March 29 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Zack Littell, Osvaldo Bido, Jose Soriano, Justin Verlander and More

We've got a full complement of streaming pitchers today. If every team in a 10-team fantasy league has six starting pitchers, that's 60 pitchers; that's only two per MLB team. That means about 60% of starters are free agents in your fantasy league.

That's why streaming is easier with pitchers, where guys only throw once every five days and have different levels of matchup each time out. Finding available players with good matchups is easier when every team is throwing their third starter, a guy unowned in most fantasy leagues.

Let's look at seven starting pitchers in action on Saturday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats used below are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters.

Valente Bellozo, Miami Marlins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Bellozo threw his first 68.2 innings last season. He had an ERA under 4.00, but Bellozo gave up 69 hits and only struck out 44 batters for a 14.9% K rate; league average was around 22%. Bellozo was probably lucky last year and shouldn't be expected to have such good results without better underlying numbers (he did strike out around one batter per inning in the minors, a good number).

Pittsburgh is the right team to face, though, as the Pirates were a bottom-five offense in 2024 and have many of the same players back without much upgrade. They scored four runs in each of the first two games with 11 total hits.

Bellozo is a low-level streamer. Even with a great matchup, Bellozo isn't the type of guy to trust this early in the season when you can be pickier with your pitcher innings.

Osvaldo Bido, Athletics @ Seattle Mariners

The best thing the Mariners do for opposing pitchers is swing and miss. They led the league in batter strikeouts last season (more than 10 per game), and they have struck out 20 times through two games (including 13 yesterday). Seattle sets up their opponents with a nice fantasy floor.

Bido has thrown 114 career innings in 18 starts and 14 relief appearances. He has been average at striking batters out while walking a few too many. He's good enough to be on the fantasy radar.

Bido is a low- to mid-level streamer. He's another guy you can probably wait on this early in the season, but there is some intrigue in this matchup.

Jonathan Cannon, Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels

The White Sox are in a better spot now than they were at any point in 2024: That's the tiniest of wins over a long season, but it's something. Cannon threw 124.1 innings as a rookie, and while he was a hair better than average with walks, he was well below average striking batters out. There's a cap on Cannon's fantasy value.

The Angels have a lack of impact bats, led by Mike Trout. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe hit a home run in the opener on Thursday, but LA lost 8-1 to last year's biggest losers before having Friday off. This is a team to attack with opposing pitchers.

Cannon is a low-level streamer and another guy to skip at the beginning of the season if you have inning limits.

Bailey Falter, Pittsburgh Pirates @ Miami Marlins

There's a very clear theme to today's group, as Falter is another guy with a great matchup but an underwhelming outlook. Falter is good at limiting walks, but he's another below-average K guy who gets hit too hard.

Miami is the right team to target. They were in the bottom 10 in essentially every major box stat last season, and they didn't add anyone who is likely to help lead a major turnaround. The Marlins have scored eight runs over the first two games, but just three of those were off the starting pitchers; Pittsburgh's bullpen has been more vulnerable.

Falter is a low- to mid-level streamer without a lot of upside. He is in the same boat as the previous three players in that it's probably better to look for a more accomplished pitcher.

Zack Littell, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Colorado Rockies

You'll see me write a lot about the difference between the Rockies at home and on the road. It's no surprise that they hit better in the thin air of Coors Field, but it is a little shocking at just how different they are, going from a top-10 offense at home to a bottom-10 group on the road.

Littell has better rates than the guys listed above, with a sparkling walk rate and a strikeout rate just a hair below average. He isn't a star, but he's another capable pitcher on a Tampa Bay team that seems to manufacture those guys sometimes.

Littell is a mid-level streamer. He's a fine guy to pick up given the matchup, and his own performance is good enough to warrant a lineup spot.

Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels @ Chicago White Sox

Soriano made his debut as a reliever in 2023, and while he struck out a ton of guys, he was walking them at just as bad of a rate (about 50% higher than league average). Moving into the starting rotation last season, he lost some of those Ks (to a rate just below average) but also cut about three percentage points off his BB%, getting him halfway back to the average rate.

The White Sox were the worst team in baseball last year. They won the opener between these teams on Thursday 8-1 then had Friday off, so Chicago is holding on tight to a tie for first place in the division! Things are sure to come crashing back down to Earth, though, and this will likely be a group to target all season.

Soriano is a low- to mid-level starter. The control issues are real, but he also has a little strikeout magic and a great matchup. Soriano is an OK guy to look at putting into your lineup on Saturday.

Justin Verlander, San Francisco Giants @ Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are on the list of teams to target to start the season, but I'm watching them closely, as they have a higher ceiling than the other teams we're going after, like the Marlins and White Sox. Young players like Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and Spencer Steer are likely to improve as the season progresses.

After having a well above-average strikeout rate most of his career, Verlander fell to just an average rate in 2023 and was well below average in 2024 (90.1 innings). He's 42 years old and unlikely to find that old magic, but it's at least worth considering Verlander because of his previous upside.

Verlander is only a low-level streamer, though. I almost didn't include him, but he fits the criteria, so I'll just say that Verlander is a feasible streamer who I do not recommend.

Saturday's Streamer Rankings

1. Zack Littell, TB
2. Osvaldo Bido, OAK
3. Jose Soriano, LAA
4. Bailey Falter, PIT
5. Justin Verlander, SF
6. Valente Bellozo, MIA
7. Jonathan Cannon, CWS