sneks are not a great matchup and this is more of a general belief in Peterson's extension + hoping at least one of his slider or changeup (if not both) are in a groove.
Colin Rea vs. SFG - Rea is proving himself as a solid "Toby" in a good matchup. This is one of them.
Questionable Starts
Hayden Wesneski @ MIL - I wish I could get behind Wesneski's package for LHB a bit more as the sweeper should be enough with his sinker at solid extension to deal with RHB.
Tyler Anderson vs. TOR - The changeup is always there and maybe he finds more than a "PQS" here.
Jeffrey Springs vs. SEA - It hasn't been sunshine and rainbows and you may want him even lower on these rankings. He can still make it work with his changeup down and four-seamers up, though.
Andrew Abbott @ ATL - Abbott is still under 92 mph and has yet to do something that I can say "Okay! Do that a ton!" The changeup? Okay fine, he had one game of looking great with it, but that's not a full arsenal approach.
Luis L. Ortiz @ WSN - The whiff potential is always there, but can he locate the heaters upstairs for enough strikes?
Justin Verlander @ CHC - Verlander's velocity cratered last time out and now he gets the Cubs. Oh boy.
Sean Burke @ KCR - Burke is slowly getting it back but we're not close enough to trust this one.
Cade Povich @ MIN - Here's to hoping his cutter usage inside to RHB goes up after I chatted with him on Friday...
Jake Irvin vs. CLE - I'd have him in the second tier if not for Irvin falling to 90.1 mph in his last start. He was sitting 92 mph previously. Something feels wrong.
Clarke Schmidt vs. SDP - I'm worried the Yankees will be limiting him after getting pushed back due to left side soreness. Schmidt hasn't been locked in, either, and this feels like a much lower floor than usual.
Do Not Starts
Ben Lively @ WSN - There's always a chance with Lively.
Chase Dollander vs. DET - Still in Coors. I wonder if the curve can be an absurd strike rate pitch again. Highly unlikely. Quick note about curveballs: Outside of splitters, they are the least likely reliable #2 pitches for strikes. Why? Because they have the largest movement. Generally tougher to nail their locations consistently. On top of my head, Nola and Gallen are the only two reliable ones (Morton, Eovaldi, Eflin, Lugo all have a variety of weapons.)
Emerson Hancock @ ATH - He's not ready.
Chad Patrick vs. HOU - He'll get a ton of RHB to hurl cutters away to. It could work.
Brad Lord vs. CLE - Lord had a moment last time out and even that was a pretty capped ceiling.
Eric Lauer @ LAA - He's still here!
Cal Quantrill vs. LAD - I could hear your GASP through the screen.
Wednesday 5/7 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Hunter Greene @ ATL - Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried vs. SDP - Aces gonna ace.
Bryan Woo @ ATH - Aces gonna ace.
Sonny Gray vs. PIT - Pittsburgh is a Tier 2 offense! Don't care.
Framber Valdez @ MIL - He's a "Cherry Bomb", but Milwaukee does help with strikeouts.
Probably Starts
Cristopher Sánchez @ TBR - He would be auto-start if we weren't still a touch scared about the forearm "injury".
Michael Wacha vs. CHW - This is such a clear stream.
Grant Holmes vs. CIN - "The Real Estate Broker" (REB) gets such a lovely matchup and is throwing enough strikes to take advantage of it.
Dylan Cease @ NYY - If Cease is on, it doesn't matter who he's facing. You can interchange these three "Cherry Bomb" arms in this tier however you like.
Robbie Ray @ CHC - If Ray is still boasting the slider for strikes, this shouldn't be a problem.
Shane Baz vs. PHI - Baz hasn't been as sharp lately and it's the Phillies. It's a tough call, I know.
Kodai Senga @ ARI - I don't love the matchup but is it enough to bench this "Holly"? I don't think so.
Merrill Kelly vs. NYM - Kelly has a great team behind him with the only enemy being his body. Monkeys don't cramp. Yes, I've already told Kelly that, he's watched the video many times.
Questionable Starts
Gunnar Hoglund vs. SEA - I was impressed by his debut, but the Mariners are not a push over away from Seattle, especially in Sacramento.
Casey Mize @ COL - It's Coors, but he's fastball/splitter against a terrible lineup. Mize may be less affected by the thin air than other arms.
José Berríos @ LAA - The Angels are not so terrible...? Whatever, he's the Undulator.
Tanner Houck vs. TEX - This may be too low for Houck after sitting two ticks up in his last start. He still has to figure out the splitter and gain more movement on the sweeper, but that's a huge gain that we hope sticks against a struggling offense.
Mitch Keller @ STL - It's the Cards, so maybe we get 6 IP of 2 ER ball and a 1.33 WHIP.
Ben Brown vs. SFG - It's just two pitches and I can't endorse it often, but the Giants? Ehhhh fine.
Michael Soroka vs. CLE - Soroka is back! And his changeup earned 6/18 whiffs in his last rehab start (11 strikeouts! 94 pitches!), but they were all gloveside, not armside. Still, this feels like a day to try it out some more with the LHB squad and I'm kinda digging this.
Tyler Mahle @ BOS - I hate starting guys in Fenway. Mahle may have found something with his cutter to complement the four-seamer, though.
Do Not Starts
Landon Knack @ MIA - There's a chance for a Win. He was also pulled at 4.2 IP last time out and it's so frustrating.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. TOR - Kikuchi is still struggling, even if the Jays are too.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. BAL - There are moments that make me want to believe in SWR, then the velocity changes or the command disappears or he can't go through five frames. Not a terrible upside play if you need to chase a Win.
Logan Allen @ WSN - Ehhhhhhh, at least it's the Nats.
Jonathan Cannon @ KCR - Is this the day? He nearly lit the fuse last time. I just want to play Tchaikovsky.
Quinn Priester vs. HOU - Sure, maybe the slider and sinker are just that good.
Charlie Morton @ MIN - Oh, he's back in the rotation? Like actually?
Kyle Freeland vs. DET - It's Coors. And Detroit's thump.
Valente Bellozo vs. LAD - Uhhhh. Poor fella.
Thursday 5/8 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.
Im not seeing soroka as the starter on wednesday?