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: 72-58
My pick yesterday: Kutter Crawford vs. DET
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 67-63
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt vs. SDP
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
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.
UPDATE: Logan Gilbert @ KCR – Gilbert is going before Hancock and all I want is that slider to return.
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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zack Wheeler @ TOR – Aces gonna ace, even against Toronto. Wheeler is the only legit pitcher on Tuesday, oddly enough.
Bailey Ober vs. DET – You’re likely to see the Bailey Special and it’s the Tigers.
Probably Starts
Bobby Miller vs. MIL – I was tempted to slot Miller in the top tier, but he hasn’t showcased his elite ceiling much recently.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. PHI – Kikuchi has been steady with his breakers and heaters.
Jordan Montgomery vs. LAA – The Bear is solid. Not much more to say, really.
Nick Pivetta @ WSN – I dig the slider command for Pivetta, which he still had even when the starts didn’t go his way recently.
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.
Cristian Javier @ MIA – He would be in the third tier if not for Javier finally earning strikes with his slider last time out. I think you go for it here, even if there is a decent chance he relapses.
Kyle Hendricks vs. CHW – Hendricks’ command of sinkers and changeups have been here for many weeks now.
Questionable Starts
Jack Flaherty @ SDP – The Padres are a volatile crew and the four-seamer did dip back down a little more in his last outing. I like this, but I have some trepidation.
Graham Ashcraft vs. CLE – Is Ashcraft actually legit now? I’m not sure – last start was the first one where I actually liked his cutter – and the Guardians are excellent contact hitters.
Zack Littell @ SFG – Littell is a sneaky play for a Win as he should be able to survive at least five against the Giants in Oracle Park. Get the slider back down, though, please.
Lucas Giolito @ TEX – It’s the Rangers. Blegh. I’m tempted to slot him in the final tier, but I also dig what Giolito has done with his command lately.
Bryce Elder vs. NYY – He’s a Toby, even if he didn’t come through last time against the Pirates. The command wasn’t nearly as bad as the line suggested.
Logan Allen @ CIN – Ehhhh, there’s a shot here for Allen, but pitching in Cincy scares me.
Do Not Starts
Josiah Gray vs. BOS – The Red Sox are not great, but they can still swat mistake pitches with ease. Josiah throws a lot of them.
Johnny Cueto vs. HOU – There’s always a chance for Cueto magic. The ceiling if it does arrive does not outweigh the risk of facing Houston.
Dakota Hudson vs. OAK – It’s Oakland and if you’re in dire need of a Quality Start, Hudson could do it.
Freddy Tarnok @ STL – He threw just under 70 pitches and wasn’t that bad against the Rangers. It’s an easier start, he spouts a 95/96 mph with 94th percentile vertical movement. I’m going to have my eye on this one.
Bailey Falter @ NYM – Falter has a shot here as we’ve seen him have success against mediocre squads now that he’s stretched out (don’t judge him too harshly for Atlanta last time out), but I’d like to see him do it first.
David Peterson vs. PIT – The slider is hinting at its old self but hasn’t been the pitch for him, while he’s still not fully stretched out – just 62 pitches thrown last time out.
Alex Faedo @ MIN – Faedo had his great slider last time, but the rest of his arsenal let him down.
Touki Toussaint @ CHC – There’s some strikeout potential here, but the Cubs are a threat.
Michael Wacha vs. BAL – It’s a Still ILL with his last outing coming on August 5th in Triple-A, where he tossed just under 50 pitches. I imagine he threw elsewhere after that one, but he’ll still be limited and facing an electric Orioles squad.
Jordan Lyles vs. SEA – At least they’ll let him throw to his heart’s desire.
Adrian Houser @ LAD – He’ll chuck heaters and they’ll likely find grass against the Dodgers.
Ty Blach vs. ARI – He’s been oddly good recently, but this is Coors. Coors is unde–yeah, we get it.
Tristan Beck vs. TBR – Beck isn’t the worst I’ve seen, but it’s the Rays.
Slade Cecconi @ COL – Slade isn’t the guy to chase.
Luis Severino @ ATL – Severino has been as rough as any arm and it’s Atlanta. Lol.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)