Last Updated on July 3, 2025 12:25 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: July 3, 2025

Happy Independence Day weekend! To celebrate the fourth, we’ve got four quality pitchers in this weekend’s streamers, combining a pair of veterans against poor offenses with a couple of young pitchers with the potential to complete the American dream.

Friday

Kumar Rocker – SP – TEX @ SDP – 16% rostered (Yahoo)

Rocker is yet to escape the injury bug for long enough to establish himself as a professional, but he’s shown flashes of brilliance amidst health related difficulties over the past two seasons. After three MLB starts in 2024 where he missed some bats, he’s found the strike zone a lot more through nine starts this season, but he’s been hit very hard. The strikeout rate is still about league average, and the walk rate is well above it, both positive signs given his improved look since his most recent return from injury. The Padres have some real offensive firepower, but their lineup is also filled with right handed hitters who don’t profile well against Rocker’s elite slider, so if he’s able to get ahead enough to get to that pitch, he could rack up some serious strikeout totals. This is a high risk play for 12 team leagues, , but there’s a lot of upside here, in a start that can be used as a litmus test of sorts for the rookie.

Adrian Houser – SP – CHW @ COL – 15% rostered (Yahoo)

For those not looking for a high risk, high reward play, Hauser presents a safer option, going into Coors Field to pitch against the Rockies with his 1.90 ERA. The peripherals aren’t great, but he’s kept the ball on the ground as he usually does, and he’ll be facing an offense that doesn’t make a ton of hard contact. The only worry with the damage limitation side of things is the venue, but he’s actually got a solid shot at a win despite pitching for the White Sox, and could get a quality start bonus too. If you care more about run prevention than strikeout totals, this is a better move than Rocker, otherwise, I like the short and long-term potential of Rocker slightly more.

Want to get access to the rest of Nathan’s article? You’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required

Click here to join us on Discord!
And Follow us on Twitter by clicking here
Join the SportsEthos team by filling out an application by clicking here
Follow Nathan at @nbakerngb

 

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

Nathan Baker

• Fantasy MLB Today: Munetaka Murakami, Brandon Lowe, Willson Contreras and the Changing of the Guard in the East and Central Divisions
• How to Exploit Loopholes in Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Rules
• Fantasy MLB Today: Jorge Polanco, Merrill Kelly and Outlier Hitters - Lucky, or Just Good?