Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 4/25 & 4/26

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: 13-11

My pick yesterday: Dean Kremer vs BOS

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 11-13

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Colin Rea vs DET

Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• The top tier doesn’t carry any AGA types on Tuesday, but still features good plays. Is Joe Ryan actually the best play against the Yankees tomorrow? I’m not entirely sure, but there really isn’t a standout to overtake it.
• I wanted to put Blake Snell in there as well as he gets the Cubs, but he simply hasn’t put it together with his breakers yet. In due time.

 

• Carrying on in the second tier, Justin Steele has impressed me with his four-seamer command, but the Padres hold him back from raising higher up the ranks.
• Mason Miller is making his second career start and you gotta let him loose.

 

• With Brady Singer disappointing managers this season, I implore you to keep the faith and start him against the Diamondbacks. He’s not destined for failure.
• Our streaming pick of the day was a tough call between Griffin Canning vs OAK and Peyton Battenfield vs COL, ultimately landing on Canning’s new breaker-heavy approach to grant him a higher chance of success. Still love 22 cutter whiffs in two games from Battenfield against Rockie Road, though.

 

• Ryne Nelson struggled last time out, but the Royals make for a much easier time at the park. You should be fine there.
• I really don’t buy longterm success from Eric Lauer as he hovers 90 mph on his heater, but the Tigers are a team that would allow this Vargas Rule to continue a little longer.

 

• In the third tier, Luis Garcia is still a tough arm to start despite demolition with his cutters last time out. The Rays are just that scary right now + I don’t know if Garcia has a sticky skill or if it was just a one-night show.
• José Berríos fared far better than expected last time out, but I still have my doubts that he can string together a healthy stretch of production.

 

• I like Sean Manaea and his new velocity over the full season, but he still hasn’t found a good rhythm yet. I’d play it safe to wait until we see it first.
• Will Kyle Bradish have his curveball and slider cooking a second straight game against the Red Sox? That’s a coin flip to me.

 

• In the bottom tier, I know there’s a lot of hype around Johan Oviedo, but I don’t trust his command quite yet and the Dodgers are a team that can punish mistakes. Avoid this one.
• Mike Clevinger against the Jays is asking for trouble as a two-pitch pitcher who doesn’t have an elite offering.

 

• Corey Kluber hasn’t done a whole lot to gain our trust, even if he gets the easiest matchup across the early part of the tier.

 

• Update: The Giants announced they’re skipping Sean Manaea’s next start and will use him in relief throughout the week instead, meaning they need to go with a bullpen game today. Womp womp.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Another day of few auto-starts and past Zac Gallen and Freddy Peralta, we do have a few slightly questionable top tier arms. Sandy Alcantara is dealing with a biceps injury but has been cleared for this start against Atlanta. You’d imagine he’ll be a little more limited than usual.
• As for Kodai Senga, he’d normally be obvious against the Nationals, but he’s shown his floor when his Ghost Fork isn’t on point. Still starting him, but I’m a little more anxious than I want to be.

 

• The second tier begins with Patrick Sandoval as he looks for redemption against a weak Athletics crew. Bryce Elder surprised me with his last performance against the Astros and should be fine against the Marlins, even if I don’t fully buy his 2023 campaign.
• Jon Gray heads to Cincy and isn’t ideal, but should be okay. Domingo Germán gets an easier matchup against the Twins and may still have his curveball working.

 

• Kenta Maeda is getting the green light against the Yankees and we’re all hoping he can get into a comfortable groove moving forward. The Yankee offenses is in the bottom third of many offensive stats this year and Maeda could produce over 5-6 innings.
• Tyler Wells has been performing well and I’m inclined to let him ride against the Red Sox. Not my favorite, but I’m leaning towards starting him.

 

• The same goes for both Steven Matz and Graham Ashcraft. Matz’s skills have been far better than the results and the Giants don’t scare me enough to sit him today.
• As for Graham Ashcraft, he’s the opposite as I think he’s been overperforming and now has to deal with a strong Rangers offense inside Great American Ballpark.

 

• The questionable start tier is long today (it often is) and begins with a Drew Smyly vs Michael Wacha matchup. Smyly destroyed the Dodgers with his BSB but the Padres are another tough challenge and it’s tough to fully buy in.
• With Michael Wacha, the Cubs are shockingly one of the better offenses thus far in the season and we don’t know if Wacha’s command will be there on Wednesday. He’s a Cherry Bomb, after all.

 

• I don’t buy into Yusei Kikuchi’s recent success, while Anthony DeSclafani performed well against weak clubs and struggled against a worthy opponent last week. The Cardinals are going to be a challenge.
• I want to start Hunter Brown, but the Rays are just too dang good right now. Similarly, I like what MacKenzie Gore has done thus far, but the Mets are a bit too risky for me.

 

• We have two rules that I don’t want to break on Wednesday. Tony Gonsolin is a Still ILL against the Pirates, while Tanner Bibee is expected to make his MLB debut against Rockie Road. Both face middling lineups, but I don’t like starting pitchers in MLB debuts (Bibee has also recently struggled in Triple-A) and there’s a reason Still ILL exists.
• At the bottom of the tier, Michael Kopech’s skills were better last time but he still failed to produce + the Jays are in his way. Michael Lorenzen and Marco Gonzales aren’t the worst QS plays, and Tanner Houck can’t be relied upon to have his entire repertoire working against a dangerous Baltimore lineup.

 

• The final tier is easy, save for Roansy Contreras, who just had his best start of the year. It’s far too risky to chase here as I still believe his four-seamer is susceptible to a boatload of damage. It’s not worth it.
• You don’t need me for the other four. There isn’t someone exciting for the Athletics to start in the place of Shintaro Fujinami as Mason Miller is already here. We’re already celebrating.

 

Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)