Taj Bradley/Bryce Elder Matchup Among April 11 Fantasy Baseball Streaming Options

It's officially Friday, people! The five-day work week really is made to suck the life out of us; think about the lack of energy you have at the end of the week? That's how you know Friday is so good, though, is those vibes are enough to pull us out of the funk and into another weekend.

With a focus on fantasy baseball, let's look at six starting pitchers in action on Friday who have good matchups and are (somewhat) widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable pitchers. The full rankings are listed at the bottom.

Taj Bradley, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Atlanta Braves

Atlanta continues to be the most disappointing team in baseball early in the season. They rank in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS, and they are below average in batting average and on-base percentage. Atlanta also had a later finish last night and had to travel while the Rays stayed at home; that probably means something, right?

Bradley has had a decent start to the season: in two outings, he has thrown 11 innings with six runs allowed, four walks, and 14 strikeouts. He is a high-level strikeout pitcher who has been excelling in that area early. Bradley is close to being a keeper if he's not there already.

Bradley is a high-level streamer. The Braves have been bad, and while they are in the middle in strikeouts, that's enough to give Bradley a higher ceiling than most of our streaming pitchers.

Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves @ Tampa Bay Rays

After 40 decent starts between 2022-23, Elder struggled mightily in 2024 and was sent down to the minors. He made just 10 big-league starts, finishing with an ERA over 6.50. Elder has made one start this season, allowing three runs in four innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

The Rays have been average offensively in many ways, but they haven't scored many runs and haven't hit for power, as their eight home runs are tied for the fourth least. Tampa hit the third-fewest homers last year, so this is a trend that's likely to hold. They don't strike out much, though, so the Rays haven't been a great target early.

Elder is a low-level streamer. He's been worse than average with both walks and strikeouts in his career, and the recent struggles are enough to make Elder prove he can be successful before trusting him.

Sean Newcomb, Boston Red Sox @ Chicago White Sox

You never know how any team is going to play at any given time in the season. Teams and players alike go through slumps, and luck bounces back and forth depending on the day. That being said, anyone playing the White Sox at any time during this season is going to have a positive matchup, as they are one of the worst teams in baseball.

Newcomb has been a reliever for most of his career, starting exclusively in 2017-18 but only making spot starts ever since. He has started in both of his appearances this season and lasted less than five innings both, allowing five runs in 8.2 innings. Newcomb is a decent strikeout pitcher, but he walks way too many guys (about 50% more often than league average).

Newcomb is a low- to mid-level streamer. His results haven't been great, and he's likely to make another short start given his profile. The matchup is right, though, and he does strike batters out.

Mitchell Parker, Washington Nationals @ Miami Marlins

Parker has had a sparkling start to the season: 12.1 innings and just one run allowed over two starts against Arizona and Philadelphia, two of the most potent offenses in baseball. He has just seven strikeouts to go with six walks; Parker was much more average (or better) with both BBs and Ks last season, so there's hope he can do better in those areas moving forward.

The Marlins top out as average in any offensive area, and they are worse than that overall. Most appealingly to our cause, Marlin hitters have struck out the fifth most, and three of the four teams in front of them have played more games. Miami is unlikely to see any major improvement this year.

Parker is a mid-level streamer. The matchup couldn't be much better, and though he'll probably see a little regression at some point, Parker has been very good to start the season. If he picks up his K rate, Parker will be a hot commodity.

Nick Pivetta, San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies

Pivetta is owned in too many leagues to truly be a streamer, but he's still available enough to highlight his name as a must-start player today. Pivetta should be in a lineup in every league against the hapless Rockies, who are losing the Coors Field effect as they head to San Diego.

Pivetta is a high-level strikeout pitcher who is just a hair worse than average with walks. Colorado hitters have struck out more than every team except Boston, who have played two more games than the Rockies. Colorado scored just 11 runs in six road games before getting the chance to normalize some of their stats in the thin air of Denver.

Pivetta is a high-level streamer. Go see if he's available in your league right now before anyone else gets the chance to pick him up.

Brady Singer, Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Singer is our third guy today who isn't as widely available (owned in about 60% of leagues), but it's still enough that he might be able to be snatched up, and Singer could be another keeper. He's a little better than average with both walks and strikeouts in his career. Singer has had a good start to the year, totaling 12 innings over two starts with three earned runs allowed (five total), 15 strikeouts, and just three walks.

Pittsburgh is another one of our regular friends in this column, as they sport a weak offense. While they are closer to the middle in a few categories, the Pirates are tied for the third-most batter strikeouts and have the lowest team batting average (.198). They also have the second-lowest slugging percentage and third-lowest OPS.

Singer is another high-level streamer. Like Bradley and Pivetta, Singer is a guy who will strike batters out and has a pristine matchup to go along with his own strong performance. Get Singer in your lineup and consider hanging onto him unless you have a strong pitching staff.

Friday's Streamer Rankings

1. Nick Pivetta, SD
2. Brady Singer, CIN
3. Taj Bradley, TB
4. Mitchell Parker, WSH
5. Sean Newcomb, BOS
6. Bryce Elder, ATL