March 31 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Streamers: Jackson Jobe, Drew Rasmussen, Ben Brown, Chris Paddack and More

With the first weekend of games in the book, we know…nothing. It's easy to overreact early, especially if your team starts 0-3 or their best player begins the season in a major slump. There are 162 of these things, though, and a small sample of just a few games never really tells us anything.

With that in mind, I'm going off last season's results more than the performance of each team over the initial games; we know a lot more than just what three or four games have to tell us.

Let's look at six starting pitchers taking the mound on Monday who have good matchups and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats below are from MLB.com, as are the probable starters.

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs @ Athletics

Brown won the fifth starter job in Chicago over veteran Colin Rea. Brown has more upside: he's nine years younger and has a phenomenal strikeout rate in his 58 career innings (while Rea is below average in that metric). Brown walks too many guys, but the strikeouts are real, and Brown is an intriguing fantasy player.

The A's hit for big power last season but didn't really do anything else well on offense. It's been more of the same to start 2025, as only three teams have hit more than their seven home runs, but the Athletics are in the bottom 11 in batting average and on-base percentage. They are also in the top half of the league in batter strikeouts, something that might mix well with Brown's strengths.

Brown is a mid-level streamer with a high ceiling and low floor. I like the idea of testing him out, but I can understand any owner who wants to wait for more of a sure thing this early in the year.

Jackson Jobe, Detroit Tigers @ Seattle Mariners

Jobe is a top prospect who was the third overall pick in 2021 and got his first four innings last season in relief (two baserunners, two strikeouts). This is an upside play; it wouldn't be a surprise to see Jobe succeed right away. He struck out more than a batter per inning in the minor leagues.

Seattle's best asset to opposing fantasy pitchers is the fact that they strike out a lot. Mariner hitters struck out the most of any team last season and had the second most in 2023. Only the Red Sox have struck out more in 2025 (not counting the Dodgers and Cubs, who played two games in Japan before everyone else started). Seattle is a prime target for any pitcher.

Jobe is a mid- to high-level streamer. I'm trying to temper my expectations a little, but my honest opinion is that Jobe is a must-start player in fantasy today. He's available in about half of leagues depending on which platform you use.

Miles Mikolas, St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Angels

Mikolas has been a little inconsistent with his results in his career, but he has held steady in that he does a good job limiting walks but is also well below average at striking batters out. While it helps to not put guys on base, Mikolas also has a cap on his fantasy value because of the lack of Ks.

The Angels started the season against the worst team from 2024, the Chicago White Sox, and scored just five total runs in three games (they did win two of those games). This was a poor offense in 2024 that's showing much of the same futility early this season. LA is a team to target every day.

Mikolas is a low- to mid-level streamer. His low strikeout rates give him a lower floor and ceiling than someone like Jobe. I'm skipping Mikolas at this point in the season, though there are worse plays.

Chris Paddack, Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox

Speaking of those White Sox, after winning 8-1 on Opening Day, they lost 1-0 Saturday then 3-2 Sunday. Chicago has some interesting pitchers; they always do. The offense is inept, though, and worth targeting often.

Paddack has a better-than-average strikeout rate in his career and is good limiting walks, a nice profile. The results aren't as great, as Paddack has been very hittable, but at least he doesn't hurt himself.

Paddack is a mid-level streamer. The matchup is right to get him into your lineup, and Paddack is good enough to deserve his streaming spots, though he shouldn't be trusted against potent offenses.

David Peterson, New York Mets @ Miami Marlins

Miami leads their division with a 3-1 record! That's likely to change now that they are playing someone other than the Pirates. The Marlins don't have much for offensive prowess, notably being short on power. They hit the fourth-least home runs last season and have just two in four games in 2025.

Peterson has had an above-average strikeout rate in his career but also walks way too many guys. That K rate fell several percentage points lower than average in 2024, something that overshadowed his modest improvement in walk rate. The results were great for Peterson last year (2.90 ERA in 121 innings), but the underlying numbers say that's going to turn.

Peterson is a low- to mid-level streamer. The matchup makes him a realistic fantasy option, but I'm skeptical of Peterson continuing his great results. That would change if he found his strikeout magic again and cut the walks even more.

Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

I talked about the Pirates above, and maybe the thing that stands out most is losing three of four against Miami to open the season. A team with a lack of offensive talent can't be losing a series to the worst teams in baseball if they want to compete in a weak NL Central. Their bats will be the biggest downfall, as the pitching staff has high-level talent and upside (the lineup lacks both).

Rasmussen has been great when on the mound but has dealt with injuries that have held him back from sniffing a possible ace level. He's better than average at both striking batters out and limiting walks, and he has a career ERA of just 2.95 in 310.2 innings. It's tough to trust him to go out every five days and rack up innings, but Rasmussen should be effective when on the field.

Rasmussen is a mid- to high-level streamer in this one. His own work makes him worth a fantasy spot in deeper leagues, and the matchup puts him on the radar for a big-time performance. Like with Jobe, I'm trying to temper expectations but also see a ton of upside on Monday.

Monday's Streamer Rankings

1. Jackson Jobe, DET
2. Drew Rasmussen, TB
3. Ben Brown, CHC
4. Chris Paddack, MIN
5. David Peterson, NYM
6. Miles Mikolas, STL

(Kumar Rocker of Texas and Carmen Mlodzinski of Pittsburgh are two other guys who either meet or are close to meeting the criteria today and would make the list if we didn't have so many options; they are reasonable players to consider, especially Rocker.)