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: 76-57
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have many clear options on Friday, though the top tier does contain a pair of arms some may want in the second tier. Joe Ryan hasn’t been pristine with his secondaries, but if you’re rostering Ryan, you’re starting him against the pedestrian Giants.
- There’s also Logan Gilbert facing the Guardians to end the week. Gilbert isn’t the stellar low-ratio arms we saw in the spring and Cleveland’s hot streak may give you hesitation, however, he’s worth the play with his stellar four-seamer.
- In the second tier, there’s an argument to be made that Johnny Cueto belongs in the top tier. After all, who isn’t starting Cueto against the Sneks? The thing is, he’s returned a sub 9% strikeout rate across his last six starts, making for a far worse floor than the options above. Despite the 2.22 ERA in that time, the downside is still prevalent.
- I’m not sure where to rank Spencer Strider. We all know the upside, but the Cardinals are as hot as any team out there. I’m starting him in my leagues, but I grasp the danger.
- Some waiver-wire options from a month ago are sitting at the bottom of the second tier. I’m all for riding both Justin Steele and Michael Wacha during their marvelous stretches, Lance McCullers Jr. didn’t have his command last time out and may make the adjustment to fend off the Orioles, and the truly difficult one here is Reid Detmers. He was unable to take advantage of a date with Detroit as his pristine command disappeared. The Jays will be more punishing if he doesn’t make a tweak.
- Kicking off our third tier is our streaming pick of the day – Glenn Otto. You can stream any pitcher who has the opportunity for 85+ pitches against the Tigers these days and Otto has been at his peak as of late. Just 2% rostership makes this the clear choice.
- I wrestled with Alex Wood vs. José Quintana, ultimately favoring Wood as the Twins are without Byron Buxton. Quintana also slipped with his repertoire last time out and now has to endure a powerful Atlanta offense that feasts on southpaws. Be careful.
- Some may want to chase Mitch White against the Angels, but he has two things going against him – a poor fastball and the Jays’ tendency to pull him early. He won’t face the lineup a third time and he’s failed to go five frames in his three games with Toronto.
- I’m excited to watch the debut of Cade Cavalli, who has fanned nineteen batters in his last two Triple-A starts. He’s someone to add today in 12-teamers and I don’t blame anyone streaming him here. That said, I generally avoid MLB debuts – jitters & unknown ability – so be careful.
- In the bottom tier, well, the bottom tier these days is full of “hey, do not start these guys. Seriously.” Sure, you could take a chance on Kris Bubic getting his velocity back or Tyler Alexander squeezing out five frames against the Rangers, but you really don’t want to do this.
- Update: The Phillies placed Zack Wheeler on the IL with forearm tendinitis, placing Bailey Falter in his spot against the Pirates. Falter has the ability to take advantage of the matchup, which places him near the end of the third tier. I wouldn’t go seeking it out, though.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- There are two halves in the first tier in my view, with the first ranging from Brandon Woodruff to Luis Castillo. That includes Yu Darvish returning from paternity leave (he’ll be motivated, right?) and Dustin May getting another chance to pummel the Marlins* *This time with more pitches! 10% more value!
- The bottom crew begins with Shohei Ohtani, recovered from a stomach bug. Jordan Montgomery faces Charlie Morton and that came down to Morton enduring the Cardinals, the hottest offense in the majors.
- The second start begins with Kyle Gibson, granted a gift of facing the Pirates. He should be able to take full advantage of it with a solid floor.
- Look, Sandy Alcantara is my man, but the Dodgers have his number. I hope he can get revenge, but let’s not ignore the hesitation every manager has starting him here.
- The likes of Jeffrey Springs, Merrill Kelly, Sonny Gray, and José Urquidy are pretty straightforward calls. All face middling teams save for Springs, who has had his premier changeup as of late. Let em fly.
- I also want to keep tossing Drew Smyly out there until his run ends as he’s spotted sinkers up and curveballs down consistently over the last month. Throw in some increased velocity while you’re at it, and you have a starter you don’t want to sit.
- The streaming pick of the day is David Peterson as he returns to the Mets rotation to face Rockie Road. His slider is still legit and I’d stream him where I could as we may see another 7+ strikeout game from the southpaw.
- Another option is Domingo Germán as he continues his attempt to get comfortable in the Yankees rotation against the Athletics. There’s a decent floor here paired with a high Win chance, making him a solid stream as well.
- The third tier begins with Alex Cobb facing the Twins. He could arguably be in the second tier with the weakened Twins lineup, though I still have a bit of caution sending him out there. Let’s hope the splitters are on point.
- The same goes with Eduardo Rodriguez against the Rangers despite his successful line last time out against the Angels. I don’t think Eduardo has his best stuff right now and this is more dangerous than it would seem.
- If you’re looking for a deep streamer, I have two options for you. First is Kohei Arihara against the Tigers as any pitcher able to go at least five frames is worth consideration against the Tigers.
- The second is someone I’ve waited a long to become considerable and Saturday is finally the day as Paolo Espino faces the Reds in Washington. Look, I don’t think you need to do this in 12-teamers, but for a guy like Espino to have a decent chance of being productive for a change, you get excited, you know?
- Despite the hot stretch of Dean Kremer, I don’t want to chance it against the Astros. Too much risk here.
- I don’t believe Zach Plesac deserved his failure against the Tigers last time out, but expecting a proper rebound when facing a solid Mariners offense may be too much to ask.
- In the bottom tier, are we actually seeing Rich Hill pitch again? And for how long?
- Adam Oller is the only one here that has expressed legit ability for going 5+ frames, but he has to take on a stronger Yankee offense and I want absolutely nothing to do with that.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)