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: 6-3
My pick yesterday: Tylor Megill vs MIA
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 3-6
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Jared Shuster vs. SDP
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We don’t have any bonafide aces going on Saturday, but Jeffrey Springs is looking like one as he goes against the Athletics. You’re starting him and that’s that.
- I have Brady Singer far higher than I ever expected on these lists as he gets a favorable matchup with the other strong arms facing contentious lineups.
- Sneaking in at the bottom of the tier is Jordan Montgomery as he gets the Brewers. It doesn’t feel right having The Bear this high up, but at the end of the day, I don’t see a scenario where you’re not starting him here. Let it fly.
- I wish
Nestor Cortes, Nick Lodolo, and Joe Ryan were facing weaker teams, but with their tough matchups, I had to put them behind Kodai Senga and his fantastic situation against the Marlins.
- In the second tier, Mike Clevinger leads the way after showcasing a solid fastball/slider combo in his first outing. The Pirates’ offense makes this a start to make…but don’t hold onto Clev too long after.
- I wonder how many pitches the Giants will let Sean Manaea throw in his first start of the year. He came through with 95 mph fastballs in his relief role earlier this week and hopefully that velocity is present across 70+ pitches against a poor offense.
- Both Noah Syndergaard and Martín Pérez look like solid plays as Thor is a decent play for a Win each night with the Dodgers while Pérez had his 2022 command in his first start. Let them both fly.
- Luis Garcia and Charlie Morton are a little more contentious. Garcia had his cutter but nothing else in his first start and the Twins could get to him, while Morton may need a few starts to get into the rhythm we know and love. I understand not risking it with Morton, but for the most part, you start the man.
- The third tier is a long one and starts with our streaming pick of the day in Bailey Falter. The Reds are worse on the road (even if Citizen’s Bank Park is still a hitter-friendly environment) and Falter’s elevated heater could allow him to produce for fantasy managers.
- It’s a mix of Toby types in poor matchups on Saturday, and take your pick if you want to chance one of them. I’m favoring Tyler Anderson over Michael Wacha, Cal Quantrill, Marco Gonzales, and Joey Wentz, but I have no qualms if you want someone else.
- The other half of the tier are Cherry Bomb arms I’d love to avoid. Justin Steele and Shintaro Fujinami are the most volatile if you’re chasing strikeouts, while a start of Tanner Houck against the Tigers looks better on paper than how his arsenal has actually been performing.
- I almost slotted Trevor Rogers and José Berríos into this crew, but elected to flat-out avoid them instead. The floor is too dang low.
- And hey, maybe Cole Irvin has the same Toby magic we saw glimpses of last year as he faces the Yankees, but he was rough in his first start and I’m not ready to jump in on this one.
- The rest of the tier is rough with Eric Lauer getting the mighty Cardinals, Zach Davies against the Dodgers, and Austin Gomber vs. Trevor Williams in Coors. You want none of that.
- And no, Vince Velasquez is very likely not the streaming option you need this weekend. There’s always a chance, but he likely with hurt a lot more than help.
- Update: The Yankees are replacing Nestor Cortes with Jhony Brito, who slots in near the end of the third tier. I’d expect a somewhat limited pitch count pitching against a good Baltimore lineup. Be careful.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Why does it always feel like Sunday has the toughest choices? Just a few studs in the top tier, with Drew Rasmussen getting the only smooth matchup against the Athletics.
- I’m putting Nestor Cortes ahead of George Kirby with Camden becoming a pitcher’s park and Kirby not flexing a legit secondary pitch in his season debut.
- In the second tier, Jon Gray slides above Reid Detmers as the Cubs in Wrigley are far easier to deal with than the mighty Toronto offense.
- The streaming pick of the day is Anthony DeSclafani as he’ll likely toss 80 pitches against a poor Royals crew. He’s the clear-cut option over the entire third tier.
- Oh, that third tier. I sat for a while sifting through this and landed on the current ranking – I imagine you have plenty of differences here and ultimately, go with your gut. Don’t forget, I generally don’t like these starts as they are in the third tier.
- It starts with Tyler Mahle in a tough matchup against the Astros. I’m leaning start, but it’s not certain the velocity is locked at 94 mph and the Astros can punish Mahle quickly.
- The same question of velocity is there with Taijuan Walker and he was roughed up by the Yankees earlier this week. Graham Ashcraft is on the other side and it’s a dangerous start as I wait for Ashcraft to properly wield his velocity and unlock his potential.
- I want to believe Jameson Taillon’s first start of the year was a fluke and that we’ll see more breakers in his second outing of the year…but he does have to take on the hot Rangers lineup and I’d love to wait and see, if possible.
- We saw three elements of Kris Bubic come through last time out – new velocity, whiffs, and better changeup command – and the Giants seem like the perfect opportunity for a stream, but we’ve also seen Bubic fluctuate between starts in the past.
- Carlos Carrasco and Michael Kopech seem to be obvious starts against the Marlins and Pirates, respectively, but they have me terrified with their drops in velocity and overall ineffectiveness.
- I’d be more into Hunter Brown, Dylan Dodd, Matthew Boyd, and Seth Lugo, but their schedules do them no favors. I imagine a few of them can overcome the challenge, but good luck guessing which ones.
- I still have a soft spot for Michael Grove, who could steal a Win against the Diamondbacks, especially if he gets his four-seamer elevated. His breakers are good enough to soar at the bottom of the zone.
- At the bottom of the tier, do we want to bank on Yusei Kikuchi or James Kaprielian having their command? I didn’t think so.
- Tyler Wells is pitching in his lovely home park and has shown the ability to survive 5/6 frames, but the low ceiling makes this a start we’re not targeting against the Yankees.
- The bottom tier has some interesting starts like Kutter Crawford against the lowly Tigers or Ryne Nelson and his strong fastball (and even Johan Oviedo if his fastball command is decent!), but the risk is too great.
- If you’re in dire need of a Quality Start, Zach Plesac may go six against the Mariners…even if he destroyed many teams last week with his outing against the Athletics.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)