As the weather gets better, it’s important to remember the poor souls who live in northern climates. Just yesterday, May 9, there was a snowstorm in my hometown of Soldotna, Alaska. That’s insane. While many of us are already enjoying summer weather, there are still those dealing with real winter (there’s a reason I moved south).
With hope of continued sunshine, let’s move to fantasy baseball and look at five starting pitchers in action on Sunday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Use FantasySP’s daily and weekly projections to find the players expected to excel and help make your toughest lineup decisions!
, Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Francisco Giants
Chandler was owned in most fantasy leagues recently but has fallen to about 50% ownership, putting him on the fringe of our streaming status. After striking out 31 and walking just four in 31 1/3 innings last season, Chandler has again struck out 31 in 34 innings this year but has walked 26 batters!
He is still doing well limiting hits, but Chandler has given up five home runs after just two last year. At 23 years old, Chandler is likely to improve, but he hasn’t been as stellar as some hoped at the beginning of the season.
San Francisco is as unimposing as any team in the league, ranking last in runs, home runs, and walks while topping out in the middle in any offensive area. They just traded their starting catcher, , to Cleveland, which could help the offense, as Bailey is hitting under .150 this season, but it will take more than fixing one spot to help this become even an average offense.
Chandler is a mid-level streamer. It’s easy to be scared off by the bad numbers, but I still like his high-level strikeout potential and expect him to improve simply by luck if nothing else.
, St. Louis Cardinals @ San Diego Padres
San Diego is closer to middling than the bottom in many areas, but they don’t scare anyone. The Padres rank in the bottom 10 in all four slash categories, showing poor rate stats along with lagging counting stats. This early in the season, the worst offensive teams haven’t had a chance to fully separate themselves from the pack (in the wrong way). Time will tell if this team falls toward the bottom or can sustain at least average work and stay in the playoff race.
Leahy worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen the past three seasons but has started in all seven of his appearances in 2026. He was good with walks but generally below average with strikeouts, though he reached an average level last season. Every pitcher strikes out fewer batters when starting, and Leahy’s K rate is far below average this year while his BB rate has stayed fine. Leahy has also been hit hard, allowing 44 hits, 19 runs, and six homers in 34 2/3 innings.
Leahy is a low-level streamer. He hasn’t been good enough, and the matchup is more good than great, leaving him without much of a ceiling here.
, Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
Martinez has been good with walks but below average with strikeouts in his career, time split between the bullpen and rotation. Though his K rate is way below average this year (matching his career work), Martinez has gotten off to a very good start, allowing just 33 hits, eight runs, and three home runs in 42 innings. He won’t keep up that level of work because no one does, but if he can stay even average with limiting hitters, Martinez will have some streaming value.
Boston peppers the bottom 10 in many offensive stats, struggling with hits, walks, and power. What’s left? Their bottom-three rankings in slugging percentage and OPS give a good look at how the Red Sox are struggling with impactful at-bats, leaving them laboring when it comes to scoring runs and winning games.
Martinez is a low-to-mid-level streamer. Though the matchup is right, and his numbers so far show a top-line pitcher, Martinez is likely to have worse luck moving forward and regress toward the mean. Without Ks to buoy him, Martinez will be more of a middling fantasy option.
, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Mets
Rodriguez has generally been average or better with walks and strikeouts throughout his career, but both numbers are far on the wrong side of things early in 2026. He has done well limiting hitters, allowing 32 hits, 12 runs, and four home runs in 39 2/3 innings, so there is some value here. His rates are likely to creep back toward average with more work, so if he can keep holding down hitters when they make contact, he would hold plenty of fantasy value.
The Mets are as good a target as any team right now. They rank in the bottom five in most offensive categories and are missing three starters on the IL, along with backup shortstop , who would likely be playing in ‘s stead. Things might get worse before they get better for New York.
Rodriguez is a low-to-mid-level streamer. You could argue for him to be another half-level higher since the matchup is so good, but with his rates on the wrong side of the middle, there’s downside to go along with the upside.
, Chicago Cubs @ Texas Rangers
The Rangers finished with a bottom-10 offense each of the past two seasons, and they are back in that dubious group early this year. They rank in the bottom 10 in essentially every offensive box stat, and Texas is also striking out at a top-10 rate, setting a nice ceiling for opposing pitchers. This game also takes place in the Rangers’ home park, which favors pitchers.
Taillon keeps taking the ball every fifth day, a major benefit for a team that is losing pitchers by the week. He has been average in most areas, including walks and strikeouts, giving him decent streaming value when the matchup is right. The big downside is the longball, as Taillon has allowed 11 home runs in just 40 1/3 innings. That rate of one every 3.7 innings is much worse than his career rate of one homer every 7.1 innings, which is right about average.
Taillon is a mid-level streamer today. The matchup is right, and playing in Texas, he might be less susceptible to home runs than he would be at Wrigley Field (though his away numbers are actually worse than his home numbers).
Sunday’s Streamer Rankings
- Bubba Chandler, PIT
- Jameson Taillon, CHC
- Nick Martinez, TB
- Eduardo Rodriguez, ARI
- Kyle Leahy, STL
