Friday's Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitchers: Shane Baz and Bryce Elder Lead Way

After just six games yesterday, we have a full slate on the MLB schedule today. That means most of your best players will be on the field, but it also gives us a healthy complement of streaming guys ready to have good days against weaker competition.

Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Friday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.

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Shane Baz, Baltimore Orioles vs. San Francisco Giants

Baz is owned in just over 50% of leagues, so he's teetering on not qualifying as a streamer, but there's still enough availability to make it worth checking for him, and he has a great matchup today. His career numbers show an average walk rate and above-average strikeout rate. In two starts this year, Baz has combined for 11 innings, 10 hits, five runs (four earned), three walks, and nine strikeouts, good work.

The Giants have gotten up near the middle in some offensive areas but still rate out below average overall. They rank last in both walks and home runs, and they are in the bottom five in runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. San Francisco is a strong target team right now.

Baz is a mid-to-high-level streamer. The matchup is pristine, and Baz has done good enough work in his career to expect some big games when everything comes together.

Walker Buehler, San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies

After being better than average with walks and strikeouts early in his career, Buehler has walked too many guys and been far worse than average with Ks the past two seasons. He has also been hit hard in that time, giving Buehler an ERA over 5.00 in 2024-25. The beginning of 2026 has been rough also: 6 2/3 innings, seven runs, five walks, and seven strikeouts.

Any time the Rockies are playing away from Coors Field, they are one of our top targets. Some of their numbers have reached average (or even above-average) rates early, but they are in the bottom five in walks and the top five in most batter strikeouts, not setting themselves up for success. As we get more games (particularly away from home), Colorado is likely to again stand out as a bottom offensive team.

Buehler is a low-level streamer. Even with the matchup heavily in his favor, Buehler's performance the past two-plus seasons hasn't been good enough to trust him in your lineup this early in the season.

Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves vs. Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland tops out as middling in most offensive stats, hitting for some power but falling short elsewhere. The Guardians were a bottom-10 offense last season, and though it wouldn't be a total surprise to see them do better in 2026, they haven't done anything yet to really change our opinion of them as a target team for opposing pitchers.

After strong performances in 2022 and 2023, Elder struggled mightily in 2024 and spent time in the minor leagues. He continued those issues in 2025, but Elder has started this season on fire, moving him toward 50% fantasy ownership. In two starts, Elder has thrown 13 innings with nine hits, two runs (both unearned), two walks, and 13 strikeouts. He will see a little regression from that hot start, but Elder has been fantastic so far.

Elder is a low-to-mid-level streamer. It's tempting to expect big things, but after the past two seasons, it's also worth being a little skeptical of Elder's new ace-like status. The Guardians are also just a good target, not a great one, so Elder is more of a decent option than a top guy here.

Clay Holmes, New York Mets vs. Athletics

The Athletics played strong offensive baseball last season, partly a product of playing their home games at a minor league park in Sacramento. That's still something to take into account this season, but the A's have struggled so far while playing only three home games (they topped 10 runs in two of those contests). They are also in the bottom five in walks and top five in batter strikeouts, keeping the future Las Vegas franchise as a friendly target team.

Holmes is another guy who started this season hot, combining for 12 2/3 innings in his first two starts (both wins) with seven hits, two runs, five walks, and nine strikeouts. He converted to a starter last season and was worse than average with both walks and strikeouts, and that has continued in 2026, but Holmes has found enough success to be an intriguing option here.

Holmes is a low-to-mid-level streamer. His Ks falling when moving to the rotation was predictable but lowers his fantasy ceiling and floor, so although the matchup is in his favor, I see him more as a middling streaming option at best.

Jack Kochanowicz, Los Angeles Angels @ Cincinnati Reds

In 176 1/3 innings between 2024-25, Kochanowicz was hit hard and far below average with strikeouts. After being great limiting walks in 2024, he gave way too many BBs in 2025, making him an untenable fantasy option. He has been somewhere in the middle so far this season, though Kochanowicz has again walked too many guys to go along with an average strikeout rate (seven BBs and 10 Ks in 9 2/3 innings).

Cincinnati has scored the fewest runs in the league and ranks in the top 10 in batter strikeouts, a great start for any team that we are planning to target. They have gotten closer to average in a few other areas, but the Reds have faltered offensively so far while putting up good enough defensive numbers to hold a winning record after 13 games.

Kochanowicz is a low-level streamer. I can't trust him given his struggles as a pro, and the Reds might not be a great target team once we get a little further into the season. We need to see a lot more from this pitcher before considering him for our lineups.

Friday's Streamer Rankings

1. Shane Baz, BAL
2. Bryce Elder, ATL
3. Clay Holmes, NYM
4. Walker Buehler, SD
5. Jack Kochanowicz, LAA