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: 105-74
My Pick yesterday: Loss – Randy Dobnak vs. CHW (L): 1.1 IP, 4 ER, 6 Hits, 1 BB, 1 K
My Pick today: Brayan Bello vs. CHC
My Pick tomorrow: Jonah Tong @ WSH
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: 91-88
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Grayson Rodriguez @ SEA (W): 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 Hits, 5 BB, 2 K
Friday 9/25 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal @ SFG – Aces gonna ace. He may be limited, of course.
Gavin Williams @ KCR – Aces gonna ace. The Guardians want to secure a bye in the first round over the White Sox and they’ll let him go.
Jacob deGrom @ MIN – Aces gonna ace. The Rangers are tied with the Astros for the division. They need deGrom to go into beast mode.
Reid Detmers @ SEA – Detmers has been too dang good with his slider.
Noah Cameron vs. CLE – Cameron is calling his pitches and has been absurdly consistent.
Joe Ryan vs. TEX – It didn’t go well last time. The skills were there and I’d start without fear.
Hunter Brown @ ATH – The Astros are fighting with the Rangers for the division and need Brown to keep the fastballs flowing.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. TBR – Sánchez has been struggling to find strikes with his changeup and that’s
Probably Starts
Trevor Rogers @ NYY – He just cooked in Coors + against the Brewers and the Yankees are without Judge.
Will Warren vs. BAL – Warren had a rough frame in Arizona, but I still like his increased focus on secondaries.
Jackson Jobe vs. PIT – Jobe is finally leaning into his slider and it’s getting him strikeouts. It’s rad.
Brayan Bello vs. CHC – Bello just gave us a game of 97 mph heaters and double-digit strikeouts. Hard to pass on that.
Sean Burke vs. COL – Burke had reduced velocity and not the best command of his breaker against the Tigers, but he survived. He’ll only need the curveball against Rockie Road, at the very least.
Freddy Peralta @ PHI – One more tune up before the postseason and I imagine the Rays are cognizant of keeping Peralta in a good rhythm.
Andrew Alvarez vs. NYM – I originally had Alvarez in the third tier, but that curveball was legit and he’s throwing it more and more.
Questionable Starts
José Soriano vs. CIN – He is who he is.
Michael McGreevy @ MIL – McGreevy can churn outs in a heartbeat. He can also struggle to miss enough bats to escape jams.
Jake Bennett (Opener) vs. CHC – Bennett look much better last game and it’s possible he pulls this one off, too.
Brandon Pfaadt @ SDP – I’m into Pfaadt’s improved pitch separation in the second half, yet he looked far worse over the weekend.
Clay Holmes @ BOS – I’ve soured on The Adobe, whose WHIP has continued to hurt managers without enough dubs in his belt.
Nick Lodolo @ TOR – Lodolo’s curveball has been off ever since his blister.
Robert Gasser vs. STL – I liked seeing Gasser feature a better changeup last outing + the cutter is still good. And even with that, I’m still not super jazzed about this.
Eury Pérez vs. ATL – He’s really struggled for the last month and it’s seems more likely it’ll be more of the same in his final out of the year.
David Peterson @ BOS – I could be undervaluing this one after a good start from Peterson, but it’s also incredibly risky.
Do Not Starts
Bubba Chandler @ DET – Chandler. Buddy. Please. End the season on the highest of notes. BE GOLDEN.
Brandon Young @ NYY – Young’s four-seamer has been solid in the past and if the breaker and/or splitter can complement it well, he can give you a decent 5/6 frames.
Grant Holmes (Opener) @ MIA – Holmes has some strikeout upside but it rarely comes out and the WHIP stings.
Brendan Beck vs. BAL – It’s a doubleheader for the Yankees and Beck is getting the pearl. We’ve seen his three times thus far, including one start with 17 whiffs (and three strikeouts). He’s stretched out and the Yankees have all the reasons to let him go as long as he can here. It’s an 84 mph gyro slider with a 92/93 mph 18″ vert four-seamer, which is far from an exciting skillset, but at least he has a shot at production.
Bryce Miller vs. LAA – I wonder if Bryce will see this as the day he proves himself and pitches through whatever is barking at him and then deals with it the day after. That’s ridiculous. Yeah, I know.
Casey Mize vs. ARI – His velocity was down again and I really can’t endorse this. He’s so clearly hurt + the Padres just clinched a playoff spot yesterday.
Jacob Lopez vs. HOU – That was a disaster, and it was also the third straight game of a far worse rhythm than the hot stretch prior. I hope you got out.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ CHW – …Win number 13? It’s the day after the White Sox celebrated a playoff spot, after all.
Yunior Marte vs. LAD – Marte is kinda intriguing, but this is absurdly dangerous.
Jonathan Pintaro @ WSH – The Mets have placed Christian Scott on the IL, and we’re not completely sure how the Mets are going to handle this. Likely a bullpen game.
Saturday 9/26 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Blake Snell @ SFG – Aces gonna ace. They said they wanted him to pitch a full outing to prep for the playoffs, so we let him fly.
Griffin Jax @ PHI – He’s been fantastic and I imagine they’ll want to keep him stretched out.
Probably Starts
Michael Wacha vs. CLE – One more to put a cap on Wacha’s magical season.
Kade Anderson vs. LAA – Kade was great in his PILOT Rule, then great in Coors. In other words, the two times he was least likely to succeed. However, seeing a rookie regain their skills after their moment of adversity usually starts a hot streak, and against the Angels, I’ll take my chances.
Questionable Starts
Ryan Johnson @ SEA – Ryan returned to 94/95 mph, but it didn’t go his way. Now it’s @TEA and he may still be worthwhile.
Jonah Tong @ WSH – The Vulcan change feel disappeared on us as we feared. But hey, it could come back!
Dustin May vs. STL – The stuff is far better than the results we’ve gotten over the past month.
Quinn Mathews @ MIL – Mathews has a trio of successful starts to his name, though the box score hides the questionable execution of his arsenal in that time. Just 1/20 whiffs on his slider against the Nationals isn’t the most inspiring results.
Javier Assad @ BOS – Assad is the innings eater the Cubs should use to give their pen as much of a rest as possible before they head to the postseason.
Hayden Wesneski @ ATH – He’s a command guy going into Sacré Verde and it’s super meeeeh.
Do Not Starts
Corbin Burnes @ SDP – Burnes is back from the IL and it’s…not good. His cutter fell in velocity to under 91 mph without good drop, looking like a poor cut-fastball that got pummeled for longballs. He’s not fully stretched out, either, and I’d just avoid it.
José Urquidy vs. TBR – The Phillies have struck gold with Urquidy. He’s been incredibly helpful getting them to the finish line and they’ll use as much of him as they possibly can. Here’s to hoping he deserves it.
Jack Perkins vs. HOU – Perkins has had a pair of strong outings on the road, but back home in Sacré Verde has me spooked. But the Astros are poor against RHB sweepers! Maybe that’s enough. That’s too big-brain, right?
Tanner Bibee @ KCR – He has the leash, it’s the quality that is so dangerous.
Connelly Early (Opener) vs. NYM – You’re going to see Jake Irvin start this one, with Early following, making for an interesting Win play when those are hard to find. This won’t be a whole lot of volume after throwing 40 pitches on September 20th.
Matt Wilkinson vs. LAD – Tugboat came through! And I still can’t bank on it working against the Dodgers.
Davis Martin vs. COL – Martin has the chance to pull it off against Rockie Road, but his spring command has been missing for months.
AJ Smith-Shawver @ MIA – He’s getting another start and even if he has the length, it’s still a guy hyper-reliant on his splitter.
Bailey Ober vs. TEX – We’ve seen a whole lot of 87 mph, but a whole lot of anything has some value in the final weekend.
Rhett Lowder @ TOR – Lowder has some moments. Very brief ones, but they exist.
Antwone Kelly (Opener) @ DET – At least he has an opener, right? But who knows when he’ll come in and for how long and if it’ll be any good. RIGHT?!
Jack Flaherty (Opener) vs. PIT – This will be Justin Verlander opening the game, who I’m sure they’ll let go as long as he possibly can. Then we’ll see Jack Flaherty’s return from the IL, on a lovely Saturday at COMERICA park. There’s a chance Flaherty is there for a Win, but that assumes Verlander and Flaherty go long enough + the score is in their favor.
Jordan Montgomery @ MIN – Oh hey! It’s The Bear! They may let him start proper once before the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean you should start him, too.
Patrick Sandoval vs. CHC – This never works.
Walker Buehler vs. ARI – Buehler doesn’t go long into games and his ratio boost is often insignificant + the Padres have clinched the postseason and they need a rest Buehler.
Bradley Blalock vs. ATL – The Marlins moved both Eury and Sandy to the pen to limit their workload, allowing Blalock to get a start. I have low expectations here.
Trey Yesavage vs. CIN – Yesavage tossed 40 pitches and the most ideal scenario is 60 pitches. That’s what, three innings for Trey? If we’re lucky.
Jose Quintana @ CHW – How long will they let him go? Does it matter?
Sunday 9/27 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)
