Monday Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Is Houston Rookie Ryan Gusto Set up for a Big Day?
Four starting pitchers in action on Monday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
It's another Monday. I've heard some people argue that Monday isn't so bad because it's the beginning of a new week, and you can come in refreshed. Does anyone out there come into Mondays refreshed? I'm usually dragging and screaming as I get pulled out of the weekend, feeling the opposite of enthused.
Anyway, let's turn to fantasy baseball and look at four 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 pitchers. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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Chase Dollander, Colorado Rockies @ Texas Rangers
The ninth overall pick in 2023, Dollander made short work of the minors (just 122 innings) before debuting this season. It's been a rough big-league start: 28 innings, 27 runs (24 earned), 33 hits, 13 walks, and 25 strikeouts. Maybe worst of all, Dollander has given up eight home runs in that short time. Four of his six starts were at Coors Field, and another was against the Padres, so there's hope Dollander will have better days when the conditions are more in his favor.
Texas represents one of those better circumstances. They are in the bottom 10 in essentially every offensive box stat. The Rangers were hitting more home runs, but they are now just six homers above the bottom 10, losing their one bright spot. It's going to be a heavy weight around the neck of the Texas pitching staff if the offense can't find a little life.
Dollander is a low- to mid-level streamer. He had good strikeout numbers in the minors, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him excel in that area. We need to see more of him outside of Colorado to see if he can find a little success.
Ryan Gusto, Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals
Another rookie, Gusto has 27.2 innings to his name and has been really good with both walks (eight) and strikeouts (29). That has come in four starts and five relief appearances. His K numbers might come down if he starts more, but he did good strikeout work in the minors, so he could keep that up.
Kansas City has been a little better hitting the ball after a slow start, moving up toward the middle of the league in both hits and batting average. They have drawn the third-fewest walks, though, and show no power, ranking last in home runs and in the bottom five in both slugging percentage and OPS. The Royals are missing out on instant scoring, instead laboring for every run.
Gusto is a mid-level streamer. He has looked good, and the matchup is right to keep preventing runs. The Royals don't strike out much, so it might not be a big K day, and that limits Gusto's ceiling.
David Peterson, New York Mets vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are probably the best matchup available today. They have scored six fewer runs than any other team, though 29th-place Colorado has the Coors Field effect in their favor. Pittsburgh is also in the bottom five in hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Peterson has both a walk rate and strikeout rate just a hair higher than average in nearly 500 innings, mostly as a starter. His numbers have been right around average or a little better in 2025; that's a valuable player for a Mets team with a lot of high-priced talent, as Peterson is making less than $5 million on a one-year contract.
Peterson is a mid- to high-level streamer. His strikeout work is good enough for some big days, and the matchup couldn't be much better than it is here.
Michael Wacha, Kansas City Royals @ Houston Astros
Wacha is another pitcher with numbers right around average. He has been really good with run prevention the past four seasons, last having an ERA over 3.50 in 2021. His ERA is under 3.00 so far in 2025, though his K numbers are a little lower than average. Given his career numbers, both of those numbers could increase as he gets more innings under his belt.
Houston is more of a middling team than a truly good target. They are probably close to 20th among offenses, mostly failing to hit for power, as they rank 22nd in doubles and 25th in home runs. The Astros aren't as bad as our other target teams here today, and they could get up to even an average or above-average level, but they are still worth targeting in the right situations.
Wacha is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup knocks him down a notch, as does his strikeout numbers being down a little. Wacha has found success, though, and is worth consideration here.
Monday's Streamer Rankings
- David Peterson, NYM
- Ryan Gusto, HOU
- Michael Wacha, KC
- Chase Dollander, COL
