One Streaming Starting Pitcher Stands Above the Rest for Fantasy Baseball Friday

Let's jump right in today and look at four 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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Grant Holmes, Atlanta Braves vs. Colorado Rockies

We talked about Colorado yesterday and how they have improved greatly from the past few seasons, when they were one of the worst offensive teams in baseball. We still would avoid the Rockies most times they played at home because Coors Field wreaks havoc on pitchers, but now we haven't been targeting Colorado much at all, saving them for when we needed more streamers or the schedule was short. The Rockies are still a below-average offense when playing on the road, but they are far from the dumpster fire that we saw last season.

Holmes has been a little worse than average this season in terms of walk rate, strikeout rate, and allowing home runs, but he has been close enough to the middle in those areas to still find success. He has done better-than-average work limiting hits and runs, and it has worked out to a tidy 3.64 ERA. He has also mostly succeeded in August: other than a start in which he allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks, Holmes' other three outings this month combined for 18 shutout innings with just nine hits allowed. This one will probably end up somewhere in the middle, but Holmes has been good enough to trust in the right matchups.

Holmes is a low-to-mid-level streamer. I'm a little skeptical given his less-than-stellar rates, but Holmes has continued to find success and is worthy of your consideration in this one, though the matchup is more middling.

Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates @ St. Louis Cardinals

Jones has seen his fantasy ownership fluctuate quite a bit since making his season debut at the end of May. He started a little shaky after missing all of 2025 but then had a phenomenal July, and owners took note, rocketing his ownership above 50%. Things have turned in August, though, where Jones has given up 21 hits and 14 runs in just 16 innings. Jones is a high-level strikeout pitcher, but he has walked 11 batters in those 16 innings after just six walks in 27 innings in July. He struggled hard against the Mets on August 9, and his other starts were against tough teams in the Brewers, Red Sox, and Dodgers.

I still believe in Jones; it's not a surprise to see him show inconsistency after a long layoff and in a small sample, but his strikeout work is real, and he has shown much better numbers at times in his short career. Jones has the upside of a frontline starter, and he may even deserve a permanent roster spot in deep leagues (though some would argue with that).

The Cardinals are very middling in most areas offensively. They don't hit for much power, ranking in the bottom 10 in doubles, triples, home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS, but they do enough to sit above the worst teams, not offering a big ceiling most days. They have played some of their best offensive baseball over the past month, rating out as an above-average lineup in that time, so there is a little pause in targeting them. I still trust the longer numbers, but we aren't going after St. Louis every day anymore.

Jones is a mid-level streamer. Maybe he should be a half-notch lower, but Jones has considerable upside, even with the questionable matchup. There aren't generally many chances to pick up a guy with Jones' stuff this late in the season.

Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies @ Los Angeles Angels

The Angels continue to be one of our favorite fantasy targets, ranking in the bottom five in most box stats over the past month and not showing any reason for optimism. They show the same struggles based on the full-season numbers, ranking in (or very close to) the bottom five in most areas in that timeframe as well. Los Angeles also sets a big ceiling for opposing pitchers, as they strike out at a top-three rate, batting with the Pirates and Reds for the most K-heavy team. We will keep going after the Angels every day when we can.

Painter was listed here as a streamer before his last start against the Cardinals on Saturday, and he had the best performance of his short career: seven shutout innings with five hits, one run, no walks, and eight strikeouts. It has been a bumpy rookie season for Painter, but the former first-round pick has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his four August starts with 20 Ks and seven BBs in 21 1/3 innings this month. There's a big ceiling in his future, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see more flashes over the rest of 2026.

Painter is a low-to-mid-level streamer. I like his outlook moving forward next season and beyond, but there has been enough inconsistency this year to bring a little concern that he could struggle on any given day. With the fantastic matchup, I'm in on Painter today and see him worthy of a spot in your lineup.

David Peterson, Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds

Peterson briefly moved to the bullpen a few weeks ago, but when Edward Cabrera went back on the IL after one start, Peterson reentered the rotation and made a start against the Mariners last Saturday (when he was also listed here as a streamer). He had a good day, allowing just four hits and two runs in six innings with eight strikeouts (but the bullpen blew his win in the ninth inning). There's not a big ceiling to Peterson's game, but he has generally been a reliable pitcher who is worth considering when the matchup is right.

Cincinnati's story hasn't changed: they hit home runs and draw walks, but they don't do anything else at a high level (or even an average level). It's the same when you look at the past month also; there's not a whole lot of surprise to Cincy's game. I mentioned above that the Reds are fighting for the dubious honor of the most strikeout-prone team in the league, so there's a big ceiling here to go with a nice floor, leaving us with a strong streaming target every day.

Peterson is a low-to-mid-level streamer. He has been fine, and the matchup is right for another good outing in this one. Peterson is a strong option in deeper leagues and even worth consideration in your average fantasy league.

Friday's Streamer Rankings

1. Jared Jones, PIT
2. David Peterson, CHC
3. Andrew Painter, PHI
4. Grant Holmes, ATL