Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitchers: Vasquez, Nola, and Tuesday's Top Targets
Five starting pitchers with good matchups on Tuesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues.
Now into June, the MLB season is no longer fresh and new. Since every team has played around 60 games, there are still about 100 contests to go for each squad, meaning we're neither near the beginning nor the end; it's the dreaded middle!
Many fans and fantasy owners will let their attention waver, so those who stay on top of things will have a real advantage. Let's look at five starting pitchers in action on Tuesday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from MLB.com, as are the probable pitchers. The full streamer rankings are listed at the bottom.
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Andrew Abbott, Cincinnati Reds vs. Kansas City Royals
Hey Abbott! After more than 400 innings over the past three seasons with average walk and strikeout rates, Abbott is worse than average in both areas, including a 15.5% K rate (versus his career rate of 21.2%, which is right around average). He is doing fine limiting hits, runs, and home runs, but Abbott has a lower ceiling and floor given his rates when the ball isn't put into play.
Kansas City started the year poorly and made our streaming list, but they went on a better streak to pull them up soon after, bringing them closer to .500 and an even run differential. Well, things have turned down again, and the Royals are 14 games below .500 with the AL's worst run differential. Their offense is a major issue, ranking in the bottom 10 (or close to it) in runs, hits, home runs, walks, and all four slash categories.
Abbott is a low-to-mid-level streamer. I still hold out hope that he can bounce back with his rates, particularly strikeouts, but that hasn't been the case at all in 2026, leaving him as a middling-at-best option in fantasy.
Steven Matz, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Detroit Tigers
Detroit was favored in the AL Central entering the season, but on top of losing Tarik Skubal for an extended period, they are faltering offensively, putting them at the bottom of the division. The Tigers' offense is in or near the bottom third in runs, hits, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. They also strike out at a top-10 rate, setting a nice ceiling for opposing pitchers.
Matz started off the season a little better but has faltered a bit recently, including giving up six runs in just three innings his last time out against Baltimore. Though his career walk and strikeout rates are average or better, he has been on the wrong side in both metrics this season. His K rate was down the past two years also, so Matz's fantasy ceiling is lower than we'd like.
Matz is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He has been good limiting hits but just OK (or worse) with home runs and runs. With fewer strikeouts, there's limited upside here.
Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers
May has been fairly average in most areas this season, and he's doing even better than that with both walks and home runs. After giving up 13 combined runs in his first two starts, May has only given up 21 runs in his past nine outings, making his numbers look much better. He also has 26 strikeouts to eight walks in his past four starts, putting May on a bit of a hot streak.
The Rangers have moved more toward the high end of the bottom 10 in most offensive categories, making them a worthy target but not one of our favorites. I've talked a lot about how their home stadium is a major pitcher's park, bringing down their numbers, and since this game takes place in St. Louis, it lowers the value of facing this team a bit.
May is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He has improved his own performance enough to be on the fantasy radar, but the matchup here might not be great, leaving some risk in this one.
Randy Vasquez, San Diego Padres @ Philadelphia Phillies
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres
We'll finish today with a game in which we can target both teams with streamers. Both Philadelphia and San Diego entered the season with ambitions of contending, but neither has shown the offensive prowess to be a true contender. After starting abysmally, the Phillies have been better but still below average on offense. The Padres rode more luck than great performance to their early big start, but they still have a negative run differential and an offense that doesn't scare anyone.
Vasquez had an untenable strikeout rate the past two seasons, but he has brought that up to simply below average in 2026, and combined with a very good walk rate, that has made him an intriguing fantasy pitcher. He has also done well limiting hits, runs, and homers, helping to raise his fantasy ownership over 40%.
Nola is also a little over 40%, but his ownership has been going down, not up, as he has struggled in 2026 after feeling the same pains in an abbreviated 2025. While both his walk and strikeout rates are good, Nola has given up too many hits, runs, and home runs over the past two seasons, making him tough to trust for many high-level fantasy innings.
Vasquez is a mid-level streamer and Nola a low-to-mid-level streamer. Vasquez's improved work brings him up even with a K rate a little below average, and while Nola has struggled in some areas, he keeps striking batters out. With the matchup in the favor of both pitchers, there's a little hope here for a decent outing. Vasquez gets the advantage because he has been better all season.
Tuesday's Streamer Rankings
- Randy Vasquez, SD
- Aaron Nola, PHI
- Andrew Abbott, CIN
- Dustin May, STL
- Steven Matz, TB
