SP Streamers for today's, tomorrow's and the day after tomorrow's games for fantasy baseball. Note: All-star break! Friday's Games are added.
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!
There is a second table (and now third for PL Pro members) 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 for my streaming record, I am forced to pick a streamer every day even if they are in the bottom tier. 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 Do Not Start pitchers unless 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 and it applies to a smaller audience.
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.
(Opener) - Outlines that a pitcher is being opened for that day & the pitcher listed will follow the opener.
Nick's 2025 Streamer Record: 72-35
My Pick yesterday: Win - Emmet Sheehan @ SFG
My Pick today: Joey Cantillo @ CHW
My Pick Friday: Colin Rea vs. BOS
My Pick day Saturday: 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: 70-37
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Win - Joey Cantillo @ CHW
PL Bot's Pick today: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick Friday: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick day Saturday: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Picks are located at the bottom of this article for PL Pro members.
Sunday 7/13 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Yoshinobu Yamamoto @ SFG - Aces gonna ace.
Hunter Brown vs. TEX - Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert @ DET - He's not there yet and he needs to. He should, right?
Robbie Ray vs. LAD - Aces gonna ace, even against the Dodgers. That's why he has the "AGA" tag.
Cristopher Sánchez @ SDP - Sánchez has been great and it's the Padres.
Freddy Peralta vs. WSN - You know the deal. Please throw enough strikes.
Sonny Gray vs. ATL - He's been more Sonny than Grat.
Nick Pivetta vs. PHI - Pivetta is having himself a first half of his dreams.
Nathan Eovaldi @ HOU - Eovaldi is back to normal. You start the man.
Probably Starts
Ryan Pepiot @ BOS - Pepiot's four-seamer was off last game and I'm expecting it to return with the new emphasis on cutters. I just wish it wasn't Fenway.
Shota Imanaga @ NYY - Imanaga's splitters weren't as low as we normally see last time out and it's the Yankees.
Jack Flaherty vs. SEA - Flaherty's breakers are still legit and you should hand-wave the ERA over his last few weeks.
Eury Pérez @ BAL - Pérez's four-seamer is back to domination and it's all about figuring out his breakers around them. The Orioles aren't scary enough to hold back.
Noah Cameron vs. NYM - Cameron has displayed fantastic command with his secondaries to work around a poor heater. We keep rolling with this, even against the Mets.
Merrill Kelly @ LAA - Kelly is the solid "Holly" you want on your teams.
Will Warren vs. CHC - It's the Cubs and that has me a little nervous here with Warren, who hasn't had the breaking ball whiffs as of late. They should return, but it could be rough if he has to rely solely on heaters.
Joey Cantillo @ CHW - Cantillo is stretched out and has his changeup cooking. He could be the talk of the town after this start against the CrySox.
Questionable Starts
Brayan Bello vs. TBR - Despite his recent success, I'm not convinced that Bello has a consistent approach we'll see moving forward.
Nick Martinez vs. COL - He just got trounced but this is "Rockie Road". We know Martinez has it in him.
Mitch Keller @ MIN - Keller is a "Vargas Rule" and I hope he continues favoring his slider.
José Soriano vs. ARI - He's a "HISPTER". Here's to the sinker returning enough strikes with the curve to make this worthwhile.
José Berríos @ ATH - It's no fun starting in "Sacré Verde", but he is "The Great Undulator". You never know.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. PIT - It's the Pirates and SWR could have five productive innings in this.
Clay Holmes @ KCR - It's unclear how the Mets are going to use "The Adobe". If he's piggy-backing with Manaea, then will he be second? How long will it be?
Do Not Starts
Jeffrey Springs vs. TOR - It's tough to tell when it'll be sunshine and rainbows and I'd avoid the Jays whenever possible.
Brandon Young vs. MIA - Young has a good heater and changeup and it's possible he comes through against the Marlins. Don't love it, though.
Jake Irvin @ MIL - Irvin has his moments with his curveball. He sure did not in his last one.
Aaron Civale vs. CLE - Civale is still searching for consistency in his arsenal.
Davis Daniel @ STL - It may be Daniel taking the pearl for Atlanta and they'll be thrilled if he goes five frames of 3 ER or fewer. Two first names, after all.
Austin Gomber @ CIN - Gomber has some flashes, but rarely for a full start.
Friday 7/18 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Max Fried @ ATL - Aces gonna ace. Here's to hoping the blister isn't a real issue.
Joe Ryan @ COL - Aces gonna ace.
Ranger Suárez vs. LAA - He's acting like an ace. For now.
Tyler Glasnow vs. MIL - He's on the path toward "AGA" but we just need to see it a few more times.
Framber Valdez @ SEA - Aces gonna ace.
Seth Lugo @ MIA - He's cruising and he's a clear play.
Sonny Gray @ ARI - It's not the best matchup, though he's been more Sonny than Gray.
Probably Starts
Nick Lodolo @ NYM - Lodolo is in a groove. Let him cook.
Merrill Kelly vs. STL - Kelly is a solid "Holly" and ready to commit a "Cardinal Sin".
Dylan Cease @ WSN - I know, you probably don't want to do it. You're done! How could he! He's a "Cherry Bomb" who has been terribly unlucky. A better second half awaits.
Luis Castillo vs. HOU - His four-seamer is working well and let's hope the slider can be the devestating pitch to RHB it has been in the past.
Reese Olson @ TEX - Olson's changeup was great, the slider was questionable. The Rangers aren't scary, though, and we should expect Olson to improve with more starts removed from the IL.
Spencer Strider vs. NYY - The slider is legit, the four-seamer is suspect. Still. It's maddening. The slider should be good enough and I'd take the chance.
Lucas Giolito @ CHC - Ehhhhh, I'm tempted to place Giolito in the third tier given the Cubs + his arsenal has been good, but not performing at its peak. The results have been there (awesome!) while the matchups have also helped. That said, it's very possible Giolito is able to locate his fastball and changeup better, and at least it's not in Fenway.
Colin Rea vs. BOS - The Sawx away from Fenway is a gift and Rea looked far better last time out.
Mitch Keller vs. CHW - It's the CrySox and Keller is a "Vargas Rule" for a Quality Start. Please throw more sliders like last time, k thx.
Clay Holmes vs. CIN - Sooooo, how are the Mets going to use him? If he's getting an opener, that's great. If he's starting and limited to under 60 pitches, don't expect him to go the full five even with the "Reds Carpet" lining his path. Pay attention to reports on this one.
Zack Littell vs. BAL - He's a "Vargas Rule" who didn't have the greatest outing last time and it may be time to put this to rest. Just one more to be sure, right?
Questionable Starts
Kevin Gausman vs. SFG - The splitter and four-seamer command is infuriating, but at least he has his old splitter movement.
Tanner Bibee vs. ATH - It's not much of a break for Bibee, who needs one. It's not in "Sacré Verde", though, and here's to hoping he gets back on track.
Justin Verlander @ TOR - His last start was great. The Jays are a tough offense to endure and we need to see JV look varsity for at least one more before we latch on.
José Soriano @ PHI - He's a "HIPSTER" and it's all about the sinker and curve earning strikes, moreso the former.
Do Not Starts
Sandy Alcantara vs. KCR - Without the changeup or fastball command present, we simply can't start Sandy. It's absurdly painful.
Luis Severino @ CLE - He's not in "Sacré Verde" but I'm not a fan of Severino's approach to LHB and the ceiling isn't worth it.
Jack Leiter vs. DET - We haven't seen Leiter near his peak in a while.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ TBR - There are elements in Sugano's game that make a reliable starter and the juice isn't worth the squeeze at the moment.
Aaron Civale @ PIT - We haven't seen Civale find a groove in a while. He's an avoid until we see it, even against Pittsburgh.
Jake Irvin vs. SDP - Sure, it could happen if he has his hook working with well-located heaters. Could is doing a whole lot of work.
Jose Quintana @ LAD - The changeup down-and-away to RHB is there, but he has to do a lot more to replicate here.
Kyle Freeland vs. MIN - If only Freeland had a career outside of Coors...
Saturday 7/19 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.
