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: 27-22
My pick yesterday: Braxton Garrett @ SFG
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 24-25
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt @ PIT
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
Kevin Gausman vs. BAL – AGA.
Shohei Ohtani vs. MIN – AGA. Hasn’t been incredible on the ERA side, but we’re going to ignore that.
Update: Max Scherzer vs. CLE – It’s a double-header and Scherzer looked like himself last time out + the Guardians.
Framber Valdez vs. OAK – He gets Oakland and should cruise.
Clayton Kershaw @ STL – AGA. Has a tougher matchup than Valdez, making this a little less safe.
Justin Verlander vs. CLE – AGA. He’ll rebound, don’t worry. It’s the Guardians.
Pablo López @ LAA – He’s going for the AGA tag, hopefully better than against the Dodgers.
Jesús Luzardo @ SFG – Much better outing last time and the Giants aren’t scary.
George Kirby @ ATL – Killed it against the Rangers, hopefully will continue against Atlanta.
Merrill Kelly @ PIT – It’s the Pirates.
Freddy Peralta @ TBR – He’s struggled a little with the breakers lately and the Rays are a dangerous crew. You’re still starting him, though.
Probable Starts
Shane Bieber @ NYM – The slider was gone last time and it destroyed him. Could be falling down in the future, I hope he rebounds here.
Update: Tanner Bibee @ NYM – Yesterday rained out and if Bibee has his four-seamer upstairs, this will work out well.
Lance Lynn vs. KCR – Much better last time, though it was against a terrible Guardians crew.
Andrew Heaney vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road and Heaney could fan 10.
Hunter Greene vs. NYY – The Yankees are scary and Greene hasn’t had his slider, but the strikeout upside is too great to resist.
Justin Steele @ PHI – He’s not getting slider whiffs but the heater has been fantastic.
Josiah Gray vs. DET – The Tigers make this reasonably safe, even if I’m not the biggest believer in Gray’s approach at the moment.
Alex Wood vs. MIA – He looked good in his Still ILL and now gets the Marlins without Jazz.
Questionable Starts
Michael Wacha vs. BOS – His command was wonderful last time, but the Red Sox are a dangerous crew.
Jack Flaherty vs. LAD – He had the velocity and whiffs last time, but will it stick?
Luis Severino @ CIN – It’s a Still ILL game, though I’m encouraged and excited to watch him start.
Update: Taijuan Walker vs. CHC – He faltered last time but if the splitter is there, this could still work out – he tossed just 40 pitches last time and the Phils feel it acted like a bullpen, allowing him to throw on short rest.
Do Not Starts
Dean Kremer @ TOR – It’s the Jays and Kremer’s ceiling isn’t very high. Outside chance of six frames.
Joey Wentz @ WSN – If his velocity is up, he could make it work against the Nationals.
Roansy Contreras vs. ARI – I hate his four-seamer these days, making him a Cherry Bomb on his best day.
Update: James Kaprielian @ HOU – Kap performed well last time with his heater and slider, maybe it works here too.
Corey Kluber @ SDP – Kluber is not one to trust at all.
Jared Shuster vs. SEA – Shuster hasn’t looked great since the spring.
Cooper Criswell? vs. MIL – Is this who the Rays are sending out there?
Connor Seabold @ TEX – Absolutely not.
Carlos Hernández @ CHW – I don’t know what the Royals are doing and if it’s Daniel Lynch, I’d avoid it. Likely a bullpen game…?
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Luis Castillo vs. OAK – AGA. I know he hasn’t been at his peak, but it’s Oakland.
Zack Wheeler vs. ARI – AGA. He was pushed back a day and should cruise here.
Cristian Javier @ MIL – AGA. The Brewers make for massive strikeout potential.
Corbin Burnes vs. HOU – AGA. At the bottom solely because it’s the Astros.
Probable Starts
Bailey Ober vs. SFG – Solid matchup and Ober is commanding incredibly well.
Chris Bassitt @ TBR – Would have him higher, but the Rays can rough him up. Still start him, of course, just a lower ceiling.
Charlie Morton vs. LAD – Killed it last time, but we won’t see 20 curveball whiffs again + it’s the Dodgers.
Alex Cobb @ MIN – I’m not too scared of the Twins and Cobb has done well as a Toby…for the most part. Please have the splitter.
Brady Singer vs. DET – He’s a Cherry Bomb who could be ultra sweet against the Tigers.
Jordan Montgomery @ CIN – I hate the matchup and his high WHIP, but Monty deserves to be started here.
Michael Lorenzen @ KCR – The bottom three are all Toby types facing terrible offenses. They could all go 6+ and deserve the attention as a solid Monday streamer.
Dane Dunning @ PIT – Even if I think he allows too much hard contact and few whiffs, Dunning deserves a nod against the Pirates.
Mike Clevinger @ CLE – His cutter made him more than a two-pitch arm and the Guardians are rough.
Questionable Starts
Edward Cabrera @ COL – It’s Coors…but Cabrera has survived there before. If he could just replicate his 67% fastball strike rate from last game…
Luis Ortiz vs. TEX – He didn’t have it last time, but there’s a chance he gets it back, even against the Rangers. I’d avoid this in most cases.
Tanner Houck @ LAA – I don’t trust that he has more than the slide piece and the Angels are a tough lineup to face.
Do Not Starts
Brandon Williamson vs. STL – He was impressive in Coors, but I don’t think the skills are that amazing and the Cardinals are hot as h*ck.
Hunter Gaddis vs. CHW – Is he even stretched out enough? And if he is…does it matter?
Kyle Muller @ SEA – Has he been productive yet this year?
Chase Anderson vs. MIA – It’s Coors, I don’t care if it’s Miami.
Gavin Stone @ ATL – He’s a changeup first arm and didn’t have it in his debut + Atlanta.
Chase Silseth vs. BOS – I didn’t see anything exceptional in his 2023 debut + the Red Sox are a dangerous crew.
Josh Fleming vs. TOR – It’s the Jays + a capped ceiling from Fleming.
Tommy Henry @ PHI – Two first names. Absolutely not.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)