Wednesday's Streaming Starting Pitchers: Minnesota's David Festa has the Numbers and Matchup for a Big Day

We looked at the top records in baseball yesterday, but this column often focuses more on the bottom teams; the worst of the worst. Groups like the White Sox, Pirates, and Rockies end up here often, and it can be tough to remember that there actually are teams out there who excel offensively.

The White Sox and Rockies really stand out among the bottom teams: their records are 5-18 and 4-18, respectively, each worst in their league. There doesn't seem to be any hope for either team to improve this year, and we're probably looking at another long five months before the 2025 season mercifully ends for those squads.

With an eye on fantasy baseball, let's look at six starting pitchers in action on Wednesday 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.

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David Festa, Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox

Festa has made two starts this season and has given up just one unearned run in nine innings. He lasted just 4.2 and 4.1 innings in those starts, but Festa has shown a lot of success, totaling 10 strikeouts and just two walks; that matches his work from last year's debut, when he was well above average with strikeouts and close to the middle in walks.

The White Sox are pitiful, as I mentioned above. We don't really need to try to point out the places where they come up short: it's everything. As the season goes on, we're likely to see Chicago putting up more stretches of futility, making them a welcome opponent for fantasy pitchers.

Festa is a mid- to high-level streamer. I want to keep expectations in check, as Festa has just 73.1 big-league innings to his name, but he has looked good (especially his underlying numbers), and the matchup here couldn't be much better. Festa is worthy of a spot in a lineup today.

Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Los Angeles Angels

Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Two guys facing each other here who both have good matchups but also a lack of firepower behind them from their own offense. The Angels at least have shown a little power and look like they may have a pulse, but the Pirates are in the bottom 10 in essentially every offensive box stat and strike out among the most of any team. Things are ugly in Pittsburgh.

Heaney is generally better than average with both walks and strikeouts, and that has held early in 2025. He has given up just six runs in 25.1 innings with 22 strikeouts and six walks. Heaney is a worthy streaming pitcher in a lot of matchups.

Kochanowicz has one of the lowest strikeout rates you're going to see from a big leaguer: he has just 35 Ks in 85.2 innings between 2024-25 and a strikeout percentage below 10%. League average is around 21-22% so Kochanowicz has been less than half as effective striking batters out as the average pitcher.

Heaney is a mid- to high-level streamer, and Kochanowicz is a low-level streamer. Heaney does his thing and is a perfect guy to consider streaming. Kochanowicz is good with walks, but he's so far down with Ks that I'm not trusting him to find consistent success.

Michael Lorenzen, Kansas City Royals vs. Colorado Rockies

German Marquez, Colorado Rockies @ Kansas City Royals

With the Rockies playing away from Coors Field, they jump back onto the target list, and this time they are joined by one of the least powerful teams early in the season. Here, we have another set of guys facing each other who are on hapless offenses early in the season and probably feel the squeeze of putting together an above-average start to give themselves a chance to win.

Lorenzen's career numbers point to a pitcher who is worse than average with both walks and strikeouts. That has again been the case in his first 21.2 innings of the season, particularly the lower strikeouts. He has also given up 24 hits, helping lead to an ERA over 4.50.

Marquez threw six shutout innings with four strikeouts and no walks in his first start of the season. Since then, he has combined for 17 runs allowed (15 earned) in 10.1 innings with seven strikeouts and eight walks. His career rates are a little better than average with both walks and strikeouts, so there's hope he can find more success moving forward. He made just five starts between 2023-24 because of Tommy John surgery, so there's also a worry that Marquez might not get back to that level.

Lorenzen and Marquez are both low- to mid-level streamers. Marquez has the better history but has struggled this season; Lorenzen has a better matchup in this one but worse rate stats. Both are questionable to consider for your lineup.

J.P. Sears, Athletics vs. Texas Rangers

You're going to see a lot of the A's in this space over the next few weeks. Every game they play between now and May 7 is against either the Rangers, White Sox, Marlins, or Mariners. The Athletics might be sitting pretty as we hit the meat of May, and their pitchers might reap the benefits from the great matchups.

The Rangers are another bottom-10 offensive squad who doesn't really stand out in any area. They have names that point toward success, like Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, but most of the lineup has been terrible in 2025. Consider the following batting averages (prior to Tuesday's game): Semien .141, Adolis Garcia .216, Jake Burger .179, and Joc Pederson .055. Those guys are all in the top six in most at-bats for the Rangers this season.

Sears is a low- to mid-level streamer. He's a lefty thrower who is a little worse than average with strikeouts but also really good limiting walks, and his results have mostly been positive, especially six shutout innings against the White Sox last time out.

Wednesday's Streamer Rankings

1. Andrew Heaney, PIT
2. David Festa, MIN
3. German Marquez, COL
4. J.P. Sears, ATH
5. Michael Lorenzen, KC
6. Jack Kochanowicz, LAA