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: 89-69
My pick yesterday: Allan Winans vs. PIT
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 80-78
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt @ CHC
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 @ MIN – Aces gonna ace.
Brandon Woodruff vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Sonny Gray vs. TBR – He’s been too consistent for you.
Logan Gilbert vs. LAA – The fastball is getting better and the slider is still there.
Jesús Luzardo @ MIL – He’s getting the Brewers after all and back in rhythm.
Framber Valdez vs. OAK – I’m shocked the curve and cutter have been shelved lately, but he’s still come through and it’s the Athletics.
Probably Starts
Clayton Kershaw vs. SDP – Velocity was down last time out, he’ll have a limited pitch count, and the Padres are great against LHP.
Gavin Williams @ SFG – It’s the Giants, though Williams’ command is always in question.
José Quintana vs. ARI – He’s been as good of a Toby as you could hope for.
Dean Kremer vs. STL – Kremer has been solid with his only weakness being his four-seamer command. He should be fine.
Chris Bassitt vs. TEX – Bassitt is opponent agnostic. Don’t overthink it.
Charlie Morton @ PHI – It’s a tough call given the volatility of Morton and the quality Philadelphia offense.
Clarke Schmidt @ BOS – The Red Sox are strong in Fenway, yet Schmidt has been gold across the last two months.
Questionable Starts
Brady Singer @ CHW – He was rusty in his return last week and gets another shot against the White Sox. He’s a Cherry Bomb and belongs in the third tier.
Dylan Cease vs. KCR – Cease wasn’t able to survive against the Royals last time out but he could recover here.
Jordan Wicks @ COL – I like Wicks and recognize that Coors isn’t as scary as it used to be. The changeup may be able to keep his head above water.
Kutter Crawford vs. NYY – I don’t love it, but I recognize his fastball and cutter could be enough.
Alex Cobb vs. CLE – Cobb has been dealing with an injury for a while and his splitter is awfully inconsistent.
Do Not Starts
Reid Detmers @ SEA – The Mariners are killing it and Detmers isn’t pitching like he used to, with a large velocity drop.
Andre Jackson vs. WSN – There’s a shot, but the ceiling isn’t worth it in my view.
Kyle Wright @ PHI – It’s a clear Still ILL against an elite offense.
Zach Davies @ NYM – If the changeup is good enough, fine, but I just don’t want to chase it.
UPDATE: Patrick Corbin @ PIT – At least he has a chance for six frames against a weak team…?
Josiah Gray @ PIT – Bleegggggh.
Taijuan Walker vs. ATL – It’s Atlanta and Walker isn’t in a good place.
Michael Lorenzen vs. ATL – It’s Atlanta and Lorenzen isn’t in a good place.
Dakota Hudson @ BAL – Hudson always has a weird chance for success, is it worth it?
Kyle Freeland vs. CHC – Sure, whatever Freeland.
Andrew Heaney @ TOR – He’s a Cherry Bomb against a strong crew.
Ken Waldichuk @ HOU – It’s the Astros + Waldichuk isn’t in a good place.
Pedro Avila @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers.
UPDATE: Gavin Stone vs. SDP – It’s the Padres & I really don’t trust Stone with his changeup focus.
UPDATE: Mason Miller @ HOU – This will likely be three frames around 40 pitches against an elite offense. Ken Waldichuk could follow here and that’s not a gamble I’d make, either, though at least he has a Win chance…?
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Freddy Peralta vs. MIA – Aces gonna ace.
Justin Verlander vs. OAK – It’s Oakland, y’all.
Max Fried @ PHI – I’d have Fried above Verlander, but the matchup is far worse.
Joe Ryan vs. TBR – Ryan’s four-seamer was unreal last time out, I just hope the secondaries can keep up.
Max Scherzer @ TOR – It’s Toronto, but at least it’s not Atlanta.
Zack Wheeler vs. ATL – Aces gonna ace = you start them even against Atlanta.
Probably Starts
Cal Quantrill @ SFG – He’s the UnQuantrillfiable (really good sinkers inside + cutters for strikes) and gets a lovely gift of a matchup inside Oracle Park.
Edward Cabrera @ MIL – He looked fantastic against the Dodgers in four frames and 70 pitches. It does mean he may fail to go five if he labors early, but he looked at his peak. This is worth the shot.
Questionable Starts
Ryne Nelson @ NYM – I wasn’t in love with Nelson in his return to the majors, especially with his cutter being utilized far less than anticipated. That said, he could ramp it up here and produce against a middling Mets lineup.
John Means vs. STL – He’s BACK! It’s not a normal Still ILL as Means rehabbed for a month and is fully stretched out now. He was at 91 mph (not 93-95) and featuring a high CSW changeup that wasn’t getting as low as we wanted it to. I’m a little worried it’ll be underwhelming in his first start back, but I’m incredibly curious to see what we get. The bad news here is Houston following up this outing, making it not as great of an investment pick up as we’d like.
Bryan Woo vs. LAA – Woo was given extra rest after sitting 1-2 ticks down on everything and I wonder if the Mariners will keep him on a short leash here.
Nick Pivetta vs. NYY – I’m pretty much off this train now, but the Yankees are just so dang rough right now. Also, have you seen the rest of this tier?!
Hyun Jin Ryu vs. TEX – Ryu has been a solid Toby, but I’m not sure how to grade the Rangers offense at the moment.
Michael Wacha @ LAD – It’s the Dodgers…and yet Wacha has been able to squirm his way around tough lineups at times.
Carlos Rodón @ BOS – Rodon’s four-seamer velocity dropped to near 94 mph (not 95/96) and that’s a terrifying thing, especially combined with how well the Red Sox bats perform inside Fenway.
Brandon Williamson @ DET – I’d normally have him higher, but he’s returning from the COVID-IL and likely has a bit of rust to shake off.
Alex Faedo vs. CIN – He has a great slider and if the changeup + fastball can survive, Faedo could produce against the mediocre Reds offense.
Javier Assad @ COL – Coors isn’t as intimidating as it once was, but Assad’s cutter was terrible last time out. A start for Assad assumes the pitch returns and Coors is defeated.
José Butto vs. ARI – I wouldn’t call myself an advocate of Butto’s arsenal, though there is enough here to suggest 5-6 innings against the Sneks, especially if his new velocity at 95 mph holds.
Do Not Starts
Zack Littell @ MIN – Ehhhhh, it’s not the worst Win Chance, but Littell hasn’t been able to secure one. The fastball/slider combo is fine.
Bailey Falter vs. WSN – If the Pirates have him closing out the fifth frame, there’s a solid chance to steal a Win here. I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw him opened for again.
Lance Lynn vs. SDP – He’s a Cherry Bomb facing a strong offense.
Patrick Sandoval @ SEA – The Irish Panda just isn’t what we know he could be.
JP Sears @ HOU – The Astros are too scary for this.
Joan Adon @ PIT – Adon has some moments of magic but the ceiling isn’t high enough to put ourselves in the way of the terrible floor.
Touki Toussaint vs. KCR – This is a strikeout play on the possibility Toussaint can throw 40%+ curveballs and earn enough strikes.
Chris Flexen vs. CHC – There are nights Flexen has cutter and four-seamer precision.
Jordan Lyles @ CHW – He’s a Werewolf and I have no idea what the moon will look like.
Sean Manaea vs. CLE – I cannot stand what the Giants have done to their “rotation”.
Adam Wainwright @ BAL – Two more Wins…
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)