You're here because you want to stream some pitchers. If you want some hitters to stream, we've got you covered, but this is all about the pitching side. Streaming in Week 1 would be a new level of desperation in Fantasy Baseball, but I get it. Strange times.
Here's my question: What do you mean by Week 1? You'd think it would be straightforward enough, right? But with the season beginning on a Thursday, do you section off the four-day weekend and start fresh on Monday, or do you fold it in for a massive, 11-day scoring period?
The default setting for CBS Sports leagues is the former, but the hallmark of CBS Sports leagues is customization. So if you like your scoring periods plus-sized, I have you covered there, too. We'll begin with the four-day variety, though.
Sleeper pitchers for short Week 1 (July 23-26)
He should be fully stretched out, and an increase in velocity this offseason has us hoping for big things.
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The swingman is entrusted with a full-time rotation spot this year and has a cush matchup right off the top.
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The talk of summer camp with his high-octane fastball and power slider, Burnes is worth putting to the test right away.
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Despite a high ERA, Keller showed good strikeout potential as a rookie and is a popular breakout pick this year.
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He's back from a multi-year bout with injuries and looking to re-establish himself as a must-start option after a strong camp.
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Not the most favorable matchup, but he works efficiently and should provide length, perhaps even dominating if his splitter is on.
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Some experimentation with breaking balls has generated preseason buzz for this perennial tease. Can't go wrong with the matchup.
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His new cutter showed real promise in camp, and the matchup should make for an easy landing if things don't go as planned.
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He's not someone you'll want to trust in long-term, but he'll keep the ball on the ground against a team with few sluggers.
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The matchup is good, right? It's a four-day scoring period, so we're running out of options.
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Sleeper pitchers for long Week 1 (July 23-Aug. 2)
The second matchup isn't as good as a first, but this could be the week Wood emerges as a must-start pitcher.
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It's just as true for Stripling as it is for Wood. Both have been must-start pitchers in the past and have a tremendous supporting cast.
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This list is looking familiar, right? The matchups are nothing special for Burnes, but the skills could be.
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The ground-ball specialist with some bat-missing ability excelled in a starting role down the stretch last year, delivering a 3.28 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 over his final 12 starts.
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The second matchup doesn't look any better for Shoemaker, but I just trust him so much more than most of the other available pitchers. Get used to seeing him in this space.
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If you're fully buying into the new curveball, you're putting Eovaldi even higher on this list with those matchups.
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Two strong matchups (with the Blue Jays now playing in a pitcher's park) makes him awfully hard to pass up after the camp he just had.
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The matchups are nothing special, but I think he's just undervalued coming off a down season. His supporting cast has a chance to bail him out even if I'm wrong.
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Though it defies reason, Sanchez has been a steady rotation presence for a contender in back-to-back years, and he at least has one terrific matchup this week.
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He kept his ERA under 4.00 last year with more than a strikeout per inning, so you'll take a two-start week with a matchup against the Tigers.
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