Thursday’s fantasy baseball slate begins with an early matchup between the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, and overall, there will be 10 games to choose from. If you need help in the pitching department in this reduced slate, here are three pitchers you should consider streaming, regardless of whether you’re playing in season-long formats or DFS contests.
Why Zac Gallen Is an Excellent Fantasy Baseball Streamer on Thursday
Gallen is in dire need of a bounce-back performance after he was obliterated by the Chicago Cubs the last time out, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks over 3.2 innings. That subpar performance ended a stretch of five straight starts in which Gallen had given up three runs or fewer, but he could be in line for a bounce-back performance against the Pirates on Thursday.
While the Pirates have had a strong season, as they’ve scored the seventh-most runs in the majors (181) and post the ninth-best OPS (.720), Gallen should be able to slow them down. The Pirates have been trending in the wrong direction of late, as their OPS is down to .708 over the last 15 days, ranking 17th in the majors, and let’s not forget they were also among the worst offenses in the majors in 2025, so there’s going to be some regression at some point.
Gallen’s numbers are far from eye-popping, as he owns a 4.45 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 32.1 innings while sporting a 20:10 K:BB. However, if excluding the start against the Cubs, Gallen had posted a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings through five starts in April. Gallen might not pitch deep into the game, but he’d be a serviceable streaming option if he can deliver five strong innings, something he’s proven capable of doing before this season.
Why Seth Lugo Is a Strong Streaming Option Against the Guardians
Lugo is a veteran pitcher who continues to enjoy a strong start to the 2026 season, and we’ll continue to back him up as a streaming candidate until the results indicate otherwise. Lugo’s most recent start came this past weekend against the Mariners, and he posted a solid outing, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings.
It was Lugo’s fifth quality start across seven outings in 2026, and with the Guardians ranking as a below-average offense, Lugo could continue his success story this Thursday. Cleveland enters Thursday’s slate 20th in runs scored (154, 4.05 per game) and 24th in OPS (.690), numbers that would be even worse if Jose Ramirez wasn’t in the lineup.
Trust in Lugo to deliver another strong showing. He sports a 2.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 37:13 K:BB across 43.2 innings in 2026.
Why You Should Trust Cade Povich to Bounce Back Against the Marlins
Povich stumbled in a tough matchup with the Yankees on the road, striking out four batters over four innings but yielding five earned runs on seven hits and two walks en route to taking a loss. However, the southpaw should benefit from a more favorable matchup this Thursday against a Marlins offense that ranks 15th in the majors in collective OPS (.706).
Povich is strictly a last-resort streaming option in a pitching slate that doesn’t have a ton of quality streaming arms available on Thursday, but at the very least, he could deliver five or six frames of decent output considering the strong matchup, even if it’s on the road. That would certainly get the job done.
If you want the full analysis on the pitching matchups for Thursday, don’t forget to check our Fantasy Pitcher Projections!
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