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: 11-9
My pick yesterday: Ryne Nelson vs. SDP
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 9-11
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Michael Wacha vs ARI
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have a solid group of aces for Friday with Freddy Peralta sliding in at #5 despite his shaky outing last time on the bump. He’s still really good y’all.
- I’m being more understanding of who is getting started in traditional leagues, which means it’s a rare case for anyone with Graham Ashcraft, Hunter Brown, or Jon Gray to actually be benching them. Yes, even Brown facing Atlanta, we’re all just putting him in there and riding with it.
- In the second tier, Seth Lugo has the worst matchup of the group but the best chance of going six strong with his arsenal + a solid Win chance with the Padres on his side.
- The grouping of Tyler Wells, Mitch Keller, and Zach Plesac may look strange in the second tier, but they all have matchups that open the door for success. I’m all for streaming the three of them in my leagues (with Wells as our streaming pick of the day given the best Win chance and generally highest floor.
- In the third tier, I still dig what Steven Matz is putting down despite the results not coming his way. It’s not the best matchup against Seattle, though Matz could turn heads in this one.
- It’s a crew of arms who would be in the second tier if they weren’t facing difficult opponents. Domingo Germán just fanned many but gets the Jays, Anthony DeSclafani’s hot stretch is likely a product of questionable lineups, Yusei Kikuchi can’t be trusted yet, Drew Smyly executed the BSB but it’s the Dodgers, and JP Sears has to deal with the Rangers despite featuring an improved fastball and new sweeper.
- In the bottom tier, we’re not starting Bryce Elder or Michael Kopech. Elder couldn’t handle the Royals and now has to endure the Astros (he’s not an overwhelming arm, y’all. Kopech gets the Rays and is all kinds of inconsistent. These are the starts that cause all the stress and I don’t want to chase them.
- Trevor Williams pulls rabbits out of many hats and I won’t completely ignore the chance he performs well against the Twins on Friday. I sure hate putting my chips on an occurrence of magic.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- The aces have returned for Saturday’s games and despite facing the Jays, Gerrit Cole has to be the #1 play for the day. Shane McClanahan and Luis Castillo make awfully good cases, though.
- Some may want Andrew Heaney a bit higher in the ranks, though we can’t forget his Cherry Bomb tendencies and inability to consistently go six frames.
- At the bottom of the top tier is Logan Webb, even in a start against the Mets. Webb’s slider isn’t the big whiff pitch of old but his changeup is elite and his sinker does a wonderful job inside the zone. The hits are an issue that will likely keep the WHIP a touch higher than ideal, but he’s worth the start each time out.
- Joe Musgrove will likely be in the top tier indefinitely following this start on Saturday against the Diamondbacks. The only thing holding him back here is a Still ILL situation that will likely have his pitch count capped more than usual.
- The second tier has a some great options for weekend streams. Kyle Gibson and Tyler Anderson are both available in many leagues and bring the potential for six frames against poor offenses. I’m rolling with both wherever I can.
- Garrett Whitlock is quietly looking like the man we dreamed of across the cold winter. Whitlock’s sinker earned strikes, the slider gets whiffs, and there is more more potential to unlock with his changeup. Grab him if he’s out on the wire.
- The third tier equates to guys I’m not starting but are tough decisions. Y’all know the Alek Manoah situation and while I believe he is wearing a TIARA, it’s safest to bench him until something changes.
- Kyle Wright gets the Astros and despite liking his curveball, I think it’s too risky against the Astros to go for this one.
- I’m not enjoying David Peterson’s new slider and with a pedestrian four-seamer, he isn’t a target of mine against the Giants.
- The likes of Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly, and even Joey Wentz could find ways to go 5-6 innings, but the matchups are too difficult for me to endorse it.
- We just saw Wade Miley go seven shutout frames with eight strikeouts, but it felt like a Birthday Party and the Red Sox aren’t a safe bet for another day of excellence.
- Rich Hill shocked us with his dominance last time out and who knows, maybe he can stave off father time for a solid matchup against the Reds. That doesn’t seem like you’re much of an advocate. The guy throws sub 88 mph and has blown up already multiple times. Okay okay, I get it.
- I’m excited by Hayden Wesneski flexing his elite breaker, but the Dodgers have me scared. His four-seamer and cutter need to go unscathed to pull out ahead in this one.
- And it’s Zack Greinke. You never know what that guy is gonna do.
- In the bottom tier, Shintaro Fujinami is a Cherry Bomb at best and the Rangers are a powerful crew. Sit this one out if you have any sort of anxiety.
- Y’all know you can’t trust Kyle Freeland. Please don’t put yourself through this.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)