The pitching streamers market has been taking shape as the season rolls along. As we get a better idea of which offenses are going to struggle this season, taking advantage of those matchups becomes much easier. Fantasy baseball managers still have time to scoop up some under-rostered pitchers that are streamers now, but could be solid assets. This is prime time to find effective pitching. Below are some of my favorite streamers for the coming matchup.
Pitching Streamers Available in Some Leagues (Over 30% Rostered)
Dustin May (SP – LAD)
Next Start: Monday, 4/28 vs MIA
Miami is an easy team to pick on in this matchup as they have one of the worst offenses in baseball. Despite May’s recent rough outing against a tough Cubs team, he is an excellent choice to stream against Miami if managers have panicked and dumped him.
Miami is one of two teams that ranks among the worst 10 in all of the following categories: run differential, strikeouts, strikeout rate, groundball rate, and home runs. They rank fifth worst, seventh worst, ninth worst, 10th worst, and eighth worst respectively.
Prior to his blowup against Chicago, May had looked great, picking up two quality starts. He should have a shot at bouncing back in this one. May has an absurd sweeper, which he has thrown 135 times. It has only been hit five times, for a batting average against of .161. It has a 34% whiff rate and a 26% putaway rate. He has done this by posting some insane spin data, specifically on his sweeper. Take a look:
Dustin May, Turbo Sweepers.
3,333 RPMs
3,449 RPMs pic.twitter.com/tRAxfSqYVj— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2025
May’s fastball has also worked well so far, but he will need to continue to develop some other pitches to be effective against better teams.
Luckily, his outing in this matchup comes against the Marlins. May should be a top choice for anyone targeting pitching streamers in the upcoming matchup.
Casey Mize (SP – DET)
Next Start: Thursday, 5/1 at LAA
Casey Mize is likely rostered in deeper leagues, but in shallow leagues, he may still be available. As of writing, Mize just picked up his second quality start of the season against Kansas City.
What may hold managers back from prioritizing Mize is his lack of strikeouts. He also had an ugly outing against Minnesota, where he gave up four earned runs. That may ward off potential suitors.
If he is available in your league, though, you should consider targeting him in the coming week. Mize faces a lackluster Angels offense that has struggled to produce. The Angels have the sixth worst run differential, the eighth most strikeouts, and the third highest strikeout rate. This could actually turn out to be a great game for Mize, getting him closer to the mid-8 K/9 rate he was used to in the minors.
For someone with a low strikeout rate, Mize has been effective at missing bats. Four of the six pitches he has thrown this season have whiff rates over 27%. But only two have putaway rates over 25%. This could mean he is getting deep into counts, but not necessarily turning those at-bats into strikeouts. Clearly he has found other ways to get batters out, though.
Two of his best pitches are his fastball and splitter, which have been extremely difficult for batters to hit because of how he throws and sequences them. Here is a look at them:
Casey Mize, 93mph Fastball and 86mph Splitter, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/lcurtYmWDg
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 7, 2025
The Angels have been particularly terrible against righties, so this should play right into Mize’s strengths. If he is available, he is a must add as one of the top pitching streamers for the week ahead.
Robbie Ray (SP – SF)
Next Start: Friday, 5/2 vs COL
Robbie Ray has looked good against bad offenses so far this season, and has been average or worse against tougher opponents. Thankfully for him and for fantasy managers, his next opponent is a terrible Colorado team.
Ray’s fastball and slider have been very effective so far this season, specifically against lefty hitters. Both pitches have a BAA of .224 or better. His fastball has a 20% whiff rate and 21% putaway rate, while his slider has a 40% whiff rate and a 21% putaway rate. But his changeup, which he has used infrequently throughout his career, has performed much worse. He really needs to develop that into an out pitch against righty hitters to improve his results.
Colorado has been bad against lefty pitchers, posting the ninth worst batting average against them. Overall, Colorado’s offense has been putrid this season. They own the worst run differential in baseball, as well as the third most strikeouts, the worst strikeout rate, and the third fewest home runs of any team in the league.
This game being played in San Francisco is a bonus for Ray. If you are in need of pitching streamers later in the week, Ray is worth an add.
Widely Available Pitching Streamers (0%-30% Rostered)
Jose Soriano (P – LAA)
Next Start: Sunday, 4/27 at MIN
Jose Soriano had a bit of a breakout in 2024, posting a 3.42 ERA across 113 innings, starting 20 of 22 games. He has had a rocky start to the season, collecting quality starts against the White Sox and Rays. He also allowed a total of 13 earned runs in a combined 14 innings against the Pirates, Rangers and Guardians.
Fantasy managers should have faith in Soriano against the Twins in the coming week. Minnesota’s offense has sputtered, as they rank 10th worst in run differential, eighth worst in groundball rate, and have hit the sixth fewest home runs. They also have the eighth worst AVG against right-handed pitchers, a plus for Soriano.
While Soriano’s sinker has been much less effective than last season, he has made up for it by tossing four other offerings that have whiff rates between 27-66% and putaway rates between 24-40%. His best pitch is a filthy splitter that has yet to be hit. He also throws a ridiculous slider with a 56% whiff rate and a 39% putaway rate:
José Soriano, Wicked 89mph Slider. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/2vHzQ5b31G
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2025
He should have a good outing against the Twins in this matchup. So fantasy managers should consider him as one of the top pitching streamers for the week ahead.
Tony Gonsolin (P – LAD)
Next Start: Tuesday, 4/29 vs MIA
Tony Gonsolin has been on the shelf with a back injury, and has not returned as of writing. He also missed all of 2024. He is scheduled to face Miami in his next outing.
Gonsolin has struggled slightly with control in his rehab outings, which could be a point of concern. Despite that, he faces one of the worst offenses in the league in the Marlins, so fantasy managers should not worry too much.
Typically, I do not advise playing a pitcher in their first game back from an IL stint, especially after a prolonged hiatus. However, Gonsolin has been effective throughout his career, and this is a juicy matchup for streaming.
The Dodgers likely will be conservative with his pitch count – they also have a ton of pitching depth – so do not expect a quality start out of this one. But with their offense being one of the best in the league, fantasy managers can reasonably anticipate some offensive support for Gonsolin, and a shot at a win.
Gonsolin should be in consideration for anyone in search of deep league pitching streamers for the next matchup.
Matthew Boyd (SP – CWS)
Next Start: Wednesday, 4/30 at PIT
Matthew Boyd has quietly been off to a great start to the season. He has three quality starts – two against the Dodgers, and one against the Padres. He also had a solid outing against Arizona in his first start to the season.
Despite that, Boyd is not widely owned in fantasy, but thanks to a tasty matchup against Pittsburgh, he may be tough to add going forward.
Pittsburgh is the only other team, aside from Miami, that ranks among the bottom 10 in each of the categories mentioned previously. They rank ninth worst in run differential, sixth worst in strikeouts, seventh worst in strikeout rate, seventh worst in groundball rate, and have the fifth fewest homers. They also have a .213 AVG against LHP, seventh worst in baseball.
Boyd’s fastball, slider, and changeup combination has been key to his success this year. His slider and changeup, in particular, have been effective at missing bats. They have 31% and 28% whiff rates respectively, mostly throwing them against lefties and righties respectively. His slider, though, has even induced some pretty bad swings against righty hitters too:
Matthew Boyd, Wicked 82mph Back Foot Slider. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/9vM3FuBq7R
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2025
If he can continue to miss bats, and use them at the right time, we may see his strikeout numbers start to climb. That could happen in this game against the Pirates. Boyd should be far more rostered, and after this game, he may not be on the pitching streamers market any more. Scoop him up now.
Backup Plan Streamers
- SEA Emerson Hancock vs LAA- Tuesday 4/29
- MIL Tobias Myers at CWS – Wednesday 4/30
- SF Justin Verlander vs COL – Thursday 5/1
Desperation Streamers
- ATH Osvaldo Bido vs CWS – Sunday 4/27 and at MIA – Friday 5/2
- CLE Ben Lively vs MIN – Wednesday 4/30
- MIL Chad Patrick at CWS – Thursday 5/1
- CLE Logan Allen vs MIN – Thursday 5/1
