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: 13-15
My Pick yesterday: Win – Peter Lambert @ CLE
My Pick today: Brandon Sproat @ DET
My Pick tomorrow: Luis Severino @ TEX
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: 16-12
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Win – Nick Martinez vs. CIN
Thursday 4/23 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Jacob deGrom vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Joe Ryan @ NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow @ SFG – Aces gonna ace.
Cristopher Sánchez @ CHC – Aces gonna ace.
Cam Schlittler @ BOS – Aces gonna ace.
Probably Starts
Michael Soroka vs. CHW – He’s cooking with his curve and it’s the CrySox.
Bubba Chandler @ TEX – I initially had him in the top tier, but I understand that he hasn’t had that start yet. It could very well be this one.
Edward Cabrera vs. PHI – ECab and Webb get tougher opponents, though I fear the Phils a little less than the Dodgers. Cabrera has yet to put it all together, though the change and sinker are still solid.
Logan Webb vs. LAD – Webb isn’t as bad as he’s been. And it’s also the Dodgers.
Questionable Starts
Brandon Sproat @ DET – I’m torn between which is the best streaming option of the three and I’m going to lean on Sproat’s improved performances since he struggled in his first two of the season.
Davis Martin @ ARI – He doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as Sproat, but has strung together a few good outings and the Sneks are lacking venom.
Christian Scott vs. MIN – He’s one of four prospect arms worthy of your attention who are getting the call this week. Scott is returning from TJS after debuting in 2024 and he’s since added a slider along the same horizontal plane as his fastball and sweeper. I question if he can feature enough of his arsenal low to amplify his four-seamer upstairs, but the Twins aren’t too scary and he’s stretched out in the minors at 82 pitches in his final rehab start. A decent spec-add as the Mets are searching for answers.
Do Not Starts
Payton Tolle vs. NYY – He’s getting the call TONIGHT, not Saturday. This is going to be so fun and you should follow the “PILOT rule” even if he started last year. Jitters, y’all, especially hosting the Yankees.
Cade Cavalli vs. ATL – I’m not seeing a legit ceiling here.
JR Ritchie @ WSH – He’s also getting the call today, for a true “PILOT rule” and I haven’t been impressed by Ritchie’s package. It’s 94 mph with poor four-seamer movement, with a good curveball and kick change, a slider, cutter, sinker, etc. He’s kitchen-sink rooted in command and less electricity. That’s not to say it can’t work. It’s rare for command-focused arms to be successful in their early outings – the Shag Rug doesn’t have the high ceiling of stuff arms to balance it out.
Matt Waldron @ COL – It’s Coors. Thinner air = less knuckle movement. I think. I’m pretty sure. Whatever, he’s not great outside of Coors, either.
Ryan Feltner vs. SDP – It’s Coors.
Friday 4/24 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Paul Skenes @ MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Freddy Peralta vs. COL – Not an ace, but hot dang, it’s Rockie Road.
George Kirby @ STL – This is a lovely matchup and hopefully Kirby continues progressing.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. ATH – No reason to hold back Eovaldi here.
Framber Valdez @ CIN – Same with Valdez. He’s not a HR guy, after all.
Brandon Woodruff vs. PIT – He just threw 96 pitches.
Drew Rasmussen vs. MIN – We saw a rough outing for the first time from Rasmussen, no need to panic.
Probably Starts
Gavin Williams @ TOR – Williams is looking like a stud and I just want one more outing of high strike rates to feel incredibly confident.
Sandy Alcantara @ SFG – Two poor outings followed his 17.2 IP of dominance, at least he has a lovely matchup here. Should be better.
Will Warren @ HOU – Warren just fanned eleven and I hope he can keep it going against a ton of RHB.
Taj Bradley @ TBR – I don’t buy it, but you can’t hold him back during this Vargas Rule.
Questionable Starts
Luis Severino @ TEX – I dig Severino for this start in Texas, though I understand he hasn’t been ole reliable. I love the cutter this year and increased velocity.
Dean Kremer vs. BOS – Kremer has had his splitter working, though I’m not sure how long that will last.
Noah Cameron vs. LAA – Cameron isn’t as bad as he’s been, even ramping up to 94.5 mph last start despite the poor results. I think we’re going to come around on him.
Emmet Sheehan vs. CHC – His velocity came back down in Coors, failing to hit 96 mph once again. Now it’s the Cubs and I’m a little scared.
Andrew Painter @ ATL – He’s a Toby agaisnt a decent offense.
Brayan Bello @ BAL – At least it’s not the Yankees, but Bello’s ratios are often punishing.
Adrian Houser vs. MIA – Houser has a great matchup at home and is sitting 95+ mph.
Do Not Starts
Yusei Kikuchi @ KCR – Kikuchi returned to his old arm angle and had success…without his slider. It’s still a little too weird for me.
Andrew Abbott vs. DET – It’s been a horrific start to the year for Abbott and despite my belief that he’ll recover in time, we have to wait and see at the moment.
Max Scherzer vs. CLE – Scherzer is okay…? The ceiling isn’t very high.
Grant Holmes vs. PHI – If you need some strikeouts, I get it. Otherwise, he’s unlikely to go long and it’s a risky proposition against the Phillies. Again.
Andre Pallante vs. SEA – Pallante has some intrigue with his sinker and slider to RHB, but the four-seamer ain’t it.
Michael Lorenzen @ NYM – At least he’s out of Coors.
Jameson Taillon @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers. Sorry Taillon.
Erick Fedde vs. WSH – Can’t trust him.
Lance McCullers Jr. vs. NYY – He’s chaotic and it’s the Yankees.
Miles Mikolas @ CHW – Don’t you dare.
Saturday 4/25 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)
