Friday's Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Max Scherzer, Mitch Farris, and More
Five starting pitchers in action on Friday who are widely available in fantasy leagues and have good matchups.
And just like that, there's a race in the AL Central! The Detroit Tigers were assumed to win the division essentially all season, as they held a double-digit lead for months and had a long stretch with the best record in baseball.
After faltering in the mid-to-late season and watching the Cleveland Guardians win 10 of 12 through last weekend, the Tigers were swept by the Guardians this week in a three-game series, bringing the difference to just 3.5 in the division. These teams play three more against each other in Cleveland next week, setting up for a fun finish.
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.
Check out FantasySP's rest of season rankings to find the teams that have the best matchups over the final stretch of games.
Bradley Blalock, Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Angels
Mitch Farris, Los Angeles Angels @ Colorado Rockies
These are two of the eight teams who have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. That's usually a good group to target when looking for poor offenses to go after with fantasy pitchers. Every now and then a good offensive team will just be imploded by a bad pitching staff, but that's not the case with either of these teams, who mostly hit at a bottom-10 level.
Blalock has combined to throw 80 2/3 innings in the big leagues over the past two seasons, splitting time between the Brewers and Rockies in 2024. His short time in the majors hasn't been good: 106 hits, 70 earned runs (7.81 ERA), 18 home runs, 40 walks, and 42 strikeouts. Everything has been bad; there's no redeeming factor.
Farris has even less experience than Blalock, holding just 15 innings over three starts. He has been OK in that time, allowing 11 hits and eight runs with seven walks and 14 strikeouts. Farris did good strikeout work in the minors, but it's hard to know what to expect given his small track record.
Blalock is a low-level streamer and Farris a low-to-mid-level streamer. The game is in Coors Field, bringing down both players' fantasy value. Blalock just hasn't been good at all, while Farris at least has strikeout upside and the better matchup.
Max Scherzer, Toronto Blue Jays @ Kansas City Royals
The Royals are an interesting case as a team that hits the ball OK for average but has such a lack of power that it undermines everything they do. KC ranks in the bottom five in home runs and walks and in the bottom 10 in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They don't get on base enough or knock anyone in, and that has Kansas City sitting 28th in runs scored.
Scherzer has been at least an average pitcher in 79 1/3 innings in 2025. His strikeout rate and walk rate are both better than average, and Scherzer has allowed just 70 hits, though he has been a little susceptible to home runs, giving up one about every five innings. Scherzer is part of the solution for a playoff team.
Scherzer is a low-to-mid-level streamer. Scherzer has been good, but he is also down from his best. The matchup is more decent than great, and the Royals don't strike out much, which brings him down just a little bit.
Luis Severino, Athletics @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Severino is good with walks, but he is way down with strikeouts this year, lowering his fantasy value. Severino also suffers from playing half his games in Sacramento at a big-time hitter's park. He has been a slightly below-average pitcher in 2025, but Severino has been good enough to consider in the right situations.
Pittsburgh isn't just bad offensively; they are dead last in many areas, including runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS. They are in the bottom 10 in pretty much everything, and the Pirates also rank seventh in most batter strikeouts, a nice little fantasy boost.
Severino is a low-to-mid-level streamer. This one is in Pittsburgh instead of Sacramento, a point in his favor, but Severino's strikeouts are down, and that caps his ceiling.
Brandon Sproat, New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals
Sproat has made just two big-league starts, combining for 12 innings, nine hits, three runs, four walks, and 10 strikeouts. Sproat also hasn't given up a home run. Even though he was very good, Sproat actually has an 0-1 record, a very Mets thing to happen to the young pitcher. A second-round pick in 2023, Sproat was good but not great in the minors, so even if he has a high ceiling, we should temper expectations a little right now.
Washington offers one of my favorite matchups late in the season. On top of struggling over both the full season and the past 30 days, they don't have many individuals performing or expected to be big-time players. Only four Nationals have double-digit home runs, and James Wood is the only player with more than 20. This is a team with more holes than solutions in the lineup.
Sproat is a low-to-mid-level streamer. There's a little upside with the young pitcher, but he's only OK with strikeouts and brand new to the majors; it's best to not expect too much.
Friday's Streamer Rankings
- Max Scherzer, TOR
- Luis Severino, ATH
- Mitch Farris, LAA
- Brandon Sproat, NYM
- Bradley Blalock, COL
