SP Matchups & Streamer Rankings – 6/4 & 6/5

With the 2021 season, I’m changing how I’m doing my starting pitcher streamers and daily matchup rankings

Instead of being featured in the SP Roundup, I’ll be highlighting my SP streamer picks for today and tomorrow inside this article, while also introducing four tiers and adding notes to each table.

The four tiers are as follows:

 

Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man.

Probably Start – I’m likely starting these arms, though I recognize there is more risk than we’d like there to be. Either it’s a tough matchup for a good pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm.

Questionable Start – There are situations where I’d take the chance, either with strong enough upside on the ability side, or a poor offense that a pitcher could take advantage of.

Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it.

 

Obviously, there will be circumstances where pitchers should move between teams for your situation specifically and these new tiers should act as a little more help than the straight table from last year.

Please keep in mind that streaming is far from a perfect play. In fact, if they work out over half the time, I’d consider it a success. These matchup rankings & streamer picks are going to be wildly different than the actual results through the year, so please, have sympathy before the scathing comments and tweets. I’m only trying to help!

Make sure to read the notes if you’re wondering why I’m favoring certain pitchers over others – I won’t get to everyone and hopefully I answer what questions you will have.

There is a second table for tomorrow’s starting pitcher matchups as well, helping everyone get a jump on their nightly pickups. Please note that these matchups are subject to change, though, and there will be times when I have the incorrect pitcher going. I thank you for your future understanding.

Finally, I have highlighted in Green my streaming pick of the day – Yellow if I wouldn’t actually want to stream them (I have to pick one every day!). These are defined as “rostered in 20% or fewer leagues,” which really emphasizes the point that I’d be happy if over 50% of these worked. I could do the whole sub 30/40% rostered, but there’s no fun in that. You can use the rankings to realize who would be those picks, instead.

 

2021 Streamer Record: 39-23

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Despite getting Atlanta + Houston, I’m still auto-starting Julio Urías and Hyun Jin Ryu as they are capable of performing well against strong offenses. They deserve your confidence.
• Freddy Peralta is on such a groove right now, I don’t see a scenario where you don’t start him against Arizona.

 

• In the second tier, Shohei Ohtani has a lovely date with the Mariners and leans on the side of favorable outcomes instead of disastrous. His fastball velocity wasn’t quite back up to its elite levels last time out, but it was a significant improvement on its previous low 90s affair.
• I know the struggles of Blake Snell have been tough to endure, but he gets a Mets lineup that is still dealing with significant injuries. Play it safe if you like, I’m siding with a bounceback game.

 

• Dallas Keuchel hasn’t been at his best as of late, though his vacation begins Friday as he gets the Tigers in Chicago. I’d be starting him everywhere I could.
• Kicking off the third tier is the return of Kyle Gibson, who was on a roll before an IL stint cut it short. He gets a solid matchup against the Rays that would warrant a Tier 2 rank, but this may be a Still ILL scenario given we don’t know if he’s still in a rhythm.

 

• Ian Anderson was pushed back from a start against the Mets (sweet!) to a start against the Dodgers (ugggh). He certainly has the ability to overcome it, but it makes for a difficult choice.
• Joining Anderson as a big name with a tough matchup are Zack Greinke and Frankie Montas. The Jays feel like a team to avoid and may warrant a sit for Greinke, while Montas is dealing with Coors. Tough break as he’s looked as good as ever lately.

 

• I want to like Josh Fleming against the Rangers more, however there’s a lot of haze as to how Fleming will be used by the Rays. It could be sub five frames, as a starter or a reliever, and it’s not a lock he performs in the frames he gets. Still, it’s the best streaming option we have and he’s the pick of the day.
• Cody Poteet rounds out the tier as he has a solid matchup against the Pirates. He’s been a popular stream in May, though his skills don’t guarantee success here.

 

• Jon Gray falls from the third to the fourth tier after getting pushed from a date with the Rangers to the Athletics. He has a better ceiling than all of the other options, but the floor is incredibly low.
• Mitch Keller gets the Marlins and I still wouldn’t trust it, even if he’s had a touch of success lately. Just too much volatility.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• It’s ace day on Saturday as Jacob deGrom matches up against Joe Musgrove in San Diego. Do yourself a favor and watch this game.
• Rich Hill slides into the bottom of the tier as he gets a date with the Rangers. With the way he’s pitching, I don’t see a scenario where he isn’t an auto-start.

 

• In the second tier, it’s a short stack with just Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Urquidy. Kikuchi is the safer player with a comfortable date against the Angels, while Urquidy had no trouble against the Red Sox last time out, giving us confidence he’ll survive Buffalo.
• I was tempted to place Alex Cobb in the second tier as well and even though he is the streaming pick of the day as he faces the Mariners, we still don’t know if his splitter will be good enough to warrant a must-add.

 

• Deeper in the third tier are your standard tough matchups and borderline abilities. Tarik Skubal is feeling his slider as of late and could carry it against a solid ChiSox squad, while Charlie Morton has a difficult evening scheduled against the Dodgers and Jameson Taillon’s struggles could continue as he endures the Sawx.
• Merrill Kelly is a sneaky stream against the Brewers. While he wasn’t in top form against the Mets last week, he’s flashed upside that could come out against a mediocre Milwaukee crew.

 

• I’m not going to rule out Joe Ross succeeding against the Phillies as he earned himself a Golden Goal over the weekend. There’s apparent risk, but keep him in mind for a desperate stream.
• Mike Minor has been performing questionably well, where the strikeouts have been there but his repertoire doesn’t speak to prolonged success. I can see some chasing it against a volatile Twins offense.

 

• In the final tier, I hope we get to see Spencer Howard stretched out and performing well with his secondaries. However, we haven’t quite seen him lock in yet, and this could fall as flat as a pancake.
• I’m curious to see if Ross Stripling can pull it out against a talented Houston lineup. He slightly tweaked his arm circle recently and could be trending in the right direction.

 

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