Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 9/12 & 9/13

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 10am – 12pm 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 (Updated 9/10):

Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man. This includes “if I have them rostered, I’m starting them” pitchers.

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-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view.

Questionable Start – Think of this tier as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I’m targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.

Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.

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. Those in Yellow in the third tier and should be okay if you’re searching for something on a given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you’re in need. 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: 84-66

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• I had a tough time with ranks on Monday and I elected to keep in mind that it’s Monday – you want to take fewer risks on Monday to not put yourself in a hole if you don’t have to. Keep that in mind.
• The top tier is clear as day and I love how easy it is to place Jacob deGrom at the very top. Framber Valdez gets the #2 spot because it’s the Tigers, Kyle Wright should rebound from his disaster, and it’s Tyler Anderson’s career year.

 

• The second tier is small and carries José Berríos and Reid Detmers. I know the volatility of Berríos has been a tough pill to swallow this season, though you’re starting him against the Rays if you have him rostered.
• Reid Detmers went from a tough matchup on Sunday against the Astros to getting pushed to the Guardians on Monday, and we’re all thankful for it. I’m going for it and hoping he made the right tweak to get back in order for Monday.

 

• I debated heavily if Glenn Otto and Trevor Rogers belonged in the second tier, as Otto is the streaming pick of the day with his breakers vs. a weak Marlins crew + Rogers is looking great with his changeup. They’re here as it’s Monday and I’m a bit conservative early in weeks.
• Alex Cobb also sits here as he made be worthwhile against Atlanta…or struggle against a tough offense.

 

• The bottom tier contains a lot of arms who could arguably be at the bottom of the third tier. Mike Minor gets the Pirates, Ryan Yarbrough could steal a Win, and even the lower arms of Hayden Wesneski and Ryne Nelson have some intrigue in their second MLB games. At the end of the day, I don’t expect success down here and think it’s best to flat-out avoid everyone here.
• Sorry Eduardo Rodriguez, your stuff just isn’t where it needs to be to endure the Astros. And please don’t trust Kolby Allard, even against the Marlins.

 

• Updates: Jon Gray was announced to return moments after publication. It’s a Still ILL as we don’t know how many pitches he’ll be throwing (Evan Grant believes it’ll likely be 50-60 pitches), how rusty his command is, or what his velocity will be. Take caution.
• Bryse Wilson is going for the Pirates (nope), Javier Assad now faces the Mets (nope), the Rays used Ryan Yarbrough on Sunday, so he’s unavailable and are possibly going with Cooper Criswell (double nope), Braxton Garrett is returning from the IL for the Marlins (a bit of intrigue, but a Still ILL) and Spencer Strider has been pushed a start early for Atlanta (YES).

 

• One more update – Chris Bassitt is going today, Jacob deGrom tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• We have a whole lot of pitchers going with a pair of doubleheaders, helping pad our top tier with ten pitchers on Tuesday. I debated the ranks of Gerrit Cole and Sandy Alcantara given their trends in opposite directions and either way, you’re starting them. Let’s hope they both bring it.
• Joe Ryan sneaks in at the bottom as he faces the Royals. If you have him, you start him, even after a tough time against the Yankees last time out.

 

• In the second tier, Michael Kopech kicks off a cushy two-start week with Rockie Road and should be started. I wouldn’t say he’s 100% after his knee injury, but easily good enough to warrant the start against a poor offense.
• Hunter Brown would be the streaming pick of the day…if he weren’t already swooped up in over 20% of leagues. Let the kid fly against the Tigers after showcasing good velocity and wicked breakers – the command could still be a hindrance, but it’s worth it.

 

• That makes Bailey Falter our actual streaming pick of the day as he faces the Marlins once again. There’s a small chance it’s Zach Eflin instead as he comes off the IL, but if it’s Falter, I’m letting him loose.
• Dean Kremer is another streaming option against Natty Lite, right at the 20% threshold. I’m down for starting all the Orioles starters against the Nationals & Tigers for those two upcoming series and I suggest keeping them on your radar.

 

• I’m not sure what to do with Jeffrey Springs against the Jays as he may be a bit limited and endures a difficult lineup. That said, his changeup is still filthy and the skills justify the start where you have him. I don’t blame you for benching, though.
• In the third tier, I felt I couldn’t do Merrill Kelly dirty by slotting him under Luis Cessa (even though he could command that slider well against the Pirates), though I’d be extremely cautious starting Kelly against the Dodgers.

 

• The rest of the third tier contains José Suarez and Nick Pivetta. Suarez has had some recent success, though he’s been volatile throughout his career and it’s highly questionable if he can pull this one off.
• As for Pivetta, I don’t trust the man’s command in the slightest and the Yankee bats are starting to wake up. Don’t do this unless you have to.

 

• The final tier is a long one and I’d avoid it all completely wherever possible. The most intriguing arm is Ken Waldichuk in his third MLB start as he faces the Rangers. I haven’t seen enough from his repertoire to urge a start, though the stuff is intriguing and if he finds his command, it can work.
• Kris Bubic has been pushing up his velocity and there’s a chance it carries him to six frames against the Twins. It’s a slim chance, though, and he could damage your numbers dramatically upon failure.

 

• Do I really want to trust Chad Kuhl outside of Coors? That Kuhl WHIP is bound to hurt even if he piles up some strikeouts.
• Or do we hope for Jakob Junis to have his elite slider and carry him through five frames against a strong Atlanta team? The options are terrible down here and I’d target future days instead.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)