Can Early-Season Star Easton Lucas Keep Rolling as a Streaming Pitcher?
Five starting pitchers in action on Monday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues, including a few early-season stars.
I was just celebrating the weekend a few days ago, but here we are back at the start of another week. It goes fast, doesn't it? It also means another day/week of fantasy baseball getting underway, as we creep toward the end of the first month of the season.
It's often said that Memorial Day is the right time to first look at the standings and stats in a serious way, as enough time has passed to start becoming real and not just a quirk of a short sample. We're still six weeks away from that time, though, and we can't wait that long to start adapting in the fantasy world.
With that in mind, there are new teams that I'm looking to target in addition to weak teams from the start of the season. Three of those new squads, the Royals, Twins, and Braves, are featured today.
Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Monday 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.
Carlos Carrasco, New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals
Carrasco isn't a pitcher to trust regularly. The past two seasons, he had ERAs of 6.80 and 5.64 while holding a walk rate near average but a well below-average strikeout rate. He has allowed more than a hit per inning in every season since 2021. Those same struggles have all been present in 2025, as Carrasco has allowed 10 runs and 16 hits in 11.2 innings.
The Royals weren't a target team coming into the season, but they have played their way into that zone with a weak offensive start. Power is a major part of the problem, as they are tied for the fewest home runs (just eight in 16 games) and in the bottom four in both slugging percentage and OPS.
Carrasco is a super-low-level streamer. His own work isn't tenable for a fantasy lineup against any team, and Kansas City probably isn't this bad over a longer stretch, though the lack of power could be real.
Clay Holmes, New York Mets @ Minnesota Twins
Holmes has been decent in his move from the bullpen to the starting rotation. His career numbers are those of a guy who has higher-than-average walk and strikeout rates. He has matched that performance in 2025, striking out 20 batters in 14.2 innings but also with nine walks.
Minnesota is another team like KC who wasn't a preseason target but has been bad enough early to earn that distinction. They are in the bottom 10 in most offensive box stats, and unlike the Royals, it has caused the Twins to sink toward the bottom of the standings. They are a target until further notice.
Holmes is a mid-level streamer with some upside. His strikeout work has been great, but he also is getting hit a little hard (16 hits allowed) and has the control issues. Holmes has a nice ceiling but also a bit of a lower floor.
Brad Lord, Washington Nationals @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Lord has made three relief appearances and one start, and he lasted just three innings in that start against the Dodgers last Tuesday. He's likely to have another short start in this one, but the matchup is much better than facing LA. Lord hasn't been good with strikeouts in either the minor leagues or big leagues, so he probably has a lower ceiling.
Pittsburgh is one of our best streamers, a team who was bad last season and has continued as a bottom-10 unit early in 2025. It can be hard to know who to go after, as teams slump and get out of it just as quickly, but the Pirates have been a consistent friend of opposing pitchers.
Lord is a low-level streamer. He doesn't have nearly enough work for us to know what to expect, and his numbers don't point toward big things, so it's hard to peg Lord as a good option early in the season.
Easton Lucas, Toronto Blue Jays vs. Atlanta Braves
Lucas has gotten off to a great start in 2025. He made 14 relief appearances over 2023-24 split between the A's, Tigers, and Blue Jays, but Lucas has been in the starting rotation to begin the season. In two starts, he has allowed no runs and just four hits in 10.1 innings with 11 strikeouts and three walks; Lucas picked up the win in both games.
Atlanta is a target team early, but they have gotten closer to average after a brutal start and have high-level hitters, so they could move off the list soon. The early-season numbers say that the Braves are a target, but that status is tentative.
Lucas is a mid-level streamer. He has been great, but we can't expect him to have shutout outings every start. The Braves might turn things around, and it's better to expect good rather than great from Lucas.
Dustin May, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies
May gets the pleasure of facing the Rockies away from Coors Field. They are a clear bottom-10 team when playing on the road and one of my favorite targets. On top of everything else, Rockies hitters have struck out the second-most of any team, and the only group ahead of them (Boston) has played two more games than Colorado.
Injuries have torn apart May's career so far. He has thrown just 112 innings from 2021 to now; ironically, his most innings in a season came during the COVID-shortened season of 2020 (56). He's been good when on the field, but it's hard to know what to expect right now.
May is a mid-level streamer. His career work is that of a good strikeout pitcher, and he's been very good at preventing runs (though he has three unearned runs allowed this season).
Monday's Streamer Rankings
- Clay Holmes, NYM
- Dustin May, LAD
- Easton Lucas, TOR
- Brad Lord, WSH
- Carlos Carrasco, NYY
