Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 6/30 & 7/1

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 – 11am 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:

 

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.

(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. 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: 45-36

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• I can see Aaron Nola now, looking at his fellow aces in Tier 2 and asking how the weather is down there. Let’s all be thankful one of them doesn’t get a horrendous matchup on Thursday.
• It means Logan Gilbert slides into the #2 spot as he’s been given the gift of the Athletics offense. Here’s to 6+ innings of bliss.

 

• The second tier contains all the guys you’d normally throw out there without fear, but boy do their matchups intimidate. I’m digging Luis Severino and Shane Bieber plenty these days, but the Astros and Twins? That creates a lot more stress than I’d like.
• I’d normally still put Joe Musgrove into the top tier, but you may want to be conservative after his first start back from the COVID-IL was a bit underwhelming & now he’s tasked with taking down the Dodgers. Caution is acceptable, y’all.

 

• In the third tier, we’re not sure if the Rays are starting Jeffrey Springs or Corey Kluber on Thursday. Either way, they slot at 8th in the ranking facing the Jays, though I have a bit more confidence in Springs than Kluber at the moment. Update: Annnnnd it’s neither. Drew Rasmussen returns from the IL as Springs looks to be pushed past the series in Toronto. You’re better off skipping this Still ILL start from Rasmussen.
• Our streaming pick of the day is Graham Ashcraft as he heads to Wrigley. Ashcraft is fresh off eight frames with a strikeout per inning and could carry that ridiculous cutter once again.

 

• It’s a tough call to start Ian Anderson, even with the weaker Phillies lineup. He’s been a Cherry Bomb as he’s yet to get locked in with his command, making this a tough spin of the wheel.
• Do you feel comfortable starting Luis Garcia against the Yankees? It’s unfair he’s getting served a difficult matchup as he’s begun to show legit promise this season and I’m hoping for the best.

 

• In the bottom tier, Mitch White, JT Brubaker, and Adrian Houser could bring temptation to managers searching for an arm to stream. White has a filthy breaker but a susceptible heater, Coffee Cakes’ breaking balls could take down the Brewers, while Houser on the other side may be able to keep his head above water for 5+ frames.
• Chris Archer has been able to go five frames lately, but the ceiling is too capped for me to risk a destructive outing.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• You’re reading that right – Corbin Burnes is set to feast against the Pirates on Friday, meaning even Gerrit Cole against the Guardians doesn’t take the #1 spot.
• As far as the other five go, it’s your standard affair, here. Very clear starts and y’all don’t need me.

 

• In the second tier, it’s hard to deny Miles Mikolas and his sub 1.00 WHIP against the middling Phillies offense. The same goes for Marco Gonzales against the Athletics – he’s proven himself as a stable arm against weak teams.
• We haven’t seen the full resurgence of Lance Lynn quite yet, but after recording over 20 whiffs in his last start, I feel reasonably confident to let him fly against the Giants.

 

• After being a major part of the Astros’ no-hitter against the Yankees, Cristian Javier is a clear start against the Angels. Can you make me feel better by tossing breakers for more than 60% strikes, too? K thx.
• Finally, Joe Ryan hasn’t been quite the same since returning from the COVID-IL, though in his fourth start back against a pedestrian Orioles lineup should ease him back to his excellence.

 

• In the third tier, we lead with Josiah Gray, who did everything I dreamed of last week with sub 30% fastballs and cruising with his breaking balls. I sincerely hope the trend continues against the Marlins – focus on their combined strike rate on Friday! – and could propel Gray up the rankings quickly.
• I know, José Berríos has allowed 14 ER in his last two starts. I don’t think he’s destined to be detrimental to your fantasy teams, and the Rays aren’t the toughest crew around. Up to you if you want to risk it.

 

• Our streaming pick of the day is Rich Hill as he faces the Cubs. He wasn’t able to excel against the Athletics or Tigers, but rebounded against the Guardians and may carry it over here. Not great, I know.
• Brad Keller is a coin flip and the Tigers hopefully spell a path to production. That said, he Baileyed faltered against the Athletics last time out, so it’s a massive shrug from me.

 

• In the bottom tier, Corey Kluber, Michael Lorenzen, and Aaron Civale would be in the second or third tiers if they were facing weak lineups, but instead endure the toughest bats around. I’d play this cautiously and avoid the entire trio.
• I’m glad to see Michael Pineda returning from the IL, though we don’t know how long he’s going to go in this one + his starts don’t carry a high ceiling, even against the Royals.

 

• I wish we see outstanding performances from both Blake Snell and Merrill Kelly as they endure the Dodgers and Coors, respectively. We’re not in a place with either to roll them out there despite the challenge.
• Maybe Trevor Rogers can get back on the tour bus of redemption? Probably not, but hey, a man can dream.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)