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: 110-59
My Pick yesterday: Win - Michael McGreevy vs. CIN
My Pick today: Ryan Weathers @ COL
My Pick tomorrow: Colin Rea @ 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: 112-57
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Win - Michael McGreevy vs. CIN
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.
Wednesday 9/17 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob deGrom @ HOU - Aces gonna ace.
Brandon Woodruff vs. LAA - Aces gonna ace.
Blake Snell vs. PHI - Aces gonna ace IN THIS HOT SNELL SUMMER.
Matthew Boyd @ PIT - Not an ace, but a "Holly" with a great matchup.
Nick Pivetta @ NYM - Aces gonna ace. Take it home, Pivetta.
Probably Starts
Kevin Gausman @ TBR - He's been on fire, which makes it sound like this is a trap for a pitcher like Gausman, but you're going with it, of course.
Bryce Miller @ KCR - Miller's heater is in proper form and Kauffman is a solid place to pitch. But it's not home! I know. Don't worry.
Lucas Giolito vs. ATH - Giolito has had a strong season as a "Holly" after a few initial bumps in the road. We roll with this.
Luis Gil @ MIN - Gil is hard to hit, even when he's not delicately placing his three-pitch mix where he wants to. Fortunately, enough strikes are found across his outings. Usually.
Brady Singer @ STL - Singer gets a great situation in St. Louis and has been everything we want him to be as of late.
Tyler Wells @ CHW - Worse matchup, slightly better pitcher for another "Toby".
Cole Ragans vs. SEA - PINCH ME. I bet he's hoping for at least five frames to get back into the groove before the season ends. Wouldn't that be awesome?
Jack Flaherty vs. CLE - Flaherty is a "Cherry Bomb" against a weak squad. This should be fine, right?
Justin Verlander @ ARI - Verlander just had all the whiffs with his slider and I imagine you're safe with this outing. He still has a lower floor than I'd like.
Gavin Williams @ DET - He's still battling with his arsenal, but the results have been there since July 2nd. Guess we're going with it, eh?
Questionable Starts
Ryan Weathers @ COL - I initially placed Weathers in the third tier, but I recognize Coors can change things + he only tossed 68 pitches in both of his final rehab start and "Still ILL" return.
José Soriano @ MIL - He is what he is. A "HIPSTER" and all we can do is hope.
Cristian Javier vs. TEX - Who knows what you'll get from Javier. If his four-seamer is on point, this could go very well.
Hurston Waldrep @ WSN - It's up to you if you want to trust the splitter showing up or not. You know the floor.
David Peterson vs. SDP - Peterson is a WHIP killer, though he has displayed clear ability to go six frames. Will it be worth it?
Jesús Luzardo @ LAD - Why does it have to be the Dodgers.
Martín Pérez vs. BAL - He hasn't been the steady "Toby" you want him to be, though he still has 5-6 IP of decent ratios in him.
Brandon Pfaadt vs. SFG - It's awfully hard to trust Pfaadt these days. If you're starting him, it's for the chance at a QS and Win.
Do Not Starts
Logan Allen @ DET - I just don't like what Allen does and the Tigers aren't a team to casually face.
Brad Lord vs. ATL - We've seen a few surprising starts from Lord and this is a desperate stream at best.
Johan Oviedo vs. CHC - I dig the innate skills. Oviedo hasn't put it all together yet, though, and the Cubs are the Cubs.
Ian Seymour vs. TOR - Seymour will have a difficult time facing the Toronto Lineup and it's in Tampa Bay.
Taj Bradley vs. NYY - You cannot trust him in the slightest, but yes, there is more upside here than others.
Andre Pallante vs. CIN - Immovable object, unstoppable force, yada yada.
Mason Barnett @ BOS - This has disaster written all over it.
McCade Brown vs. MIA - It's the Colorado SP.
Thursday 9/18 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. CLE - Aces gonna ace.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. SFG - Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried @ BAL - Aces gonna ace. He should cruise.
Hunter Greene vs. CHC - Aces gonna ace, though it is the Cubs and Greene was at his worst last time out. Don't be silly.
Probably Starts
Quinn Priester vs. LAA - Priester isn't on my target list for 2026, but who cares? Right now, he's cooking.
Luis Castillo @ KCR - Castillo has proven himself worthy of starting down the stretch, including a date in Kauffman.
Brayan Bello vs. ATH - It's in Fenway, but at least it's the Athletics away from "Sacré Verde".
Sandy Alcantara @ COL - You're scared, I get it. The changeup focus should still work well in Coors.
Logan Webb @ LAD - It's hard to start Webb and it's hard to not start Webb. He's come through before and I'd go for it.
Questionable Starts
Tanner Bibee @ DET - Bibee, wow. After a 5.84 ERA across his previous 13 starts with zero starts under 2 ER and just four under 4 ER, Bibee's last two have been a solid 2 ER performance + a CGSHO. Didn't see that one coming. Right?! It was the first game with all of his pitches working in tandem and, well, I sure hope that happens again. My gut says he's not suddenly fixed, sadly.
Chris Bassitt @ TBR - Bassitt has had a nice little run, though Tampa Bay's field can disrupt rhythms easily.
Colin Rea @ CIN - I don't love it given Rea's mediocrity as of late, but sure, there's a good Win chance here.
Yusei Kikuchi @ MIL - He's a "HIPSTER". Hopefully the slider is killing it again.
Jonah Tong vs. SDP - Tong is kinda like Yesavage - major over-the-top heater with a splitter underneath - but with better extension and velocity at the cost of Yesavage's bridge slider. In short, Tong still has the upside we saw at the start of his MLB career, and it could come out against the Padres.
Shane Baz vs. TOR - The velocity came back down in his last start, it's the Jays, and he's at home.
Cade Povich vs. NYY - He's cemented himself as a "Toby", though we don't like starting those types against elite offenses like the Yankees.
Do Not Starts
J.T. Ginn @ BOS - It's possible the command is there and the Sawx roll over, but Fenway scares me too much.
Stephen Kolek vs. SEA - I know he's had two straight strong outings, but you really can't do this against the mighty Mariners.
Randy Vásquez @ NYM - Vásquez took down "Rockie Road". Sweet! The Mets are completely different.
Tanner Gordon vs. MIA - It's the Colorado SP. But Gordon has had some shocking strikeout games! It's in Coors. It's the Marlins! YOU DO YOU.
Friday 9/19 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.
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.
