Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: It’s Not Complicated

In many fantasy baseball leagues, managers have entered playoffs or consolation brackets. Some leagues may have a week or two left in their seasons before the playoffs start. Whatever your situation, finding the pitching streamers with the best matchups could be the difference between winning and losing your championship.

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Take a look at some of my favorite targets for the week ahead.

Pitching Streamers Available in Some Leagues (Over 15% Rostered)

Adrian Houser (SP – TB)

Next Start: Friday, 8/29 at WAS

Adrian Houser is in the midst of the best season of his career. He owns a 6-4 record and nine quality starts. This is his first season surpassing seven quality starts. He could be in line to add to both his win and quality start totals in his next matchup against Washington.

The Nationals rank second-worst in run differential in all of baseball. They also hit the most groundballs of any team in the league. Unsurprisingly, they are among the worst in home runs as well, with the third fewest overall. The Nats also have the fourth fewest walks and third fewest home runs against righty pitchers specifically. Houser has been exceptional at avoiding the long ball, perhaps receiving some luck with an uncharacteristically low HR/9 and HR/FB rates. Still, his 48% GB rate is well above league average, and he has lowered his launch angle allowed for the second year in a row, so he has done some things to reduce the chances of home runs. Houser also has the second-lowest walks-per-nine rate of his career, so things look good for him in this matchup.

There are several factors legitimizing Houser’s success this season. He rearranged how he distributes his pitches, tossing his changeup and curveball more, while using his fastball and slider less. He also added velocity to all five pitches in his arsenal and added spin to all but his curveball. As a result, the batting average against improved on his changeup, curveball, and slider. The whiff rates increased on all but his sinker and fastball. And the putaway rates improved on all but his fastball. Houser should be able to use his improved arsenal to keep Washington off the board and improve his record, especially with stuff like this:

Adrian Houser's 2Ks in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/9CJdlm6mpP

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 17, 2025

Adrian Houser should be at the top of the list to add for anyone looking for pitching streamers in the coming week.

Lucas Giolito (SP – BOS)

Next Start: Sunday, 8/31 vs PIT

Lucas Giolito may not be available in deep leagues, but in shallow leagues, he should be an add for the upcoming week. He is 8-2 this season, with 12 quality starts (including three in his last five starts), and a 3.72 ERA. He faces a lowly Pirates offense in his next matchup.

Statistically, the Pirates have one of the worst offenses in baseball. They have the third-worst run differential, the seventh-most strikeouts, the fourth-worst strikeout rate, the third-highest groundball rate, and the fewest home runs in baseball. No other team falls among the 10 worst in even four of those categories, let alone all five. This should work out for Giolito, who could use a reset after giving up three earned runs to the Yanks in New York. Pittsburgh also has the fifth-worst AVG, the fifth most strikeouts, and the fewest home runs against RHP – great news for Giolito.

Giolito’s resurgence this season has been made easier by a few really good pitches. His slider, changeup, and curveball have .232 BAAs or better, 20-31% whiff rates, and 19-28% K rates. In particular, his slider has been excellent, with a .232 BAA, a 31% whiff rate, a 24% K rate, and a 20% putaway rate. That slider should be effective against Pittsburgh’s righty-heavy lineup (they have just three lefty or switch-hitting batters), just like this:

Lucas Giolito, Painted 85mph Slider. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/bpSR05Q0jC

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 21, 2025

If Giolito is available in your leagues, he should be in consideration as one of the top pitching streamers for the coming week and beyond.

Widely Available Pitching Streamers (0%-14% Rostered)

Cam Schlittler (SP – NYY)

Next Start: Monday, 8/25 vs WAS

Cam Schlittler earned the call from the Yankees after pitching to a 2.82 ERA with a 99:26 K:BB rate across 76.2 innings throughout the minors this season. So far, in the majors, he has a 3.22 ERA, a 1-2 record, and a quality start in 36.1 IP.

Clearly, there is something there for Schlittler, who is maintaining his high K/9 and GB rates from the minors. His 9.4 K/9 rate and 46% GB rate should stand firm, or even improve, against a struggling Nationals team. The Nats have trouble scoring, hit a ton of grounders, and rank among the league’s worst in home runs. This all bodes well for the young starter. His HR/9 and HR/FB rates are both inflated, so this is a game where he could see some positive regression to those numbers. Not only could this game help his ERA, but it could lead to a win and another quality start.

Schlittler’s fastball, curveball, cutter, and sinker have whiff rates between 23-29%, and strikeout rates between 20-29%, so the high overall strikeout rate is no surprise. His cutter has been excellent, with a 25% putaway rate, the best of his arsenal. It also has the second-best BAA of all his pitches at .207. Schlittler’s cutter moves more like a slider, which has made it an extremely effective pitch, and one he should continue to lean on against Washington. Here is a look at it in action, overlaid with his fastball:

This sequence to Junior Caminero last night🤢

If Cam Schlittler can reliably go to that cutter down and away, he's going to be one of the team's best starters. pic.twitter.com/5fZMu9Vp8j

— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaMLB) August 21, 2025

Schlittler may be a little off the radar, but he should be one of the top pitching streamers for your next matchup, no matter your league size or type.

Charlie Morton (SP – DET)

Next Start: Tuesday, 8/26 at ATH

Charlie Morton took a while to get going this season and has still been a bit of a headache for fantasy baseball managers. He has seven quality starts in his last 11 appearances, winning six of those games and losing three. The flip side is that in two of the non-win, non-quality starts, he gave up 13 total earned runs in 9.2 innings. This appears to be a chance for Morton to continue to improve, three games removed from his last blow-up.

Morton faces the Athletics next, a team that has ranked among the league’s worst in run differential for most of the season. They have the fourth-worst differential, the ninth-most strikeouts, and the eighth-highest GB% in baseball. The Athletics have also underwhelmed against RHP, striking out the third most against them. For all of Morton’s struggles, he has done well at inducing strikeouts, with a 9.4 K/9 rate. He also appears to have pitched into some bad luck. His HR/9 and HR/FB rates have been higher than his career rates, which have contributed to an inflated ERA. His 5.09 ERA is much higher than his 4.23 xFIP, and 4.17 SIERA.

Morton’s bread-and-butter has always been his curveball, his most used pitch. That has not changed in 2025. Its .218 BAA, 37% whiff rate, 32% K rate, 41% GB rate, and 23% putaway rate rank best, best, best, third best, and second best among the five pitches in his arsenal. It should give the Athletics fits, just like this:

Charlie Morton, Wicked 82mph Curveball. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/wD6kNZ2bXZ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 20, 2025

Morton carries some risk in general, but this is a matchup where he should see success. Make him one of your top pitching streamers if he is available.

Joey Wentz (SP – ATL)

Next Start: Wednesday, 8/27 at MIA

Joey Wentz was a pre-trade-deadline acquisition by Atlanta, used mostly as a reliever in Minnesota prior to his arrival in Atlanta. With Atlanta’s lack of starting depth, he made his way into the rotation and has pitched well. In six starts, he is 2-2 with two quality starts. He is scheduled to face Miami in a favorable matchup for his next appearance.

Miami could lead Wentz to another win and quality start. They have the league’s eighth-worst run differential, the sixth-highest GB%, and the seventh-fewest home runs. Against lefty pitchers, they also have the fourth-worst AVG and the third-fewest home runs. Wentz has avoided the long ball, issuing just two across 34.2 IP as a starter this season. His 40% GB rate has hovered around league average, but Miami’s offense may help him improve that in this game.

Wentz primarily relies on his fastball, cutter, and curveball, but really needs to develop an out pitch against righty batters. Still, his curveball has been very effective, and arguably his best pitch overall. It has a .235 BAA, a 28% whiff rate, a 35% K rate, and a 48% GB rate. He needs to be tossing this pitch more, because it does work against righty batters at least some of the time (make sure to also notice the crazy movement on his cutter):

Joey Wentz's 2Ks in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/6SvDPNrGkA

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 30, 2025

Wentz should be in the mix for anyone looking for pitching streamers for the week ahead.

Jason Alexander (SP – HOU)

Next Start: Thursday, 8/28 vs COL

You get bonus points if you get the Seinfeld reference in the title, though, we are talking about Jason Alexander, the pitcher here. Alexander is a converted reliever, acquired by Houston earlier in the season. He has made seven starts, posting a 3-1 record and four quality starts in a span of 40 IP. He has a juicy matchup coming up against the Rockies in his next start.

The Rockies have reached a historic low, with the worst run differential in the league this season, and the worst since 2015. They also have the second-most strikeouts in baseball, and the second-highest K%. Against righty pitchers specifically, they have the eighth-worst AVG, the second-most strikeouts, the fewest walks, and the seventh-fewest home runs. As a high-strikeout, low-walk offense, the Rockies should help out Alexander, whose 6.9 K/9 rate and 3.4 BB/9 rate both rank below league average. Alexander has been able to maintain a reasonable 1.29 HR/9 and 13% HR/FB, but those numbers (and his ERA) could improve against a team that struggles to hit homers against RHP.

Alexander features a filthy changeup, which has been his best pitch by far. He has mostly used it against lefty hitters, but it has been effective against righties, too. Overall, it has a .164 BAA, a 41% whiff rate, a 33% K rate, and a 23% putaway rate. All of those rank top-15 among pitchers who have thrown at least 250 changeups in at least 50 plate appearances. For Alexander, pitching is not about muscle. It is just simple physics. Just take a look at this changeup. I mean…

Jason Alexander, Expelliarmus Changeup. 🪄 pic.twitter.com/vlRTsdJReY

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 4, 2025

Jason Alexander may not stay on your roster after this game, but he should be on your pitching streamers radar at least for this matchup.

Michael McGreevy (SP – STL)

Next Start: Saturday, 8/30 at CIN

Michael McGreevy has tossed three quality starts in a row, with four in his last seven. He is 4-1 during that span, as well, and has a 4.42 ERA on the season. He lines up for a nice matchup against the Reds next weekend.

The Reds’ offense has regressed over the course of the season. They have the eighth most strikeouts, the 10th highest K%, and the ninth fewest homers. Even playing in Great American Ballpark has not helped with the homers, despite ranking 12th in home run park factors according to Statcast. That helps to mitigate some of the risk for starting McGreevy in Cincinnati. Though he has given up at least four earned runs in four starts this season, he has yet to walk more than two batters in a start and has given up just four homers in 52 IP. McGreevy seemingly has fallen victim to an oddly low 62% LOB, considering the Cardinals have a top-10 fielding percentage.

McGreevy is a low-strikeout, low-walk pitcher, which should play well against the Reds. They strike out a bit, but have earned the 10th most walks against RHP. McGreevy pitches in the zone a lot (53% of the time), but has induced weak contact. He just needs help from his defense. Attacking the zone has allowed him to find success with a nasty sweeper, which he tosses mostly to righty hitters. It has a .205 BAA, a 39% GB rate, and a 30% whiff rate overall. His changeup has been great against lefties, posting a 30% whiff rate, a 25% K rate, a 50% GB rate, and a 37% putaway rate overall. Take a look at his sweeper in action:

With his parents in the stands, Michael McGreevy picked up the W last night in his hometown ballpark!#ForTheLou x @NationalPro pic.twitter.com/kUvD4jpU4M

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 3, 2025

McGreevy also lines up for a nice start against Pittsburgh on Monday, so anyone looking for pitching streamers can get a two-for-one special by adding him.

Backup Plan Streamers

• STL Michael McGreevy vs PIT – Monday 8/25
• ChC Jameson Taillon at SF – Tuesday 8/26
• ChC Colin Rea at SF – Wednesday 8/27
• BAL Dean Kremer vs BOS – Thursday 8/28
• BOS Dustin May vs PIT – Friday 8/29

Desperation Streamers

• BAL Tomoyuki Sugano vs BOS – Monday 8/25; at SF – Saturday 8/30
• LAD Emmet Sheehan vs CIN – Monday 8/25
• NYY Luis Gil vs WAS – Tuesday 8/26
• STL Andre Pallante vs PIT – Tuesday 8/26
• BAL Kyle Bradish vs BOS – Tuesday 8/26; at SF – Sunday 8/31
• STL Miles Mikolas vs PIT – Thursday 8/28