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 Playback.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 Playback 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 Playback chat.
Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 72-57
My pick yesterday: Cole Ragans vs. STL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 67-62
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: José Quintana vs. ATL
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
Gerrit Cole @ MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Freddy Peralta @ CHW – The skills are as good as we’ve ever seen.
Julio Urías vs. COL – He was pushed over 90 pitches last time out and it’s Rockie Road.
Probably Starts
Zach Eflin vs. CLE – Eflin is cruising and the Guardians don’t scare us.
Logan Webb vs. TEX – We love Webb, but it’s Texas. Not fun.
Bryce Miller vs. BAL – Miller flexed his new slider last time out with stupid good command.
Sonny Gray @ PHI – Gray is doing everything you want him to do right now.
Eduardo Rodriguez @ BOS – Erod showcased a four-seamer/changeup approach I haven’t seen from him since 2019 + Boston isn’t swinging a menacing bat.
Seth Lugo @ ARI – Lugo is a solid play against offenses like Arizona with the Padres defense behind him.
Dylan Cease vs. MIL – He’s as chaotic as ever and yet, it’s the Brewers and we all know he can turn it back on in a heartbeat.
Kyle Bradish @ SEA – The Mariners are likely to give into Bradish’s ideal breaker-heavy approach.
Tanner Bibee @ TBR – It’s the Rays, but Bibee has been absolute gold for your fantasy teams.
Eury Pérez vs. NYY – I love what Perez does, though the Marlins may limit him around 80 pitches.
Dane Dunning @ SFG – It’s a fantastic matchup in San Francisco with Dunning featuring strong sliders and cutters lately.
Kutter Crawford vs. DET – The Tigers love chasing out of the zone and hopefully that makes Crawford’s kutter as good as it can be.
UPDATE: Brandon Williamson @ PIT – Williamson had himself a game earlier this week, showcasing a solid changeup on top of decent four-seamer and cutter command. Pittsburgh has its moment, but I think I go with this, taking the chance that Williamson made a sustainable tweak for the future.
Questionable Starts
Mitch Keller vs. CIN – Keller hasn’t been at his best and I’d avoid all of these for Sunday moreso than usual for the third tier. That said, Keller has shown flashes of his former self and hosting the Reds in Pittsburgh is a solid matchup.
Kodai Senga vs. ATL – Senga has been great, but the Atlanta offense has a 150 wrc+ across the last two weeks. It’s TERRIFYING.
Chase Silseth @ HOU – He was incredible last time, though the hero was his splitter as it returned 12 whiffs. I need a larger sample to buy into it, especially against the Astros.
Jameson Taillon @ TOR – He’s been more of a Toby and I have some intrigue with the Jays floundering against high four-seamers – Taillon began executing that ability effectively last time out.
José Urquidy vs. LAA – Urquidy isn’t fully stretched out yet and his command needed a little “squeeze” as he was near the zone but too far off the edge in each direction. I imagine it’ll be better here, but with a capped ceiling given his likely limited pitch count.
Hyun Jin Ryu vs. CHC – The Cubs are hot, but we haven’t seen Ryu get a proper chance to shake off the rust yet. He may be a solid six-inning play here.
Ken Waldichuk @ WSN – It’s weird to place Waldichuk this “high”, but he fanned seven Rangers last time out with a much better slider and flirting with the BSB. It’s a desperate play, but one that may continue his trend up.
Do Not Starts
Brandon Pfaadt vs. SDP – Pfaadt struggled against the Dodgers and now gets the Padres. He could come through, but I wouldn’t chase it anywhere.
Ranger Suárez vs. MIN – We saw a better changeup from Suárez last time out, but the rest still needs work. In addition, this could be Zack Wheeler instead, who would obviously be the #2 play for Sunday if so.
Yonny Chirinos @ NYM – The Win chance is still decent with Atlanta on his side, but the stuff isn’t.
Luke Weaver @ PIT – I like that Weaver is experimenting with the Canibal McSanchez approach, though we’re still in the wait-and-see phase.
Trevor Williams vs. OAK – #NeverTrevor.
Kyle Freeland @ LAD – He’s out of Coors…but gets the Dodgers.
UPDATE: Andre Jackson vs. CIN – He’s getting the start over Ortiz and I don’t expect him to go long.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tyler Glasnow @ SFG – He was pushed back to Monday and while there is a wart here about how the Rays will use him (will they push him past five or 80 pitches?), the matchup is too good.
Max Scherzer vs. LAA – The Angels are tougher than @SFG, but it’s Scherzer.
Max Fried vs. NYY – Fried had a hiccup last time out and yet had an uptick in velocity.
Framber Valdez @ MIA – The Orioles got to him in the first two innings, then he settled down. I hope the cutter returns, but a dominant curve and sinker can still pull Valdez well past the finish line.
Yu Darvish vs. BAL – His sliders + fastballs approach is working, but still a little chaotic. We’re starting our studs even with the annoying haze Darvish brings.
Probably Starts
Grayson Rodriguez @ SDP – The slider took over last time and there will e a day when Grayson does the BSB in full that blows us away. The Padres are solid against right-handers, but you really don’t know when they’ll show up or not.
Brady Singer vs. SEA – The slider command is fantastic and the Mariners should give in to it.
Emerson Hancock @ KCR – A fantastic matchup for Hancock, who showcased a solid sinker + potential upside in his changeup and cutter. I’d pick him up everywhere and possibly hold through Houston (even if that’s a likely bench + we’re uncertain if Woo makes his return in two weeks, if at all this year). I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a six-man for the Mariners down the stretch if Woo returns to help the workloads of their young arms as Hancock.
JP Sears @ STL – The whiff potential is there for a solid outing here, even if the Win chance is diminished pitching for the Athletics.
Questionable Starts
Miles Mikolas vs. OAK – I’m not a big fan of what Mikolas does, but there’s a chance for 6+ frames and it’s Oakland.
Merrill Kelly @ COL – It’s Coors…and yet Kelly has found a way constantly this year. Much crazier things have happened.
Do Not Starts
Clarke Schmidt @ ATL – He’s been great, but Atlanta is legit one of the best offenses of all time. It’s unreal.
Patrick Sandoval @ TEX – Texas crushes lefties and I still haven’t seen a game where Sandoval has both his slider and change.
Braxton Garrett vs. HOU – Garrett’s sinker and cutter are not back.
Chris Flexen vs. ARI – He has the opportunity, at least.
Sean Manaea vs. TBR – Manaea has been surprisingly decent out of the pen at times and yet this is the Rays.
Carlos Carrasco vs. PIT – The matchup looks good, but Carrasco has not.
Quinn Priester @ NYM – Quinn isn’t someone to trust in the slightest.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)