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: 60-48
My Pick yesterday: Win – Tyler Mahle vs. COL (W): 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BB, 4 K
My Pick today: Robert Gasser @ PIT
My Pick tomorrow: NONE (Enjoy the All-Star Break!)
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: 57-51
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Win – Tyler Mahle vs. COL (W): 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BB, 4 K
Sunday 7/12 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler @ DET – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal vs. PHI – Aces gonna ace.
Paul Skenes vs. MIL – Aces gonna hopefully not have another game of declining four-seamer velocity.
Payton Tolle @ NYM – Even with some variance, Tolle’s four-seamer is simply too good to resist.
Kevin Gausman @ SDP – He’s Gausman. You really just hold your nose and let it fly.
Probably Starts
Ian Seymour vs. SEA – Seymour has improved his four-seamer and has looked nasty as of late.
Joey Cantillo @ MIA – Cantillo’s lean into curveballs is awesome and his command was phenomenal last start.
Emerson Hancock @ TBR – He’s making it work. As long as he does, we keep starting him.
Emmet Sheehan vs. ARI – It’s been all kinds of frustrating, I understand. His skills are still great and the Sneks are not a scary foe.
Taj Bradley vs. LAA – Bradley was unreal in his last outing and the Angels raise the chances of replicating success.
Questionable Starts
Andrew Abbott vs. CHC – He’s on a roll, and we generally start him when he’s on a roll, even if it’s not the greatest run we’ve seen from Abbott.
Matthew Boyd @ CIN – Boyd looked much better in his second start, though Cincy opens the door for a low floor.
José Soriano @ MIN – He’s a HIPSTER. We really don’t know what we’re going to get from Soriano.
Will Warren @ WSH – Warren’s changeup is better, though the Nationals are a tough matchup.
Dustin May vs. ATL – May was limited in his last start and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardinals elected to skip this start to give him even more rest through the all-star break. If he does go, this could be a solid outing given his improved stuff across the last month. I wish it weren’t Atlanta.
Shane Baz vs. KCR – Baz is fine. He’s rarely exceptional, with a skill to go at least 5, if not 6, frequently.
Robert Gasser @ PIT – The Brewers are resting Misiorowski after he had extra fatigue after his last outing. The Pirates are worse against LHP, but this isn’t a locked streaming option as Gasser lacks a changeup and the juice other young southpaws carry.
Cade Cavalli vs. NYY – Cavalli had one incredible game, then returned to normality. The Yankee offense packs thump that makes me pessimistic we’ll see a sterling outing reminiscent of his time in Fenway.
Trevor McDonald vs. COL – I wish I could bank on McDonald’s breaker dominating. Fortunately, it’s Rockie Road in Oracle Park, which could return production for those seeking six decent innings.
MacKenzie Gore vs. HOU – With deGrom’s injury, Gore is going on just three days rest for some reason. I’m assuming it’ll be a bullpen game with a low 40-pitch count (treating it like his routine pen between games), and we shouldn’t anticipate a normal start. He could be opened for or even followed by Tyler Alexander, who may become a super sneaky Vulture Win arm.
Do Not Starts
Noah Schultz vs. ATH – I’m tempted to push him into the third tier, though Schultz hasn’t quite locked in yet.
Kodai Senga (Opener) vs. BOS – Senga gets a great matchup against the Sawx, and he’ll likely come in once Zach Thornton tosses a few frames, opening the chance for a Vulture Win. He just tossed 61 pitches when pitching on shorter rest and at least he has a full four days this time.
Tyler Phillips vs. CLE – Phillips gets the start over Gusto, who I like more, but not enough to trust even against the Guardians.
Seth Lugo @ BAL – If you’re looking for a long leash, Lugo is your guy. Don’t expect glistening ratios.
J.T. Ginn @ CHW – Ginn’s velocity is dwindling and I’m worried and injury is the culprit.
JR Ritchie @ STL – With Waldrep getting demoted, Richie will take the pearl. I have low expectations for his quality, let alone question how long they will let him go.
Cristian Javier @ TEX – The Astros shifted Javier to the bullpen and this may ultimately be a bullpen game, or with Javier as the three-inning bulk. Either way, don’t do it.
Mitch Bratt @ LAD – Bratt is getting the pearl for just his second MLB start with Gallen’s move to the IL with elbow inflammation. This won’t be easy against the Dodgers and carries little upside.
Michael Lorenzen @ SFG – Even away from Coors and in San Francisco, you can’t.
Germán Márquez vs. TOR – Márquez sure isn’t it.
Monday 7/13 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
NONE. ENJOY THE ALL-STAR BREAK!
STREAMERS WILL BE BACK ON THURSDAY
Photos Courtesy of IconSportswire | Adapted by Aaron Asbury (@aarongifs on Instagram)
