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: 10-5
My pick yesterday: Nick Martinez vs. MIL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 6-9
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Jhony Brito vs. MIN
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’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 Mahlecould 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.
- Update: The Twins are skipping Kenta Maeda this turn of the rotation to give him some extra rest, which means Louie Varland is starting today and Tyler Mahle is getting pushed to Saturday.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Where have all the aces gone? Freddy Peralta and George Kirby have arrived at the mixer and realized no one else was coming. Hey, how’s the slider coming along? Oh, it’s good man. It’s good.
- In the second tier, Anthony DeSclafani leads the way after two strong starts to kick off the season. The schedule is bliss moving forward starting with the Tigers and we’re all for that with his slider and fastball.
- The streaming pick of the day is ranked all the way up at #4 with Steven Matz facing the Tigers. But he has a 8.00+ ERA! Against the Braves + Coors. He’s good for a strikeout per inning, faces a terrible Pirates crew, and has a solid Win chance with his Cardinals support.
- There are a few other options to consider in this tier. Ryne Nelson has a lovely date with the Marlins, Seth Lugo has displayed Toby prowess with the Padres getting his back, and Graham Ashcraft has been able to keep the strikeouts afloat.
- There’s some contention in Hunter Brown against the Rangers and Tyler Mahle getting the Yankees, but in both cases, I think the ceiling outweighs the floor. Go for it.
- In the third tier, I imagine many of you want Bryce Elder to be in the second tier. I’m…okay with it. Elder’s stuff doesn’t demand success and the Royals offense isn’t as horrific as it seems. I’m fine starting him for those chasing a Win, but this isn’t the lock of a start it seems to be.
- Jon Gray scares me a bit with his four-seamer overperforming and his slider not looking like the elite offering of 2022 thus far. The results have been there, but this could be a scary floor against the Astros.
- We were thrilled to see Michael Kopech regain some velocity and not tip his pitches last time out, but we’ve also seen Kopech have flashes of brilliance before tumbling back down the mountain. Baltimore is displaying some of their Orioles magic once again and this is too risky for me to pursue.
- Don’t overlook Zach Plesac against the Nationals. Sure, his first start of the year was rough against the Athletics, but he’s since introduced his slider over 50% of the time and now gets to feast on the Nationals. This could return six frames of production.
- It feels like judgment day for Kris Bubic as he faces Atlanta…which seems a bit unfair given it’s Atlanta. We’ll be watching for the fastball velocity to flirt with 93 mph once again, while the changeup and breakers need to be earning strikes with ease. I’m not ready to crown Bubic as a must-add with his small two game sample and it’s dangerous to assume he’s already broken out.
- The bottom half of the tier isn’t pretty. I want to trust Nick Pivetta vs. LAA, but I’ve also been wanting to trust Pivetta for five years.
- Tyler Anderson hasn’t found the same changeup from last year, Carlos Carrasco struggled against the Brewers and Marlins with dwindling velocity, Jameson Taillon hasn’t found a rhythm with his breakers yet and now has to deal with the Dodgers, and Domingo Germán failed to record a strikeout in his last start. Rough.
- Y’all know I’ve wanted Matt Strahm to be a breakout starter for a long time, but it’s no fun pitching in cincy + his pitch count is awfully limited at the moment. there’s a chance he goes 75 pitches of production, but he’s not as electric as he used to be.
- The bottom tier starts with Yusei Kikuchi and Braxton Garrett. Kikuchi’s command has been rough (what else is new) while I don’t trust Garrett to succeed against solid offenses like the Diamondbacks, even with a decent slider on his side.
- The rest of the options are all kinds of ominous. Shintaro Fujinami is a textbook Cherry Bomb, we just saw Roansy Contreras have a nightmarish start and now has to deal with the strong Cardinals crew, Michael Grove can’t locate his heater and gets punished for it, and despite the winning ways of the Jays, Josh Fleming isn’t the one you want to hang your hat on.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)