Saturday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Taijuan Walker, Michael Lorenzen and More
Six starting pitchers in action on Saturday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
Let's jump right in today and look at six starting pitchers in action on Saturday 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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Sean Burke, Chicago White Sox @ Kansas City Royals
Michael Lorenzen, Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago White Sox
We'll start with two AL Centra foes, one of whom is .500 and in the wild card race while the other is 34 games under .500 (I'll let you guess who is who). The White Sox are a clear bottom-10 team, but the Royals are a little more complicated, as they hit the ball OK but have absolutely no power and are in the bottom five in runs scored. Both are worthy streaming targets to different degrees.
Burke has been average with strikeouts in his first 133 career innings but walks too many guys. That's a trade-off that can bring success, and Burke has also been decent limiting batters, giving up less than a hit per inning and a home run every seven innings (a very average number). Burke is right in the middle, a good pitcher for streaming purposes.
Lorenzen returns from the IL for this start, having last pitched on July 6. Over his career, Lorenzen is a hair worse than average with both walks and strikeouts, but he has actually been average or better in both areas in 2025. Lorenzen has been hit a little hard, holding a 4.61 ERA and giving up a homer every 5.9 innings.
Burke and Lorenzen are both mid-level streamers. The matchups are right, and both guys have done good strikeout work this year, giving them a little upside. While Burke has been the better pitcher, Lorenzen has the better matchup, evening out their outlooks today.
Mike Burrows, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are in as dire a situation as a team could be while still 4.5 games up on the final wild card spot. They are 11-14 since the All-Star break and have lost four of their past five, scoring only 10 runs in those games. Over the past month, Chicago has been a clear bottom-10 offensive team, and they need to figure it out quickly if they want to stay in playoff position.
Burrows has been good as a rookie, holding an above-average strikeout rate and average walk rate. He has also been good limiting hits, allowing just 59 in 67 2/3 innings, but he has been a little susceptible to home runs (one every 5.6 innings). Burrows looks like another good young pitcher on a team that has several of them.
Burrows is a mid-level streamer. His own work has been good, and the Cubs are a perfect team to target right now given their struggles despite better season-long numbers.
Adrian Houser, Tampa Bay Rays @ San Francisco Giants
Justin Verlander, San Francisco Giants vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Our other matchup of bad offenses today features one season-long struggling team, the Giants, and another that has been struggling more since the All-Star break (and maybe a little before that) in the Rays. Both teams are in the playoff hunt but are being held back by below-average lineups.
Houser arrived from the White Sox at the trade deadline after the best stretch of his career. Since arriving in Tampa, things haven't been great: 0-2, 10 2/3 innings, 17 hits, nine runs, four walks, and seven strikeouts. He is always below average with strikeouts while being close to average with walks, and regression was expected after such a blazing start with Chicago.
Verlander is pitching like a slightly below-average player this season; at 42 years old, that's probably what we can expect as long as he keeps going (which might only be through 2025). He can still strike some guys out, but that number has been below average for two years now. His walks are also up from his career rate, and Verlander has been hit harder than any other time in his career.
Houser and Verlander are both low-to-mid-level streamers. The matchups are good but not great, and both guys have been below average with strikeouts, keeping them with lower ceilings.
Taijuan Walker, Philadelphia Phillies @ Washington Nationals
With Aaron Nola back from injury, Walker was at risk of being bumped out of the rotation. The team will reportedly go with a six-man rotation, though, leaving Walker to make a start each week. Walker has been good after a few down seasons, but he is way down with strikeouts, leaving him as a low-ceiling fantasy player. Walker is just an OK guy to consider in the right matchups.
This is one of those matchups. Washington ranks in the bottom 10 (or very close to it) in runs, hits, home runs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. If it weren't for the historically bad Rockies, the Nationals would be the worst team in the National League, behind even the Pirates.
Walker is a low-to-mid-level streamer. The matchup is right, and he has been fine, but with a well below-average K rate, Walker doesn't have much of a ceiling.
Saturday's Streamer Rankings
- Mike Burrows, PIT
- Michael Lorenzen, KC
- Sean Burke, CWS
- Justin Verlander, SF
- Taijuan Walker, PHI
- Adrian Houser, TB
