Early Week Streamers for September 22 – September 25

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on September 22, 2025 12:19 am by Anthony Kates | Published: September 22, 2025

    It’s the final week of the 2025 regular season, so this is the final “Early Week Streamers” guide of the season. I think we’ve done fairly well overall and hopefully you’ve benefitted from reading this weekly and putting my research and suggestions into action. I’ll be back next year with more streaming recommendations and Nathan will have one final “Weekend Streamers” guide on Thursday. I hope you won your leagues and had a great fantasy season, see you guys in 2026!

    Monday – September 22 – Probable Starters

    Justin Verlander – SFG – vs STL – 44%

    At one point in the season, it looked like Verlander’s goose was cooked. Over the first three months, he allowed three or more runs in eight of his first thirteen starts, had an ERA of 4.26 and failed to earn a single win (and had just four quality starts). Since July 1, though, he has as many games allowing no runs as he had allowing two earned or less in that first half. He has an ERA a full run less than his first half ERA, his home run rate has been more than halved and he has allowed more than two earned runs in a game only four times out of his fourteen starts. His three September starts have been particularly great, as he has allowed just one earned run over 20 innings, with 13 strikeouts, one home run and six walks, earning a quality start in all three. It has been a fly ball heavy approach, but with a 5.4% barrel rate and just a 33.9% hard hit rate, he has not been punished for his lack of ground balls.

    The Cardinals have not been great in September when facing right-handed pitching on the road. They have an 86 wRC+, tied with the Marlins for the sixth lowest in the league, to go along with a .292 wOBA, also sixth, and a .653 OPS, fifth lowest. Their ISO, .125, is sixth lowest, they have the fourth worst strikeout rate, 26.3%, and the fifth lowest walk rate, 6.1%. They had slightly more ground balls than fly balls, a below average line drive rate, the 11th lowest hard hit rate and the 11th lowest soft hit rate. The Cardinals had the sixth fewest plate appearances versus right-handed pitching over the first three weeks of September, and hit four home runs, tied for the fourth fewest with the Rangers. The scored just 14 runs, fourth fewest, they had 11 extra base hits, third fewest and tied with the Rays, and ground into four double plays, 13th most and tied with five other teams.

    Facing a poorly performing Cardinals lineup, Verlander should have a productive day. He’s said he’d like to pitch again in 2025, so ending this season on a nice little will go a long way to convincing someone that he will still have it at the age of 43.

    High-risk: Michael  McGreevy @ Giants

    Tuesday – September 23 – Probable Starters

    Ian Seymour – TBR – @ BAL – 22%

    Seymour has made five appearances over the last month – four starts and one follow relief appearance. There were rumors the Rays were going to limit his innings or pitches when they had him in a follower position, then they threw him back out there as a starter twice in a row and he tossed 12.1 innings combined, so it sounds like the limits are off. He has pitched pretty well as a starter, though his 13 runs allowed will probably scare a few people off. Until they realize only four of the 13 are earned and that he allowed the other nine because of poor defense behind him. Over his five appearances, all of which were four innings or longer, he threw 26.1 innings, struck out 29, walked seven, allowed ZERO home runs and just the aforementioned four earned runs. He’s allowed zero home runs despite the fact he has a 45% fly ball rate, a 10% barrel rate and a 40% hard hit rate. He has an 11.4% swinging strike rate and a 29.6% chase rate, while allowing a slightly elevated 78.6% contact rate.

    The Orioles have had a bottom 10 offense in the league over the month of September when facing a left-hander pitcher. They have an 87 wRC+, one of 11 teams under 90, a .293 OPS, ninth worst and tied with the Mets, a .666 OPS, 10th lowest, and a 29% strikeout rate, third worst. Their ISO, .153, is 14th in the league, and their 8.7% walk rate is the 12th highest. On the batted ball side, they have the 11th highest ground ball rate, 44.2%, tied with the Padres, the fifth highest fly ball rate, 40.3%, but the third lowest line-drive rate, 15.5%. They had the third lowest hard hit rate, 27.9%, and the 10th highest soft hit rate, 17.1%, tied with the Nationals. The Orioles had the 10th most plate appearances against left-handed pitchers through the first three weeks of September and hit eight home runs, tied with the Cubs for 10th most. They scored just 20 runs, 19th most and tied with the Rockies, they had 13 extra base hits, 16th most and tied with the Padres and Rangers, and ground into zero double plays.

    Seymour has had a great run as a starter so far, another discovery for the Rays magic arm factory, and gets to face a struggling Orioles team in what might be his final outing of the season. I think he will have another solid outing, limiting runs and base runners, striking out a batter per inning and grabbing a win in the process.

    Hurston Waldrep – ATL – vs WAS – 47%

    Waldrep has had a heck of second opportunity in the big leagues this year, making eight starts and allowing more than three earned runs in just one of them. In fact, he’s allowed more then two earned runs in just two starts, albeit they were his most recent starts. But after allowing eight earned runs against the Astros in less than five innings, he bounced back against the Nationals, allowing just three earned runs, with no home runs and no walks, while striking out eight, over five innings. That’s what you like to see from big leaguers – bouncing back from a bad outing with a great outing. On the season, Waldrep has struck out 50 batters over 50.1 innings, allowed 18 walks, three home runs and 17 earned runs, while inducing ground balls 46.2% of the time. His statcast numbers are solid, with a 4.5% barrel rate, 36.8% hard hit rate and an 88.8 MPH average exit velocity. He has a league average contact rate, with an 11% swinging strike rate and a 26% chase rate.

    Though the Nationals do seem to have an above average offense over the month of September, it has been more of a “Tale of Two Halves” type of story. From September 1 through September 9, when they won seven games and lost just one, they had a wRC+ of  .145 and a team OPS of .916, scoring more than three runs six separate times. From September 10 through September 20, they scored more than three runs in just three of their nine games, generating a wRC+ of 64 and an OPS of .599. That’s why their 107 wRC+ for the first three weeks of the month is so deceiving, it’s largely carried by the first eight games of the month, even though they have been significantly worse the last two weeks. Their strikeout rate jumped from 18.4% to 30.5%, their wOBA dropped from .377 to .260, and their ISO dropped from .280 to .124.

    I’d be more hesitant of this stream if the Nationals were performing like the first half of the month Nationals than if they were performing like the second half, but they’ve been so poor lately, I’d be dumb to skip this start. They are striking out more and getting on base less, a ripe environment for Waldrep to find success in. He should have a great day in his second start against the Nationals in less than a week.

    High-risk: Andre Pallante @ Giants, Randy Vasquez vs Brewers, Braxton Ashcraft @ Reds, Zebby Mathews @ Rangers, Ryan Weathers @ Phillies, Cristian Javier @ Athletics, McCade Brown @ Mariners, Shane Smith @ Yankees, Dean Kremer vs Rays, Mason Barnett vs Astros 

    Wednesday – September 24 – Probable Starters

    Tyler Wells – BAL – vs TBR – 27%

    Wells has made three very good starts since making his 2025 debut, after his recovery from Tommy John surgery. He’s thrown 17.2 innings, striking out 14, allowing just one walk, four earned runs and three home runs, earning two wins and two quality starts in the process. It’s all small sample sizes, but he has the lowest walk rate of his career, the highest fly ball rate since 2021 (56.3%) and an insanely low line drive rate (4.2%). He still has a home run problem, allowing one in each start, but his current home run rate (1.53 HR/9) would be the third lowest of his five seasons. His statcast numbers have been off the charts obscene, with a 14.6% barrel rate, 50% hard hit rate and a 91.8 MPH average exit velocity, but he has been able to limit damage anyways. He has generated an 11% swinging strike rate and an elite 35.7% chase rate, while allowing an 80.4% overall contact rate.

    Throughout the month of September, the Rays have produced essentially an average offense when facing right-handed pitching on the road. They produced a 101 wRC+, 16th highest, a .314 wOBA and a .725 OPS, both also 16th. They had an ISO of .197, sixth highest, with the fifth worst strikeout rate, 25.2%, and the 13th highest walk rate, 8.9%. They had the same amount of ground balls as they did fly balls, but had the third worst line drive rate, 14.9%, tied with the Mariners. They had the seventh lowest hard hit rate and the eighth lowest soft hit rate, generating six home runs, tied for 19th most with the Orioles, Royals and Diamondbacks, even though the Rays had the fewest plate appearances against right handed pitching on the road in September. They scored 11 runs, second fewest and tied with the Pirates, had 11 extra base hits, tied with the Cardinals for third fewest, and ground into four double plays, 13th most and tied with five other teams.

    Facing a Rays team that has been neither good nor bad in September, Wells should continue to find success. He might generate a strikeout per inning against a Rays team that strikes out a quarter of the time, but he will also likely allow a home run, while limiting the Rays in both baserunners and runs.

    High-risk: JT Ginn vs Astros, Bryce Elder vs Nationals, Martin Perez @ Yankees, Tanner Gordon @ Mariners, Charlie Morton @ Guardians, Jayden Murray @ Athletics, Stephen Kolek @ Angels, Max Scherzer vs Red Sox, Brad Lord @ Braves, Jonah Tong @ Cubs

    Thursday – September 25 – Probable Starters

    No streams for Thursday. Only one arm I truly considered, Parker Messick, but he is facing a Tigers team that has hit very well against lefties in September and that series might determine who the American League Central Division champs will be, so even though Messick has pitched particularly well, I think I want to stay away from it, especially if I am in the finals in any league or running close on ratios in my roto leagues.

    High-risk: Johan Oviedo @ Reds, Brandon Sproat @ Cubs, Janson Junk @ Phillies, Mitch Farris vs Royals, Michael Lorenzen @ Angels, Bradley Blalock @ Mariners, Davis Martin @ Yankees, Colin Rea vs Mets, Cade Povich vs Rays, Nabil Crismatt vs Dodgers, Luis Severino vs Astros, Taijuan Walker vs Marlins, Parker Messick vs Tigers

    Check back on Thursday for Nathan’s streams for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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    September 22, 2025, 12:19 am