Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 6/2 & 6/3

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: 33-28

My pick yesterday: Zach Davies vs. COL

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 29-32

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Zach Davies vs. COL

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

 

Zack Wheeler @ WSN – He’s fresh off his best outing of the year and it’s the Nats.

Shohei Ohtani @ HOU – Ohtani starts, you start him.

Luis Castillo @ TEX – The Rangers aren’t a fun offense to face, but Castillo is pitching as well as we’ve seen him all season.

Cristian Javier vs. LAA – Javier hasn’t had his slider for strikes across the last three games, but I’d expect that trend to change shortly.

Corbin Burnes @ CIN – His secondaries haven’t come through lately and there is a touch of concern inside Cincy, but you’re obviously starting him.

Clayton Kershaw vs. NYY – The last two games have been rough for Kershaw and I anticipate a reset back to the norm against the Yankees.

Tyler Glasnow @ BOS – The skills were there in his season debut. We start Glasnow until further notice.

Logan Webb vs. BAL – The new slider could propel the strikeout rate back to 25%+ levels.

Chris Bassitt @ NYM – He stumbled for the first time since his season debut and don’t let the small sample deter you.

 

Probable Starts

 

Jon Gray vs. SEA – His slider has been stupid good. My skepticism lies in his heater and changeup, and it should be enough against the Mariners.

Justin Verlander vs. TOR – The slider isn’t there and the Jays are tough. Be careful – I may keep lowering Verlander until I see the slider return.

Luis Severino @ LAD – He’s looked like his former self, save for a few missing whiffs on the slider. It’s good enough to start here.

Merrill Kelly vs. ATL – Kelly has been dominating so much that I’m breaking the Toby rule to start him against Atlanta. Arizona’s #3 infield defense helps, too.

Bailey Ober vs. CLE – The Guardians are a gift as Ober has had his fastball command and a solid breaker.

Edward Cabrera vs. OAK – It’s Oakland and we can only hope he throws enough strikes.

Charlie Morton @ ARI – He’s a premium Cherry Bomb and I need to come to terms with that.

Jack Flaherty @ PIT – The velocity and whiffs oscillate between starts, though a date with the Pirates makes this worthwhile.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Hogan Harris @ MIA – He’s a craft lefty who could perform against a mediocre Marlins team. Weird to have him as the streaming pick (I get it), but I see it working.

Michael Wacha vs. CHC – Changeup has been great, but is the command good enough on everything else?

Garrett Whitlock vs. TBR – I like his three pitch mix, but the Rays are the Rays.

Josiah Gray vs. PHI – The ERA is all he has going for him and that will likely get worse after this one.

Brandon Williamson vs. MIL – If he’s nailing his cutters, there’s a chance he takes down a poor offense.

Dean Kremer @ SFG – Kremer doesn’t have a whole lot of firepower in his arsenal and the Giants are a solid squad.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Mike Clevinger vs. DET – It’s a Still ILL, even against Detroit.

Aaron Civale @ MIN – It’s also a Still ILL, even against Minnesota.

Roansy Contreras vs. STL – The slider is good, the rest isn’t. Low Win chance as well.

Reese Olson @ CHW – He’s fanned 19 across his last two Triple-A games, but has a massive history of terrible control and walk rate issues. Far too risky for an MLB debut.

Jameson Taillon @ SDP – I’m waiting for him to get into a groove with the great Cubs defense behind him.

Jordan Lyles vs. COL – Despite the matchup, don’t lean on Lyles coming through for you.

Chase Anderson @ KCR – There’s an outside chance this works, but the ceiling is so low.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Auto-Starts

 

Spencer Strider @ ARI – He may be the #1 SP on Monday.

Gerrit Cole @ LAD – He’s hoping to still be the #1 SP on Monday.

Cristian Javier vs. LAA – Slider hasn’t been earning strikes, but it’s still very worthwhile.

Sonny Gray vs. CLE – Super inconsistent with his repertoire as of late, but it’s the Guardians.

Yu Darvish vs. CHC – Darvish does what Darvish does.

 

Probable Starts

 

Eury Pérez vs. OAK – There’s still polish to be had for the 20-year-old, obviously, but he’s in a good enough place to dominate the Athletics.

Logan Allen @ MIN – After boasting incredible command against the Orioles, we have to hope it sticks against a middling Twins offense.

Dylan Cease vs. DET – It’s the Tigers…but he just struggled against the Tigers. It’ll come down to his slider earning strikes like the good days.

Drew Smyly @ SDP – The BSB is still in effect, even if things didn’t go his way last time out.

Alex Cobb vs. BAL – I worry about the splitter not being there, but it’s been present for the majority of his career, pushing him into the second tier by a hair.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Jordan Montgomery @ PIT – Traditionally, a Toby with a good matchup goes into the next tier, but JorMont is struggling with the hook a whole lot lately.

Andrew Heaney vs. SEA – The strikeout upside is real, I wonder if he’ll have his slider or not.

Luis Medina @ MIA – This may be a surprise streaming pick, but I see Medina as a relatively safe QS play against the Marlins.

Michael Lorenzen @ CHW – You may want to take a chance on Lorenzen instead and it may be the wiser move, honestly. It’s close between him and Medina.

MacKenzie Gore vs. PHI – Tons of strikeouts last time out, but I worry about the explosiveness of the Phillies offense and the inconsistency start-to-start of Gore. But Nick, the Phils are struggggling right now. Yeah, I get that. Feel free to move him higher up if you want to lean on that.

José Berríos @ NYM – Berríos is looking a whole lot better with his sinker over his four-seamer, but the Mets are a tough team to endure.

Graham Ashcraft vs. MIL – This seems like an obvious play, but Ashcraft’s command is not a strong suit and he’s just a two-pitch pitcher now with cutters and sliders. He’s not the man you envisioned.

Luis L. Ortiz vs. STL – I hope the sinkers and sliders are good enough. I worry that his heaters don’t miss bats and his command is volatile.

Kyle Bradish @ SFG – Maybe he has enough with his breakers and sinkers. The Giants are kinda good, though.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Tanner Houck vs. TBR – Houck fell from his peak command and now gets the Rays.

Daniel Lynch vs. COL – There’s a chance this one works given it’s Rockie Road though I’d prefer to wait until he showcases an arsenal that demands production.

Patrick Sandoval @ HOU – The Astros are strong and Sandoval isn’t in a good rhythm with his slider and changeup.

Colin Rea @ CIN – We’ve seen him have surprising success this season, but it’s no fun pitching in Cincy.

Dylan Covey @ WSN – Hey, there’s a chance. It’s the Nats, after all.

Yonny Chirinos  @ BOS – There’s a chance, but it’s not one you want to take.

Corey Kluber vs. TBR – Kluber has rarely been productive this year and the Rays are solid (doubleheader day!)

Marco Gonzales @ TEX – He’s only worthwhile against the weakest of offenses.

Ryne Nelson vs. ATL –  Ryne doesn’t have his secondaries and that frightens me against Atlanta.

Austin Gomber @ KCR – Even outside of Coors, I still have zero interest in Gomber.

Josh Fleming @ BOS – Fleming is infrequently a guy you want to start.

Tylor Megill vs. TOR – Megill hasn’t looked solid for far too long + the Jays are destructive.

Michael Grove vs. NYY – We haven’t seen Grove excel this year and the Yankees can punish him quickly. I imagine his pitch count is heavily limited, too.

 

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