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 (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: 17-13
My pick yesterday: Domingo Germán vs CLE
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 14-16
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: MacKenzie Gore vs CHC
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Typical aces kick off the first tier, while Joe Ryan against the White Sox nearly took the second spot. If I believed in his slider or splitter taking the leap to be a strong #2 pitch, he’d be there.
- I know Zac Gallen is in the middle of another scoreless inning streak, but the Rangers are a tough crew and will provide a hefty challenge as he flirts with another historic run.
- At the end of the tier, I’m starting Freddy Peralta even with a date in Coors. Some may remember his phenomenal MLB debut inside Coors as I believe Peralta’s arsenal isn’t as affected as others.
- We’re fortunate to have our streaming pick of the day lead off the second tier with Tyler Wells against the Royals. He’s a safe play against the worst wRC+ lineup in the majors where you could steal an early Win this week.
- The Yankee, Cardinal, Marlin, and National lineups are all weak enough to start the likes of Tanner Bibee, Bryce Elder, Patrick Sandoval, and Hayden Wesneski on Tuesday.
- Seattle hasn’t struck fear in many pitchers this season either, but Mason Miller hasn’t been able to pitch a full five frames yet – even with his pitch count above 85 in his last start. From a stuff standpoint, he’d be at the top of this tier, but I want to see one start where he puts it all together first. Here’s to hoping it comes Tuesday evening.
- I have my concerns about Graham Ashcraft, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jon Gray. Ashcraft isn’t able to put together strikeouts and the Padres with Tatis make for an explosive crew. Kikuchi’s command is still erratic, and Gray doesn’t pack the punch we want him to carry. I’m leaning start on all three, but I understand if you want to play it safe instead.
- The third tier features Steven Matz as I have high hopes he’s beginning his path of redemption against the Angels. The stuff is better than the results he’s gotten thus far.
- While there’s a chance Michael Wacha has his best command or Anthony DeSclafani can navigate a tough Astros lineup, I’d prefer to chase other options instead.
- Michael Kopech has been a disaster for trusting managers this year, though his fastball velocity has flirted with 97 mph across his last two starts. Facing an easier (still not weak) offense with the Twins could open the door for the productive outing we’ve been dying to see.
- With uncooperative weather hitting Detroit, the Mets are likely playing it safe with Max Scherzer and pushing him to Wednesday, allowing Joey Lucchesi to get another start. As we saw last time out, it’s hard to believe in a strong start from Lucchesi, but I won’t rule it out against the lowly Tigers.
- In the bottom tier, the Dodgers are worse against LHP, but I have little faith Matt Strahm can survive long enough nor carry enough firepower to make this a worthwhile outing.
- Despite being productive last time out, I would hate to roll with Tanner Houck against the Jays. His slider can be fantastic, but the rest doesn’t do enough for me to risk facing a top tier offense.
- Update: The Mariners are calling up Bryce Miller to start, pushing back Logan Gilbert one day (again). Pick up Bryce today for your fantasy teams, though I have a general rule of not starting prospect pitchers in their MLB debuts. My understanding is that Miller has an overpowering fastball and questionable command and he hasn’t had the smoothest season in Double-A in 2023 thus far.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- The ranks begin with many clear options, going all the way down to Marcus Stroman, Kyle Wright, and Andrew Heaney. If I’m rostering any of them, they are getting the green light facing middling opponents.
- I debated adding Logan Webb to the top tier as well, but in the end, he’s a WHIP risk against a top tier offense in Houston.
- Joining Webb in the second tier are Kyle Gibson and Seth Lugo. They aren’t as electric as those in the top tier, but against the Royals and Reds, you should feel good slotting them into your lineup.
- Wednesday is the best day if you’re into starting pitching, with the possibility of three exciting prospect pitchers hitting the bump. As of typing this, Louie Varland and Brandon Pfaadt are not 100% confirmed, but are highly likely to start and…I’d sit them as I have to follow my rule of not starting debuts (albeit, this feels like a debut for Varland even though it’s his second start).
- Varland is my streaming pick of the day, though, as he gets the White Sox and has a lovely heater sitting two ticks harder than what we saw last year. There’s a legit shot he dominates and earns a secure rotation spot moving forward for the Twins and I’d do everything I could to grab him where he’s still available – if it doesn’t work out, just flip him back to the wire.
- There’s also Gavin Stone debuting for the Dodgers. He has an elite changeup, though I am a little concerned there isn’t a whole lot of depth in that repertoire. Still, pick him up and we’ll talk about this on Thursday.
- As for Brandon Pfaadt, I love his heater and slider, but the Rangers are rough and, you know, the rules. I’m excited he’s finally getting his regular shot in the rotation, though.
- Back to the third tier. Alek Manoah is still a mess with his command, Mitch Keller has had success but it’s the Rays, Miles Mikolas could be okay against the Angels, JP Sears has an improved fastball and slider, but the Mariners could mess him up, and Clarke Schmidt has yet to carry an approach that works.
- In the bottom tier, there are worlds where Braxton Garett, Zack Greinke, Nick Pivetta, and Joey Wentz make it work, but you really don’t want to risk it.
- And please don’t start Eric Lauer in Coors. Sure, there’s a chance for some more ridiculous magic, but it’s not the roll of the dice you want to take.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)