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: 53-45
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have just six games today and a third of our starters sit in the top tier. Frankie Montas is returning from his shoulder injury, but with a matchup against the Tigers, I’m placing him as the best play. He should be able to cruise through this one.
- Even though Carlos Rodón faces the Dodgers, I have faith his fastball will allow him to carve up the lineup. Start the fella.
- It’s a duel between Pablo López and Jon Gray in Miami and I’d start both if I have them. I’m favoring Pablo in this one given his track record ahead of Gray, and let’s hope the four-seamer is as pristine as ever.
- As for Jon Gray, he’s been boasting 96+ heaters and a whiff-heavy slider for weeks now and it may propel a phenomenal second half. Let him fly.
- In the second tier, we have only Tarik Skubal as he faces the Athletics. I think he pitched better than the 4 ER in 6 IP will tell you in his last start, and if I have him, I’m locking him inside my lineups.
- The third tier is a bit odd with three pitchers and just two opponents. The Astros pair of Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia would normally be higher ranked, but the Yankees are sure to give any manager pause. Be careful if you can’t risk it.
- The same goes for Jordan Montgomery on the other side. He was able to withstand the Red Sox twice, but the Astros are yet another challenge to endure. Considering he doesn’t come with a plethora of strikeouts, it may be wise to sit this one out.
- In the bottom tier, I’m forced to choose a starter to stream and I’m spinning the roulette wheel with Mitch White against the Giants. His breakers are wonderful and if the fastball survives, this could work. I obviously wouldn’t chase this, though.
- Domingo Germán has been a popular add, but I wouldn’t chance it against the Astros. We also don’t know how long he’s destined to go, nor the true quality of his stuff at the moment. It’s far too risky for me.
- I won’t rule out that Zach Logue or Garrett Hill couldn’t provide some value against weak lineups, but each may go against Motnas or Skubal, making for a lower chance at a Win among an overall lackluster skill set. Not enough reward for the risk here.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have most teams resetting their rotations on Friday, which means it’s mostly Ace Day, leading with the veteran studs of Corbin Burnes, Gerrit Cole, and Max Scherzer. You don’t need me for this tier.
- At the bottom, four strong arms face tough opponents in Kevin Gausman, Yu Darvish, Charlie Morton, and Logan Webb. I can see some managers feeling a little uneasy, but I’m starting them all whereever I have them rostered.
- In the second tier, I’m hoping Lucas Giolito’s 91.8 mph velocity improves as he faces a middling Guardians offense.
- Zac Gallen hasn’t put it all together this season, but he’s still a solid play against the Nationals and could carry 6+ productive frames.
- The bottom three of José Urquidy, Drew Rasmussen, and Adam Wainwright aren’t the most exciting of options, but against non-threatening teams, you should feel comfortable starting them in your lineups.
- In the third tier, Braxton Garrett leads the way as my streaming pick of the day. I don’t expect him to replicate his last performance against the Pirates (23 whiffs?! Nine on the sub 91 mph sinker?!) but he should be solid enough to help teams with his current sub 10% rostership.
- I’m not sure what to do with Nathan Eovaldi in his second start back from the IL. He had lowered velocity against the Yankees and while I expect it to be better with each start removed, he gets a major challenge against the Jays. It’s a tough call.
- The other names in this tier are all Toby types facing pedestrian offenses. If you need the innings, take a chance on Kyle Gibson or Cole Irvin, but don’t anticipate an overwhelming outing that will sway your week heavily.
- In the bottom tier, I wish I had more confidence in José Quintana, Glenn Otto, and Graham Ashcraft. We don’t have enough of a track record to buy into a promising outing while their floors are too catastrophic to consider.
- Maybe Patrick Corbin continues to make me raise an eyebrow as he faces his old crew. That would be fun, but you can watch that from afar instead of leaning on it for your fantasy weekend.
- As for the rest in the tier, Justin Steele is the only one of actual consideration, but I don’t like leaning on his four-seamer to get through outings, making his peaks too few and far between.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)