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: 94-68
My Pick yesterday: Win – Michael McGreevy @ SFG (ND): 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 2 BB, 4 K
My Pick today: Quinn Mathews @ SFG
My Pick tomorrow: Andre Pallante @ SFG
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: 81-81
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Loss – Jonah Tong @ MIA (W): 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BB, 7 K
Tuesday 9/8 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tarik Skubal vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Jacob Misiorowski vs. CHC – Aces gonna ace. Yes, under Skubs because of the matchup + his lower strike rate lately.
Cam Schlittler vs. COL – Aces gonna ace.
Reid Detmers @ BOS – That slider is coooookin’.
Sean Burke vs. PIT – Burke. Please have you secondaries working. I could have put you in the second tier and I just can’t get myself to do it. The floor hasn’t been so bad and we all know the ceiling.
Sandy Alcantara vs. NYM – Sandy has a rough time against the Royals as he struggled to put batters away. That should improve here.
Probably Starts
Andrew Painter vs. HOU – He’s on a roll, though I have a touch of concern that his four-seamer has regressed to its worse form. However, the breakers are as best as they’ve been and should devour this RHB lineup.
Michael Wacha vs. ARI – We all should have given Wacha more love in the preseason, eh?
Quinn Mathews @ SFG – Mathews hasn’t given us that start yet, but this is such a good situation and it’s worthwhile to expect a solid performance.
Questionable Starts
Sean Manaea @ MIA – It’s Miami, but Manaea’s fastball hasn’t performed up to snuff lately.
Landen Roupp vs. STL – Roupp elected to go cutter heavy last game and it worked…without many punchouts. It’s strange to seem him pull so far away from the change/curve he had prior and I wonder what we’ll get here.
Brandon Young vs. CLE – The four-seamer is still solid and he’ll have plenty of opportunities to let his splitter shine against a slew of LHB.
Hayden Wesneski @ PHI – Command has propelled Wesneski thus far, and it could continue here. He’s best against RHB, though, and I’m not sure if he’ll survive.
Freddy Peralta @ ATL – Peralta is sticking with four-seamers and changeups and it’s starting to work. His history of volatility means it could be just another ebb and flow.
José Soriano @ ATH – He’s a HIPSTER. You know who he is.
Cody Bradford @ SEA – There’s potential here and if the pitch separation is there, he could provide six solid innings.
David Peterson @ MIL – Peterson’s command has fallen lately, but he could suddenly be on point.
Casey Mize vs. WSH – Mize’s velocity has been strange, though his last outing felt like him getting over the hump, especially after the dugout slip.
Drew Anderson vs. MIN – Anderson’s split-change is decent and he has a long enough leash to be a worthy play in 12-teamers. The floor isn’t great, though.
Dean Kremer @ DET – Kremer’s splitter and cutter have been spotted better than the box score will tell you. He still has the upside.
Bryce Miller vs. TEX – He’s starting and who knows what we’ll get. He really should be solid, but this sure hasn’t worked.
Tanner Bibee @ BAL – Flip a coin. The high pitch counts are why you’re here.
Do Not Starts
Jack Perkins vs. TOR – It’s in Sacré Verde.
Bubba Chandler @ CHW – He’s tinkering and I’m still waiting for a start where he properly clicks in.
Nick Lodolo @ LAD – Lodolo’s feel for his breaker is not where we want it to be.
AJ Smith-Shawver vs. TBR – I’m not a believer in AJSS and his hyper-reliance on his splitter to get through games. It’s a far worse version of Gausman at this point.
Patrick Sandoval vs. LAA – He’s a WHIP killer.
Corbin Burnes @ KCR – He’s back! And he has such a low pitch count expectation in this super easy Still ILL.
Matt Waldron (Opener) @ SDP – It looks like Riley Cornelio is opening for Waldron in this one, and as y’all know, Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.
Gabriel Hughes @ NYY – It’s the Colorado pitcher.
Wednesday 9/9 Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings
Auto-Starts
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. CIN – Aces gonna ace.
Logan Henderson vs. CHC – Aces gonna ace.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. HOU – Please throw changeups for strikes and don’t allow all the hits, alright?
Hunter Brown @ PHI – Brown’s four-seamer and sinker performed exceptionally well last time out, and I’m going for it…even if I have my internal discomfort.
Probably Starts
Cal Quantrill @ SEA – He’s on such a good roll. How could you possibly bench him now? He is THE UNQUANTRILLFIABLE.
Kevin Gausman @ MIL – We’ve seen the good and bad. I believe the good will show up much more than the bad.
Jake Bennett vs. LAA – Bennett is returning to his BSB form and the Angels are incredibly susceptible to the SWATCH lifestyle.
Foster Griffin @ BAL – Griffin is a solid Toby you’re not benching.
Griffin Jax @ ATL – It was a rough Still ILL for Jax, but that’s why we have the rule in place. He should go deeper this time and keep up the stellar play we saw in his return.
Will Warren vs. COL – Warren gets a lovely matchup with Rockie Road and has a little extra rest after piggybacking with Fried.
Kade Anderson vs. TEX – The results are somewhat expected thus far, though I’m more impressed with his overall command than I thought I’d be. A date @TEA against the Rangers should work in his favor, especially as the vert is returning to his heater.
Questionable Starts
Shane Baz vs. CLE – The curveball and cutter are looking good enough that I’d generally roll with it.
Andre Pallante @ SFG – It’s a solid matchup in Oracle Park, leading to a potentially quiet six-inning outing.
Zebby Matthews @ DET – Zebby has two fantastic starts followed by a reprise of his disappointing control inside the zone. I’m less confident than before, but still paying attention.
Keider Montero vs. MIN – Despite the poor WHIP of his last outing, Montero still has the upside of a 1.00 WHIP here.
Jackson Kent @ SDP – I dig the SWATCH approach of Kent, but it was terribly executed against the Dodgers. There’s a chance it all clicks here.
Do Not Starts
Janson Junk vs. NYM – Junk doesn’t have a long enough leash to chase this.
Ryan Johnson @ BOS – Johnson has been a touch better than expected, though he doesn’t go long into games. There’s a chance for 5+ here of solid ratios and a strikeout per inning, and that’s still not good enough for me.
Walker Buehler vs. WSH – I know he’s been a good 15-team Toby and it’s a poor lineup, but the floor is just so blegh and the ceiling is hard to reach.
Khristian Curtis @ CHW – Curtis is getting a start for the Pirates with a 95/96 mph heater, 91/92 mph cutter, and a solid changeup. The trio makes him like a discount Logan Henderson and I’m curious how this plays out. We just saw him toss almost 50 pitches against the Giants and this could spell 60-70 pitches here. If you need more depth, lower him in these ranks.
Davis Martin vs. PIT – Martin has the leash, but not the security.
Blade Tidwell vs. STL – Tidwell hasn’t showcased us anything promising unless his sweeper can feast on flailing RHB incessantly.
Reynaldo López vs. TBR – Oh hey, it’s ReyLo making a start again! He sat 92.8 mph in his last rehab start, which doesn’t bode well for a pitcher we want to see at 94/95+ mph.
Robert Stock @ MIA – The ceiling is 5+ frames of decency. The floor is lava.
Rhett Lowder @ LAD – Lowder has a decent enough changeup and slider, though it’s the Dodgers. This has so many ways to go poorly.
Spencer Miles @ ATH – How long will he go? Will it matter? It’s Sacré Verde, y’all.
Zac Gallen @ KCR – Gallen is making his return and will be piggybacking with Michael Soroka. I’d wager we get Soroka before the end of the fifth, making him the more interesting player, though I wouldn’t touch either one. We’ve seen Kansas City mess up Sandy and Eury lately, after all.
Tomoyuki Sugano @ NYY – #15WinSuganoWatch2026
Joey Estes vs. TOR – Oh snap! It’s Estes for the rest of us!
Daniel Lynch IV vs. ARI – I fail to see a reason why you’d do this.
Thursday 9/10 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)
