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:
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: 68-50
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have few games on Thursday making for a slim top tier. Dylan Cease is the obvious choice as the sole ace of the day squaring off against the Royals, while it’s a little tougher between Merrill Kelly and Framber Valdez. Both have been sturdy for managers and I gave the nod to Kelly to continue his Vargas Rule against the easier opponent than Valdez’s tendency to earn a PQS.
- The second tier begins with my fortunate streaming pick of the day Nick Lodolo who is right at the 20% rostered threshold. He didn’t have his best command last time out, but the Cubs aren’t a scary offense and I believe Lodolo will be his better self. (And hey, it’s the Field of Dreams game! There’s a chance MLB whips out the juiced balls – it felt like that last year – but once again, it’s the Cubs.)
- It’s a tough call between Kyle Gibson and Zach Plesac as they both face paltry offenses. I gave the nod to Gibson as he’s been a touch more consistent, but this could go either way. Start em both.
- In the third tier, I can see many feeling Edward Cabrera is out of place and belongs near Lodolo. He’s only had one start in his return to the majors, a start where he held just an 18% zone rate. I’m a bit concerned the command is still wonky and the Phillies are a team that can punish an erratic starter.
- Closing out the short tier is Zack Greinke as he faces the White Sox. Chicago is pedestrian against right-handers and Greinke has the Toby blood in him to give you 5/6 decent frames.
- The bottom tier is split in half – the first four have a tough but visible path toward success, while the bottom crew have a treacherous journey. If you’re in dire need, consider the first four.
- Those four include Drew Smyly and JT Brubaker. Smyly faces Cincy and has had a much better curve as of late. I don’t love it, but there’s a chance the hook does some work.
- As for JT Brubaker, I hope his slider can earn whiffs while carrying the ability to land his sinker for strikes against the Diamondbacks. Coffee Cakes has been as volatile as anyone this year and even against Arizona, it seems like he’s more dangerous than he’s worth.
- The final two of “consideration” are Josh Winckowski and
Austin Voth, dueling each other in Boston on Thursday. Winckowski isn’t special, but has found himself earning cheap Wins as he can survive five frames, while Voth’s curveball is coming alive. He has the tougher matchup against the Sawx, slotting him below Winckowski, but there’s a tinge more upside here. Update: The rainout on Wednesday pushed Dean Kremer to today and Voth to Friday.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Despite how hot Max Scherzer has been, could I really deny Carlos Rodón the top spot with a date against the Pirates? I’m not a mad man, you know.
- Tyler Mahle and Luis Garcia earned their spots in the top tier for Friday with their cushy matchups against California teams. Let em loose.
- The second tier is an interesting one. I haven’t been too encouraged by Mike Clevinger or Michael Kopech lately, but dates with Natty Lite and the Tigers make for outings you simply can’t deny.
- The bottom half of the tier is a bit tricky. Pablo López hasn’t found his groove lately, but his ceiling is well worth the play against Atlanta, Jordan Montgomery has a solid defense behind him, but are his secondaries consistent enough? And Corey Kluber has benefited teams a fair amount this year and faces a volatile Orioles lineup. You’re very likely starting all of them, but I can feel your anxiety. It’s normal.
- The third tier begins with George Kirby, who arguably could be in the second tier. I’m worried about his limited pitch count and the susceptible nature of his secondary pitches. Just because he took down the Angels does not mean he’ll repeat success against a better string of bats.
- The following three arms are all Cherry Bombs with José Berríos, Eric Lauer, and Patrick Sandoval. The latter has the toughest matchup against the Twins and I was awfully tempted to place him in the bottom tier. Still, it’s a coin flip for him and the other two given their inability to dominate with regular frequency, and I’ll be holding my breath for all managers needing to start them.
- Streaming is awfully difficult on Friday, forcing me to choose Austin Voth against the Rays. He benefited from Wednesday’s rainout, moving his start from Boston to Tampa Bay, opening the door for his curveball to feast. It’s a risky proposition, but of all the highly questionable options for Friday, Voth seems the safest.
- I can see some favoring Dane Dunning as well, though I’m a bit more worried about the Mariners lately. Coming off a series win against the Yankees, I fear they are carrying more momentum that may break down Dunning’s defenses.
- The other pitchers in the bottom tier all have horrendous matchups or aren’t worth your time regardless. Ranger Suárez may be on a redemption tour, but he’ll have to make a difficult stop in New York first and I’d rather hop on the bus after. Nathan Eovaldi still has velocity issues, and Domingo Germán isn’t polished enough to likely suppress the Red Sox offense.
- I’m still incredibly curious about Daniel Lynch, but his command isn’t there yet and now he gets his biggest challenge against the Dodgers. We may have to wait until 2023 for him to truly blossom.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)