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!
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: 70-32
My Pick yesterday: Win - Richard Fitts vs. COL
My Pick today: Joey Cantillo @ HOU
My Pick tomorrow: Brandon Walter vs. CLE
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: 67-35
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Loss - Colton Gordon vs. CLE
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 7/8 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Hunter Brown vs. CLE - Aces gonna ace.
Robbie Ray vs. PHI - Aces gonna ace.
Seth Lugo vs. PIT - This is a lovely matchup and Lugo has returned at least seven strikeouts in four straight.
Shota Imanaga @ MIN - Hopefully Imanaga takes another step toward his destiny of "AGA".
Logan Gilbert @ NYY - It's the Yankees and Gilbert hasn't been absurd.
Sonny Gray vs. WSN - Obviously, y'all.
Nathan Eovaldi @ LAA - Eovaldi is stretched out above 70 pitches and he's still a fantastic arm.
Nick Pivetta vs. ARI - Pivetta gets a tough matchup but has been too valuable to bench.
Probably Starts
Will Warren vs. SEA - Warren lost his fastball command last start and he should have it back moving forward. Expect rookies to have a few of those bumps and bruises during their development - it doesn't mean he's destined for failure.
Jacob Misiorowski vs. LAD - It's the Dodgers but if Jay Mis is throwing strikes, it doesn't matter. Fun fact: He almost escaped with 0 ER in his last one.
Ryan Pepiot @ DET - Pepiot has had some odd outings but the cutter focus is a great adjustment. The four-seamer command has been off and atypical.
Jack Flaherty vs. TBR - Flaherty is getting whiffs and strikeouts. The ratios should be there.
Eury Pérez @ CIN - Pérez's four-seamer is waking up while he's displayed command of both the curve and slider along the way.
Clay Holmes @ BAL - We've seen more walks as of late from "The Adobe". However, the win chance is still there and his sinker focus allows him to clean up runners on base more than others.
Merrill Kelly @ SDP - Kelly is still in a great situation and the Padres are not an offense to fear.
José Soriano vs. TEX - The sinker returned and it's the Rangers.
Brayan Bello vs. COL - "Rockie Road" may have a little less value in Fenway, but it's still a great matchup for Bello.
Questionable Starts
Chris Bassitt @ CHW - It's the White Sox, though Bassitt has been a WHIP killer and is hard to trust.
Clayton Kershaw @ MIL - Kershaw got his 3,000th strikeout (in a poor outing against the White Sox) and I wonder if he'll still have the fire to be on his game. Of course he will. Yeah, just a small dip would make this go south.
Mitch Keller @ KCR - I recognize that Keller has been on a good run. It's not sustainable in my book, but sure, "Vargas Rule" this against the Royals.
Nick Martinez vs. MIA - Martinez has been better lately, though I don't love his overall arsenal. The changeup isn't reliable enough to pick up the slack every outing.
Do Not Starts
Joey Cantillo @ HOU - Cantillo is stepping in for Ortiz in the rotation and he's not stretched out yet. He could go five innings against a RHB lineup that his changeup can feast upon, though. I dig Cantillo for his next outing against the White Sox.
Jeffrey Springs vs. ATL - There's a chance for sunshine and rainbows if the changeup does its thing and the fastball + slider don't mess it up.
Jake Irvin @ STL - Irvin could have similar fastball command with his best curve and come through.
Didier Fuentes @ ATH - We haven't seen the ceiling of Fuentes yet. It's a low chance this is the one.
Aaron Civale vs. TOR - Civale hasn't unlocked his best self and the ceiling isn't worth the jump.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. CHC - I'm not a major fan of SWR and the Twins could continue keeping him on a short leash, especially against the Cubs.
Brandon Young vs. NYM - Young is still on curfew.
Kyle Freeland @ BOS - It's Freeland, but outside of Coors! THERE'S A CHANCE.
Taijuan Walker @ SFG - THERE ISN'T A CHANCE. Okay maybe a small one for a win, but please don't chase this. Please.
Wednesday 7/9 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
MacKenzie Gore @ STL - He's not "AGA" yet, and that doesn't matter.
Kris Bubic vs. PIT - It's the Pirates and Bubic is still great.
Andrew Abbott vs. MIA - He stumbled last time out and he deserves a hand-wave for his absurd run.
Probably Starts
Jesús Luzardo @ SFG - It's a fantastic matchup and Luzardo should be fine, though he's obviously been more volatile as of late. Last game was his sweeper disappearing, which should be corrected here.
Lucas Giolito vs. COL - It's "Rockie Road" and Giolito has been cruising...even if he's not firing on all cylinders.
Tyler Glasnow @ MIL - Normally this is a "Still ILL", but Glasnow just tossed 78 pitches in his rehab start. We'll likely see the same here and that's still worth your time.
Dylan Cease vs. ARI - Cease has been maddening and also allowing more hits than he should. Keep with it.
Brandon Walter vs. CLE - Walter has a solid arsenal and faces a mid Guardians team.
David Peterson @ BAL - Peterson's WHIP is a bit frustrating, though the Win chance across six frames outwighs the risks.
Cade Horton @ MIN - I loved the changeup gains in his last start. Here's to hoping they stick for another outing.
Reese Olson vs. TBR - Olson's changeup is looking pretty and I hope he moves away from the four-seamer while featuring more sliders.
Zack Littell @ DET - It's a "Vargas Rule" that I don't trust. But dems the rules.
Questionable Starts
Sandy Alcantara @ CIN - Alcantara still doesn't have his fastball command, nor the phenomenal changeup or old. Maybe today's the day.
Kumar Rocker @ LAA - Rocker's cutter is excellent, but what else will he bring to the table? At least the pitch should do well against the RHB-heavy Angels crew.
Eric Lauer @ CHW - Lauer's four-seamer has been great upstairs to RHB and the White Sox are the CrySox.
Do Not Starts
Cam Schlittler vs. SEA - It's an MLB debut and we don't start pitchers in MLB debuts. I'd pick him up, though. Schlittler controls his secondaries well while sporting four-seamers upstairs at 97+ mph. He could find himself with a lot of volume in a wounded Yankee rotation and be a major pick up for the second half.
Andre Pallante vs. WSN - The cut-fastball is 95/96 and maybe it'll work on their LHB. Probably not.
David Festa vs. CHC - Festa was bamboozled in the first before settling down featuring his best command of the season. Sadly, it's the Cubs and I need a longer track record of feel.
Brandon Pfaadt @ SDP - Is this the day I can get back on the bandwagon? Show me something exciting, Pfaadt. Like your sweeper dominating and a legit attack to LHB.
Slade Cecconi @ HOU - The Slade Brigade may be upset, but Cecconi doesn't have an arsenal that speaks to the success he's had recently. However, if this goes well, I'll label it a "Vargas Rule".
Adrian Houser vs. TOR - Houser has been absurdly good and "Vargas Rule" it if you'd like. I don't trust that his sinker will continue to limit hard contact this effectively moving forward.
Mitch Spence vs. ATL - PLV adores Spence and so do I...if he can stretch out to 90 pitches and keep the cutter at 91+ mph.
Justin Verlander vs. PHI - Verlander hasn't shown promise for a bit, sitting below 94 mph and lacking slider whiffs of old. Sit this out until he shows something real.
Bailey Falter @ KCR - Falter has a great four-seamer and is still looking for something reliable to pair with it.
Jose Quintana vs. LAD - It's the Dodgers. Quintana has evenings with pristine command that can be crafty enough to survive, if you're desperate enough.
Logan Evans @ NYY - It's the Yankees. Evans has a shot, but it's far too risky.
Tomoyuki Sugano vs. NYM - The attack to RHB scares me and the Mets are not a team to take lightly.
Kyle Hendricks vs. TEX - The Rangers aren't the greatest lineup and Hendricks has some rare moments. You can't do this, though.
Bryce Elder @ ATH - Oh jeez.
Antonio Senzatela @ BOS - OH JEEZ.
Thursday 7/10 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.
