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: 60-49
My Pick yesterday: Loss – Robert Gasser @ PIT
My Pick today: NONE (Forced pick of Christian Scott in Questionable = No thanks.
My Pick tomorrow: Colin Rea vs. MIN
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: 57-52
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Robert Gasser @ PIT
Thursday 7/16 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
It’s just one game today, and I recommend starting neither one.
Questionable Starts
Christian Scott vs. PHI – I see the ceiling of a Holly once he gets his footing with his three main pitches – four-seamer, cutter, and sweeper. I wonder if he can develop a strong vertical pitch to change the eye level, but even with these three pitches, he should form into a consistent six-inning arm with a strikeout per inning in time.
Aaron Nola @ NYM – The Mets aren’t the most intimidating offense but I can’t trust Nola these days. Too high of a blowup potential without the ceiling of old.
Friday 7/17 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Chris Sale vs. TEX – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Gilbert vs. SFG – Aces gonna ace.
Jacob deGrom @ ATL – Aces gonna ace. Is he actually starting? Or is he still hurt?
Sonny Gray vs. TBR – He’s on an absurd run, even if I think it’s not going to last across the second half. Just one game above 3 ER this year.
Gavin Williams vs. PIT – Williams has figured out the correct approach and I wish it weren’t the Pirates. I’m still letting it ride.
Probably Starts
Logan Henderson vs. MIA – It’s the Marlins and even with a possible limitation, this looks super safe.
Troy Melton @ LAA – Melton is looking HOT. Kinda hard to deny him at this point.
Griffin Jax @ BOS – Like Melton, Jax is cruising, even if the Rays are not letting him go deep into games regularly. That’s alright, production is production.
Kyle Bradish @ HOU – You can look at all the data you want, but at the end of the day, I ask myself this: Do I believe that Bradish will have his slider and curveball working on a given day moving forward? I believe the answer is YES.
Jake Bennett vs. TBR – The SWATCH life is paradise for Bennett. Here’s to keeping it going in the second-half, even if the full arsenal isn’t quite as rock solid as we’d like.
Shane McClanahan @ BOS – McClanahan is at 96 mph. We love that.
Jared Jones @ CLE – Jones just gave us the start we’ve been waiting for and now gets the Guardians. Please do it again and be good forever.
Reid Detmers vs. DET – Detmers’ slider is back and the Tigers don’t scare me.
Landen Roupp @ SEA – Roupp is well-versed in locating his arsenal on the edges and shifting his pitch mix to adapt to hitters across a game.
Foster Griffin @ ATH – I hate the park, love the absurd hot stretch of Griffin.
Gerrit Cole vs. LAD – Cole’s four-seamer command is lacking and it’s the Dodgers. Arguably too low, but I’m not as confident as I’d like to be.
Sandy Alcantara @ MIL – Alcantara is going deep into games at the perfect time to get off the Marlins.
Michael King @ KCR – The overall season looks good for King, but he’s currently without his crown, even if the changeup was much imporved last start. He’s a cross-body pitcher who simply needs to click into place before going on a hot stretch, and last time out may have been the gears spinning in the right direction. Throw in a good matchup in Kauffman and it’s a fine play.
Questionable Starts
Taj Bradley @ CHC – He’s on a hot stretch, but I hate summer Wrigley.
Gage Jump vs. WSH – I’m a fan of Jump, but not so much in Sacré Verde opposite a top-tier offense against LHP.
Merrill Kelly vs. STL – Kelly is fine. Not a strong enough Toby to head into the second tier.
Colin Rea vs. MIN – He’s been a quiet success story as a streamer against mid offenses for the second straight season.
Andre Pallante @ ARI – Pallante just got rocked, but he could have his four-seamer working better this time around and get through six frames in Arizona.
Anthony Kay @ TOR – Kay is…fine. He’s shown legit ability at times during his successful run over the last six weeks or so, but I question how sustainable it is.
Do Not Starts
Roki Sasaki @ NYY – I don’t trust that Roki has made all the right tweaks to consistently produce and it’s the Yankees.
Seth Lugo vs. SDP – Lugo could spin his curveball over the plate and have success against a mediocre offense, but the ceiling is too low to risk it.
Spencer Arrighetti vs. BAL – He hasn’t found his groove yet.
Brady Singer @ COL – Singer has been much better lately…but Coors is undefeated.
Cal Quantrill @ ATL – deGrom will not be starting this one and it’s possible he hits the IL. Maybe he starts on Sunday, who knows. As for Quantrill, please. Do not do this.
Spencer Miles vs. CHW – Miles has a chance to be opened for and vulture a Win. That’s the hope here.
Kyle Freeland vs. CIN – It’s Freeland in Coors.
Saturday 7/18 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)
