Monday's Fantasy Baseball Pitching Streamers: Eury Perez, Jacob Lopez and More

Many Mondays, we have a short schedule; Monday and Thursday are generally the two days that MLB schedules teams days off. Coming out of the All-Star break, though, teams are a little more refreshed, and that means we have a full slate of games today. That helps both content consumption and fantasy lineup creation.

Let's look at five 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 starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

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Hayden Birdsong, San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves

Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants

San Francisco is in a fight for both the division and the wild card, but they didn't get a good start coming out of the All-Star break, getting swept by the Blue Jays. Atlanta is holding on by a thread and needs a few strong months to be part of the mix at the end, but they lost two of three to the Yankees over the weekend, pushing them further from the postseason. Both teams' offenses are a major part of the problem, in or near the bottom 10.

Birdsong has an advantage over most streamers we have most days because he is an above-average strikeout pitcher. He also walks too many guys, but that's a profile that allows a pitcher to find success if he limits hits and gets a little luck. Birdsong has gotten a little bit of that luck and sits right about average overall, holding an ERA just over 4.00.

Elder is better with walks but also below average with strikeouts, the inverse of Birdsong. He also gets hit a little hard, having given up 92 base hits in 79 2/3 innings and 16 home runs (one every five innings). After looking good in 2022-23, Elder has struggled in 2024-25, holding an ERA near 6.00 in that time.

Birdsong is a mid-level streamer and Elder a low-level streamer. The former has done good K work and otherwise looks very average, but Elder just hasn't been able to find the touch the past season and a half, and I can't trust him as a fantasy pitcher.

Jacob Lopez, Athletics @ Texas Rangers

Lopez threw just over 10 innings in both 2023 and 2024, and he's getting his first extended run this season. He has looked really good, holding an average walk rate and fantastic strikeout rate (69 Ks in 55 2/3 innings). Lopez also did high-level strikeout work in the minor leagues, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him keep that up. Lopez has a nice ceiling given his K% (nearly 28% versus the league average around 22%).

Texas is another team fighting for the wild card and needing a good start to the second half. They did better than San Francisco and Atlanta, winning the first two games against Detroit before losing on Sunday Night Baseball 2-1. For a team with a tough schedule the rest of the way, starting with two wins against the team with the best record in baseball has to feel good (though they only scored seven runs in the series, still struggling offensively).

Lopez is a mid-level streamer. He doesn't have much of a track record, but Lopez has been red-hot striking batters out, and Texas presents a good matchup for any pitcher.

Eury Perez, Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres

Just 22 years old, Perez might be a budding star of sorts. In 125 1/3 career innings, he has allowed just 92 hits and 44 earned runs (3.16 ERA) with 42 walks and 143 strikeouts. That walk rate is around average, and his strikeout rate is well above average, underlying numbers that point toward more success coming. Perez is owned in about 40% of leagues, and that number might be rising; he's a guy to target unless you have a really strong rotation.

San Diego matched Texas in winning two of three games in the opening weekend after the All-Star break. They're another team who needs to put together a few winning streaks to position themselves well for the home stretch of the season. San Diego has a top-10 pitching staff but a bottom-10 lineup; they're a team that can make a huge difference in their playoff chances with a few measured moves before the trade deadline.

Perez is a mid-to-high-level streamer. It's a small sample, but he has looked fantastic so far, and his strikeout ability gives him a nice floor and ceiling in fantasy baseball.

Tomoyuki Sugano, Baltimore Orioles @ Cleveland Guardians

Add the Guardians to the same group with our other four targets today as a team holding onto playoff hopes but needing positive results in the few weeks before the trade deadline. They won two of three against the A's, but Cleveland is still two games under .500. Given their frugal ways, we might see the Guardians sell off pieces even if they do win some games before the July 31 trade deadline.

Sugano has looked the same all year: he doesn't walk many guys, but he has a painfully low strikeout rate, sitting under 14%. He has an ERA right around 4.50, an OK mark, but that K% lowers his fantasy value. If a pitcher strikes guys out, he can still have a successful fantasy outing even if he gives up some runs. Without the strikeouts, he has fewer paths to success.

Sugano is a low-level streamer. The matchup is good, and he has been OK, but I can't get over his lack of Ks.

Monday's Streamer Rankings

1. Eury Perez, MIA
2. Jacob Lopez, ATH
3. Hayden Birdsong, SF
4. Tomoyuki Sugano, BAL
5. Bryce Elder, ATL