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: 56-43
My pick yesterday: JP Sears @ BOS
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 53-46
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: JP Sears @ BOS
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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Please note, many of these are likely to change as more teams solidify their rotations for the weekend after the all-star break.
Auto-Starts
Shohei Ohtani vs. HOU – Even against the Astros, we’re leading with Ohtani. He’s too good and if he’s starting, it means the blister is all healed.
Tyler Glasnow @ KCR – He’s a little more volatile, but the potential for absolute dominance is higher than the others.
George Kirby vs. DET – The ratios should be bliss and hopefully we get some strikeouts along the way.
Pablo López @ OAK – It’s Oakland and Pablo has been on his redemption arc.
Sandy Alcantara @ BAL – The next three arms all have tough matchups while Sandy gets a middling Orioles crew.
Corbin Burnes @ CIN – I’m a little scared of this one, but Burnes has been plenty better over the last month.
Justin Verlander vs. LAD – He doesn’t get a ton of strikeouts and the Dodgers are tough, but Verlander is still worth your time.
Julio Urías @ NYM – The Dodgers are likely going to keep him on some limitation with his pitch count.
Brayan Bello @ CHC – If you have Bello, you’re absolutely starting him against the Cubs.
Charlie Morton vs. CHW – Same goes with Morton, volatility and all.
Probably Starts
Yu Darvish @ PHI – He’s been going through a rough patch and I absolutely understand giving him a start to recalibrate. That said, I’m starting him wherever I can.
Jack Flaherty vs. WSN – It’s the Nationals and Flaherty isn’t looking destructive.
Chris Bassitt vs. ARI – Now it gets a little harder as the Diamondbacks pack a punch, but I’d still start Bassitt against all but the elite offenses.
Kyle Hendricks vs. BOS – His last outing against the Yankees was great until the final moment as his sinker and changeup command are still wonderful.
Questionable Starts
Carlos Rodón @ COL – It’s Coors + Rodón is still going to be a bit limited. He’s an auto-start after this one.
Eduardo Rodriguez @ SEA – His command wasn’t there in his first start back, though Seattle could bring out the best in him.
Jon Gray vs. CLE – He hasn’t found his four-seamer again and that scares me.
J.P. France @ LAA – Without Trout, this is a serviceable Toby outing.
Dean Kremer vs. MIA – Kremer could arguably go higher up the ranks with a date against the Marlins, but I’m not ready to fully jump in yet.
Mackenzie Gore @ STL – If he has his fastball command and breakers for strikes, the punchouts could pile up.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. SDP – I wonder if we’re about to see a run from Sanchez in the second half with a whiff heavy changeup and sinker that batters can’t barrel. I wouldn’t stream him here if you weren’t in dire need.
Paul Blackburn vs. MIN – I recognize Blackburn could go six frames of production against a meh Twins offense. Don’t do this if you’re not searching for starts.
Do Not Starts
Rich Hill vs. SFG – It’s a solid matchup, but Hill has rarely taken advantage of them as of late.
Ross Stripling @ PIT – The Giants haven’t let Stripling get stretched out much + his changeup is not the pitch it was last year.
Graham Ashcraft vs. MIL – There’s a chance, but Ashcraft’s horrid cutter command will be the bane of my existence for a long time.
Tommy Henry @ TOR – The Jays are too good to risk this. I hope the slider returns, though.
Aaron Civale @ TEX – It’s the Rangers.
Michael Kopech @ ATL – It’s Atlanta.
Alec Marsh vs. TBR – It’s the Rays.
Austin Gomber vs. NYY – It’s Gomber. In Coors.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)
Any word if Kershaw or Wacha starting anytime soon?