Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Taillon the Prize

Of all the streaming matchups this week, one of the top targets has become the San Diego Padres, whose offense has declined in many aspects. They are a surprising team to target this week for anyone looking for pitching streamers. This week, the focus also includes other stalling offenses like the Reds and Red Sox, and high strikeout teams like the White Sox. We are skipping Thursday in our streaming slate this week because of the lack of games, combined with a lack of quality streaming matchups.

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Below are some of my favorite pitching streamers for the upcoming week.

Pitching Streamers for Shallow Leagues (Over 20% Rostered)

Joey Cantillo (SP – CLE)

Next Start: Friday, 5/1 at ATH

Outside of his last start, a 4.2-inning matchup against the Orioles, Joey Cantillo has been efficient and impressive. So far, that is his only start where he has given up more than two earned runs. He has allowed no more than five hits in any game this season, and has struck out at least five batters in four of his five starts. He faces the Athletics in his next outing.

The A’s have been a lackluster offense all season, despite their hitter-friendly home park. Their offense has major flaws, including being extremely strikeout prone. They have the sixth most strikeouts as an offense, and the eighth highest strikeout rate. The Athletics’ groundball rate ranks fifth highest in baseball. Cantillo has been elite this season at inducing strikeouts. He owns a 10.6 K/9 rate, though, he will need to get the walks under control. Cantillo is league average at inducing grounders, which also will help him succeed in this game.

One of the major weapons for Cantillo this season has been an absolutely filthy changeup. He has thrown it mostly to righty batters, and it has been extremely effective. It owns a .143 BAA, a 51% whiff rate, and a 40% putaway rate. Here is a look at it, along with a wipeout curveball:

Joey Cantillo painting corners in the 4thpic.twitter.com/J1DpJnQtnY

— Bracco Baseball (@BraccoBaseball) April 19, 2026

Make Cantillo one of your priority pitching streamers for the week ahead. He should be in consideration as a pitcher to hold in shallow leagues.

Pitching Streamers for Deep Leagues (0%-24% Rostered)

Jack Kochanowicz (SP – LAA)

Next Start: Monday, 4/27 at CWS

Jack Kochanowicz has earned two quality starts across his five outings so far this season. They came against the Yankees and Reds. He also picked up two wins on the season, and has a 3.10 ERA. He faces the White Sox next.

Chicago has continued to produce a mostly poor offense, though it has been improving in some areas. Still, it is a great offense to target in the right streaming matchup. They have the 10th fewest runs scored, the eighth most strikeouts, and the seventh highest strikeout rate. All of that is enticing for opposing pitchers. Kochanowicz has an extremely low strikeout rate, at just 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He could see that number tick up with a little help from a strikeout prone team like Chicago. Kochanowicz has an elite 58% GB rate, which helps make the low strikeout numbers more palatable.

Kochanowicz has some pretty incredible pitch metrics, despite the low strikeout totals. All of his pitches – fastball, sinker, changeup, slider – have a BAA under .210. His changeup and slider have whiff rates of 35% and 36% respectively. Kochanowicz’s changeup also has a 23% putaway rate, making it easily his best pitch overall. His sinker and changeup have also been keys to his high GB%, with each pitch posting a groundball rate of 70%. Here he is using his changeup and fastball to strikeout the side in a recent outing:

Jack Kochanowicz, K'ing the Side.

5Ks thru 2 pic.twitter.com/QhrXzyd3wk

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2026

Keep Kochanowicz around just for this start in the coming week, making him one of the top pitching streamers for the upcoming match.

Tomoyuki Sugano (SP – COL)

Next Start: Tuesday, 4/28 at CIN

Tomoyuki Sugano has definitely surprised this season. He owns a 3.42 ERA after five starts, picking up wins at home against the Padres and Phillies, and earning two quality starts along the way. Expect the success to continue in his upcoming start against the Reds.

Cincinnati could be a dangerous place to pitch, if you do not already pitch in the most hitter friendly environment in the league. Despite that, Sugano has looked good this year, and Cincy’s offense makes them a great target for him. The Reds have scored the seventh fewest runs and have struck out the fifth most in all of baseball, while also owning the league’s fifth highest K%. Sugano has improved his K/9 rate from last season, though it is still a low 6.4. Facing a team that strikes out so much could lead to that improving. Sugano also has been excellent at inducing grounders, with a 45% GB rate so far this season. His skill set matches well with the Reds’ weaknesses.

Sugano’s best pitches this season have been his splitter, slider, and cutter, all for different reasons. His splitter has been the hardest for batters to hit, with a .167 BAA, and has induced the highest whiff rate among his pitches at 33%. Sugano’s slider is a close second on BAA at .214, and has both 21% whiff and putaway rates. His cutter has been his best out pitch, though, with a 26% putaway rate. Take a look at his slider in action, and you can see why he relies on it so much:

Tomoyuki Sugano, Nasty 85mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/PuUWJgvnzQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 23, 2026

This matchup makes Sugano one of the top pitching streamers for the week ahead, but consider making this your only start for him next week.

Jameson Taillon (SP – ChC)

Next Start: Wednesday, 4/29 at SD

Jameson Taillon has gone six innings in his last three starts, as of writing, though one was a six-run clunker against the Pirates. He struck out 10 in that game, on a positive note, and has otherwise been impressive. Taillon owns a 1-1 record with two quality starts, and is in line to earn both in his next matchup against the Padres.

The Padres have, perhaps to some, been surprisingly disappointing on offense. They rank eighth worst in runs scored. They have also hit the fifth fewest home runs, and unsurprisingly have the eighth highest groundball rate in all of baseball. It is early in the season, but Taillon has been able to strike batters out at a higher rate than usual. Early returns show an 8.4 K/9 rate, though a 33% GB rate leaves a bit to be desired. That could even out a little more against San Diego, who hit a bulk of their batted balls on the ground. Taillon has also allowed homers at an uncharacteristically high rate this season, so look for that to lean closer to normal against a team struggling to hit the long ball.

Taillon has been tossing some filthy stuff this season, and some of these numbers are insane, like a 54% whiff rate on his curveball, which also owns a 30% putaway rate. His cutter and sweeper both have whiff rates over 30%. Taillon’s cutter, sweeper, and curve all have BAAs of .211 or better. His sweeper also has a 41% whiff rate. This all helps understand why his K% has improved this year, and why he should be a streaming target. Just imagine trying to make contact on this:

Jameson Taillon, Filthy 79mph Sweeper. 😷 pic.twitter.com/kOao4JSJTQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 18, 2026

Taillon is a pitcher that fantasy managers should consider hanging onto in deep leagues, but at the very least should be in consideration among the top pitching streamers for the coming week.

Spencer Arrighetti (SP – HOU)

Next Start: Saturday, 5/2 at BOS

After multiple injuries in the Astros rotation, Spencer Arrighetti has found himself starting games again. He has two under his belt this season, so far. Both outings resulted in wins, one against Colorado and the other against Cleveland. Across 11 IP, Arrighetti owns an 11:8 K:BB ratio, with a 2.45 ERA. He’ll look to stay in the win column at Fenway Park against Boston.

Boston owns one of the worst offenses in baseball this season. They are the only team that shows up in at least four of the following categories: fewest runs scored, fewest home runs, strikeouts, strikeout rate, and groundball rate. They rank fifth worst in runs scored and have hit the fewest home runs in the league. Additionally, the Red Sox have the 10th highest K%, as well as the second highest GB%. Arrighetti has a small sample of data across his two starts, but he has looked fantastic. He owns a 10.6 K?9 across his two starts, and should maintain high strikeout numbers against Boston.

Of course, it has only been two starts, but Arrighetti is flashing some great stuff. His curveball, in particular, has been his bread and butter. It has surprisingly been his most used pitch against lefty hitters, and has resulted .158 BAA, a 58% whiff rate, and a 47% putaway rate. He can get batters out with it, no matter their handedness, though. Take a look:

Spencer Arrighetti is 15.9% rostered.

His curveball generated a 72.7% whiff rate in his last start. 9 of 10 Ks came off it. He just got handed a full-time rotation role with Houston. pic.twitter.com/FGSpdjwyiN

— Dynatyze Baseball (@DynatyzeBB) April 22, 2026

Arrighetti could be more than just one of your weekly pitching streamers – consider keeping him on your roster beyond this start.

Anthony Kay (SP – CWS)

Next Start: Sunday, 5/3 at SD

Anthony Kay had a rough outing against Arizona in his last start, allowing eight earned runs across 3.2 frames. He will look to right the ship as he faces San Diego next. Prior to his implosion against the D-Backs, Kay had pitched well. He was used as a bulk reliever at times, but should get a start in this one.

As mentioned, the Padres have problems scoring runs, which should help Kay immensely after giving up eight in his last start. They also have a tendency to hit grounders, which keeps them at the bottom of the list in homers. All good news for Kay. Throughout his time in Japan, Kay was elite at inducing grounders. Now, he just needs to make it happen this season. With the Padres being a high groundball team, Kay’s GB% may creep up in this start. Kay has also been great at avoiding the long ball, which could also see some positive regression in this matchup.

Kay’s 5.59 ERA definitely does not reflect his stuff. His sweeper has been deadly, with a .091 BAA, and a 25% whiff rate. A low putaway rate suggests a sequencing issue, meaning he needs to use it at more opportune times to induce outs. His cutter and changeup have similarly good BAAs and whiff rates, and low putaway rates. He likely just needs time and the opportunity to figure it out. He still managed a solid game score against Arizona thanks to his pitch quality, most notably thanks to his fastball, sinker, and of course his sweeper:

Anthony Kay (CWS) allowed eight earned runs and walked three over 3.2 innings pic.twitter.com/9dH3uU8cTN

— Pitcher List Stats (@PitcherListPLV) April 23, 2026

Kay has a great matchup, and if he can complete the fifth inning, should pick up a win here. Make him one of your main pitching streamers for the week ahead.

Backup Plan Streamers

• WAS Zack Littell at NYM – Tuesday 4/28
• TOR Max Scherzer vs BOS – Wednesday 4/29
• CWS Noah Schultz at SD – Friday 5/1

Desperation Streamers

• COL Kyle Freeland at CIN – Wednesday 4/29
• SD German Marquez vs CWS – Friday 5/1
• TB Jesse Scholtens vs SF – Saturday 5/2