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: 62-52
My Pick yesterday: Loss – Brandon Sproat vs. NYM (L): 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 4 BB, 4 K
My Pick today: Christian Scott @ MIL
My Pick tomorrow: Brandon Pfaadt @ 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: 58-56
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Matthew Liberatore @ LAA (L): 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 9 Hits, 2 BB, 7 K
Wednesday 7/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Logan Henderson vs. NYM – Uhhh, wow. I didn’t expect to put Henderson first here, especially after the forearm cramp, but it’s a collection of “you’re not benching him” guys mixed with a poor matchup or two, and Henderson’s quality floor is higher than any of the other guys below.
Gerrit Cole vs. PIT – His heater is improving and his secondaries are strong. It’s a tough opponent and just one start of looking right, but he could get the AGA tag again soon.
Sandy Alcantara @ HOU – He’s been churning Quality Starts and should benefit from a RHB-heavy lineup.
Griffin Jax @ TOR – Don’t let Jax’s disaster in Fenway sway you. It was absurdly unlucky and his stuff is still incredible. The Rays are also open to letting him go more than five frames these days, too. It’s at least a chance.
Reid Detmers vs. STL – When Detmers has his slider working, you start the man.
Jake Bennett vs. BAL – The SWATCH lifestyle is working wonders for Bennett.
Probably Starts
Kyle Bradish @ BOS – I’m trusting the breakers to be there against a team susceptible to RHP.
Gage Jump @ ARI – Jump is outside his poor home park and gets a mid lineup. Expect the four-seamer and slider to excel.
Landen Roupp @ KCR – Roupp’s command is fantastic and he’s well-versed in going six frames.
Peter Lambert vs. MIA – Lambert is a solid Toby against an average offense, while flirting with a Holly tag after fanning ten last time out. That works for me.
Ranger Suarez vs. BAL – He’s healthy…right? The Orioles are now a top tier offense, making me a little tepid.
Emerson Hancock vs. CIN – I’m happy he’s in his home park, though I feel we’re on thin ice, waiting to welcome the cold embrace of the lake. We’ll keep stating until then. It’s too fun.
Questionable Starts
Christian Scott @ MIL – I really hope we see more curveballs from Scott. It’s the much-needed depth pitch to complement the lateral four-seamer, cutter, sweeper foundation.
Michael King @ ATL – It’s hard for me to believe the King will find his crown in the near future. His sweeper command was much better last time, but the changeup was a bit off. One step forward, one step back.
Colin Rea vs. DET – He’s proven himself to be a reliable streamer for Wins without a ton of upside.
Max Fried vs. PIT – He’s back! And likely limited to 70 pitches or so in this Still ILL and game 2 of the doubleheader.
Dean Kremer @ BOS – The Red Sox are on a massive hot streak, but they still struggle (usually) against RHP. Kremer’s cutter could be dastardly.
Brady Singer @ SEA – The last month has treated Singer far better than the previous two, and @TEA is always a welcome sight.
Merrill Kelly vs. ATH – He’s looking more like the decent Toby we want him to be and it’s nice to get the Athletics on the road.
Cade Cavalli @ COL – I’m stoked to see him find more velocity again, while the cutter is still in the mix. But it’s Coors…
Anthony Kay @ TEX – This could be a quiet Win for Kay in a nice place to pitch.
Eric Lauer @ PHI – Lauer is a decent Win chance, that’s about it.
Keider Montero @ CHC – Ayyyyy he’s back for a moment! Sadly it’s in summer Wrigley.
Do Not Starts
Slade Cecconi vs. MIN – I don’t think the chase for six frames is worth it.
Seth Lugo vs. SFG – Lugo is a Toby in a 15-teamer, not twelves.
Martín Pérez vs. SDP – He’s returning from the IL in a very clear Still ILL, but there is a small Win chance if you want to go for it.
Bailey Ober @ CLE – He’s still throwing well below 90 mph.
Aaron Nola vs. LAD – It’s the Dodgers. This has such a low floor.
Hunter Dobbins @ LAA – He’s returning for a moment and I’m not confident he’s ready to go.
Mitch Keller @ NYY – Oh dear.
Bubba Chandler @ NYY – He DEFINITELY hasn’t put it together yet.
Spencer Miles (Opener) vs. TBR – How long will he actually go? At least he has an opener, but I don’t think it’s worth it.
Tyler Alexander vs. CHW – It’s not going to be enough.
Gabriel Hughes vs. WSH – Why oh why would you do this.
Thursday 7/23 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Chris Sale vs. SDP – Aces gonna ace.
Gavin Williams vs. MIN – The results are annoying, the ability is awesome.
Troy Melton vs. KCR – He’s in such a good groove.
Probably Starts
Ian Seymour @ TOR – I’m willing to give this one more go before we abandon ship.
Questionable Starts
Taj Bradley @ CLE – He’s wild as anything, but it’s Cleveland. Gives it a better chance.
Michael McGreevy vs. ARI – He’s on a good run, even if the strikeouts aren’t quite there.
Brandon Pfaadt @ STL – His command is looking better and it’s a nice park to pitch in.
Shane Bieber vs. TBR – His movement was looking better last start and I hope it sticks around, with breaking balls doing more than changeups.
Do Not Starts
Griffin Canning @ ATL – He hasn’t found his groove yet.
Randy Dobnak @ DET – This is cool and a massive risk.
Friday 7/24 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)
