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). UPDATE: We’ve added distinctions for Home/Away park factors and projected strength vL and vR handed pitchers:
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: 83-61
My Pick yesterday: Loss – Gage Jump @ KCR (L): 4.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 Hits, 3 BB, 3 K
My Pick today: Joe Musgrove vs. MIN
My Pick tomorrow: Jacob Lopez @ HOU
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: 76-68
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Win – Grant Holmes @ CHW (W): 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BB, 3 K
Friday 8/21 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Jacob Misiorowski vs. ATL – Aces gonna ace.
Chris Sale @ MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Cam Schlittler vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Jesús Luzardo vs. STL – Aces gonna ace.
Troy Melton @ KCR – His floor is incredible as a baseline + heading to Kansas City amplifies it further.
Sonny Gray vs. SFG – It sure is Sonny these days and it’s the Giants.
Sean Burke vs. NYM – Two of the last three starts from Burke have been 4.1 IP disappointments, but they were sandwiched by a phenomenal 20-whiff outing. You can’t bench this.
Logan Webb @ BOS – Webb is doing Webb things and the Red Sox don’t like RHP.
Reid Detmers @ TEX – Detmers is cooking and it’s a great matchup in Arlington.
Trevor Rogers vs. TBR – After a day of terrible changeup command, Rogers rebounded to his fantastic self with 94/95 mph heaters up and slowballs + sweepers down.
Probably Starts
Noah Cameron vs. DET – He’s on fire. He’s throwing harder and featuring better command of his secondaries, and he has a good home park.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. CIN – This Vargas Rule marches on.
Emerson Hancock vs. CHC – Hancock just flexed the ideal RHB approach I’ve wanted him to feature all season with sinkers in and sweepers away. Can you go tell Kirby about it?
Nick Lodolo @ ARI – I may be a little too high here, and I’d traditionally want to wait for Lodolo to get a few more starts under his belt to get into rhythm. However, his changeup feel is there and he just needs one heater and/or his curveball to do the rest.
MacKenzie Gore vs. LAA – Gore demolished the Angels with changeups last time they met, and has since displayed pinpoint accuracy of his heater. If he could combine the two here…
Sean Manaea @ CHW – The velocity is still there for Manaea and I’m still starting him after last week’s mediocrity.
Matthew Boyd @ SEA – Boyd was ambushed by a magical Baez debut and @TEA should quell the longball.
Joe Musgrove vs. MIN – It’s a Still ILL for Musgrove, who we haven’t seen for a long time. You’d think I’d have him in the DNS tier, but he tossed 70 pitches in his final rehab start and sat 95 mph in each of his last two Triple-A games. Wait, doesn’t he sit 92/93 mph? YUP. Dude is throwing A LOT HARDER. Grab him while you still can.
Questionable Starts
Joey Cantillo @ COL – Cantillo is cool, but Coors is not.
Hayden Wesneski vs. ATH – I still question if Wesneski has good enough command of his arsenal to squeeze out success on a given night. It’s a weak Athletics crew, though, and hopefully the sweeper can clean up.
J.T. Ginn @ HOU – If you want to Vargas Rule this, I don’t blame you. At least it’s away from Sacré Verde.
Hunter Dobbins @ PHI – Dobbins is interesting with his 94 mph cut-fastball and wide arsenal, but I hate sending him to Philly, and this could return few strikeouts.
Connor Prielipp @ SDP – Last time out was rough. He won’t be like that all the time and the whiffability is still there.
Do Not Starts
Bubba Chandler @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers. I know Bubba is getting better results than the first half, and he’s making small changes to become a sustainable fantasy arm, but, again, it’s the Dodgers.
Freddy Peralta @ BAL – Peralta is 0/3 giving you what you want as a member of the Rays.
Will Dion @ MIA (Opener) – I’m low key excited about this…? He’s just such a strange arm with one of the most extreme arm angles over-the-top from a southpaw at 90 mph + a 78 mph changeup and an interesting cutter he can throw down at times. JUST SAYIN’.
Ryan Gusto vs. WSH – Gusto has not been consistent and the Marlins keep him on a short leash.
Spencer Arrighetti @ NYY – He’s down to 90 mph during his rehab starts. Yikes.
Tanner Gordon vs. CLE – It’s Coors, y’all.
Saturday 8/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace.
Dylan Cease @ NYY – Aces gonna ace.
Eury Pérez vs. WSH – He’s vying for an AGA tag and this is the Nationals.
Logan Henderson vs. ATL – It’s Coronation Day for Henderson, who gets a solid Atlanta crew that has been colder than expected.
Probably Starts
Jacob Lopez @ HOU – I’m a huge believer in rolling with pitchers who have displayed command/approach improvements mid-season and JLo flipped the switch a month ago to replicate his 2025 summer self, and has replicated its results since. LET IT RIDE.
Ryan Weathers vs. TOR – Weathers is featuring sinkers over four-seamers and cashed in a -1.60 ERA improvement to a 2.70 clip without allowing HRs…at the cost of a higher WHIP and fewer strikeouts. More Wins and fewer ER is worth it, right?
Michael Wacha vs. DET – He’s a reliable Toby in a good matchup.
Hunter Brown vs. ATH – I’m weirded out by Brown’s inability to feature a dominant four-seamer since his return from the IL. It’s flashed elite again at times, but the strike rates are typically around 50% these days. Please fix this.
Christian Scott @ CHW – I adore Scott’s latest feel for executing the “Canbial McSanchez” to LHB, and I hope he finds that last gear to feature a pitch he can confidently spot down and in town. The sweeper isn’t that (it gets too much lift), the splitter is unreliable, and my hope is that the 90/91 mph “sinker” is used more (I think it’s a changeup). We’ll find out.
Casey Mize vs. MIN – Mize’s velocity is back to normal (phew) and it’s all about nailing down the slider consistently. Splitters for whiffs would be nice, too.
Cody Bradford vs. LAA – It’s tough to put trust in an 89/90 mph velocity arm, I get it. Bradford has a history of outperforming his velocity via 7+ feet of extension and excellent precision upstairs with changeups landing down. The Angels hate changeups from southpaws as this classic SWATCH could feast.
Michael Soroka vs. CIN – I’m leaning toward START for Soroka given the matchup, but I am a little worried that he hasn’t replicated his elite pitch separation from April/May across his first two starts back from the IL.
Questionable Starts
Brandon Young vs. TBR – The four-seamer had the extra vert in the Trop, but everything else let him down. There’s still a shot they return with solid fastball command in Camden.
Dean Kremer @ SDP – Kremer was super unlucky with a Careful, Icarus against the Phillies as Bohm hit a high-and-tight splitter for a longball and ruined his night in the sixth. The splitter and cutter are still better than before his revenge game against the Orioles.
Kade Anderson vs. CHC – We’ve been waiting a long time for Kade to make his debut after demolishing Double-A with a 41% strikeout rate and 4% walk rate (LOL). He’s an atypical #1 prospect, though, with 93/94 mph four-seamer velo, an 86 mph gyro slider with extra sweep and a decent changeup from the left side. His command has been impeccable, though, and despite the PILOT Rule, there is hope that it carries over into the majors for his debut. That said, I’m always a little wary of changeup/command driven success in the minors (especially without Triple-A games), and I wonder how well it’ll actually translate. He’s 100% worth adding now and seeing how it goes given the extreme K-BB% rates – I may be overthinking this and should just say “Hey, his K-BB% rate is 100th percentile. So he’s great.”
Andrew Painter vs. STL – I was initially lower on Painter after watching him fail to get whiffs on perfectly dotted sweepers and sliders to RHB, but my OTC podcast co-host Eric Samulski pointed me to a Cole Weintraub article outlining how Painter changed his four-seamer to turn it into a 120 plvStuff+ pitch overnight. Painter said his four-seam fastball was the “best it’s been since TJ.” If that heater actually sticks, then we’ve got something here.
Jared Jones @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers, but we all know the stuff is there to go 5/6 innings of strong production.
Shane McClanahan @ BAL – McShane tossed fewer than 60 pitches in his Still ILL and I worry that he won’t exceed 70 here, let alone the Toby-esque quality of his healthy starts before injury.
David Peterson @ SEA – Peterson is getting the pearl again for the Cubs instead of Assad, though we may see this as a piggyback between them with Assad throwing innings on Tuesday. It’s @TEA and if Peterson has decent enough four-seamer and sinker command, he could skate through frames once again.
Martín Pérez @ MIL – This is your Win stream if you need it. Pérez was stellar for a few games, had a terrible first frame last time, then settled in to go four shutout after. One innings shouldn’t change your impression of him.
Drew Anderson @ KCR – I upgraded Anderson to the bottom of Tier 3 as he’s stretched out and gets a fantastic matchup. If the split-change can earn enough strikes, this could help your squads.
Do Not Starts
Andre Pallante @ PHI – It’s super meh. He’s inconsistent with his command and I think it’s not worth the squeeze in a poor park.
Rhett Lowder @ ARI – Lowder is away from Great American Small Park, though, like Pallante, the risk/reward balance isn’t in our favor enough to circle in standard situations. Not a bad desperate play for the weekend.
Luis Castillo vs. NYM – I’ve lost all faith in Castillo, but at least he has a long leash.
Blade Tidwell @ BOS – Tidwell is only great when he can throw sweepers away to RHB all day.
Patrick Sandoval vs. SFG – Sandoval may be replaced by Brayan Bello and keep an eye out for that. If we get wind of Bello following, he’s in the Probably Start tier.
Tanner Bibee @ COL – Bibee has been super inconsistent + it’s Coors.
Jake Irvin @ MIA – Despite increased velocity and a new changeup & cutter emphasis, Irvin still hasn’t found success. Yet. If the breakers become dope once again, I may be interested.
Yusei Kikuchi @ TEX – It’s a Still ILL for a guy who just got rocked in his final rehab start.
Gabriel Hughes vs. CLE – It’s Coors. If I believed Hughes could locate the cut-fastball inside to all LHB he faces, then I’d be interested. Alas, we saw that just once this year.
Sunday 8/23 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)
