April 2 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Pepiot, Clay Homes, Jameson Taillon and Jack Leiter

One thing that happens early in the fantasy season in every sport is the mad dash to pick up guys who excel right away. We never know what players will look like another year older or in a new role, and it's easy to overreact to a small sample.

While hitters have a chance to prove themselves mostly every day, pitchers get limited chances, so every outing means more than any single game for a position player. That means big swings in fantasy ownership numbers quickly take guys off the streaming list (which we'll see with a few players below).

Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Wednesday who have good matchups (or have pitched at a high level) and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters.

MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals @ Toronto Blue Jays

I've been hyping up Gore since last season, but I wasn't sold on putting him into fantasy lineups on Opening Day because he was facing the Phillies, a strong offense. Well, Gore gave up no runs and one hit in six innings while striking out 13.

Gore is owned in more than 75% of leagues now, so this is probably your last chance to add him. The matchup isn't great against the Blue Jays, but Gore thrust himself into the fantasy spotlight. He's worth putting in your lineup today unless you have a stacked pitching staff.

Clay Holmes, New York Mets @ Miami Marlins

The matchup is the star here, as the Marlins were the worst team in the National League last year. They have been average through the first few games, but the bigger picture will likely see this team among the worst offenses again.

Holmes transitioned to starter upon switching teams in NYC. I was worried about that leading to short starts, but that's not really something to be concerned about as much this early in the season if you have an innings limit because there's plenty of time to get bulk innings from streamers. His first start was uneven, as Holmes went 4.2 innings with five hits allowed and four walks to go with four strikeouts.

Holmes is a mid-level streamer. He has a good strikeout rate in his career, and there's hope he can keep at least an average level. The matchup makes him a good bet.

Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers @ Cincinnati Reds

Leiter had a decent first start: five innings, five hits, one walk, four strikeouts, one run allowed. He also picked up the win, a nice little cherry on top. That's one thing I don't focus on enough, is that these streamers are often pitching against the worst teams, increasing their chance of picking up a win and decreasing their chance at a loss.

Cincinnati was at the end of the list of teams to target at the end of 2024. Elly De La Cruz is a potential superstar who has started the season hot with his new torpedo bat. The Reds have been at least average so far, and probably a half-step higher than that. I'm skeptical of really targeting Cincinnati. (Nathan Eovaldi threw a four-hit complete game against the Reds yesterday, so there is hope of holding them down.)

Leiter is a low-level streamer. His level of play is higher than that, but the matchup brings him down, so I can't truly recommend Leiter; in this situation, he would be someone to consider later in the season if you need to fill innings.

Ryan Pepiot, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Pepiot had a big first start, striking out eight batters in six innings while allowing just one earned run (and one unearned). Pepiot is likely to trend toward being owned in every league, so you'd do well to grab him now as a high-upside play.

The matchup is also heavily in his favor here, as Pittsburgh is one of the least imposing offenses in baseball. Yesterday, the Pirates were shut out by the Rays, with starter Shane Baz striking out 10 batters in six innings.

Pepiot is a high-level streamer. He's owned in more than half of leagues, and that's likely to keep increasing. He's a good pickup right now.

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs @ Athletics

Taillon's profile is generally an average strikeout guy who does well limiting walks, something that has led to a career ERA under 4.00. His first start against Arizona didn't go well: Taillon allowed six runs in 4.1 innings with just one K, though he didn't walk anyone.

An easier matchup this time around, the A's were a power team last season who struck out a lot but improved down the stretch. It's worth watching if this team climbs out of the offensive basement, especially now that they are playing in a minor league stadium. The Athletics have been average on offense so far.

Taillon is a mid-level streamer. His career strikeout work is good enough to give him a nice ceiling, and the A's haven't shown that they have improved greatly.

Wednesday's Streamer Rankings

1. Ryan Pepiot, TB
2. MacKenzie Gore, WSH
3. Clay Holmes, NYM
4. Jameson Taillon, CHC
5. Jack Leiter, TEX