Sunday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Young Prospects Mick Abel and Jack Leiter Take the Hill
Six starting pitchers in action on Sunday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
The Detroit Tigers might be the hottest team in baseball. They were the first to reach 30 wins, and they are 11-4 in May. After getting swept by the Dodgers to start the season, Detroit has gone 30-13. There's a long, long way to go before the playoffs, but the Tigers look like an early contender.
Focusing on fantasy baseball, let's look at six starting pitchers in action on Sunday 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.
Check out daily fantasy baseball projections at FantasySP all MLB season!
Mick Abel, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Abel is making his major league debut in this one. He was the 15th overall pick in 2020 and has done really good strikeout work in the minors (almost 500 in just over 420 innings). Abel has excelled this year, allowing just 14 runs in 46.1 innings.
This is about as soft of a landing spot as the rookie could hope for. The Pirates are in the bottom five in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are also in the top 10 in most batter strikeouts. There's not an area in which Pittsburgh succeeds offensively.
Abel is a mid-level streamer. I have a problem with expecting too much out of good prospects, especially young pitchers, so I'm trying to keep things in check. The matchup is great, though, and Abel has a nice ceiling (and a lower floor).
Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels
Playing an in-town series on the road must be pretty nice. You get to stay at home and just take a short drive to play an away game. It's probably even better when you're a team like the Angels playing against the Dodgers because when you inevitably get beat, at least you don't have to go back to some hotel in a strange town (the Angels have actually won the first two games of the series, but the joke was funny, so whatever).
Gonsolin is average with walks and above average with strikeouts. The latter has been especially true in 2025, as he has 21 Ks in 16 innings (with just four walks) over three starts. Gonsolin missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery, but he has looked good in his return.
Gonsolin is a mid- to high-level streamer. The matchup is right for a good day, and he has been a high-level player in his short work this season.
Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers @ Toronto Blue Jays
Jobe is another rookie who is a big-time prospect, as he entered the league as the third overall pick in 2021. He has been OK in 37.1 career innings, holding both a walk rate and strikeout rate well worse than average but giving up just 17 runs (16 earned). He was a little better than average with Ks in the minors, so there's hope he'll find better numbers there as he gets more experience.
The Blue Jays are a fringe target team, one that we don't go after often. Part of the reason they're here is because I believe in Jobe (though his rate stats are concerning). Toronto is in or near the bottom 10 in runs, home runs, walks, and slugging percentage, showing a lack of power. The Jays don't strike out much, though, presenting a lower ceiling for opposing pitchers.
Jobe is a low-level streamer. As much as I want him to do well, the matchup here is middling at best, and Jobe hasn't shown enough high-level work in his short big-league stint.
Merrill Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies
We haven't been able to target the Rockies this weekend because they faced highly owned fantasy pitchers in Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen. Kelly has more availability; he is owned in less than half of leagues. He is right around average (or a little better) with both walks and strikeouts in his career.
Colorado is one of the top targets. Despite playing about half their games at Coors Field, the Rockies rank in the bottom five in most offensive box stats. They have also struck out more than any other team, offering a high ceiling for opponents.
Kelly is a high-level streamer. He's a good pitcher, and Colorado is about as good a matchup as there is.
Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros
Houston is another fringe target team, like the Blue Jays. The Astros are closer to 20th than 30th in most areas, leaving them as a better offensive team and worse fantasy opponent than the other bottom-10 teams, like the Pirates and Rockies.
Leiter, the second overall pick in 2021, is our third big-time young prospect. He's been several percentage points worse than average with both walks and strikeouts in 64.2 innings between 2024-25, but he did high-level strikeout work in the minors, and he should see better results there as he gets more innings under his belt. Texas surely hopes Leiter eventually turns into something resembling an ace given his pedigree.
Leiter is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup isn't great, and his numbers haven't been as good as we might see in the future.
Colin Rea, Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox
The other crosstown matchup on the schedule, the Cubs have won the first two games of this series 13-3 and 7-3. Their two starting pitchers, Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd, combined for 12 innings with six runs allowed, 10 strikeouts, and no walks. The White Sox are another one of the best matchups in baseball.
Rea is good with walks but also a little below average with strikeouts. His results have been really good in 2025, as Rea has allowed only 10 earned runs in 36.1 innings (2.48 ERA). There might be a few decent starts ahead for Rea, as the Cubs are in a string of good matchups.
Rea is a mid-level streamer. His lower strikeout numbers cap his ceiling just a bit, but the White Sox offer as good a matchup as Rea could hope for.
Sunday's Streamer Rankings
- Merrill Kelly, ARI
- Tony Gonsolin, LAD
- Mick Abel, PHI
- Colin Rea, CHC
- Jack Leiter, TEX
- Jackson Jobe, DET
