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.
The 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: 60-44
My pick yesterday: Logan Allen @ PIT
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 54-50
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Carlos Carrasco vs. CWS
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
Luis Castillo vs. MIN – Aces gonna ace.
Shohei Ohtani vs. NYY – He’s been a little off and the blister has affected him. I wonder if the Angels push Ohtani back a start, but if they don’t, you let him fly.
Carlos Rodón @ LAA – After tossing nearly 90 pitches last time out, I feel this is the start where we see Rodón fully unleashed.
Julio Urías @ BAL – He’s looked solid and Camden is a great place to pitch.
Justin Verlander vs. CHW – Verlander isn’t at his peak, but still an obvious start.
Sandy Alcantara @ STL – This is pretty straightforward.
Charlie Morton vs. ARI – Morton may be less volatile than usual (welcome to July!) and the Diamondbacks are not the strongest offense.
Kenta Maeda @ SEA – I’d LOVE to see more sliders teasing swings outside the zone in this one.
José Berríos vs. SDP – He’s in a groove and the Padres aren’t enough to bench him.
Probably Starts
Brayan Bello @ OAK – I was tempted to place him in the top tier with the great matchup. I’m a little worried that sinker/change are the only exceptional offerings in his arsenal.
Yu Darvish @ TOR – I adored what Darvish did in his last start and I need to see it repeated for me to believe he’ll leave a start in Toronto unscathed.
Eduardo Rodriguez @ KCR – His command was better last time out and the Royals are a lovely gift.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. MIL – Cristopher’s change wasn’t as elite last time out, but it could come through in a big way here against the Brewers.
Kyle Hendricks vs. WSN – The changeup command was way off in his last outing and I expect Hendricks to get it back.
Questionable Starts
Aaron Civale @ PIT – He’s a Toby with a solid matchup. Debatedly in the tier above.
Dean Kremer vs. LAD – It’s been fun watching Kremer soar with his four-seamer and cutter, but the Dodgers could stop his momentum in a flash.
Graham Ashcraft vs. SFG – The slider command has been good, the cutter command not so much. Has it ever? No, not really.
UPDATE: Trevor Williams @ CHC – There’s an outside chance Williams goes six frames of production here.
Do Not Starts
Colin Rea @ PHI – He could chuck fastballs that find gloves.
Jon Gray vs. TBR – It’s the Rays and Gray is not in rhythm.
Rich Hill vs. CLE – It’s a desperate play, one you don’t need to make on a Wednesday.
Touki Toussaint @ NYM – It’s a huge dart throw, but with the way the Mets have been playing, this feels like that kind of start.
Patrick Corbin @ CHC – I know it’s Corbin, but every so often he has that lovely six inning game. Just saying.
Ryan Yarbrough vs. DET – Maybe the Fratty Pirate has it in him against the Tigers. Maybe.
Dakota Hudson vs. MIA – Hey, he’s back! And maybe he gets all the grounders for outs like the old days.
Ross Stripling @ CIN – It’s in Cincinnati and Stripling still doesn’t have his change, nor has he actually gone a full five. He did have a chance to last time out, though, and maybe this is it. Only if he’s cruising, of course.
Ken Waldichuk vs. BOS – He’s elevating and not doing a whole lot else, sadly.
Brandon Bielak @ COL – In Coors?!
UPDATE: Chase Silseth vs. NYY – Shohei is getting a start skipped due to the blister, and Silseth isn’t a guy to chase.
Ryne Nelson @ ATL – Against Atlanta?!
Cooper Criswell (Opener) @ TEX – In four frames in Texas?!
Austin Gomber vs. HOU – AS GOMBER?!
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Spencer Strider vs. ARI – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow vs. BAL – Aces gonna ace.
Corbin Burnes @ PHI – Aces gonna…oh right. Maybe this is the start?
Pablo López @ SEA – He’ll get back on the horse, don’t you worry.
George Kirby vs. MIN – Love Kirby, hate the low strikeout rate.
Blake Snell @ TOR – He’d be higher, but it’s Toronto.
Zac Gallen @ ATL – It’s Atlanta and Gallen is a little weird with his approach at the moment. Atlanta is scarier than Coors right now.
Andrew Abbott vs. SFG – I don’t see an ace here, but someone solid enough for the Giants.
Marcus Stroman vs. STL – There’s your steady start.
Chris Bassitt vs. SDP – This should be fine. I don’t think you’re benching Bassitt if you have him.
Probably Starts
J.P. France @ OAK – It’s the Athletics and while I don’t see the same upside from France that I once saw, this is still a solid outing.
Michael Lorenzen @ KCR – He’s proven himself a strong streamer against weak teams.
Taijuan Walker vs. MIL – It’s a Vargas Rule at this point for Walker and the Brewers aren’t likely to act like a brick wall.
Alex Cobb @ CIN – The slider has been there as the splitter hasn’t and I hope the slider is still there when the splitter in.
Alec Marsh vs. DET – He’s fresh off eleven strikeouts and this is the perfect litmus test to see how real that is. No, I don’t think it is after watching all of it, but hey, there’s a chance.
Steven Matz @ CHC – He’s up to 95 mph on the sinker and even with his stumble last time out, I think this is still worthwhile. If this one falters, okay, we take a step back.
Questionable Starts
NONE – There aren’t any for Thursday. Just the way it is. That’s just the way it is…things will never be the same…
Do Not Starts
José Quintana vs. CHW – It’s a very clear Still ILL for a pitcher highly reliant on precise command.
Michael Kopech @ NYM – He’s in a terrible place at the moment.
Kyle Gibson @ TBR – It’s the Rays and you don’t want the anxiety of Gibson.
Hogan Harris vs. HOU – The Astros are scary and Harris doesn’t have enough wallop in his arsenal.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)