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: 50-39
My pick yesterday: J.P. France @ STL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 46-43
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt vs. TBR
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 @ SEA – He’s healthy and pitching. Good enough for us.
Pablo López @ BAL – He’s far better than the ratios will tell you.
Bobby Miller @ KCR – Germán just tossed a perfect game after two duds. Just saying.
Justin Steele vs. CLE – His four-seamer has been incredible. Go for it.
Freddy Peralta @ PIT – The four-seamer hasn’t putaway batters as it has lost some rise this season. It feels surmountable, but that could be the answer to the poor ratios this year.
James Paxton @ TOR – If Paxton is healthy, you’re starting him, even against the Jays.
José Berríos vs. BOS – He’s on too good of a run to hold back now.
Probably Starts
Bryce Miller vs. TBR – I’m going to do it, though I understand the lack of faith in Bryce’s secondaries may bring some caution against the Rays.
Questionable Starts
Luis Severino @ STL – Even after shutting out the Rangers for six frames, it wasn’t a start that we can get behind. He’s in a rough spot at the moment and I’m scared to throw him out there against all but the worst offenses.
Dean Kremer vs. MIN – He’s done well with the cutter and four-seamer and the Twins are middling…?
Osvaldo Bido vs. MIL – I don’t have massive adoration for Bido’s repertoire, but the heaters and slider can earn enough strikes to take down the Brewers.
Michael Soroka vs. MIA – He’s supposed to return to the bigs and face the Marlins, where we have no idea how he’ll look. I think you’re okay going for it given the opposing lineup and an arsenal that speaks to going deep into games, but you may want to wait and see.
Jon Gray vs. HOU – Gray doesn’t have his fastball command and isn’t getting slider whiffs like before + Houston.
Cal Quantrill @ CHC – He’s returning to the Cleveland rotation and gets the Cubs. Even in a Still ILL, it’ll likely be the same Quantrill with sinkers earning grounders and cutters getting strikes. Good luck.
Alex Cobb @ NYM – He’s had the splitter working in his rehab starts, but it’s the Mets and I’m not sure how long he’ll go in this Still ILL.
Griffin Canning vs. ARI – Canning just survived Coors and is feeling his secondaries. That said, Arizona can put up numbers in a heartbeat and it may not be worth the risk.
Seth Lugo @ CIN – With Darvish getting pushed, Lugo is starting in Cincy and that’s far from a safe matchup. Let’s hope he can keep the ball in the yard.
Luis Medina vs. CHW – If you’re in dire need of a quality start, there’s a chance Medina finds a way through six against the White Sox.
Do Not Starts
Tommy Henry @ LAA – I like where his slider is at the moment, but that’s not enough to start him against the Angels.
Tanner Banks @ OAK – There isn’t enough here with Banks as I don’t even know if he’ll be able to go five frames. But hey, the Athletics!
Ronel Blanco @ TEX – Blanco could be a solid streamer this season, just not against the Rangers. Expect a ton of sliders once again.
Bryan Hoeing @ ATL – Hoeing is sinker focused, opening the door for a ton of grounders finding gloves. I hate making that gamble.
Carlos Carrasco vs. SFG – Carrasco hasn’t been fantasy relevant for a bit.
Josiah Gray @ PHI – This has all the potential to destroy your weekend without enough of a ceiling. I don’t think the sinker is the answer.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. WSN – I may be too low on Sánchez here, but he doesn’t do a whole lot with his repertoire from the left side and may exit this one before the end of the fifth.
Matthew Liberatore vs. NYY – His velocity is down, the slider is gone, and he’s not stretched out.
Michael Lorenzen @ COL – It’s Coors.
Austin Gomber vs. DET – It’s also Coors.
Jordan Lyles vs. LAD – It’s the league’s worst ERA leader.
UPDATE: Alec Marsh vs. LAD – Lyles is sick and the Royals are calling up Marsh for his MLB debut. He comes with 94 mph heaters that can get some whiffs upstairs, a changeup he’s confident in, and a slider to get strikes and whiffs. Maybe there’s something there in the bigs, though it’s a very obvious wait and see here against the Dodgers.
Graham Ashcraft vs. SDP – It’s THE GREAT DESTROYER.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Gerrit Cole @ STL – Aces gonna ace. The slider is back y’all.
Zack Wheeler vs. WSN – The fastballs are elite and I’m not worried about the dumb cutters from his last outing.
Dylan Cease @ OAK – The slider has returned and it’s Oakland. H’oh boy.
Tyler Glasnow @ SEA – We’ve seen both sides of the Glasnow coin and an outing against the whiff-heavy mariners should provide dividends.
Justin Verlander vs. SFG – Verlander is a safe play relative to the others in this tier.
Corbin Burnes @ PIT – Burnes has been a bit all over the place with a cutter he doesn’t get down enough and two secondaries that don’t earn the whiffs they used to. That said, it’s Pittsburgh, surely that’s a safe environment for him?
George Kirby vs. TBR – The Rays are monstrous, but if you have Kirby, you have to start him regardless.
Charlie Morton vs. MIA – Morton’s volatility is no secret, though the Marlins provide a higher floor.
Marcus Stroman vs. CLE – He’s below Morton for the sake of fewer strikeouts + the blister that gave him an early exit in London.
Eury Pérez @ ATL – It’s so much fun watching Eury and while some may want to bench him against Atlanta, I think you go for it if you have him.
Probably Starts
Julio Urías @ KCR – It looks like a Still ILL, but given the Royals’ dearth of offensive punch, Urías is still a safe start, even if he’ll likely be on a limited pitch count.
Tanner Bibee @ CHC – Bibee did all the right things in his last start and the Cubs don’t scare us.
Bailey Ober @ BAL – Ober has executed his gameplan consistently this season. It’s not electric, but it works.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. BOS – Kikuchi has figured out how to get curves and sliders inside the zone frequently and it’s catalyzed a fantastic run across the last month.
Hunter Brown @ TEX – It’s a terrifying matchup but if we have Hunter, I don’t think we can deny him time on the bump.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. HOU – I’m scared of the velocity dip and the Astros could punish him quickly.
Johan Oviedo vs. MIL – He’s our streaming pick of the day as the slider + curve make for a solid duo inside the zone. Just throw strikes against the Brewers and everything should be fine.
Questionable Starts
MacKenzie Gore @ PHI – The strikeouts have been there while Gore’s consistency hasn’t. We want him to be a BSB faithful and I hope he has another start to showcase that belief. The Phils are a difficult lineup and it could be another rough ratio + solid strikeout game for the young southpaw.
James Kaprielian vs. CHW – He’s lowered his velocity to throw more fastballs and sliders over the plate and it’s worked well for him. Here’s your sneaky stream for the day.
Tyler Anderson vs. ARI – The changeup was brilliant last time out, though the Diamondbacks are a dangerous crew.
Kyle Bradish vs. MIN – Bradish has a chance to be legit if he’s able to wield both his slider and curve throughout an outing. Despite the recent hot stretch, I’m still not fully onboard (even against the Twins) as he hasn’t displayed consistent command of his arsenal.
Jack Flaherty vs. NYY – He was scratched last time out with a hip injury and while I’m glad he’s stepping back onto the bump, I’m skeptical we’ll like his ability, even against a middling Yankee offense.
Anthony DeSclafani @ NYM – He was a bit better last time out with his command and yet, I’m not sold against the Mets.
Do Not Starts
Ryne Nelson @ LAA – The changeup became a major weapon last time out and I have little faith it’ll repeat its success.
Michael Wacha? @ CIN – I’m not confident Wacha will even make this start after enduring shoulder fatigue and if he does, I anticipate it to be on a very limited pitch count.
Kutter Crawford @ TOR – I dig Crawford as a PLV darling, but not in the short term against the Jays.
Daniel Lynch vs. LAD – The fastball/changeup combo is…okay. This matchup against the Dodgers is absolutely not.
Brandon Williamson vs. SDP – Williamson has little to offer in his repertoire and hosting the Padres in Cincy is a horror film.
Tyler Alexander @ COL – It’s Coors.
Peter Lambert vs. DET – Coors, it is.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)