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: 52-20
My Pick yesterday: Win - Chris Paddack vs. TOR
My Pick today: Michael Lorenzen @ CHW
My Pick tomorrow: Luis L. Ortiz vs. CIN
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: 52-20
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Loss - Charlie Morton @ 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.
Sunday 6/8 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Paul Skenes vs. PHI - Aces gonna ace.
Carlos Rodón vs. BOS - Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan vs. TOR - Aces gonna ace.
Drew Rasmussen vs. MIA - He's pitching too dang well.
Cristopher Sánchez @ PIT - Sánchez has been a little off with his command, but it's the Pirates.
Spencer Strider @ SFG - Alright Strider, can you sit 96 mph again?
Probably Starts
Jack Flaherty vs. CHC - It's the Cubs and a touch risky with Flaherty's "Cherry Bomb" tendencies.
George Kirby @ LAA - He hasn't looked right since returning to the squad. It's likely just rust and his velocity is fine.
Zac Gallen @ CIN - It's the Reds, even in Cincy, and I like that Gallen is trying new approaches to get he most out of his arsenal. That said, if it weren't the Reds, I'd be scared of this.
Tylor Megill @ COL - Is Coors getting tougher? Megill's new slider shape may not come through here in the thin air.
Landen Roupp vs. ATL - I debated this one plenty and landed on believing in the changeup development he's had to LHB.
Questionable Starts
Cade Horton @ DET - I dig Horton's cut-fastball and breaker and there's room to grow with the changeup. The Tigers aren't a fun offense to face (or have they cooled off?).
Tanner Bibee vs. HOU - I don't trust Bibee's secondaries to get whiffs, though they could play up against the RHB-focused crew.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ ATH - He's a solid "Toby" heading to a tough place to pitch in "Sacré Verde".
Michael Lorenzen @ CHW - It's the CrySox and yet Lorenzen has come up short in great matchups as of late.
Tyler Anderson vs. SEA - The changeup is stellar, facing the Mariners isn't.
Ryan Bergert @ MIL - I was impressed with the vert on his fastball and a legit breaking ball located down. It's a solid situation in Milwaukee and if he can avoid the waste four-seamers, there's production to be had here.
Do Not Starts
Aaron Civale vs. SDP - I'm still not sold on the breaking pitches, though he has a long enough leash to go six frames.
Brady Singer vs. ARI - The slider has failed to get whiffs as it used to and the Sneks are not to be trifled with.
Bowden Francis @ MIN - Bowden has been rough.
Trevor Williams vs. TEX - #NeverTrevor.
Clayton Kershaw @ STL - There's a shot at a Win, but hot dang is he's not the pitcher of old.
Jacob Lopez vs. BAL - We've seen how the cutter and heater combo can return strikeouts, though his floor is horrific.
Connor Gillispie @ TBR - He's back! And I have zero interest.
Brandon Walter @ CLE - It's the second start of his career and as a soft-tossing southpaw who relies on cutters and changeups down. That could work for a Win, but the ceiling is low and the floor is lava.
Chase Dollander vs. NYM - It's in Coors and it's a desperate strikeout play.
Michael McGreevy vs. LAD - He's not so bad! And it's the Dodgers.
Hunter Dobbins @ NYY - It's in the Bronx and Dobbins is far too risky for a meh ceiling.
Rangers Bullpen @ WSN - Mahle is getting extra rest and will start on Tuesday instead.
White Sox Bullpen vs. KCR - You're going to see Mike Vasil, but who knows what else after.
Monday 6/9 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler vs. CHC - Aces gonna ace.
Chris Sale @ MIL - Aces gonna ace.
Probably Starts
Merrill Kelly vs. SEA - He's in such a good groove.
Matthew Boyd @ PHI - It's too bad it's the Phillies, but I'm still rolling with Boyd.
Luis L. Ortiz vs. CIN - It's the "Reds Carpet" and Ortiz has been throwing strikes lately.
Questionable Starts
Shane Baz @ BOS - I'm a believer in Baz in the long term, though I hate this is Fenway.
Nick Pivetta vs. LAD - I worry about the weather heating up and the longball appearing against the Dodgers.
Dustin May @ SDP - May is working the cutter a little more, though he hasn't found his sinker command at sub 95 mph.
José Berríos @ STL - He is "The Great Undulator" and all we can do is hope his fantastic command of the edges is there again next time out.
Eury Pérez @ PIT - HE'S BACK! It's a "Still ILL" and it's very possible he gets pulled after four frames. This really shouldn't be started in your leagues, but I understand going for it simply because it's too fun.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. ATH - Maybe he's actually fixed his slider and four-seamer now that he's using the right grip?
Brayan Bello vs. TBR - I don't love this in Fenway, but he was featuring better sliders and sinkers in his last outing.
Do Not Starts
Mike Burrows vs. MIA - Burrows had a phenomenal outing last time and maybe he deserves a nod to the next tier for it against the Marlins. That said, it didn't look incredibly repeatable and the "Shag Rug" is still very much present.
Jeffrey Springs @ LAA - The Angels are tough at the moment and this could be without sunshine and rainbows.
Andre Pallante vs. TOR - He can throw enough strikes with his cut-fastball and get through it, but the ceiling isn't high enough.
Aaron Civale vs. ATL - Atlanta's offense is still solid and Civale's breakers aren't what they used to be.
Emerson Hancock @ ARI - He just tossed a Gemerson, but this is the Sneks. Let's not put ourselves in harm's way.
Wade Miley @ CLE - Miley is making his return to the Cincinnati rotation after tossing two horrific innings on Wednesday and let's see how this goes before testing him out as a possible ratio streamer.
Tuesday 6/10 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 from everyone else, and I thought this was a good compromise.
