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 that day’s streaming pick in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow are 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 (in Alphabetical order):
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: 24-22
My pick yesterday: Taijuan Walker @ SFG
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 23-23
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Ryne Nelson @ OAK
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
With the new formatting for the notes, I’ve made the streaming pick of the day Underlined and Italicized.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Shane McClanahan @ NYM – AGA. Don’t worry about his last start.
Julio Urías @ STL – He’s vying for the AGA label and has been great lately. The Cardinals are heating up, but you’re still starting Julio.
Dylan Cease vs. CLE – He had a redeeming start against the Astros as he shelved the curve to go four-seamer/slider. As long as one of the hook and heater work, Cease will soar.
Probable Starts
Eury Pérez vs. WSN – He gets to follow up a strong debut with a gift of a matchup against the Nationals. He’s not instantly an ace, though, and we normally see some turbulence for young arms regardless of matchups.
Logan Allen @ CHW – Speaking of turbulence, Allen as has gone through some across the last few weeks. However, the White Sox makes for a pretty easy decision here, even if the ceiling is as high as we want it to be.
Questionable Starts
Tyler Wells vs. LAA – He’s fresh off 18 whiffs…against the Pirates. The Angels are a tougher squad and Wells will have to get the most out of his stuff to come out unscathed.
Tyler Anderson @ BAL – The changeup has been back and Camden is a treat. The ceiling isn’t nearly what it was in 2022, though.
Nestor Cortes @ TOR – The slider has been missing all year and it’s messing up Cortes in a big way. The Jays are as dangerous as they come, making this a “play it safe” outing as I hope to be encouraged for next week.
Update: Taj Bradley @ NYM – He’s coming back up and there’s been a boatload of talk about his lackluster performance in the minors. Let’s see if it was all for practice and not the real skill of Bradley. Pick him up everywhere as a spec add if he hasn’t been stashed and go with your gut to start him or not. I’d personally play it safe.
Trevor Williams @ MIA – He’s my reluctant streaming pick of the day as I understand it’s possible Williams can go six frames against a 1700’s Miami team (Jazz-less).
Do Not Starts
José Berríos vs. NYY – He’s The Great Undulator with a horrific floor. I really just don’t want to deal with it, but if you must, then you must.
Adam Wainwright vs. LAD – Waino could be fixed now that the Cardinals have apparently solved their catching/game-calling issues, but the Dodgers are tough and the ceiling is so hard to reach.
Tylor Megill vs. TBR – Megill hasn’t looked great since 2022 pre-injury and now gets the Rays. No thanks.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Shane McClanahan vs. MIL – AGA. Don’t worry about his last start.
Zac Gallen @ PIT – AGA. The Pirates?!
Joe Ryan @ LAA – AGA. If you haven’t listened to Fast’s 1-on-1 interview with Joe Ryan, you gotta do it now. So good.
Sandy Alcantara @ SFG – AGA. He still has the label for now and don’t forget – his last game had 3 ER in the eighth inning.
Probable Starts
Bryce Miller @ ATL – The second tier doesn’t have a whole lot of slam dunks on Friday, which has me being awfully aggressive with Miller in this one. It’s a bit risky (all of these are…?) as the secondaries haven’t come through quite yet, but I know we’re all doing it. You got this Bryce.
Marcus Stroman @ PHI – He just had a stumble and it’s not the first time he’s had to rebound. Start the guy.
Anthony DeSclafani vs. MIA – The last two starts have come with a lack of precision. Hopefully Tony Disco has enough of it to capitalize on a Miami Marlins start.
James Paxton @ SDP – His four-seamer dominated inside the zone in his season debut and I’d wager the 96 mph heater will carry him again, especially if either the curve or cutter can take a step up.
Reid Detmers vs. MIN – It’s tough to figure out what to do with Detmers. His last start helped save for the WHIP and I still have hope he can figure out his two-strike four-seamers.
Blake Snell vs. BOS – It’s been all kinds of whacky with Snell’s repertoire, but it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and the Red Sox are a volatile crew.
Martín Pérez vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road for one of the better Toby arms out there.
Tony Gonsolin @ STL – I debated this one as the Cardinals are heating up and Gonsolin doesn’t have the elite splitter of 2022. Still, his velocity is up and pitching for the Dodgers is always a plus.
Questionable Starts
Bryce Elder vs. SEA – He’s fine? I hate buying into sub 90 mph heaters with just one other pitch in the tank and the Mariners could get to Elder quickly.
Brandon Bielak vs. OAK – It’s the Athletics and Bielak just came through. Fine.
Zack Greinke @ CHW – Yeah, it’s a bad third tier on Friday. Maybe Greinke goes 5+ strong?
Cal Quantrill @ NYM – The Mets are dangerous…and also can be, you know, The Mets. Quantrill always has a chance for six frames, though the WHIP and strikeouts may not be what you want them to be.
Johan Oviedo vs. ARI – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. BAL – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Michael Kopech vs. KCR – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Do Not Starts
Carlos Carrasco vs. CLE – It’s a Still ILL situation for Carrasco and I would wait-and-see given his ceiling isn’t too high.
Matthew Boyd @ WSN – We hold off on Boyd until the slider whiffs return to full form.
Kyle Gibson @ TOR – He’s a Cherry Bomb with a matchup that aims for destruction.
Jake Irvin vs. DET – You see the Tigers and wonder, but Irvin just doesn’t do enough to warrant a stream.
Clarke Schmidt @ CIN – I’ve lost a fair amount of faith in Schmidt and I hate throwing guys in Cincy.
Ken Waldichuk @ HOU – Waldichuk walks far too many and it’s the Astros.
Ranger Suárez vs. CHC – He’s not stretched out in full and needs a little more time to get comfortable + the Cubs are solid.
Adrian Houser @ TBR – Houser Schmouser.
Steven Matz vs. LAD – Matz will likely be the one kicked out of the rotation to make it five-man again for Liberatore.
Ben Lively vs. NYY – Never Raggedy Anne.
Karl Kauffmann? @ TEX – He could be coming up for the Rockies after holding a sub 20% strikeout rate in the minors. Noooooope.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)