Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitchers: Are JP Sears and Trevor Williams Worth a Spot in Your Lineup?

We're officially one week from the NFL Draft, and the NBA playoffs are also about to get underway, so baseball has lost that short time where they rule the conversation around sports near the beginning of the season. They'll get more lone time in the spotlight, but that won't be until the dog days of summer, when we're all worn out.

For now, we can enjoy the last week before baseball really gets pushed into the background for a few months.

Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Thursday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable pitchers. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

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Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels @ Texas Rangers

I've been pitching a nickname for Kochanowicz since last season; I'm partial to Jack Koch, though I'm sure that won't stick. It would be nice to have an easier name for him if he's going to keep showing up on our streamer list. Just because he's on the list doesn't make him a great option, though: he has given up 11 runs (10 earned) in 15.2 innings with just nine strikeouts and six walks. He had an egregiously low strikeout rate last season also, so Kochanowicz is a low-ceiling pitcher.

The Rangers aren't really deficient in one area; they're just bad overall. They don't strike out a lot, but Texas hitters have also drawn the fewest walks of any team. While there's a little power, the Rangers are otherwise among the worst offenses in baseball.

Kochanowicz is a low-level streamer. No matter the matchup, there's just no way I can recommend him right now given his poor performance, especially the severe lack of strikeouts. You can do better.

Reese Olson, Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals

Olson showed up here often last season, and he put together a good year, finishing with an ERA around 3.50 and both a walk rate and strikeout rate right at league average (or a little better). He had similar results in 2023, combining for 216 innings in those two seasons. It hasn't been as nice in three starts this year: 15 innings, 17 hits and 10 runs allowed, eight walks, and 13 strikeouts (with both his BB% and K% several percentage points worse than average).

The Royals took a pretty major jump in performance as a team last year, so it's not a surprise to see them meeting some regression. They're closer to the bottom of the league than the middle in most categories, though, so Kansas City is a team to target until they show they still have some of last year's magic.

Olson is a low- to mid-level streamer. It's a nice matchup, and his prior work points toward a better pitcher, but he has struggled so far in 2025, particularly with walks, so it's dangerous to trust Olson for high-level innings.

JP Sears, Athletics @ Chicago White Sox

Sears is the lucky pitcher who gets to face the White Sox today. Chicago is continuing one of the biggest runs of futility we've seen in recent sports history, and they are a daily target until further notice.

Sears is good with walks but also a little below average with strikeouts. He's been better so far this year, with 16 strikeouts in 17 innings (and just three walks), but Sears hasn't been at even an average level with Ks in any season except 2023. He's a fine pitcher to consider on the right days but won't be making major noise consistently.

Sears is a mid-level streamer. His improved work in 2025 gives him a little more intrigue, and the matchup couldn't be much better.

Brady Singer, Cincinnati Reds vs. Seattle Mariners

Singer is our one guy today who is owned in more leagues and might not be available; he's only free in about 35% of leagues. Singer is making his case for a permanent spot on a fantasy roster in every league: 3-0 in three starts, 17 innings, six earned runs, six walks, and 18 strikeouts. He's a must-start player on Thursday who should be in a lineup in every league.

The Mariners are another one of those bottom-10 teams who regularly pepper the basement of the offensive box stats and offer a great matchup for opposing pitchers. Their hitters are doing better at not striking out, sitting in the middle of the pack after leading the league last year, but Seattle is still a weak offensive team.

Singer is a high-level streamer. The matchup is right, and his work, especially with strikeouts, gives him a high ceiling in this one.

Trevor Williams, Washington Nationals @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Williams is another guy who has been good with walks but doesn't strike enough batters out. He reached an average level when he was working more as a reliever, but Williams hasn't had the same strikeout touch when starting (which is natural for most pitchers). His 2025 is rough so far: 12 runs allowed in 14.2 innings.

Pittsburgh continues to toil. They are the White Sox of the National League; that would be a good title for the Rockies also, but at least Colorado hits better when at home (as everyone does at Coors Field). The Pirates are just plain bad no matter where they are playing.

Williams is a low- to mid-level streamer. He has better work in his past that points toward improvement coming, but Williams will always top out as an average pitcher and looks worse than that when things aren't going right.

Thursday's Streamer Rankings

1. Brady Singer, CIN
2. JP Sears, ATH
3. Reese Olson, DET
4. Trevor Williams, WSH
5. Jack Kochanowicz, LAA