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: 54-42
My pick yesterday: Michael Lorenzen vs. OAK
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 51-45
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Carlos Carrasco @ ARI
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
Zac Gallen vs. PIT – Aces gonna ace against the Pirates. Awwww yes.
Luis Castillo @ HOU – It’s the Astros and it’s also Summer Castillo. But he’s been meh lately! The fastball and slider haven’t. Don’t worry.
James Paxton vs. OAK – Paxton could be starting Saturday instead of Friday, so pay attention to this. It doesn’t matter when he pitches, though, as Paxton has been gold and gets a delicious date with the Athletics.
Zack Wheeler @ MIA – Wheeler hasn’t been as his peak, but this is the Marlins. You have to go with this.
Corbin Burnes vs. CIN – Burnes needs to get the cutter down and earn more whiffs on curves and changeups. Fortunately, he’s been taking steps in the right direction and even against a hot Reds team, you’re doing this.
Justin Verlander @ SDP – Verlander has improved his slider and four-seamer across the last month and the Padres are…weird.
Andrew Abbott @ MIL – I’ve talked a lot about Abbott lately, and regardless of those thoughts, he’s been striking so many out and now gets the Brewers. Duh. Sidenote: I’m mostly just excited for the camera angle we’ll get. Going from Cincy to Milwaukee as a lefty honestly feels like the first time I’ll get to truly watch him.
Dylan Cease vs. STL – The slider is everything and while he wasn’t pristine with it last time, I wouldn’t count it out here.
Hunter Brown vs. SEA – Hunter is still figuring out how to best wield his arsenal and the Mariners are often an offense to help pitchers sort out their secondaries.
Sandy Alcantara vs. PHI – I believe in Alcantara’s arsenal and I wouldn’t let a stumble against the ridiculous Atlanta offense sway you.
Tyler Glasnow vs. ATL – Speaking of Atlanta, Glasnow sits at the bottom of the ranks as a major ratio risk.
Probably Starts
Bailey Ober vs. BAL – Oberizzi has painted the top of the zone red like no other and his changeup has been everything it needs to be.
Yu Darvish vs. NYM – He hasn’t pitched for a while due to illness and with his innate volatility + the Mets offense in the mix, he gets demoted to the second tier for this outing.
Jordan Montgomery @ CHW – The Bear has been performing incredibly well over the last month and the White Sox aren’t going to stop you from putting him into your lineup.
Carlos Rodón vs. CHC – I know, I know. NICK! You said Julio Urías wasn’t a Still ILL and look what happened to him! Rodón has absolutely crushed his rehab starts with just three hits allowed in 10.2 IP (even if it’s lower velocity, he’s ramping up and I’m not concerned) and the Cubs aren’t scary. I don’t think the floor is as low as it normally is. Have fun, start the man.
Andrew Heaney @ WSN – We just saw Heaney finally get his slider down in his last start, catalyzing a huge strikeout effort. I guess we’re taking the chance he can replicate against the Nationals.
Tony Gonsolin vs. LAA – Gonsolin hasn’t been a strong arm for you, but the Angels are without Trout and Ohtani is dealing with a blister. Gonsolin isn’t my favorite arm by a mile, but I can’t ignore that he has a good shot at basic production here.
Aaron Civale vs. KCR – It’s a Toby against the Royals. It’s why you have them rostered.
Questionable Starts
Charlie Morton @ TBR – Morton carries far more upside than Gonsolin and Civale, but the floor here is terrifying as Morton already carries baggage himself, but the Rays offense is one of the premier lineups in the bigs. Be careful.
Griffin Canning @ LAD – As I often say, this tier equates to “I don’t want to start them, but there is a path to production.” Canning has felt his secondaries lately and there’s a chance it’s enough to survive the Dodgers.
Cole Irvin @ MIN – I can’t say I’m thrilled I get to have Irvin as my streaming pick of the day, but I do like getting the chance to highlight that Irvin has the tools to skirt through 5/6 innings against a middling offense.
Alek Manoah @ DET – Oh snap. He’s BACK. I suggest a spec add here and seeing what happens. He was so terrible at the start of the year, but don’t forget he was a defacto Top 25 arm the previous two seasons. The talent is still there and there’s a decent chance all he needed was a proper reset button.
Do Not Starts
Daniel Lynch @ CLE – Bottom tier?! He has a 2.00 ERA with his new changeup in the last three games! And an 11% strikeout rate as the changeup has been super fortunate in play as of late. This is a trap.
Luis Medina @ BOS – Think Frankie Montas without the splitter. It outlines a starter who can get outs with sinkers and sliders but doesn’t have a putaway pitch. The value here lies in QS leagues if you’re in dire need, and even there I’d still bench.
Rich Hill @ ARI – Hill has come through at times this year, but not a whole lot lately and the Diamondbacks are solid.
Jameson Taillon @ NYY – Welcome back to New York, Jameson. I hope you can figure out how to get back on track.
Ross Stripling vs. COL – It’s a great matchup, but Strip isn’t stretched out and this could be another piggyback outing. Don’t go for it.
UPDATE: Cody Bradford @ WSN – The Rangers are starting Heaney on Saturday with Bradford getting the pearl against the Nationals. I’m not a fan of his slow heater and decent changeup to chase this one, especially with varied pitch counts across his roles this year.
Austin Gomber @ SFG – Never Gomber.
Alex Faedo vs. TOR – Oh hey, it’s Faedo! That’s cool. He gets Toronto and he’s hyper reliant on slider domination that is more volatile than we like.
Trevor Williams vs. TEX – It’s T-Ells against the Rangers. Yep.
UPDATE: Red Sox Bullpen vs. OAK – Paxton was pushed to Saturday and the Sawx will find a way to get innings here.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Gerrit Cole vs. CHC – Aces gonna ace. Cole is arriving at his peak.
Kevin Gausman @ DET – It’s the Tigers. It’s also Gausman. Please get double-digit splitter whiffs again, thanks.
Spencer Strider @ TBR – He’s SP #1, but has to deal with the Rays.
James Paxton vs. OAK – Paxton has been gold and gets a delicious date with the Athletics.
Blake Snell vs. NYM – Snell is…odd. He gave you a horrid WHIP last time as he went 30% zone rate across all his pitches and I’m not exactly sure what we’ll get here against the Mets. But hot dang, we’re starting him.
Framber Valdez vs. SEA – I imagine that if the ankle was still a major issue, Valdez would rest it through the All-Star Break instead of getting the start here.
Tyler Wells @ MIN – Wells pitches, you start him.
Sonny Gray vs. BAL – He’s on the upswing and I hope this stretch of being in rhythm lasts a long time.
Probably Starts
Mitch Keller @ ARI – His velocity dropped in his last outing and the Diamondbacks, even without Carroll, are a strong crew.
Reid Detmers @ LAD – Detmers is dominating as of late, though the Dodgers are another tough challenge.
Bryan Woo @ HOU – The four-seamer is elite and the Astros are without Álvarez.
Gavin Williams vs. KCR – Don’t judge Williams for his start against Atlanta. This outing will likely be a massive pendulum swing in the other direction.
Braxton Garrett vs. PHI – Garrett took a step back with his command and cutter usage last time out and I’m hoping it was a blip and not the beginning of a descent.
Ranger Suárez @ MIA – Suárez had been fantastic until a major lapse against the Nationals last time out. He’s worth the chance against the Marlins, but my confidence is waning, wondering if that was the wall to end this Vargas Rule.
Andrew Heaney @ WSN – We just saw Heaney finally get his slider down in his last start, catalyzing a huge strikeout effort. I guess we’re taking the chance he can replicate against the Nationals.
Questionable Starts
Brady Singer @ CLE – He’s a Cherry Bomb who finally was his sweetest self with 12 whiffs on the slider and matched it with 12 called strikes on the sinker. And yet, who knows what’s next.
Taj Bradley vs. ATL – Bradley is volatile and it’s Atlanta. This is incredibly dangerous.
Do Not Starts
Paul Blackburn @ BOS – You see the red label in the table – he’s the streaming only because there isn’t anyone else. There’s a chance Paulie Punchouts baffles the Red Sox with his variety of pitches, but the ceiling is limited and the Sawx could
Miles Mikolas @ CHW – Earlier in the year I’d likely have Mikolas in the third tier. At this point, I feel Mikolas just isn’t worth the risk.
David Peterson @ SDP – Peterson survived last start but the repertoire isn’t anything I’m interested in.
Alex Wood vs. COL – Am I the only one that feels like Wood should be better than he currently is? This is Rockie Road and normally I’d be for it, but Wood just isn’t locked in + the Giants may limit him once again. Skip over it.
Colin Rea vs. CIN – Rea could chuck heaters and survive, but it’s the hawt Reds. No thanks.
Drew Smyly @ NYY – Until I see the curve actually overflowing the bottom part of the zone and not hanging up constantly, I’ll be out on Smyly.
Luke Weaver @ MIL – He survived last time and while the Brewers seem like a decent dart throw, Weaver isn’t that guy.
Michael Grove vs. LAA – There’s a chance this is Landon Knack instead as the Dodgers have him on their Taxi Squad. I’m not too impressed with Knack as he’s a 91 mph four-seamer guy with the intent to elevate but doesn’t demand whiffs on the pitch (i.e. it’s not elite) and he lives and dies with his slider. The other offerings haven’t been a major factor in the minors, making this a two-pitch guy for a team that is notorious for limiting their young players and adding haze to their playing time. Not for me. If it’s Grove, his four-seamer isn’t good enough.
Jake Irvin vs. TEX – The velocity came down slightly last start and I’m not ready to trust the curve. Oh, and it’s Texas.
Matt Manning vs. TOR – Manning isn’t doing enough new stuff to trust against the Jays.
Touki Toussaint vs. STL – Touki! It’s cool, not smart.
Connor Seabold @ SFG – Never Seabold.
TBD Diamondbacks SP vs. PIT – With Drew Jameson pitching in relief on Thursday, our hopes of him starting on Saturday have been dashed.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)
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