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.
Streaming record is determined by “was this a productive game for 12-teamers if I started them?” Roughly a PQS with a Win and a strikeout per inning with a sub 1.20 WHIP. Close calls are decided by Twitch chat.
Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 45-36
My pick yesterday: Garrett Whitlock @ MIN
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 42-39
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Rich Hill vs. CHC
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 vs. KCR – Aces gonna ace. Duh.
Joe Ryan vs. BOS – Please show me a fantastic slider or splitter in this one. Preferably slider.
Blake Snell @ SFG – Can he go 12 strikeouts for the third straight start?
UPDATE: Aaron Nola vs. ATL – I debated him vs. Snell and ultimately, Nola is more prone to the blowup against Atlanta with the way Snell is going.
Mitch Keller @ MIA – It’s the Marlins and I want to believe Keller is on the path of redemption.
Braxton Garrett vs. PIT – Garrett has been lights out with his new cutter.
Probably Starts
Logan Allen vs. OAK – He was dropped in many leagues and yet it’s the Athletics. He needs his slider back, but even with just his fastball and changeup, this could be well worthwhile.
JP Sears @ CLE – We’re hoping he can flirt with 20 whiffs again focusing on elevated heaters.
Domingo Germán vs. SEA – The Mariners have been whiffing a ton and Germán is not the man you saw against the Red Sox.
Bryan Woo @ NYY – The fastball is solid, the slider still needs work. That may be fine for the Yankees and I’d take the chance.
Bryce Elder @ PHI – He rebounded against Rockie Road and given the magnificent 2023 campaign thus far, you’re still starting him. It does feel a little risky, though.
Questionable Starts
Tommy Henry @ WSN – The slider has been great recently and the Nationals aren’t too scary.
Taijuan Walker vs. ATL – Who knows what Walker will do on a given day (is it 92? 94? Splitters 45% usage? A new cutter?!) and even against Atlanta, I won’t rule out some Taijuan magic.
Do Not Starts
Alex Wood vs. SDP – He’s not fully stretched out yet and the Padres are hot.
Jake Irvin vs. ARI – Absolutely not.
Nick Pivetta? @ MIN – If he does get the start, Pivetta isn’t stretched out enough to make it worthwhile, let alone the whole “is he actually going to pitch well” part.
UPDATE: Brandon Walter @ MIN – He’s getting the call for the Red Sox and has been horrific in Triple-A. No thanks.
Max Castillo @ TBR – Oh dear.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Logan Webb vs. ARI – It’s tough to choose the man at the top today and I went with Webb as the safest arm of the lot despite arguably the toughest matchup. As long as the changeup is working, he’ll be fantastic.
Logan Gilbert @ BAL – The splitter hasn’t been as good as we saw early in the year, but I imagine he’ll get the feel back and dominate once again, especially with the left field in Camden.
Zach Eflin vs. KCR – Eflin is in a great place and the Royals are one of the worst around. He still has his nights being off with his cutter and sinker, though. (The curve is ole reliable at this point.)
Chris Bassitt vs. OAK – It seems like the best play, though Bassitt is most prone to a clunker among the group.
Jesús Luzardo vs. PIT – It’s been lovely to see Luzardo actually have productive WHIPs as of late and I still dig his fastball command with two legit secondaries.
Lucas Giolito vs. BOS – Giolito has been in purgatory all year where he has rarely been at his peak, however his command has been strong and should be good enough against the Red Sox.
Joe Musgrove vs. WSN – Musgrove is dealing with elbow pain and hasn’t ascended the way we want him to this year with his curve and slider. I miss the 50%+ slider & curve usage days.
Probably Starts
Brayan Bello @ CHW – I love his change and fastballs and the only weakness is the slider…which often comes to life for RHP against the White Sox.
Shane Bieber vs. MIL – The whiffs are not there and it’s rough. The Brewers aren’t scary, but Bieber’s lack of dominance opens the door for disappointment.
Questionable Starts
Emmet Sheehan vs. HOU – I had a tough time ranking this tier and by all means, go with your gut over me. Usually do that, too, I’m just here to give another perspective. Anyway, Sheehan has a solid fastball and hopefully a slider that works better in his second outing. The Astros are a hot/cold team and Sheehan could escape with a Win with quick innings off the back of his lateral fastball.
Taijuan Walker vs. NYM – I have no idea what we’re going to get from Walker. Will it be 94+ ? 40%+ splitter usage? A cutter that actually is effective inside the zone? WHO KNOWS.
Kodai Senga @ PHI – As long as the forkball is there, this will be effective. I still don’t trust the slider/fastball being sustainable for success.
Kyle Gibson vs. SEA – Gibson has been coming through in good matchups as of late, but you never really know what he’s going to do.
Luis L. Ortiz @ MIA – It’s a slider that hopefully scores a high CSW mark while the fastballs need to find the zone without punishment. And maybe a changeup…? Nah, don’t lean into that.
AJ Smith-Shawver @ CIN – We had a rainout Wednesday and Atlanta pushed him to Friday. I’m a little skeptical of his fastball performance inside the zone, though I’m excited to see more of him on the bump. GABP is a scary place to pitch.
Kenta Maeda @ DET – It’s a “STILL ILL” for Maeda and I’m thrilled to have him pitching again. Look for the slider o-swing% and fastballs around the edges to suggest if he’s close to his 2020 self. What about the splitter? In time.
J.P. France @ LAD – He’s a Toby facing a tough offense. Starts like these aren’t the reason we roster France.
Wade Miley @ CLE – If Miley can feature the same command he had in his return from the IL, he could cruise for five frames again. I worry he may be a little limited and one start of good command is not trustworthy.
Do Not Starts
Luis Severino vs. TEX – The fastballs have been better than the results, while the slider and change are lagging behind. I’d take the chance against a poor offense, but the Rangers? Yeah, we bench this and hope we have confidence for next time.
Zach Davies @ SFG – The changeup is everything…and yet even when he had a great one last time, the results didn’t follow. This isn’t it.
Joey Wentz vs. MIN – He was exceptional last time out, but I wonder if it was a noisy situation of foul balls – Wentz normally has those pitches return balls in play (not whiffs), and it allowed him to get to two strikes more often –> more strikeout opportunities –> nine total strikeouts. There’s a chance it replicates, though.
Dane Dunning @ NYY – I just don’t like Dunning’s stuff. It’s not the worst but I feel like it’s not worth the risk.
James Kaprielian @ TOR – If he’s pumping four-seamers and sliders into the zone with consistency, this could work out. He did so better last time at the cost of velocity, which I’m not sure is a sustainable adjustment and the Jays could wallop him quickly.
Patrick Sandoval @ COL – It’s Coors and The Irish Panda hasn’t had his changeup + slider in a game for ages.
Zack Greinke @ TBR – Greinke does what Greinke does.
Kyle Freeland vs. LAA – Freeland has these moments of magic and you do whatever you want.
Luke Weaver vs. ATL – He’s had a Birthday Party here and there.
Patrick Corbin @ SDP – It’s Corbin against the hot Padres. Absolutely not.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)