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: 63-46
My pick yesterday: Tyler Anderson vs. PIT
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 55-54
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Tyler Anderson vs. PIT
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 @ MIN – Aces gonna ace. Duh.
Yu Darvish vs. PIT – His new approach is golden and all I want is for him to keep doing it.
Kenta Maeda vs. SEA – His splitter was so dang good last time, I wonder if he’ll lean more on sliders for whiffs this time around.
Probably Starts
Logan Allen vs. KCR – The clear streaming pick of the day after fanning eight last time and getting the Royals. I was even tempted to put him in the top tier as I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t start Allen here…but he doesn’t carry the same consistent ceiling as the others.
Tarik Skubal vs. SFG – His skills last start were not representative of the player underneath. Keep starting Skubal.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. BAL – He’s on a solid groove, though the Orioles can be a tough offense to deal with these days. I’m still going for it with his great changeup and hard to barrel sinker.
José Berríos @ LAD – It’s Berríos and his wonderful hot stretch…and also the Dodgers.
Nathan Eovaldi @ HOU – His velocity drop is absolutely TERRIFYING and it’s the Astros and yet, he’s survived thus far…? This could be the game that makes us all go “Oh right, of course he allowed 7 ER.”
Dean Kremer @ PHI – He was dominating until hitting a bump last time out as his four-seamer and cutter command was out of whack. I’ll give him another shot here before demoting him to the third tier.
Questionable Starts
UPDATE: Jon Gray vs. HOU – I hate it. I hate all of these. Eovaldi is getting skipped because his velocity is down to 93.1 mph (FINALLY) and Gray could be on the upward trend, but I want to see it first
Graham Ashcraft @ MIL – It’s the Brewers, but Ashcraft doesn’t have good cutter command. I really don’t like any of these as sneaky options for Monday and would rather pass alltogether.
Ryne Nelson vs. STL – Is the cutter really that good of a secondary pitch? I don’t think it is.
Brandon Bielak vs. TEX – It’s Texas and yet Bielak just cruised in Colorado. I don’t buy it in the slightest, but hey, there’s a chance, obviously.
Ross Stripling @ DET – He was able to go five frames last time out, though he’s still on a limited pitch count and doesn’t have his changeup of old. I hate it but recognize he could be taking steps forward as he faces a Tigers team highly susceptible to right-handed changeups.
Do Not Starts
Colin Rea vs. CIN – Rea has had some magic here and there, but the reward isn’t high enough to combat the clear risk facing the hot Reds crew.
Quinn Priester @ SDP – I wasn’t impressed by his debut and don’t see a reason to chase this one, even if debuts are rarely indicative of their future performance.
Patrick Corbin vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road and Corbin is featuring a better slider annnnnnd I don’t care.
Ryan Yarbrough @ CLE – Sure, he has a chance, but velocity is down and the Fratty Pirate is not the guy you want to roll with.
Karl Kauffmann (Opener) @ WSN – Who? Yeah, I know. He has a chance to go five away from Coors…? Okay I’ll stop.
Michael Grove vs. TOR – It’s the Jays, even if I have some affinity for Grove with his slider.
Dakota Hudson @ ARI – He’s not at the point where we think there’s a shot at 5-6 frames, which would still come with a horrible WHIP.
UPDATE: Adam Wainwright @ ARI – It’s a Still ILL and we do not want to touch this.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tyler Glasnow vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Corbin Burnes vs. CIN – Burnes could be earning that AGA label again after this one.
Blake Snell vs. PIT – Aces gonna get his command in check after seven walks. That was dumb.
Pablo López vs. SEA – I debated a long time about López vs. Kirby in this duel. Take your pick, I’m going with Pablo’s strikeouts over Kirby.
George Kirby @ MIN – And yes, I know that Kirby just fanned ten. It’s likely not sustainable.
Justin Verlander @ NYY – The Yankee offense is pretty easy to stream against these days.
Julio Urías vs. TOR – Urías just got trounced and it’s the Jays and yet, I still go with him. He didn’t pitch as poorly as the line suggested.
Andrew Abbott @ MIL – He just took down the Brewers with the best command I’ve seen from him all year. It came with a new focus on sweepers and I’m her for it.
Probably Starts
Charlie Morton @ BOS – I initially had him in the top tier, but his volatility and lack of “clearly a near ace” pulls him down here. There’s more risk than we want there to be here.
Alex Cobb vs. OAK – He hasn’t had splitter whiffs for a bit and his last start came without the new slider. It’s frustrating and yet, it’s the Athletics. Let’s not let the one game sample pull us away from this.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. LAA – Erod looks to be in another command groove after shaking off the rust of the IL.
Griffin Canning @ DET – An easy streaming pick here with Canning racking up all the strikeouts as of late.
Kyle Hendricks @ CHW – I dig Hendricks’ command, which came back last time with his changeup.
Domingo Germán vs. NYM – The curveball is still elite while the fastball and change are good enough.
Chris Bassitt @ LAD – The Dodgers are scary, but we still start Bassitt. He’s the Toby you set and forget.
Questionable Starts
Edward Cabrera @ TBR – I liked what I saw last start and the Rays are cooling down a bit, but there’s still plenty of risk here. Be careful.
Taijuan Walker vs. BAL – There’s still some Taijuan magic in here and yet I’d like to not risk it against the Orioles.
Steven Matz @ ARI – The sinker is elevated with intent at 95 mph and I love it. The changeup still needs to get further down and the curve needs to be, um, decent. It makes for a contentious play here with a high risk/reward. Cherry Bomb city.
Aaron Civale vs. KCR – Wait, isn’t he supposed to be in the second tier? I think you forgot that he was four ticks down on his fastball last start. I’m terrified there’s a hidden injury here and I’d like to bench this one. I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s skipped.
Merrill Kelly vs. STL – It’s a Still ILL for Kelly…if he’s getting the start. It’s still unclear.
Kyle Gibson @ PHI – Who knows. WHO KNOWS.
Michael Kopech vs. CHC – He’s been terrible and yet we all know there’s still a possibility Kopech comes out with legit strikeout ability. I’m not starting him at all, but if you’re chasing strikeouts with a chance for decent ratios, it’s Kopech.
Do Not Starts
Nick Pivetta vs. ATL – I hope the Red Sox are actually letting Pivetta start properly instead of having an opener, and yet, it’s Atlanta. If Pivetta has that same slider command from last time, he’ll still rack up the strikeouts.
J.P. France vs. TEX – He’s a Toby and you don’t start them against the Rangers. There is a solid chance at a Win, though.
Trevor Williams vs. COL – I know it’s Rockie Road but Williams has too low of a chance to give you what you want, regardless of opposition.
Ken Waldichuk @ SFG – He’s a Young Gun and who knows, maybe this is the start he executes the BSB as we want him to.
Rich Hill @ SDP – Hill always has a chance. Just a terribly small one.
Austin Gomber @ WSN – Never Gomber.
Zack Greinke @ CLE – Greinke does what Greinke does.
Cody Bradford @ HOU – If it’s Bradford, I don’t imagine it to be long as he’s been in relief recently.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)