{"id":666480,"date":"2026-04-06T14:36:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/666480\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:36:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:36:28","slug":"fantasy-baseball-streamers-and-arsenal-changes-for-jack-leiter-taj-bradley-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/666480\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy baseball streamers and arsenal changes for Jack Leiter, Taj Bradley, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019ve done in the past. In this article, every Monday, you\u2019ll not only get a list of my favorite streaming starting pitchers for the whole week, but underneath that, you\u2019ll get a breakdown of a few pitchers who are making interesting changes to their pitch mix. Today I covered Jack Leiter, Taj Bradley, Janson Junk, Kyle Harrison, and Edward Cabrera. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a little bit of rankings and a little bit of analysis, and hopefully a lot of help for your teams. <\/p>\n

As far as which pitchers on this list you\u2019ll want to stream, your decisions will change based on your league type and settings. Since I\u2019m listing starters for all week, I\u2019m not going to be able to give a detailed analysis for each one; I\u2019ll 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\u2019re going through because I won\u2019t be mentioning pitchers who are rostered in more leagues than that, and I also won\u2019t be mentioning pitchers who I would not start in any format. <\/p>\n

Starting Pitcher Streamers of the Week <\/p>\n

Monday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeCasey Mize39%at MIN12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeJanson Junk4%vs CIN12s and deeperMichael Wacha38%at CLE12s and deeperJameson Taillon17%vs TBR15s and deeperBrandon Williamson2%at MIA15s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBrayan Bello24%vs MIL15s and deeperAndre Pallante6%at WAS15s and deeperAlbert Suarez1%at CWS15s and deeperZack Littell5%vs STL15s and deeperJustin Wrobleski2%at TOR15s and deeperGerman Marquez1%at PITNL-OnlyAdrian Houser3%vs PHINL-Only<\/p>\n

I wrote about Janson Junk in detail below these charts, so you can see my thoughts on him there. I don\u2019t love Casey Mize, but I do like this spot for him. Michael Wacha, Jameson Taillon, and Brandon Williamson are just matchup plays, but I think they\u2019re decent ones. I just can\u2019t get behind the other plays too much. I like Justin Wrobleski, but it\u2019s a bad matchup, and he\u2019s not stretched out. <\/p>\n

Tuesday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeReynaldo Lopez30%at LAA12s and deeperCade Cavalli13%vs STL12s and deeperNoah Cameron38%at CLE12s and deeperMatthew Liberatore21%at WAS12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeTaj Bradley29%vs DET12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMike Burrows34%at COL12s and deeperYusei Kikuchi28%vs ATL15s and deeperGerman Marquez1%vs SFGNL, Deep 15s<\/p>\n

Those early velocity concerns for Reynaldo Lopez appear to be out the window, and he finds himself in a good spot this week. I also think Cade Cavalli, Noah Cameron, and Matthew Liberatore are all streamers in a 12-team league, so this is when you use them, because these matchups are great. I\u2019m not yet sold on Taj Bradley, and you can read more in my write-up about him below these charts.<\/p>\n

Wednesday<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBrady Singer25%at MIA12s and deeperJoey Cantillo22%vs KC12s and deeperReid Detmers30%vs ATL12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeGrant Holmes17%at LAA15s and deeperDavid Peterson29%vs ARI15s and deeperTyler Mahle10%vs PHI15s and deeperMichael McGreevy12%at WAS15s and deeperJoe Boyle10%vs CHC15s and deeper<\/p>\n

Most teams have their aces lined up for this day, so there aren\u2019t really many streaming options that I really like. I\u2019ve always been a fan of Joey Cantillo, but he\u2019s volatile, and Reid Detmers is doing some interesting things this year that I\u2019m buying into, but I don\u2019t love the matchup. This is also likely Joe Boyle\u2019s last turn in the rotation before Ryan Pepiot comes back, and it\u2019s a bad start, so you can probably drop him. <\/p>\n

Thursday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeRyan Weathers27%vs ATHAll leaguesRandy Vasquez36%vs COLAll leagues<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeRhett Lowder14%at MIA12s and deeperMax Meyer12%vs CIN12s and deeperSeth Lugo31%vs CWS15s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeEduardo Rodriguez12%at NYM15s and deeperAnthony Kay1%at KC15s and deeperMick Abel9%vs DET15s and deeper<\/p>\n

I wrote about Ryan Weathers and Randy Vasquez in my Sunday night tweet thread, so you should check that out. I also believe that Mick Abel will put it together at some point this season, but you don\u2019t need to roster him right now while we wait. <\/p>\n

Some SP thoughts ahead of waivers (data from @PitcherList<\/a>) <\/p>\n

Vasquez: FF w velo and added rise is nice. Can velo stick? New FC shape is working great. Pairs well w SL. CHG has been good to LHH. Not fully sold but schedule is nice coming up so buy in.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Eric Samulski (@SamulskiNYC) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeEric Lauer39%vs MIN12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBryce Elder27%vs CLE12s and deeperLanden Roupp18%at BAL15s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeSteven Matz4%vs NYY15s and deeperKeider Montero5%vs MIA15s and deeperCarmen Mlodsinski3%at CHC15s and deeperJake Irvin2%at MIL15s and deeperMichael Soroka39%at PHI15s and deeperBrandon Sproat10%vs WAS15s and deeper<\/p>\n

A lot of fringe options this week. I do like Eric Lauer, and we know he was pitching sick his last time out. I also dig the changes Bryce Elder is making, which I wrote about below, but I don\u2019t FULLY believe in them, so I\u2019m dipping a toe into the pool. I\u2019m still holding firm on Landen Roupp though; I\u2019m a believer.<\/p>\n

Elder: FF velo up. New arm slot = new movement. SI\/SL to RHH is fine but not many whiffs. FC is great addition for LHH. Still feels like 15 tm add<\/p>\n

Soroka: FF is fairly average. CU is a good pitch. CHG is good to LHH. Strikeout upside is low. What happens when Merrill is back?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Eric Samulski (@SamulskiNYC) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeMax Scherzer32%vs MINAllCasey Mize39%vs MIAAllKyle Harrison37%vs WAS12s and deeper<\/p>\n

Fairly Confident<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeParker Messick43%at ATL12s and deeperJanson Junk4%at DET12s and deeperMichael Wacha38%vs CWS12s and deeperBrandon Williamson2%vs LAA15s and deeper<\/p>\n

Some Hesitation<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeGerman Marquez1%vs COL15s and deeperLuis Gil13%at TB15s and deeperMartin Perez0%vs CLE15s and deeperKyle Leahy2%vs BOSNL-OnlyChris Bassitt25%vs SFAL-Only<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen almost all of these pitchers already this week. Parker Messick no longer qualifies as a streamer, but I kept him in because his usage surged when he pitched last night. I like him, but I don\u2019t love the matchup. I\u2019m also not starting Luis Gil right back from the minors. I do like Max Scherzer this week, and you can see my full, tepid write-up on Kyle Harrison below these charts. <\/p>\n

Sunday<\/p>\n

Strong Preference<\/p>\n

PitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeNoah Cameron37%vs CWS12s and deeperFairly ConfidentPitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeBrayan Bello24%at STL12s and deeperJameson Taillon17%vs PIT15s and deeperSome HesitationPitcherRoster%OpponentLeague TypeTaj Bradley29%at TOR15s and deeperSpencer Arrighetti2%at SEA15s and deeperCade Povich1%vs SF15s and deeperAdrian Houser3%at BALNL-Only<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve seen all these names on the list from earlier in the week. Brayan Bello and Jameson Taillon both get decent matchups here if you need a late-week stream. If Taj Bradley looks good again early in the week, then I\u2019d probably move him up to another tier. I also am not a huge Cade Povich fan, even if he does have a rotation spot, and given Spencer Arrighetti\u2019s offseason and spring injury issues, I\u2019m not going to start him in his first game this season, even if I love that ballpark for pitchers. <\/p>\n

Starting Pitcher Pitch Mix ChangesJack Leiter – Texas Rangers (New Cutter, New usage patterns)<\/p>\n

We saw more four-seam fastball usage from Leiter in his second start, so the notion that he will \u201cfeature\u201d his off-speed pitches may not be true, but it\u2019s also pretty clear that this is a young pitcher who is evolving and building a more complete arsenal. His changeup usage is up 9% overall and over 11% to lefties. He cut a little arm-side run from the pitch and added a little bit more drop, but he\u2019s just commanding it in the zone much better, with a 73% strike rate on his changeup after posting a 54% mark last year. He\u2019s also mixing the changeup in more as a two-strike pitch to righties to keep them off balance, and it has a 30% PutAway Rate, which measures how often a two-strike pitch turns into a strikeout. That\u2019s well above average. <\/p>\n

Leiter also has a new cutter. It\u2019s 93.4 mph with 10.3\u201d of vertical break and 1.7\u201d of glove-side movement. The addition of the cutter is likely also why he added over two inches of drop to his slider, to create more differentiation. He uses his cutter more to righties than lefties an duses it 78% of the time early in counts, so batters may start to look for the cutter or think they\u2019re seeing a cutter and then they get a slider, which is why the slider\u2019s swinging strike rate (SwStr%) has jumped to nearly 29%, and it\u2019s performing far better in two-strike counts. He also added over three inches of drop to his curveball, which has turned it into a decent whiff pitch against lefties early on in the season. I love the evolution we\u2019re seeing from Leiter here, and we know the prospect pedigree is strong, so we could be in for a true breakout. <\/p>\n

Edward Cabrera – Chicago Cubs (Sinker usage, New shape for curve)<\/p>\n

On one hand, the Cubs have cut out Cabrera\u2019s sinker, and I don\u2019t like that. His four-seamer has just a 39% zone rate and 51% strike rate this season. He has always struggled to command it; that\u2019s why the sinker was so important for him. He needs a fastball for strikes. On the other hand, the Cubs seem to have him pitching backwards more often. He\u2019s using his slider 75% of the time early in counts to righties, and his changeup 67% of the time early in counts to lefties. The only issue there is that he doesn\u2019t really command his changeup well either, with just a 26.5% zone rate and 53% strike rate. His changeup is also slower this year and with less extension but similar movement, so I love that he\u2019s throwing it more, but I don\u2019t love the pitch as much through two outings. <\/p>\n

He has also changed the shape of his curve. It\u2019s now one mph harder but has lost about five inches of horizontal movement and five inches of drop. So far, the pitch has just a 4.5% SwStr% to lefties after posting a 20% mark last season, and Cabrera is only using it 9% of the time to righties. Overall, Cabrera\u2019s zone rate is down from 45.6% to 31.6%, and his strike rate is down from 63.2% to 56.5%. The only pitch he is getting more whiffs on this year is the slider, and I\u2019m a little concerned that his early success had more to do with facing the Guardians and Angels than anything. <\/p>\n

Kyle Harrison – Milwaukee Brewers (New Changeup, New shape on Four-seamer)<\/p>\n

Another pitcher off to a strong start that I\u2019m not as enamored with. Kyle Harrison\u2019s four-seam fastball has two inches more induced vertical break (iVB), and continues to be a really strong offering that he can get plenty of whiffs on at the top of the zone. But that\u2019s still basically all he has. In his last start, he threw just nine changeups, and that was the pitch we heard all offseason was going to be this big new offering. It\u2019s a new kick-changeup, which is dropping five inches more than the version he threw last season, so we love that, but he has just a 10% SwStr% on it and has struggled to get it down below the zone. On top of that, his curve is still not bringing much to the table. It\u2019s a solid offering against lefties, and he uses it almost 42% of the time against them, but, against righties, it has just a 3% SwStr% and a league average strike rate overall. He\u2019s not giving up much hard contact on it so far, but it\u2019s basically the same as the pitch we saw last year, and righties hit that pitch incredibly hard, so we\u2019ll see what happens over the course of the season. <\/p>\n

He scrapped the cutter he learned last year, so the only other real change is that he moved significantly towards the first base side of the rubber. That\u2019s not nothing, but it\u2019s basically that and a good four-seam fastball. For now, I\u2019m not fully buying in that this is a legitimate breakout. <\/p>\n

Janson Junk – Miami Marlins (Velocity bump, New Changeup)<\/p>\n

Janson Junk is pitching on Monday night, so this could look foolish by then, but I\u2019m intrigued by what I saw from him in his debut. I didn\u2019t watch it initially, but Nick Pollack was gushing about him on our On the Corner podcast, so I went back to see the start. It seems like an offseason at Driveline may have helped Junk. He was up almost two mph on his four-seam fastball with 19″ of iVB and a super flat attack angle. That has the makings of a pretty darn good fastball if he can get it up in the zone. Junk also switched his changeup to a kick change that now has almost four inches more run and over four inches more drop. He used it early in the count in his first start, but I think it could be better as a two-strike pitch. He already had a pretty good slider last year, so add these two revamped offerings with that slider and a sweeper that also now has two inches more drop, and I\u2019m a little bit intrigued by this. <\/p>\n

Taj Bradley – Minnesota Twins (New cutter shape)<\/p>\n

Listen, I know everybody is going gaga over Bradley, but I\u2019m not sure I can be in. The biggest difference is that he seems to have a new shape to his cutter. Bradley\u2019s cutter looked different as well. It was one mph slower than last year, with almost three inches more drop and a touch more run, so it\u2019s operating more like a slider. So far, he\u2019s using it more often to righties, and it\u2019s doing a good job of missing bats, with a 19% SwStr% through two starts. That gives him a solid whiff pitch to right-handed hitters to pair with his splitter, which has a 23% SwStr% to lefties. The pitch has slightly more drop this season with less horizontal movement, and, through two starts, his zone rate and called strike rate are up a bit. Maybe that will work. <\/p>\n

Lastly, his four-seam fastball is up to 97.2 mph, which is one mph harder than last year, and has 1.2 inches more iVB with less horizontal movement. That\u2019s a pretty big difference. However, it has just a 6% SwStr% so far this season and has given up a lot of hard contact. With his cutter now more of a swing-and-miss slider, he really needs that four-seamer to get ahead in the count. It\u2019s OK if it doesn\u2019t miss too many bats as a strike pitch, but it can\u2019t ALSO give up lots of hard contact. We\u2019ll see where he\u2019s at in another couple of starts, but I continue to think that this is a solid whiff profile built on an unstable foundation.<\/p>\n