Rankings of the SP Streamers for today’s, tomorrow’s, and the day after tomorrow’s games for fantasy baseball.
Every day of the 2026 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 twitch.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 Twitch 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 Twitch 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 2026 Streamer Record: 10-11
My Pick yesterday: Win – Spencer Arrighetti vs. COL
My Pick today: Steven Matz @ CHW
My Pick tomorrow: Kyle Harrison @ MIA
PL Pro Members have access to my 14-Day Sit/Start SP Grid, which ranks all expected starters into four tiers over the next 14 days. Here is an example from last season.
PL Bot’s 2026 Streamer Record: 12-9
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Slade Cecconi @ STL
Thursday 4/16 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Max Fried vs. LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Chase Burns vs. SFG – He feels like an ace normally, but last time out gave us the first rough outing from Burns in a while.
Kris Bubic @ DET – Bubic looked stellar against the White Sox and I cannot see myself benching here.
Probably Starts
Shane Baz @ CLE – Baz is better than the line you saw last time out – his four-seamer is sure to find more strikes.
Braxton Ashcraft vs. WSN – Ashcraft has surprised me early in the year and this will be test to see if he can handle LHB well.
Parker Messick vs. BAL – Messick is looking like a safe Holly.
Steven Matz @ CHW – Gotta love the matchup for Matz, who is looking as good as we’ve seen him in years.
Questionable Starts
Landen Roupp @ CIN – I want to put him in the next tier, and I’m waiting for Roupp to showcase stellar command for another start or two before I do.
Foster Griffin @ PIT – He’s a discount SWATCH against a middling lineup. Take that as you will
Luis Castillo @ SDP – I’m not a Castillo fan these days (it hurts to type that) and pitching away from @TEA has traditionally done him few favors.
Jack Leiter @ ATH – Leiter’s stuff is elite, his command is not. Throw in the weirdness of Sacré Verde and it spells trouble.
Anthony Kay vs. TBR – We saw a productive start from Kay last time out, though the arsenal that has me intrigued wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Hopefully we get a step forward against a poor offense.
Brandon Sproat vs. TOR – This should be in the bottom tier. We’ve seen two terrible starts from Sproat + a solid 60+ pitch effort in relief. Don’t count him out just yet.
Do Not Starts
Keider Montero vs. KCR – I’m not seeing enough from Montero to chance this.
Ryan Weiss vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road and it’s the guy I liked in the preseason…before he had control issues and was pushed to the pen by the Astros. How long will he go? Will it be enough? He’s no Pasta Pirate.
Jacob Lopez vs. TEX – He’s failed to produce the K/BB games of the summer. Once we see them, alright, sign me up.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ HOU – This could be a sneaky play as Sugano has produced a bit this year + it’s outside of Coors. Far too low of a floor for the mediocre reward in most cases.
Walker Buehler vs. SEA – I know he did well last time, but that was Rockie Road and it wasn’t electric. He’s not it.
Patrick Corbin @ MIL – I’m curious if Corbin can become a sneaky streamer in time.
Walbert Ureña @ NYY – This ain’t it, and it’s not clear if he’s the one going.
Friday 4/17 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob deGrom @ SEA – Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert vs. TEX – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow @ COL – Aces gonna ace.
Cam Schlittler vs. KCR – You are two starts away from Coronation Day.
Logan Webb @ WSN – I demoted Webb on The List this week, so obviously he’s going to kill it.
José Soriano vs. SDP – He’s on too good of a run to bench him, even if I see it as a Vargas Rule. It may be your last chance to sell high.
Bubba Chandler vs. TBR – He hasn’t had a good start yet! He’s far better and now he gets the Rays in PNC Park, not the Cubs in Wrigley.
Probably Starts
Edward Cabrera vs. NYM – It feels like an auto-start, but Cabrera hasn’t been locked in yet. I can understand holding him back.
Questionable Starts
Kodai Senga @ CHC – Senga has been shaky as of late and I think it’s wise to wait and see for a game. Remember, the third tier = under 50% chance of success.
Michael Soroka vs. TOR – He’s been a strikeout fiend as of late with lovely feel for his curveball. Risky ratios, though.
Ranger Suarez vs. DET – Suarez looked better against the Cardinals, but not fantastic. The Tigers are a tougher squad + it’s Fenway.
Zack Littell vs. SFG – It’s the Giants and Littell could be in a good enough place with his slider and splitter. Low ceiling, though.
Janson Junk vs. MIL – I dig the stuff improvements a ton. I don’t like the lack of precision that holds back whiffs.
Michael Wacha @ NYY – Wacha has been stellar to kick off the year, but this is a difficult time at the park.
Tanner Bibee vs. BAL – Bibee is arguably in the bottom tier at the moment given the track record of poor command. But yes, there’s a good ceiling here.
Nick Martinez @ PIT – It’s the Pirates and Martinez had solid feel for his changeup last time out, though it can fade quickly.
Aaron Civale vs. CHW – Civale is on a bit of a roll, but the skills are highly questionable + Sacré Verde. Against the White Sox? Uggggh fine. Bottom of third tier.
Do Not Starts
Davis Martin @ ATH – He’s done well, but hot dang I don’t like facing the Athletics in Sacré Verde.
Brandon Williamson @ MIN – I’m tempted to put him in the third tier given my perspective of Williamson for the full season. I also know he’s not at his peak and the Twins are oddly great against LHB right now.
Kyle Leahy @ HOU – I’m still waiting for Leahy to come out of his cocoon. Be freeeeeee. Until then, it’s few whiffs and fewer innings.
Chris Bassitt @ CLE – PL Bot likes it since Bassitt has a long leash, I don’t because Bassitt isn’t looking great at all.
Robert Gasser @ MIA – It looks like the Brewers are pushing back Harrison to give him so extra rest for his knee, granting a chance for Gasser to get the call to start against the Marlins. I’d play this one as if it were the PILOT rule.
Lance McCullers Jr. vs. STL- It’s not Rockie Road anymore, unfortunately. If there’s ever a time to give McCullers a shot, it would have been the Rockies, and the Cardinals are tougher, even if they often commit a Cardinal Sin.
Taijuan Walker vs. ATL – Walker ain’t it. So that means he’ll be it. Sure. Whatever you want.
Eric Lauer @ ARI – He had 17 whiffs in one game and hasn’t found his footing since, due to an illness shortly after, including his velocity that has been Down With The Sickness. I know I’ve already made that joke. Let me have my fun.
Casey Mize @ BOS – Ehhhh, I don’t see enough of a ceiling to risk this in Fenway.
Matt Waldron @ LAA – It’s the knuckler! Cool! So, anyway…
Martín Pérez @ PHI – Oh, this is awkward. No one claimed Pérez, so he’s back with the team. Okay.
Ryan Feltner vs. LAD – It’s the Colorado SP. In Coors. Against the Dodgers.
Saturday 4/18 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
PL Pro members get an extra day of full SP Streaming rankings for the day after tomorrow.
PL Pro Members have access to my 14-Day Sit/Start SP Grid, which ranks all expected starters into four tiers over the next 14 days. Here is an example from last season.
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)
