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: 111-62
My Pick yesterday: Loss - Chad Patrick @ STL
My Pick today: Simeon Woods Richardson vs. CLE
My Pick tomorrow: Michael McGreevy @ SFG
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: 114-59
PL Bot's Pick yesterday: Win - Logan Allen @ MIN
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 9/21 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Logan Gilbert @ HOU - Aces gonna ace.
Ranger Suárez @ ARI - Aces gonna ace.
Merrill Kelly vs. MIA - Well this is a lovely surprise. Enjoy the great matchup.
Probably Starts
Emmet Sheehan vs. SFG - It's a great matchup and I'm glad to see he's finally rostered as much as he should.
Michael King @ CHW - I know it was a ghastly line last time out, but that's not who he is.
Cam Schlittler @ BAL - Schlittler didn't quite have it last start. I'm still rolling with it.
Eury Pérez @ TEX - Pérez has a solid matchup and a stellar fastball.
Connelly Early @ TBR - Early reinforced the talent of his first start and looks like a clear play against the Rays.
Jameson Taillon @ CIN - A solid "Toby" on a winning club against a meh lineup? Works for me.
Joey Cantillo @ MIN - Cantillo's changeup is legit and the Twins don't scare me.
Trey Yesavage @ KCR - Trey was so dominant in his MLB debut that you're going to roll with him in Kauffman.
Questionable Starts
Andrew Abbott vs. CHC - Abbott gets a tough draw against the Cubs. Does he have a sprinkle of magic left?
Kyle Bradish vs. NYY - Bradish's slider has been there, but I wish I saw more in his first few starts to make me confident against the Yankees.
Clay Holmes vs. WSN - As mentioned with Manaea, "The Adobe" is setting up the walls of a start, likely going about four frames before Manaea steps in. Update: The Mets have swapped the order of Holmes and Manaea. With Holmes now as the opener, he has a better shot at a Win, placing him above Manaea.
Spencer Strider @ DET - Strider's slider isn't doing what we want it to and the Tigers are showing their teeth.
Simeon Woods Richardson vs. CLE - We've now seen two straight of SWR excellence, and now the Guardians are sure to serve him LHB that may struggle against Richardson's splitter.
Casey Mize vs. ATL - He's a "Toby" in a questionable matchup.
Sean Manaea vs. WSN - I have Manaea listed given he's expected to follow Clay Holmes and is a far better play given his strikeout ability, elevated Win chance, and the LHB-lineup he's sure to face. Update: The Mets have swapped the order of Holmes and Manaea. With Sean starting, he has a shot of going five innings, but Holmes is the better play for a Win.
Do Not Starts
Matthew Liberatore vs. MIL - Liberatore did well in an ideal matchup in his last start, but I'm not comfortable starting him against a solid offense.
Mitch Spence @ PIT
Jason Alexander vs. SEA - Alexander has legit "Toby" ability, but it's the Mariners.
Michael Wacha vs. TOR - Same with Wacha. This isn't the team to start him against.
Mike Burrows vs. ATH - How long will Burrows go? How scared should we be of the Athletics' offense?
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. PHI - Like Wacha but worse.
Joe Boyle vs. BOS - You cannot trust the command.
Sean Burke vs. SDP - We haven't seen the skills needed to trust Burke against the Padres.
Robert Gasser @ STL - It was Gasser, then Fedde, and now Gasser, likely due to the recent update of Brandon Woodruff hitting the IL. It could mean Fedde goes Tuesday instead, with Gasser today, or possibly Erick Fedde as the bulk arm after Gasser. Don't expect a long outing here as he shakes off the rust of TJS in a "Still ILL".
Caden Dana @ COL - We've seen flashes from Dana and at least he has a long enough leash...?
Kyle Freeland vs. LAA - We've seen some high strikeout games at random from Freeland...
Trevor McDonald @ LAD - This ain't it y'all.
Jake Irvin @ NYM - Uh-Huh
Monday 9/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Chris Sale vs. WSN - Aces gonna ace.
Freddy Peralta @ SDP - Aces gonna ace.
Nick Pivetta vs. MIL - Aces gonna.
Probably Starts
Justin Verlander vs. STL - He's done well and facing the Cardinals in Oracle Park seems like an easy choice.
MacKenzie Gore @ ATL - While he's not at his peak, he's stretched out and has the stuff to make this worth the risk.
Questionable Starts
Michael McGreevy @ SFG - Our only option for a stream isn't a terrible one. Don't expect strikeouts and a Win may be tough opposite Verlander, while the ratios can be solid with his above-average command and wide arsenal.
Do Not Starts
NONE - I don't place pitchers in tiers just to fill them. YOU DESERVE THAT.
Tuesday 9/23 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.
