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 9am – 12am ET. If you have questions to 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:
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 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. The most common are those in Yellow in the third tier and should be decent if you’re searching for something on a given day. 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.
As I do my rankings, I thought it would be helpful to showcase a table of how we’re ranking offenses. Dave Swan does an incredible job of showcasing future SP matchups every 2-3 weeks in this article, and I’ve elected to use his offense ranks to share with all of you here:
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: 14-7
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- There’s no defacto #1 play for Thursday with Justin Verlander and Alek Manoah each getting tougher matchups than we’d like to see. You’re still starting them because duh, but it’s not as clear-cut as we normally see.
- I know some are not feeling great about Trevor Rogers and Zack Wheeler, though they get weak lineups and are trending in the right direction. Small steps toward trust.
- The second tier contains an easy play with Jameson Taillon as I don’t expect the greatest outing, yet the Orioles shouldn’t make for a poor day at the park.
- I know, I know. Tyler Mahle has not looked great this year and he’s starting in Cincinnati. I believe in the skills and he should be a strong arm for your team across the season. Power through this.
- The questionable start tier is where things get a bit muddy. I could have gone with four different pitchers as the streaming pick of the day and I’m electing to choose Dakota Hudson as he faces the poor Arizona bats. Hudson has the best defense behind him and has already gone six frames this season. He seems the safest of the lot.
- There are other options if you’re still searching for an arm. Nick Martinez heads to Great American Ballpark and could enjoy some respite after dealing with Atlanta and the Dodgers.
- You could also go with Reid Detmers as he faces the Guardians. I haven’t seen peak Detmers quite yet as he’s failed to induce swings out of the swing (especially with his slider) and I’d like to be a little patient at the moment with Cleveland’s bats coming through lately.
- And finally there’s Bruce Zimmermann, who holds the #2 CSW changeup in the majors at the moment. He was able to survive against the Yankees previously in Baltimore and may do so again.
- I wouldn’t call myself a fan of chasing Garrett Whitlock against the Jays. He only tossed 48 pitches in his last game and the Jays are a dangerous crew to challenge. I dig the ceiling if Whitlock lands himself inside the rotation indefinitely (not sure if that will happen, he gets the start only because Tanner Houck can’t pitch in Toronto due to his unvaccinated status), but for now, I’d hold off.
- Both Brad Keller and Corey Kluber possess the ability to go six frames on Thursday if you’re in dire need of a Quality Start, though it may not be pretty if they do get there as they each face solid opponents.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It looks like the Athletics are going to skip Adam Oller to let Frankie Montas pitch a day earlier in the rotation after Thursday’s off-day. Make sure he’s in your lineup as he’s cruised to kick off the season.
- After returning from the IL and tossing nearly 80 pitches, you should feel very comfortable starting Lucas Giolito, even if he squares off against the Angels.
- Despite a few ups and downs thus far, I’m rolling out Adam Wainwright with confidence on Friday. It’s the Diamondbacks, y’all.
- Lastly, his name is TYLORD MEGILL. The Phillies are a strong crew and it doesn’t matter to me as he’s sitting 96 mph. Let him do his thing.
- The second tier could be rearranged to your liking, and I elected to lead with Tanner Houck. We have yet to see his slider do the wonderful things we know it’s capable of, but the Orioles could pave the streets for its arrival.
- It’s not the best matchup for Noah Syndergaard against the White Sox, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a manager not starting him given his excellent start to 2022.
- The last two starts have displayed the volatility of Matt Brash, but I wouldn’t get too discouraged. We’ll see the undulation a bit this year and need to stay disciplined that the highs will outweigh the lows – especially against the Marlins (even if they’ve started hot!).
- Normally a start for Kyle Hendricks against the Brewers would elevate him further up the ranks, but Hendricks has already showcased his low floor this year, adding a sprinkle of concern we wish wasn’t there.
- As for our questionable starters, it’s a whole lot of uneasiness. Aaron Civale hasn’t been sharp and carried diminished velocity…but it’s the Athletics. It’s your call there.
- The same goes for Ian Anderson who has struggled terribly with his command. The ceiling is great, while the Rangers could make it difficult to reach it.
- We’ve all been surprised to see Dylan Bundy suppress home runs thus far this season, though that could change quickly against the Rays. It’s a Vargas Rule at best and your choice if you want to follow it.
- With Tyler Anderson getting a shot for the Dodgers in the rotation, he could provide value against the Tigers over the weekend. Keep in mind, Anderson is a Toby at best – the reward may not be worth the risk.
- The final tier comes with a few names who could achieve far more than the ranking would suggest. Hunter Greene heads to Coors after his questionable 96 mph outing, but if he performs at his peak, he could still thrive in the mile high city.
- If you’re looking for a Quality Start, Adrian Houser has a chance to pull it off against the Cubs. It’s all about his sinker coming through and if you want to bank on the Chicago offense slowing down, be my guest.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)