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, with a minimum of 5 IP. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.
Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 79-63
My pick yesterday: Cristopher Sánchez vs. STL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 73-69
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt vs. CIN
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 vs. NYY – Aces gonna ace.
Zack Wheeler vs. STL – Aces gonna ace.
Max Scherzer @ MIN – Aces gonna ace.
Julio Urías @ BOS – He’s getting close to the AGA label.
Freddy Peralta vs. SDP – Peralta has been so dang good. Give us one or two more and it’s an AGA label.
Max Fried @ SFG – Fried has been oddly mediocre and I think we can all agree he’s better than this.
Eury Pérez vs. WSN – Eury just cruised through the Dodgers and the Nationals aren’t nearly as tough.
Kyle Bradish vs. COL – Bradish is making a Cy Young push and it’s Rockie Road.
Logan Gilbert vs. KCR – Hey Gilbert, can you have both the slider and four-seamer working this time?
Probably Starts
Hunter Brown @ DET – Brown has been all kinds of volatile, and yet, he gets the Tigers. Let’s all emit a groan and do it, embracing our anxiety for the ride.
Hunter Greene @ ARI – It was the worst return from the IL. However, it was the Jays, his command was far better than the line would tell you, and the Diamondbacks are a team to stream against. I’m going for it.
Clarke Schmidt @ TBR – Sure, why not spin the wheel with Schmidt for another stream as he gets the Rays. His only stumble was a date with Atlanta, after all.
Javier Assad @ PIT – That’s two solid performances and the Pirates aren’t any better. The sinker inside + cutter away is working wonders.
Dakota Hudson @ PHI – Hudson has begun embracing his slider (40% usage!) and is carrying a massive 23% SwStr on the pitch. There could be something legit here.
Hyun Jin Ryu vs. CLE – He’s looking like a solid Toby and that works for us.
Questionable Starts
Joe Ryan vs. TEX – It’s a Still ILL + the Rangers. I wish this wasn’t scary.
James Paxton vs. LAD – Paxton has been slowing down across the last month, but the four-seamer was much better last time out despite the poor line. Sadly, it’s the Dodgers and it makes for a difficult decision that ultimately I’m going to play it safe for.
Chase Silseth @ NYM – The slider and splitter aren’t as good as we saw a few weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean they can’t return on a dime.
JP Sears @ CHW – There’s a solid strikeout chance here as Sears is finally past his gauntlet of terrible matchups.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. HOU – I dig Erod, but I hate starting him against the Astros.
Logan Allen @ TOR – I don’t expect Allen to have the same command he had in his last outing against the Jays, making this a highly suspect stream.
Jake Irvin @ MIA – Irvin has shown promise in his four-seamer, sinker, and curve separation. If that persists against the Marlins, he could come out on top.
Do Not Starts
Touki Toussaint vs. OAK – Touki is a desperate strikeout play here against the Athletics and that’s about it.
Chris Flexen @ BAL – Flexen had solid command last time out, but it’s a Baltimore squad that packs some thump.
Pedro Avila @ MIL – He’s getting a chance to start for the Padres and I wonder how long they’ll actually let him go, let alone have a good enough start to make this worthwhile.
Zach Davies vs. CIN – It’s a Still ILL for a pitcher who only has a changeup.
Carlos Carrasco vs. LAA – Carrasco hasn’t been beneficial for a while.
Jordan Lyles @ SEA – Lyles just ain’t it.
Sean Manaea (Opener) vs. ATL – He’s likely to follow an opener and it’s Atlanta. Nope.
Osvaldo Bido vs. CHC – He doesn’t go long, has little upside, and the Cubs are a strong offense.
UPDATE: Cincinnati Reds Bullpen – With Greene going on Friday and Nick Lodolo, it looks like the Reds won’t have a major bulk guy for Saturday.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Luis Castillo vs. KCR – Aces gonna ace.
Justin Verlander @ DET – It’s the Tigers and this is incredibly safe.
Aaron Nola vs. STL – Let’s hope Nola doesn’t get punished on his non-four-seamers and curves.
Jesús Luzardo vs. WSN – Luzardo stepped back up against the Padres and the Nationals are an easier time.
Grayson Rodriguez vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road and Grayson has looked fantastic since returning to the majors.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. CLE – He finally had a rough day at the park, but his slider command is still legit.
Jordan Montgomery @ MIN – JorMont is an obvious start against the Twins with his curve and changeup on point.
Probably Starts
Michael Wacha @ MIL – I was tempted to put him in the top tier after a pair of starts with great command.
Graham Ashcraft @ ARI – Ashcraft has been spotting sinkers well and he’s been finally getting whiffs on the cutter.
Carlos Rodón @ TBR – We’re still waiting for Rodón to have that game akin to his previous two seasons, though he showcased the ability to survive six frames last time out and he could take another step forward here.
Questionable Starts
Bailey Ober vs. TEX – It’s the Rangers, be careful.
Bailey Falter vs. CHC – He’s our streaming pick as I’ve dug Falter’s pitch separation and improved fastball velocity.
Zack Littell vs. NYY – Is it finally time for Littell to secure a Win? As long as he gets his four-seamer up and use his slider well, he should be able to survive at least five, if not six.
Mike Clevinger vs. OAK – It’s a lovely matchup, though Clevinger didn’t come through in his first cushy matchup of the week.
Paul Blackburn @ CHW – The Win chance is weird, though the Athletics just trounced Cease on Friday night. You could find six frames here and Win on a desperate Sunday.
Emmet Sheehan @ BOS – Pitching for the Dodgers is a very good thing and I hope Sheehan is able to find his sliders and changeups for strikes. The fastball is normally good enough to secure effective strikes and the Red Sox aren’t too scary.
Griffin Canning @ NYM – Canning is re-entering the rotation and still has legit strikeout potential. Keep in mind, he’s not fully stretched out yet.
Adrian Houser vs. SDP – I recognize that Houser has the chance to chuck six innings with okay ratios. Y’all know I don’t like it, but it can happen.
Do Not Starts
Slade Cecconi vs. CIN – I really dont’ buy what Slade did in his last start, but at least it’s not in Cincy.
Ty Blach @ BAL – I’ve seen some decent starts from Blach and this one is away from Coors in Walltimore. There’s a chance.
Alec Marsh @ SEA – Marsh has some moments of bliss, though the fastball is inconsistent and the breakers don’t consistently dominate.
David Peterson vs. LAA – Peterson is stretched out now and the Angels offense is rouuuuugh.
Trevor Williams @ MIA – Williams has a long enough leash to go over 90 pitches (if not 100) and if he’s getting his pitches down, they can found gloves.
Noah Syndergaard @ TOR – Thor is so not the guy we want him to be with little upside. But maybe it’s a Quality Start?
Jordan Wicks @ PIT – Wicks is making his MLB debut and I’m not going to chase this until we see it first.
Jared Shuster @ SFG – Shuster is returning to the bigs after an uninspiring final outing in the minors. It is the Giants though…
Alex Faedo vs. HOU – If the slider is legit, he just needs to find a way to avoid balls in play with his fastball and slider.
Tanner Houck vs. LAD – I’ve curious about what we’ll see from Houck for the rest of the year, but this is the Dodgers.
Drew Rom @ PHI – I wasn’t impressed with Drew in his MLB debut and I wouldn’t take a chance here.
Jakob Junis vs. ATL – It’s Atlanta + Junis won’t go long.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)