Welcome to your fantasy baseball starting pitcher happy place. This is a new column for me this year that will combine a few things I’ve done in the past. In this article, every Monday, you’ll not only get a list of my favorite streaming starting pitchers for the whole week, but underneath that, you’ll get a breakdown of a few pitchers who are making interesting changes to their pitch mix. Today I covered Spencer Arrighetti, Reid Detmers, Walbert Urena, and Noah Schultz.
It’s a little bit of rankings and a little bit of analysis, and hopefully a lot of help for your teams.
As far as which pitchers on this list you’ll want to stream, your decisions will change based on your league type and settings. Since I’m listing starters for all week, I’m not going to be able to give a detailed analysis for each one; I’ll just highlight the matchup and some quick thoughts. As is usual with my articles, a streaming starter pitcher is rostered in less than 40% of Yahoo formats, so just keep that in mind as we’re going through because I won’t be mentioning pitchers who are rostered in more leagues than that, and I also won’t be mentioning pitchers who I would not start in any format.
Starting Pitcher Streamers of the Week
Monday
Strong Preference
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMax Meyer16%vs STL12s and deeperSpencer Arrighetti35%at CLE12s and deeper
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeReynaldo Lopez40%at WAS12s and deeperRhett Lowder19%at TB12s and deeperJT Ginn2%at SEA15s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeJake Irvin2%vs ATL15s and deeperMichael McGreevy17%at MIA15s and deeperJustin Wrobleski22%at COL15s and deeperSlade Cecconi5%vs HOU15s and deeper
Not a lot of games on Monday, but Max Meyer and Spencer Arrighetti find themselves in good spots. Both are prone ot blow-up starts and have issues with consistency, so there is still risk here, but I like the matchups. I almost put Reynaldo Lopez in the top tier, but he simply doesn’t look as good as the version we saw in 2024. I like both Rhett Lowder and JT Ginn in their two-start weeks this week, but I can’t get behind Justin Wrobleski with these matchups. I get it in a 15-teamer if you wanted to take the risk, but it is a risk.
Tuesday
Strong Preference
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeSteven Matz31%vs CINAll league typesMick Abel28%at NYM12s and deeper
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeDustin May3%at MIA12s and deeperKyle Harrison28%at DET12s and deeperJack Kochanowicz4%vs TOR12s and deeperCarmen Mlodzinski8%at TEX15s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeRyan Weiss1%at CLE15s and deeperLuis Gil9%at BOS15s and deeperSean Burke5%at ARI15s and deeperKeider Montero13%vs MIL15s and deeperJacob Lopez4%at SEA15s and deeperPatrick Corbin1%at LAA15s and deeperLanden Roupp36%vs LAD15s and deeper
If you didn’t buy back in on Mick Abel, then now may be your last chance because this looks set up to be a nice week for him. I also think Steven Matz needs more love, and I covered his pitch mix changes in this article last week. I also covered the pitch mix changes to Jack Kochanowicz, but this matchup isn’t ideal. Kyle Harrison and Dustin May have solid matchups, but Harrison is coming off an extended absence due to a wrist injury, so there is some more risk here. I also like Ryan Weiss longer-term in the Astros rotaiton, but he may need some time to adjust. Landen Roupp is another pitcher I like who has a bad matchup here.
Wednesday
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBrandon Williamson3%at TB12s and deeperJanson Junk4%vs STL12s and deeperChad Patrick19%at DET12s and deeperEduardo Rodriguez27%vs CWS12s and deeperEric Lauer13%at LAA15s and deeperKyle Leahy1%at MIA15s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeNick Martinez16%vs CIN15s and deeperAnthony Kay2%at ARI15s and deeperAaron Civale34%at SEA15s and deeperMartin Perez2%at WASNL-Only
Janson Junk has fallen back to Earth a bit after a strong start to the year, but I do like this matchup for him. I also think Brandon Williamson is in a good spot overall this week as a safe floor play. Eduardo Rodriguez is also still on the streaming radar in this matchup.
Thursday
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBrandon Sproat6%at DET12s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeDavis Martin21%at ARI15s and deeperBrayan Bello18%vs NYY15s and deeper
Not a lot of games on Thursday, and some feature aces, so there isn’t much to choose from here. I’d rather not use Brayan Bello at all, but if you’re desperate…
Friday
Strong Preference
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeNoah Cameron39%vs LAA12s and deeper
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeAdrian Houser3%vs MIA15s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMax Scherzer14%vs CLE15s and deeperLuis Severino15%at TEX15s and deeper
I know Noah Cameron’s last start wasn’t good, but I think he’s going to be usable in this matchup. The same goes for Adrian Houser, who is more of a deeper-league play, but I have some confidence in this stream.
Saturday
Strong Preference
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeNoah Schultz38%vs WASAll League types
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBailey Ober22%at TB12s and deeperWalbert Urena1%at KC12s and deeperDavid Peterson19%vs COL12s and deeperJake Irvin1%at CWS12s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMatthew Liberatore14%vs SEA15s and deeper
This may be the last time Noah Schultz qualifies as a streamer. We also saw Bailey Ober with a solid start on Sunday, and I do think he’s back on the streaming radar, which puts him in play for this matchup. I also love what I saw from Walbert Urena yesterday. He was hitting 100 mph with his four-seamer and also has a 98 mph sinker with a 92 mph changeup that tunnels so well with the sinker. It’s a solid mix.
Sunday
Strong Preference
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMick Abel28%at TBAll league typesLanden Roupp36%vs MIAAll league types
Fairly Confident
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeKyle Harrison25%vs PIT12s and deeperMax Meyer13%at SF12s and deeperFoster Griffin11%at CWS12s and deeperRhett Lowder16%vs DET12s and deeperSean Burke5%vs WAS15s and deeper
Some Hesitation
PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeJT Ginn1%at TEX15s and deeperKumar Rocker3%vs ATH15s and deeperJustin Wrobleski10%vs CHC15s and deeperChase Dollander2%at NYM15s and deeperMichael McGreevy17%vs SEA15s and deeper
We’re seeing a lot of the two-start pitchers come back here, and now we finally get a good start for Landen Roupp; I’ve been waiting to use him against a mediocre offense. Foster Griffin is also back in play in this matchup, and I’d start Kumar Rocker if I really needed a stream in a deeper format. The Rockies are also using an opener ahead of Chase Dollander, and it’s worked. He gets a slumping Mets team on the road, but Juan Soto will be back, so that’s something to consider.
Starting Pitcher Pitch Mix ChangesSpencer Arrighetti – Houston Astros (Sweeper Shape, Curve Shape, Cutter Shape)
We saw Spencer Arrighetti debut last week, and it was pretty solid. It was the Rockies in Houston, so we have to take that with a grain of salt, but I did see a few changes from 2025. For starters, his curveball was cooking, so it makes sense that he went to it so often. The pitch now seems to be 1.5 mph slower with 1.7 inches more vertical break and 1.8 inches less horizontal run. That more 12-6 movement profile should be an improvement against lefties because the pitch won’t break down and in as much, where lefties can throw the bat head at the ball. Arrighetti used the pitch 51% of the time to lefties in his first start, so that’s clearly going to be part of the gameplan for him.
He also seemed to tweak his sweeper, which is 1.3 mph slower with 2.6 inches more vertical break and one inch less sweep. It’s actually now becoming closer in velocity and horizontal movement to his curve, with the curve breaking about 11 more inches, so perhaps he’s trying to create some deception with that. Or maybe he wants better command of the sweeper since it had an 85% zone rate in his first start, which is great.
It does seem like Arrighetti is trying to hide his fastballs more. He only uses his sinker to righties, understandably, but he’s trying to dial back his four-seamer use. The pitch is down to just 92 mph and has elite extension but well below-average vertical movement. He stole some called strikes on it in his first outing, but he didn’t miss many bats. Maybe having his cutter add vertical movement this year will help take even more pressure off the four-seamer against lefties. Right now, this is just a pitch mix that seems to live and die with the curveball. That can certainly work, but I do think it will keep Arrighetti a bit of a risk.
Reid Detmers – Los Angeles Angels (Changeup Grip)
Last week, Reid Detmers carved up the Yankees with 17 whiffs and 9 strikeouts in 7 innings. A big part of that is that he “found” his changeup grip. He has been using the changeup again earlier in the season, but it was functioning more as a splitter. Before this start, he claimed he found a grip that worked better for him, and it certainly did for this one start. This new changeup grip led to a pitch that was over three mph faster than what we had seen before. It also had 2.5 inches more drop and over two inches more run. He used it almost exclusively to righties, as you would expect, and it had a 33% swinging strike rate and an 87% strike rate overall, which is far better command of the pitch than he had previously. We know that his slider is going to miss bats to lefties, and his curve is solid as a mix-in whiff pitch, but he really needs this changeup because his slider is not as impactful against righties. Locating the changeup low and in the zone will also allow his four-seamer to be more impactful up in the zone. It’s only been one start with this new changeup, but if Detmers can continue to command it and use it 15-25% against righties, it could be a huge pitch for him this year.
Noah Schultz – Chicago White Sox (Pitch Mix Breakdown)
Noah Schultz is an intriguing arm because he’s a giant human being at 6’10” with a low-slot 20° arm angle. However, he has below-average extension, and it was actually worse on Sunday than in his first start. As a low-slot pitcher, he won’t get lots of vertical movement on his four-seamer, but he gets a lot of run. When he faces lefties and mixes in his four-seamer and sinker, it will cause plenty of problems because they’re the same velocity, but the sinker has seven inches more arm-side run and four inches less vertical movement. That’s going to be tough to pick up. However, he has struggled to command his sweeper against lefties, so he’s really only using fastball variations.
The best thing I saw from Schultz on Sunday was that he used his changeup 23% of the time to righties after barely using it at all in his first start. I was worried that he was basically just using four-seamer, sinker, and cutter, and didn’t believe that was sustainable. On Sunday, the changeup had a 21% swinging strike rate against righties. It was all over the place though, and had just a 43% strike rate overall, so this is another instance where we see that his command could be an issue. The sinker is not going to be a weapon against right-handed hitters, so he’s going to need his changeup and/or cutter to be consistent if he’s going to succeed against MLB hitters. As it stands right now, I see a pitcher with a unique delivery and release profile, which will confuse hitters early on, but the command issues and inconsistent pitch mix could also leave him vulnerable after hitters get more accustomed to him. I think this is going to be a bit of a roller coaster this season.
Walbert Urena – Los Angeles Angels (Pitch Mix Breakdown)
I mentioned this above, but I liked what I saw from Urena yesterday against the Padres. As Eno Sarris tweeted out, Urena was a Stuff+ favorite in spring, and we saw why. He has big-time velocity on both his four-seam fastball and sinker, but admittedly not the best command of them (sounds like Jose Soriano?). On Sunday, Urena was able to command the four-seamer better than we’ve seen previously, and he does try to keep it up in the zone, which is good. The pitch has well-below-average vertical movement and really poor extension, so it’s kind of an empty velocity four-seamer, but he can hide that when he uses it off of his sinker and changeup.
The changeup is the bread and butter here. It’s 91.3 mph with 5 inches of vertical break and 17.2 inches of arm-side run. It was his most-used pitch to both righties and lefties. He doesn’t throw it in the strike zone much, but that’s obviously the point. He tries to keep his sinker low in the zone and then throws his changeup out of the zone beneath it, so hitters will swing over the top of the changeup thinking that it’s a sinker. It worked like a charm on Sunday, but will some offenses actually make him locate the changeup for strikes? Can he do that? Weirdly, his changeup didn’t get a single whiff against lefties, which is confusing as a right-handed pitcher. It could be that lefties aren’t worried about his sinker, which had just a 44% strike rate against them, so the changeup becomes less impactful. If that’s the case, then Urena may really struggle against left-handed-heavy lineups, but that’s something we’ll keep an eye on going forward.