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: 29-27
My Pick yesterday: Win – Carmen Mlodzinski @ STL (W): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K
My Pick today: Cade Cavalli vs. NYM
My Pick tomorrow: Connor Prielipp @ BOS
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: 29-27
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Win – Carmen Mlodzinski @ STL (W): 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Thursday 5/21 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Braxton Ashcraft @ STL – Feels weird that he’s at the top, but he’s the Golden Brax.
Spencer Strider @ MIA – Strider against the Marlins is absolutely cool with me, even if I don’t see a Top 30 SP.
José Soriano vs. ATH – The results haven’t been what we want lately, though the Dodgers’ outing was great until he completely lost it in the sixth.
Probably Starts
Carlos Rodón vs. TOR – He hasn’t dominated yet since he returned from the IL.
Questionable Starts
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road for a 15-teamer Toby.
Casey Mize vs. CLE – Mize has impressed me with his slider, though it may be tough to excel here with a LHB-heavy lineup.
Cade Cavalli vs. NYM – It’s the Mets, it’s also Cavalli’s volatility with an arsenal that breaks the Huascar Rule.
Sandy Alcantara vs. ATL – Sandy has put us in purgatory and it’s Hotlanta.
Dustin May vs. PIT – May is a constant QS option who is showing more whiffability.
Joey Cantillo @ DET – Cantillo, please get the changeup in check. We need some more of those 7+ strikeout games.
Do Not Starts
Luis Severino @ LAA – Sevy hasn’t been reliable for a while.
David Peterson @ WSH – Peterson has had some moments, but the floor is terrible.
Spencer Miles (Opener) @ NYY – Miles is getting an opener, making this a chance for a vulture Win if you’re desperate for one. I don’t like his pitch mix, unfortunately, and it’s the Yankees sooooo…
Colorado Bullpen @ ARI – Sugano was moved to tomorrow.
Friday 5/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob deGrom @ LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert @ KCR – He hasn’t acted like an ace, but it’s the Royals. You got this.
Probably Starts
Kevin Gausman vs. PIT – He’s been a steady Holly.
Gavin Williams @ PHI – The high strike rates are such a great sign of Gavin’s step forward this year. The results haven’t been pristine, but the process is there. I’m trusting him.
Freddy Peralta @ MIA – It’s the Marlins.
Michael Soroka vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road for a pitch with elite command.
Davis Martin @ SFG – LET’S KEEP IT GOING.
Gerrit Cole vs. TBR – He’s back and I’m STOKED. On one hand, it’s a Still ILL. On the other, he’s killed it in rehab, stretched out past 80 pitches, it’s the Rays, and it’s COLE. Just do it and have fun.
Payton Tolle vs. MIN – This is such a fun matchup. I’m leaning Tolle slightly due to the home crowd and familiarity with Fenway, but that could be foolish.
Connor Prielipp @ BOS – Good luck, Prielipp. I trust you more long-term than Tolle and I could go either way in this awesome head-to-head matchup.
Trevor McDonald vs. CHW – I dig this one plenty for Buck, though a LHB-power crew may present problems if his changeup isn’t waking up.
Bryce Elder vs. WSH – Elder is…whatever he is. You ride.
Questionable Starts
Eury Pérez vs. NYM – Pérez gets the Mets, though his command is all kinds of wonky. It feels like an obvious start, and yet, the results haven’t been there.
Logan Henderson vs. LAD – I love Henderson, I hate starting against the Dodgers.
Spencer Arrighetti @ CHC – The Pasta Pirate is more dependent on his own feel than the opponent on a given night. Here’s to hoping he’s got it all cooking.
Nick Martinez @ NYY – It’s the Yankees, who are the perfect goons for the lords of baseball regression.
Noah Cameron vs. SEA – Cameron looked far better last start, commanding like his 2025 self. Even if it were just for one game, this may be the right mix of risk/reward with a start against the Mariners.
Justin Wrobleski @ MIL – I just don’t believe in the fastball/slider. Sorry.
Do Not Starts
Jameson Taillon vs. HOU – Taillon is too risky at this point.
Jeffrey Springs @ SDP – It’s rarely been Sunshine and Rainbows, but for what it’s worth, the Padres are strong against LHB.
Bubba Chandler @ TOR – I can’t endorse Bubba until we see it work out.
Jack Flaherty @ BAL – Flaherty has had one game where he overperformed. That’s it.
Chris Bassitt vs. DET – Bassitt is too blegh these days.
Grayson Rodriguez vs. TEX – I’m waiting for a worthwhile outing before trusting in GrayRod again. The overall stuff was mid last time out.
Kyle Leahy @ CIN – Too rough of a matchup to trust a guy who hasn’t showcased all the elements needed for a breakout.
Chris Paddack vs. STL – He performed well in his debut for the Reds, with the velocity back up to 93 mph, but it’s Cincy, and you can’t trust it yet.
Walker Buehler vs. ATH – Buehler will do everything he can to keep the Athletics off his fastballs, but the ceiling is just so low.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ ARI – It’s away from Coors! MAYBE HE CAN DO IT AGAIN.
Miles Mikolas @ ATL – Oh wow. Nooooope.
Saturday 5/23 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)
