Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 10/1 & 10/2

Every day of the 2022 baseball season, I’ll be looking at today and tomorrow’s slate of scheduled starting pitchers and ranking their matchups for your fantasy baseball streams.

There’s a lot that goes into this and you can hang out with me on Twitch.tv/pitcherlist to talk about the specific ranks as I make them every weekday morning from 10am – 12pm ET. If you have questions about these ranks, please ask during the morning Twitch AMA. Those are my office hours as I generally don’t answer comments on the site.

There are four tiers to these rankings with 12-teamers in mind (Updated 9/10):

Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man. This includes “if I have them rostered, I’m starting them” pitchers.

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-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view.

Questionable Start – Think of this tier as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I’m targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.

Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.

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 throughout 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, there are my streaming picks of the day, and please keep in mind that I am forced to pick a streamer every day. Those highlighted in Green are in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow in the third tier and should be okay if you’re searching for something on a given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you’re in need. Finally, those are Red are those I really don’t want to start (they are labeled as “Do Not Start”, after all) but have no other choice. Don’t stream these guys until you are truly desperate. A streaming pick is 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.

(Opener) – Outlines that a pitcher is being opened for that day & the pitcher listed will follow the opener.

As I do my rankings, I thought it would be helpful to showcase a table of how we’re ranking offenses:

I’m sure it’ll change through the year + there are differences to be made about teams vs. LHP or RHP, but it’s a great general table that y’all should keep in mind.

Alright, let’s get to it.

 

2022 Streamer Record: 98-71

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• More standard names in the top tier for Saturday. Make sure you have Cristian Javier in your lineup as he’s been pushed up a day early.
• You’re starting Nick Lodolo and Jordan Montgomery, but how about Kyle Wright? It’s a huge series against the Mets and I’m relying on the adrenaline carrying him through six frames.

 

• In the second tier, Drey Jameson has been pushed up a day and becomes our streaming pick of the day on a Saturday filled with great options. Also consider Michael Grove and Luis Ortiz if they are sitting on your waiver wire.
• I’ve moved Shane McClanahan to the bottom of the tier as we just don’t know what we’ll get against a strong lineup.

 

• Speaking of the unknown, is Edward Cabrera actually starting? He hurt his ankle last time out and it seemed as if the Marlins would end his season short…but he’s still listed as the starter. We’ll see.

 

• At the top of the third tier we have Zach Plesac returning from the IL in what is mostly a Still ILL, though he appears to be stretched out and now faces the pedestrian Royals offense. Consider him if you’re searching for innings.
• And who the h*ck is starting for the Cubs?? It still lists Wade Miley, but the only report I see is him “having a catch” on Tuesday after an apparent oblique injury removed him from his previous start. I think it’s probably best just to avoid this.

 

• It’s a rare time for me to pull Dylan Bundy out of the bottom tier, but he gets the Tigers. Of course it’s the Tigers.
• I wish Freddy Peralta was slated for more innings on Saturday, but he’s likely out before the fifth arrives, which does make Aaron Ashby a sneaky pick-up as he could follow and be in line for a potential Win.

 

• In the bottom tier, I really can’t trust Mike Clevinger these days, even if he does get an easier start this time around against the White Sox. This is not the old Clevinger.
• I know Austin Voth just came through, but the Yankees are heating up and this is sure to be a challenging start. I don’t think it’s in your best interest here as I imagine Voth doesn’t have the longest of leashes.

 

• It’s unclear who will start for the Nationals on Monday, but we may get a first look at MacKenzie Gore in a Washington uniform. He hasn’t been elite in his Triple-A outings in September and we may see a limited start (if he starts at all!) but there’s an outside shot he produces for your fantasy squads like he did in the spring.

 

• Updates: The Nationals are starting Tommy Romero instead of MacKenzie Gore and I have no interest in that. It’s also a doubleheader with last night’s rainout, pushing Aníbal Sánchez to today’s game – I’d still keep him out of your lineup.
• It also means Noah Syndergaard starts today – he’s still likely limited and not something I’d chase.

 

• The mystery Cubs pitcher ended up as Drew Smyly, and I suggest avoiding it. We don’t know how long he’ll go, nor how rusty he is after sitting out for two weeks. That said, it’s the Reds and if he has the BSB working, it could be profitable.
• We saw the Brewers use Freddy Peralta in relief, which means Aaron Ashby gets the pearl today. He’s still limited and likely not worth your time here.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• This may be your final day of the fantasy season and you’ll have plenty of aces helping you reach the finish line. The final four of this tier may give you pause, though. Chris Bassitt and Charlie Morton square off and I had a difficult time deciding between the two of them. Meanwhile, Adam Wainwright has looked fatigued down the stretch (but it’s the Pirates), and Pablo López has been dancing between effective and harmful over the last month and change.

 

• The second tier is small and carries both Marcus Stroman and Luis Garcia. Stroman took care of business in his last start and should be good to go against a poor Reds offense, while Garcia found his cutter and axed the curve last time to plenty of success.
• We also have our streaming pick of the day here with Roansy Contreras facing the Cardinals. Even against a tougher offense, I’m trusting Contreras’ strikeout potential and don’t anticipate another ridiculous day of luck like his 6 ER clunker (that came with 10 Ks!).

 

• The third tier gets a bit dicey quickly. Michael Wacha had his changeup but not his fastball & cutter command in his previous outing and will get punished by the Jays if he’s questionable again.
• Adrian Houser and Zach Davies are interesting 5+ inning options as they face poor lineups. Houser can use his sinker to generate outs, while Davies’ changeup has shown life in the second half.

 

• The Twins look to be pushing Bailey Ober to Monday (nooooo!) in order to let Simeon Woods Richardson make his MLB debut (yay!) against the Tigers. If you’re looking for something exciting to push you over the edge, consider this one as Richardson has dominated the minors and what’s the real difference between that and the Detroit lineup? I’m so sorry.

 

• The rest of the Questionable Start is awfully…questionable. Kyle Bradish’s fastball usage went back up last time as the secondaries faltered and disaster struck. Corey Kluber gets the Astros and I wouldn’t trust him to be at the top of his game.
• And James Kaprielian was able to go seven strong against the Mariners last time he faced them, but that was a clear peak and not something expected to be repeated.

 

• If you’re in dire need in the final tier, consider Chase Anderson against the Cubs. He looked solid through four in his last start before rain got in the way and the Cubs can make rare events happen.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)