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: 48-38
My pick yesterday: Matthew Boyd @ TEX
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 45-41
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Colin Rea @ NYM
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
Shohei Ohtani vs. CHW – I know, Ohtani hasn’t been at the top of his game, but it’s a product of fewer sliders and guess what? The White Sox enable RHP sliders. You know this and you’ve already slotted Ohtani in as your #1 SP, too.
Kevin Gausman vs. SFG – We haven’t seen a ultra-mega-ccccccombo-stud start from Gausman in a bit and yet, we know it’s around the corner.
Framber Valdez @ STL – The cutter is legit and it makes him so legit.
Zac Gallen vs. TBR – It’s a trio of AGA arms who have terrible matchups. Take your pick, I’m starting them all regardless of opposition.
Clayton Kershaw @ COL – That’s right, TATIAGA in Coors. BRING IT.
Joe Ryan @ ATL – Joe has struggled a little with the secondaries and I think he’s slightly more prone to getting exposed by a tough offense than the other two.
Yu Darvish @ PIT – Nick, this is the Pirates! And yet, Darvish does what he does regardless of opposition. Kinda like the aces, but with the floor getting flowered, not the ceiling getting limited.
Garrett Whitlock vs. MIA – Whitlock is…um…Whilock’d in and the Marlins roll over easily.
Tyler Wells vs. CIN – When an unmoveable object meets an unstoppable force, you hope for the best. As much as the Cincy offense is red hot, Wells has survived all the wrenches thrown at him this year.
Probably Starts
Sandy Alcantara @ BOS – Obviously I’m still starting Sandy, but this is for all of you who have your hesitations to feel justified. It’s okay, you can let him bench him for a game if you want to. I’m a believer but you don’t have to be right now. The changeup will improve.
Bryce Elder vs. MIN – After a stumble against the Nats, Elder has picked up right where he left off in back-to-back starts.
Taj Bradley @ ARI – The Diamondbacks can be scary, but if Bradley has his curve in the zone like he did last start, he’s golden.
Bryan Woo vs. WSN – The Nationals aren’t scary and Woo’s fastball holds a 19% SwStr rate this year. If only his slider were a little better…
Andrew Abbott @ BAL – He’s been crushing it and now heads to Walltimore. That said, I’m still figuring out if I like Abbott or not and the Orioles can mess up pitchers in a blink of an eye. This series is going to be so fun.
Ranger Suárez @ CHC – Suárez is in one of his grooves and the Cubs aren’t scary.
Martín Pérez vs. DET – It’s a Toby against the Tigers.
Jhony Brito @ OAK – The Athletics’ moves are weak and Brito’s heaters can carve up five innings easily.
Gavin Williams @ KCR – I don’t want to judge Williams too harshly based on his debut and the Royals make for a welcome second outing when his nerves are hopefully calmer.
Michael Kopech @ LAA – The fastball has been inconsistent but are we ready to give up completely after one bad outing against the Rangers?
Questionable Starts
Julio Teheran @ NYM – You do you. VARGAS RULE BABBBYYYY. Sure.
Brady Singer vs. CLE – He’s a Cherry Bomb. Pop the cork, fingers snapping, spin the wheel, round and round it goes…
Jake Irvin @ SEA – He suddenly featured two ticks of added velocity last time out and the Mariners can make middling pitchers look like aces. This is a sneaky stream for deeper leagues.
Paul Blackburn vs. NYY – The Yankees are a team you can stream against and Blackburn’s kitchen-sink approach opens the door to successful nights.
Jordan Montgomery vs. HOU – If The Bear has his curve and change working, he can survive.
Do Not Starts
Rich Hill vs. SDP – Hill is up for consideration when he gets weak teams, but he hasn’t even come through with that lately and the Padres are far from weak.
David Peterson vs. MIL – Hey, he’s back! This is a bit of a mystery box as Peterson hasn’t had his prime slider since last year, but maybe he tweaked something between his last major start that has him soar against the Brewers.
Jameson Taillon vs. PHI – The Cubs gave him some extra rest and I’m hoping he has five strong innings in him. Gonna be tough against the Phils.
Alex Wood @ TOR – The sinker/slider just isn’t enough.
Matt Manning? @ TEX – Manning is likely starting Tuesday or Thursday and we’re obviously benching this Still ILL who hasn’t been a solid fantasy arm in his career.
Connor Seabold vs. LAD – Never Seabold.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Blake Snell @ PIT – He’s been on such a good run and it’s the Pirates. There’s even room to get even better…
Aaron Nola @ CHC – I want to live every day like it’s Nola day again.
Logan Gilbert vs. WSN – The four-seamer and splitter have been weird but we saw the slider come into form last time out.
Cristian Javier @ STL – Please throw sliders for strikes…please throw sliders for strikes…
Braxton Garrett @ BOS – The sinker command has been stupid good and his new cutter has been a gamechanger.
Zach Eflin @ ARI – Eflin and the rest below have the toughest matchups in the top tier and yet we’re still starting them all.
Mitch Keller vs. SDP – The command has returned as the back luck settled down.
Lucas Giolito @ LAA – Giolito came out firing 94 mph with great sliders. Just execute the changeup to Ohtani and you’ll be fine.
Logan Webb @ TOR – 50+ changeups have been his thing and if the slider can be useful on top of it, he’ll give you another quality start.
Probably Starts
Logan Allen @ KCR – He hasn’t had his slider, but it’s the Royals. Allen should be fine here.
Domingo Germán @ OAK – It’s been two poor outings, but the curve is still good and it’s the Athletics. Go for it.
JP Sears vs. NYY – The Yankees are not a terrifying offense and Sears has a 13% SwStr with the 11th best PLV among all SP. Wild.
Kodai Senga vs. MIL – I guess I’m going to believe in the forkball against the Brewers? At least he’s showed the skill to survive once when he didn’t have the pitch.
Questionable Starts
Jaime Barría vs. CHW – I kinda dig this start for Barria with his slider being the main offering against the susceptible White Sox. The biggest concern is his pitch count as he hasn’t tossed a whole lot lately.
Kenta Maeda @ ATL – Maeda killed it against the Tigers but, well, it was the Tigers. I’d prefer to be patient in this second start and hopefully showcase a foundation we feel confident in moving forward.
Wade Miley @ NYM – If Miley has his command, he’ll be able to steal called strikes and generate quick outs against the Mets.
Dane Dunning vs. DET – It’s Detroit and Dunning always has a chance. I still don’t like his repertoire a whole lot.
Drew Smyly vs. PHI – Just get the dang curveball down and he could do well here.
Michael Soroka vs. MIN – Ayyyy he’s back again! Let’s take it slow here, but I want to believe Soroka has been able to improve on his command. That was his best skill when he first hit the bigs and with more time on the bump, I believe in his ability to refine and polish.
Do Not Starts
Kyle Gibson vs. CIN – You never know with Gibson and it’s the Reds.
Miles Mikolas vs. HOU – He’s a poor man’s shot at a Quality Start and the Astros are going to make that tough.
Zach Davies vs. TBR – Even if he has his changeup, he might not have anything else.
Austin Cox? vs. CLE – I kinda dug what Austin did in his 3.2 frames last time out as he went 8/24 whiffs on his four-seamer. It comes with a ton of rise and I have to wonder what we get if he’s able to pound the upper half consistently. Is this the best pitcher for the Royals? Honestly, maybe. It’s a low bar for the Royals, after all. That said, it’s a terribly small sample so let’s not go crazy yet.
Kyle Freeland vs. LAD – Freeland has done some dumb things this year.
Joey Wentz @ TEX – Wentz had his one amazing nine strikeout game that is unlikely to be repeated and now gets the Rangers. Womp womp.
Patrick Corbin @ SEA – Oh hi.
Trevor Richards vs. SFG – I don’t expect him to go very long here as this may end up being more of Bowden Francis and that’s not worth your time either.
Luke Weaver @ BAL – Maaaaaaaybe? Nah.
Michael Grove? @ COL – Are the Dodgers bringing back Grove to start? If so, how long? And will he actually have elevated four-seamers to complement the slider? In Coors?!
Chris Murphy? vs. MIA – The Red Sox are likely going bullpen again here, but maybe Murphy gets some extended time. He’s not worth a roster spot at all.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)