Monday's Fantasy Baseball Streamers: Is Walker Buehler Finding His Previous Cy-Young Heights?
Four starting pitchers in action on Monday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Welcome to another week in the MLB season. It's the last full week of April; we're moving toward the summer. It's already in the 80s every day in Arizona, so I don't have to worry about weather, but those of you in more frigid climates can probably taste the good weather that's around the corner. I'd bet the baseball players and coaches playing every day in those places are feeling the same way.
Shifting to fantasy baseball, let's look at four starting pitchers in action on Monday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. It's a light day on the schedule, so we must stretch the streamer definition a bit, but these guys are at least worth considering given their circumstances today.
Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
Check out daily fantasy projections here on FantasySP to see how your fantasy baseball players stack up each day.
Walker Buehler, Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox
Buehler had a run late last year and into the playoffs that made it look like the old Cy-Young-caliber arm might be back. The broader numbers show a pitcher who has been below average with strikeouts since missing all of 2023 and holding an ERA over 5.00 in that time.
The White Sox are a team to target every day. They are in the bottom five in runs, hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They're in the bottom 10 in home runs and walks. There's not really any area where Chicago really excels, though they've shown a little power in a few games.
Buehler is a low- to mid-level streamer. He tops out as a middling pitcher now, but the matchup is right to put him on the radar.
Erick Fedde, St. Louis Cardinals @ Atlanta Braves
Fedde's results in 2025 have been good: eight runs allowed in 21 innings (3.43 ERA). His strikeout and walk rates are both much worse than average, though, as he has 11 walks and 10 Ks. Those rates aren't going to lead to much success if he doesn't get back closer to average (where he was last year).
The Braves are still behind the curve, but they just swept the Twins over the weekend, bringing their record to 8-13. They would surely prefer those numbers to be flipped, but they're only five games below .500; a good week could get them back even (six of their next nine against the Cardinals and Rockies could help that venture). Offensively, the Braves still rank in or near the bottom 10 in most categories. They do hit home runs, but Atlanta batters have stuck out the ninth most.
Fedde is a low- to mid-level streamer. His current underlying numbers are untenable if he wants to sustain success, and Atlanta is more of a good matchup than a great one, so there's not a real high ceiling here.
Nick Lodolo, Cincinnati Reds @ Miami Marlins
The Marlins were one of our top targets last season, and I expected them to keep up that futility throughout 2025. They have been better to start this year, though, ranking near the middle or even a little better in some areas. They are in the bottom 10 in home runs and walks and among the top 10 in most batter strikeouts, so there is still a little value in targeting them, though they're not on the daily target list.
Lodolo is owned in more than half of leagues and isn't really a streamer based on our usual criteria, but it's a really short day, so he joins the list to help make up the numbers. In more than 250 innings prior to 2025, Lodolo was a high-level strikeout pitcher and right around average with walks. He has looked good this season, but his strikeouts are down; it's only been 23.1 innings, so that's likely to even out over a longer stretch.
Lodolo is a mid- to high-level streamer. He is good enough to be worth a spot in a lineup during many of his starts, and this matchup might be a little better than it looks given the early-season numbers.
Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees @ Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians are another team who isn't here often but who we can consider targeting because it's a light day. Cleveland has been around the middle offensively, not excelling but also showing enough to stay away with lesser pitchers. They are around 20th in runs and hits, but Cleveland hitters don't strike out much.
Schmidt began the season on the IL and returned last Wednesday to make his first start against the Royals, an early-season target. Schmidt lasted 5.2 innings and allowed four hits, three runs, and two walks with two strikeouts. Schmidt is generally right around average with walks and strikeouts.
Schmidt is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup isn't great, so I'm not excited about him in the first place, and Schmidt's late start to the season means he might still be getting his arm into shape, so I'm OK skipping this one.
Monday's Streamer Rankings
- Nick Lodolo, CIN
- Walker Buehler, BOS
- Clarke Schmidt, NYY
- Erick Fedde, STL
