Friday Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Can Toronto's Eric Lauer Continue his Success?
Five starting pitchers in action on Friday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Happy Friday, everyone! Not only is it the best day of the week (once work ends), but it's also a long weekend. It feels even better than the usual weekend vibes. There will be plenty of baseball on TV and a playoff basketball game each night along with NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Sports fans are a bit spoiled right now.
Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Friday 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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Brayan Bello, Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles
Lucas Giolito, Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles
Everything in this section except for the parts about Bello appeared in yesterday's article. Giolito was supposed to start yesterday, but the game was rained out and moved to a doubleheader today.
Giolito missed all of 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery. His return this season hasn't gone well, as Giolito has allowed 16 runs and 25 hits in 20.1 innings (ERA over 7.00). Both his walk and strikeout rates are a little lower than average this year. Giolito has been a high-level strikeout pitcher in his career, but it might take some time to find that magic again.
Bello was an average strikeout pitcher before this year, but he has only 20 Ks in 31.1 innings. That goes along with 19 walks, a number way too high. All of that seems to add up to a ticking time bomb ready to bottom out, making Bello a risky play.
Every day, I pretty much say the same thing about the Orioles: they're the most disappointing team of the season so far, they are in the bottom 10 in most offensive box stats, but they do hit some home runs. There are just so many players struggling for Baltimore; there's no way they can overcome a team-wide slump.
Giolito is a low- to mid-level streamer, and Bello is a low-level streamer. There is upside for Giolito because of his past strikeout work, but he has been uneven in his return from major injury. Bello has a shorter track record of success and hasn't found any in 2025.
Emerson Hancock, Seattle Mariners @ Houston Astros
Hancock is good with walks, but he is a very low-level strikeout pitcher. Hancock has just 70 Ks in 106 innings and a 15.1% career strikeout rate (league average is around 22%). He has allowed 23 runs in 33.1 innings this season, a 6.21 ERA. Hancock hasn't shown MLB-level work early in his career.
Houston is a middling matchup. They creep toward the middle in a lot of offensive box stats, and they rank in the bottom 10 in batter strikeouts, setting a lower ceiling. The Astros could move off the target list completely, but they are still a low-level target.
Hancock is a low-level streamer. His work isn't good enough, and Houston isn't a great matchup. This is a streamer to avoid.
Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians might be a division contender alongside Detroit, but their offense is a bottom-10 unit that might hold back that dream. Cleveland ranks in the bottom 10 in runs, hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Jobe has been a beneficiary of Detroit's winning ways, holding a 4-0 record in eight starts. Things haven't been quite that great: his ERA is 4.12, which is fine, but his strikeout rate is well below average, and his walk rate is far worse than average (nearly 13% versus league average around 8-9%). Worse results might be coming for Jobe if he doesn't improve some of those underlying numbers.
Jobe is a low- to mid-level streamer. His results have been fine, but walking so many guys is going to come back to bite him eventually, especially without high-level strikeout work.
Eric Lauer, Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays rank in the bottom 12 in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Tampa Bay is a clear bottom-10 offense. Their batters have also struck out the 12th most, setting a nice ceiling for the right opponents.
Lauer has made four appearances (one start), totaling 12 innings with just seven hits and three runs allowed. He struck out 14 batters and walked only three. It has been a really good start in a small sample for Lauer, though his strikeout rate might fall if he makes more starts rather than working out of the bullpen.
Lauer is a mid-level streamer. The matchups is a good one, and Lauer has looked good so far. Don't expect him to make a long start, but he could put together nice numbers in the time he is on the mound.
Friday's Streamer Rankings
- Eric Lauer, TOR
- Jackson Jobe, DET
- Lucas Giolito, BOS
- Brayan Bello, BOS
- Emerson Hancock, SEA
