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: 103-72
My Pick yesterday: Loss – Jonah Tong vs. PHI (L): 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 4 BB, 5 K
My Pick today: Keider Montero (Opener) vs. WSH
My Pick tomorrow: Cristian Javier @ SEA
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: 90-85
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Win – Dean Kremer @ LAA (W): 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 Hits, 3 BB, 8 K
Monday 9/21 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
NONE
Probably Starts
NONE
Questionable Starts
Keider Montero (Opener) vs. WSH – The Tigers are calling up River Ryan to make his season debut and first appearance as a Detroit Tiger. It’s awesome! I’m excited! And not going to touch him in fantasy given the hyper limited pitch count (39 pitches on 9/15). It paves the way for Montero to steal a Win against the Nationals, though, and I wouldn’t overlook it.
Zebby Matthews @ SFG – Which Zebby are we going to get? It’s possible he deserves to be in the tier above, but I truly can’t tell you that he’ll have the command that would allow him to take advantage of a great matchup in Oracle Park.
Shane Baz vs. TOR – I don’t even like this start! We have only three games on Monday, and if you need volume, Baz has the highest leash of all arms here. However, he’s lost the feel for his curve recently, and he’s become a 15-team HIPSTER.
Do Not Starts
DJ Herz @ DET – He’s back! It’s a Still ILL for a pitcher who nearly tossed 70 pitches in his last rehab start, sitting 92.7 mph – over a tick higher than his 91.5 mph from his 2024 rookie season. He also flexed solid slider command, and intent for the SWATCH approach to RHB. A super sneaky play that may actually work, especially if he can combat his adrenaline to find strikes with possible 93-94 mph velocity.
Spencer Miles (Opener) @ BAL – It’s the expected return of Trey Yesavage from the IL, who should not be throwing more than four frames at most (likely three or maybe even two given his history of shotgun command). It does open the door for a potential dub for Miles, but the volume will be low, and everything has to go right for it to work out.
Blade Tidwell vs. MIN – Not a bad matchup for Tidwell in San Francisco, but I really don’t like banking on Tidwell’s mediocre arsenal.
Tuesday 9/22 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Logan Gilbert vs. HOU – Aces gonna ace.
Payton Tolle vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Zack Wheeler vs. MIL – Aces gonna ace.
Drew Rasmussen @ NYY – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried vs. TBR – This is Max Fried’s third doubleheader of the season, which seems abnormal to me. I don’t know. Just start him.
Carlos Rodón vs. TBR – Rodón isn’t as studly as the others, but his ceiling is higher than Messick’s.
Parker Messick @ BOS – He’s a sturdy Holly who is so dang close to putting a cap on a season of bliss. Don’t ruin it now.
Shota Imanaga vs. MIA – Imanaga has the whiffs y’all.
Probably Starts
Jared Jones vs. STL – I’m tempted to put him in the next tier, but it’s not a given that he has the slider feel again.
Taj Bradley @ SFG – The strikeouts are flowing and it’s Oracle Park.
Cristian Javier @ SEA – I really hope he’s truly turning it around. The volatility is still there, but maybe the cutter is the missing piece.
Nick Martinez @ NYY – Why stop now? Judge isn’t even here.
Questionable Starts
Anthony Kay @ KCR – This could be a cheap Win for a White Sox team that needs it.
Dustin May @ PHI – It’s been rough for May across the last month and it was disappointing watching him struggle. The skills are still there, though, and if you’re searching for six frames of production across the board, May still very much has that in him.
Andre Pallante @ PIT – It’s PNC Park and the St. Louis defense has helped Pallante plenty. Now Andre just needs to not live in the heart of the zone…
Sean Manaea @ TEX – Manaea still worries me. His four-seamer isn’t the overwhelming pitch we’ve seen in the past. At least it’s in Arlington.
Michael King @ LAD – It’s a terrible matchup, but King has come through in tougher situations.
Michael Soroka @ COL – I’ve been waiting for Soroka to get locked in since his return from the IL and now that he’s there…it’s Coors. He can still make it work.
MacKenzie Gore vs. NYM – Who knows what we’ll get. I think he’s hurt more than helped.
Yusei Kikuchi @ ATH – It’s Sacré Verde and Kikuchi is on a downward trend.
Drew Anderson vs. WSH – Anderson’s split-changeup can be good enough to make this work. I don’t love the full arsenal, and he’s not efficient enough to depend on six frames.
Do Not Starts
Anthony Molina vs. MIN – I was tempted to push Molina one tier higher after he came through for the second time. Not consecutively, though, and it’s unclear if his ceiling is high enough to justify the risk. I’m still so tempted.
Chris Bassitt vs. TOR – Bassitt gives you a long leash, but at what cost?
Max Scherzer @ BAL – That 10 strikeout game was cool. It won’t happen again.
Jackson Kent @ DET – I’ll continue to have a soft spot for Kent, hoping he nails down the command needed for this stretch armstrong 7+ feet extension southpaw to become a proper SWATCH. We haven’t seen it yet, which has me doubtful it’ll suddenly appear on Monday.
Daniel Lynch IV vs. CHW – He’s going longer now, and it’s just so boring when it works. It’s not boring in the worst way when it doesn’t.
Brandon Williamson (Opener) @ ATL – I’m guessing that Chase Burns will open for one more game this year, giving Williamson another decent shot at a Win. If B Dubs is starting proper, then this becomes even less appealing.
Janson Junk @ CHC – Junk isn’t going long into games, nor is he finding the whiffs his stuff suggests.
Justin Wrobleski vs. SDP – Sooooo how long is Wrobo Cop going to go? Is Landon Knack going to follow? DODGERITIS IS THE WORST.
Kyle Freeland vs. ARI – It’s Freeland.
JR Ritchie vs. CIN – Hello? Is it me you’re looking for? No, definitely not, Richie. You’re looking for Lionel.
Brady Basso vs. LAA – How long will he go? Does it matter?
Wednesday 9/23 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)
