Here are today’s daily SP Streamer rankings.
Every day of the 2023 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:
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 works as a general table that y’all should keep in mind.
Alright, let’s get to it.
This year, with our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.
To get access to PL Bot’s picks each day, sign up for PL Pro here.
Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 9-5
My pick yesterday: Dean Kremer vs OAK
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 6-8
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Griffin Canning vs WSH
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It’s a slow Thursday and fortunately a third of our arms can be set-and-forget with Jeffrey Springs leading the way against Boston. It isn’t the best matchup, but the man deserves the top spot with the performances he’s had so far this year.
- Nick Lodolo has earned 37 whiffs in his first two starts and could continue that trend against the Phillies.
- The best floor play may be Jordan Montgomery hosting the Pirates, while the most volatile is between Joe Ryan against the Yankees (HRs?) and Chris Bassitt against the Tigers (9 ER in his first start). We’re going with all of them, though.
- The second tier leads with Nick Martinez. I believe in his stuff and the Brewers aren’t a team to fear, making him the streaming pick of the day. This is the outing people start celebrating Martinez, I can feel it.
- In the third tier, Cole Irvin isn’t the worst stream this week as he gets the Athletics. It hasn’t been smooth sailing thus far, but Irvin has the Toby in him to come through here.
- Bailey Falter isn’t a bad option either with his fastball playing well up in the zone. Pitching in Cincinnati is always a risk, though, and it’s up to you if you need to chase it.
- I’d likely avoid Corey Kluber if I could, and he’s awfully close to the bottom tier with the HR rates the Rays are putting up, but Kluber could come through here with his curve and cutter.
- In the bottom tier, there’s very little to chase. Spencer Turnbull has the most upside but gets the Jays and that’s asking for all kinds of trouble.
The Yankees seem to be going with a bullpen game, Eric Lauer’s fastballis down three ticks, Vince Velasquez has an outside shot at 6+ strikeouts, but how much of a ratio hit will it be against the Cardinals?- And Adam Oller makes his first start of the year for the Athletics in Camden. I won’t rule out a productive start here, but Oller’s stuff leaves us all asking for more.
- Updates: The Yankees are going with Jhony Brito and I’d start him with his great changeup. The Brewers are sliding Bryse Wilson into their rotation and despite some great spring performances, we’re not touching that.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Who is your number #1 SP for Thursday? I’m going with Kodai Senga against the Athletics as it seems like the safest play with a good amount of strikeout upside intact.
- The 2-5 ranks are a bit tougher. Sean Manaea has the best situation with 94+ mph velocity against a poor offense, while Nestor Cortes should work against the Twins, Drew Rasmussen has to deal with the Jays, and Charlie Morton isn’t looking like his best self despite getting the Royals.
- In the second tier, Brady Singer gets a small demotion after showcasing his Cherry Bomb self and facing a strong Atlanta crew. We’re still starting him, but the risk is more present than ever.
- Patrick Sandoval and Tyler Mahle could each excel in the strikeout department, though neither has flexed their ceilings in full this season. If they are at their peaks – Sandoval with filthy sliders & changeups, Mahle at 93/94 with a good slider – the matchups won’t matter.
- It’s a large third tier today, with a smattering of Toby arms and some interesting upside. I don’t think Noah Syndergaard carries the ceiling of old, but facing the Cubs with the Dodgers squad behind him makes for a decent play any day.
- Cal Quantrill isn’t my favorite arm, but he’s fully capable of six productive frames against the Nationals.
- We just saw Michael Wacha dominate for ten strikeouts and the Brewers aren’t a team to run away from.
- Taijuan Walker’s velocity has been a bit weird this season and I don’t love him heading into HR-friendly Cincinnati. Be careful here.
- There’s hope that Luis Garcia can do enough with his four-seamer/cutter to survive for a Win against the Rangers.
- Our streaming pick of the day is Tyler Wells as he takes on the White Sox. I’m still terrified of his four-seamer’s massive hard contact rate, but the secondaries could pull him to the finish line here.
- I’d prefer to avoid Mike Clevinger and Trevor Rogers in all my leagues. Clevinger’s fastball/slider approach isn’t doing enough to justify weekly starts, while Rogers hasn’t put it all together quite yet and the Diamondbacks pack enough punch to make us regret any trust we give him.
- Finally, Marco Gonzales and Martín Pérez land in the third tier as they both can go a full six innings. Pérez has to endure the Astros, making him squeak in at the bottom of the group.
- In the bottom tier, Tanner Houck and Justin Steele have each shown days where their sliders miss bats and the heaters avoid punishment. I really hate chasing those moments, though.
- There are paths to success for Trevor Williams, Madison Bumgarner, José Berríos, and Johan Oviedo, but they are so dang risky that you shouldn’t be considering them in your leagues.
- Despite decent box scores, Eric Lauer’s stuff is far worse than last year with a four-seamer that’s lost three ticks. Avoid this.
- It’s the return of Michael Lorenzen against the Giants and while this matchup may encourage a Tier 3 spot in the summer, this is a Still ILL as we wait and see.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)