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! If you have questions about these offense rankings, reach out to Kyle Bland (@blandalytics).
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: 108-58
My Pick yesterday: Win - Brandon Sproat vs. TEX
My Pick today: Cade Cavalli vs. PIT
My Pick tomorrow: Matthew Liberatore 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.
In addition, PL Pro Members have access to my 14-Day Sit/Start SP Grid, ranking all expected starters into the four tiers across the next fourteen days. You can find it on the PL Pro Hub Page.
PL Bot's 2025 Streamer Record: 110-56
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Win - Brandon Sproat vs. TEX
PL Bot's Pick today: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick tomorrow: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Pick day Sunday: Unlock with PL Pro
PL Bot's Picks are located at the bottom of this article for PL Pro members.
Sunday 9/14 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tyler Glasnow @ SFG - Aces gonna ace.
Garrett Crochet vs. NYY - Aces gonna ace.
Shota Imanaga vs. TBR - Aces gonna ace.
Framber Valdez @ ATL - Aces gonna ace.
Shane Bieber vs. BAL - Have no fear, Bieber should be great.
George Kirby vs. LAA - Same with Kirby. But he's been so volatile! I know. It'll be okay.
Nolan McLean vs. TEX - How can you sit him after the run he's had?
Aaron Nola vs. KCR - Nola looked back in form and has one inning against him since returning. Go for it.
Probably Starts
Yu Darvish vs. COL - It's "Rockie Road", even if it wasn't perfect when he faced the "Reds Carpet".
Jose Quintana vs. STL - He's commanding well and this is a lovely matchup.
Nick Lodolo @ ATH - I wish Lodolo had a better schedule as he looks at the top of his game. I'm trusting the skills over the park.
Noah Cameron @ PHI - The Phils are not looking at their best and Cameron looked fantastic last time out.
Cade Cavalli vs. PIT - I'm rolling with Cavalli in another great matchup, even if he didn't obliterate the Marlins.
Luis Morales vs. CIN - This looks great on paper, though we saw against the Sawx how Morales can struggle with his command. The "Shag Rug" n all.
Robbie Ray vs. LAD - Ray is locating with 93/94 mph velocity and if this were a middling team, he'd be in the Auto Start tier.
Questionable Starts
Will Warren @ BOS - Warren makes me uneasy, despite squeaking his way toward productivity as of late.
Yoendrys Gómez @ CLE - There's whiffability in his breaking balls and if he elevates the heater, this can be six frames of production.
Slade Cecconi vs. CHW - Cecconi just dominated and I wish I could believe in his heaters in the zone. The SlySox are dangerous these days.
Joey Wentz vs. HOU - Wentz has potential, though without a changeup, it may be a slog through Houston's RHB-heavy lineup.
Troy Melton @ MIA - Oh snap, he's starting! We think! Unfortunately, it's unclear how long he'll actually go in this one. Still, whatever volume you get should be of quality, even if it's just three or four frames.
Bailey Ober vs. ARI - Ober's velocity is still under 90 mph and that should have you scared.
Do Not Starts
Adrian Houser @ CHC - Despite the Cubs, Houser has a shot for a Quality Start. At least it's not in Tampa Bay.
Jacob Latz @ NYM - I'm awfully curious about Latz's development the rest of the season, hopefully accelerating him toward a potential 2026 breakout.
Mike Burrows @ WSN - Will he go long enough? Can he lean heavily on the changeup as his #1 pitch against a parade of LHB?
Nabil Crismatt @ MIN - It's possible the changeup carries him. It's not worth the risk.
Miles Mikolas @ MIL - Whatever, Mikolas. He's a dire QS/Win chance.
José Urquidy (Opener) vs. MIA - Whoa, it's you! Keider Montero should open after tossing just under two frames recently, while Urquidy was activated from the IL yesterday. Who knows how this will go.
Kyle Hendricks @ SEA - We've seen him do it. Somehow.
Adam Mazur vs. DET - Mazur hasn't figured it out yet.
Albert Suárez @ TOR - I haven't heard that name in a long, long time. It's very clear "Still ILL" and I have no idea how stretched out he is with his last Triple-A game coming across a few innings and 15 pitches on August 29th (He did toss five frames in the middle of August). Let's not.
Germán Márquez @ SDP - It's the Colorado SP.
Monday 9/15 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Paul Skenes vs. CHC - Aces gonna ace.
Shohei Ohtani vs. PHI - Aces gonna ace.
Kyle Bradish @ CHW - Not an ace, but you know.
Carlos Rodón @ MIN - Aces gonna ace.
Ranger Suárez @ LAD - Aces gonna ace. Let's be real, Suárez deserves it and you're not benching him even against the Dodgers.
Cade Horton @ PIT - Horton has been so dang reliable and it's the Pirates.
Probably Starts
Zac Gallen vs. SFG - We have two former studs trying to find their old forms against generally mediocre lineups. I was tempted to place both in the third tier, but they've shown enough success lately.
Spencer Strider @ WSN - The worry I have with Strider is his two-pitch mix that works best against RHB, not the Nats' LHB-heavy crew.
Questionable Starts
Ryan Pepiot vs. TOR - It's in Tampa Bay and the Jays are not a fun time.
Matthew Liberatore vs. CIN - He's strolling down the "Reds Carpet", yet I've been heavily concerned about Liberatore's ability in the second half with displays of fatigue.
Jason Alexander vs. TEX - Alexander has been a surprising find across the last few months, though the Rangers haven't rolled over as much as we expected.
Jack Leiter @ HOU - He's a true "PEAS" and here's to hoping he's his best self. I'll be at this game, after all. SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT.
Zack Littell @ STL - Littell is far from my favorite. His splitter and slider has come through over the plate at times and pitching in St. Louis is a gift.
José Berríos @ TBR - He's "The Great Undulator". Now under a 4.00 ERA, he has a few starts left to get under 3.90 to make everything right in the world...
Do Not Starts
Sean Burke vs. BAL - We haven't seen Burke put it all together with any consistency.
Carson Whisenhunt @ ARI - He's a southpaw with a changeup, though the command and stuff aren't bringing the results of his peers.
Mitchell Parker vs. ATL - Parker. Ohhhhh Parker. He has these flashes of "BSB" with sliders getting into the action and I just wish he could find the plateau.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. NYY - It's the Yankees and I sure don't trust SWR.
Tuesday 9/16 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.
In addition, PL Pro Members have access to my Sit/Start SP Grid, ranking all expected starters into the four tiers across the next fourteen days. You can find it on the PL Pro Hub Page.
