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: 19-19
My Pick yesterday: Win – Connor Prielipp vs. TOR (ND): 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K
My Pick today: Tyler Mahle @ TBR
My Pick tomorrow: Brandon Sproat @ STL
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: 22-16
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Carmen Mlodzinski vs. CIN (W): 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 10 K
Sunday 5/3 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Max Fried vs. BAL – Aces gonna ace.
Chase Burns @ PIT – He sure feels like an ace in a dope matchup.
Joe Ryan vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Jesús Luzardo @ MIA – He looked fantastic last time out and it’s the Marlins.
Probably Starts
Braxton Ashcraft vs. CIN – He had a rough outing after getting out of his routine due to a moment on the bereavement list. Now he gets the Reds Carpet. Don’t overthink it.
Parker Messick @ ATH – He’s been nothing but incredibly thus far and I’m letting him fly, even in Sacré Verde.
Kris Bubic @ SEA – He gets @TEA and there’s no reason to deny him the start.
Ranger Suarez vs. HOU – He just exploded for his first fantastic outing of the year. How could you bench him now?
Steven Matz vs. SFG – Matz has commanded incredibly well and the Giants should be an easy start.
Clay Holmes @ LAA – His sinkerball-heavy approach has paid off.
Matthew Boyd vs. ARI – Boyd had a Still ILL and a rough time last outing. I don’t see anything different to suggest he’s on a major decline.
Justin Wrobleski @ STL – He’s been awfully lucky thus far and struggles to miss bats, but it’s a Vargas Rule at the very least.
Tyler Mahle @ TBR – His last start was fantastic until the Phillies strung hits together in his final frame. Now it’s the Rays and this should be a strong outing.
Trey Yesavage @ MIN – I don’t quite believe his success last time out, but if you have Yesavage, you’re rolling with him here.
Questionable Starts
Luis Castillo vs. KCR – It’s great to see him back at home. I just wish I trusted his command to cover for his declining stuff.
Jack Kochanowicz vs. NYM – I like the improved Jackie K and it’s the Mets. I don’t like him that much.
Chad Patrick @ WSH – This could be okay, though I worry a little about Patrick’s attack to LHB.
Merrill Kelly @ CHC – Kelly is better than what we’ve seen after missing a lot of time to kick off the season. Sadly, the Cubs make it a riskier play than I’d like.
Do Not Starts
Jack Leiter @ DET – Leiter is a HIPSTER and it’s too risky.
Zack Littell vs. MIL – Littell hasn’t come through often this year.
Chris Paddack vs. PHI – Paddack at least has a decent leash.
Aaron Civale vs. CLE – It’s in Sacré Verde and it’s the low floor of Civale.
Spencer Strider @ COL – It’s a Still ILL. In Coors.
Dustin May vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers
Griffin Canning vs. CHW – It’s a very clear Still ILL and I wouldn’t get my hopes up that he’s set to produce like his unsustainable first half of last season.
Trey Gibson @ NYY – It’s an MLB debut! Fire up the PILOT rule. I’ve been skeptical of Gibson’s fastballs, but he has fun secondaries. I don’t see him as a major arm to target, and I’d be ultra cautious here.
Kyle Freeland vs. ATL – It’s Freeland. In Coors.
Anthony Kay @ SDP – Kay hasn’t put it together once this year.
Kai-Wei Teng @ BOS – He’s not going to go long, though he’ll likely be the follower.
Detroit Bullpen vs. TEX – It’s going to be bullpen chaos.
Monday 5/4 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. BOS – Aces gonna ace.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto @ HOU – Aces gonna ace.
Cam Schlittler vs. BAL – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert vs. ATL – Aces gonna ace.
Edward Cabrera vs. CIN – A stroll down the Reds Carpet? Don’t mind if I do.
José Soriano vs. CHW – Alright Soriano, prove to us that was just a stiff neck.
Probably Starts
Randy Vásquez @ SFG – He was bumped to Monday with Canning’s return and I don’t see a reason to hold him back.
Aaron Nola @ MIA – Nola hasn’t been a solid play this year as he’s struggled to find his fastballs. At least it’s Miami.
Payton Tolle @ DET – We’ve seen the good and the bad. Here’s to the four-seamer dominance returning.
Davis Martin @ LAA – It’s a true Vargas Rule with Martin nailing the edges beautifully.
Questionable Starts
JR Ritchie @ SEA – I’m curious how Ritchie develops and he could do just fine in Seattle.
Michael Wacha vs. CLE – This should be a solid play given the slew of LHB eager to get overwhelmed by Wacha’s changeup.
Nick Martinez vs. TOR – He’s been on a heater, but the Jays are not one to be trifled with.
Tanner Bibee @ KCR – It’s a toss up.
Brandon Sproat @ STL – Sproat. You’re so dang close. This is a great matchup. You. Got. This.
Janson Junk vs. PHI – Junk landed high heaters effectively, but his secondaries failed to get whiffs. I want to see the full package.
Shane Baz @ NYY – Baz hasn’t taken the leap forward I was hoping he’d take by now.
Do Not Starts
Carson Whisenhunt vs. SDP – Whisenhunt was raising eyebrows with his extra velocity this spring, but this is a PILOT Rule as we wait to see if the command is there.
Kyle Leahy vs. MIL – He’s not there yet, but he did flex some strikeout ability last time out.
Eric Lauer @ TBR – It’s been too long since the upside came out.
Tomoyuki Sugano vs. NYM – You know, there’s always a chance with Sugano. And the Mets…
David Peterson @ COL – Absolutely not.
Chase Petty @ CHC – Oh cool! Please have control.
Ryan Weiss vs. LAD – There’s nothing to chase.
Tuesday 5/5 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)
