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: 90-69
My pick yesterday: José Quintana vs. ARI
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 80-79
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Gavin Stone 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kutter Crawford vs. NYY – I don’t love it, but I recognize his fastball and cutter could be enough.
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.
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.
UPDATE: Joey Wentz vs. CIN – We’ve seen Wentz rack strikeouts from time to time as he’s getting the focus here with Alex Faedo tossing 31 pitches on Saturday.
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.
UPDATE: Randy Vásquez @ BOS – It’s a doubleheader today and the Yankees are pushing back Clarke Schmidt an extra day to give him some rest…and change his next start from Pittsburgh to Toronto. COME ON. As for Randy, we obviously avoid a date in Fenway.
Sean Manaea vs. CLE – I cannot stand what the Giants have done to their “rotation”.
Adam Wainwright @ BAL – Two more Wins…
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Spencer Strider @ PHI – He’s SP #1 and he gets the top spot even with the tough matchup.
Luis Castillo vs. LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Zac Gallen @ NYM – Aces gonna ace.
Blake Snell @ LAD – Aces gonna ace, which means you start Snell even against the Dodgers. The Astros didn’t slow him down, after all.
Probably Starts
Yusei Kikuchi vs. TEX – I regret not putting Kikuchi in the auto-start tier for The List on Monday with this game against the Rangers being the only difficult one of his remaining schedule.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. CIN – He’s a Holly with a lovely matchup. All clear here.
Logan Allen @ SFG – He’s a Toby and the Giants are as ideal as matchups get.
Hunter Brown vs. OAK – Brown has been a Cherry Bomb and I’m skeptical of his production after this start, but this is Oakland. The odds are in your favor.
Clarke Schmidt @ BOS –The Red Sox are strong in Fenway, yet Schmidt has been gold across the last two months.
Questionable Starts
Connor Phillips @ DET – I was tempted to slot him into the second tier, but that would be unwise after only one start in the majors. He throws hard with a strong slider and gets a weak Tigers lineup. When everyone is focused on another sport, it’s arms like these who can turn the tide as you stay focused.
Taj Bradley @ MIN – Like it or not, Bradley is a Cherry Bomb and we just don’t know what his control will be on a given night.
Mike Clevinger vs. KCR – He’s also a Cherry Bomb and I personally don’t believe his repertoire is all that great. If he has his cutter and slider cooking, that’s another story, but it’s rare to see.
Braxton Garrett @ MIL – Braxton’s cutter command was much better last time and he could be getting back into form. The Brewers have their moments, though.
Jordan Montgomery @ TOR – I don’t like seeing The Bear struggle to have both his changeup and curve on a given night and Toronto is a dangerous crew. With a limited ceiling it may be best to skip over this one.
Kyle Harrison vs. CLE – He’s a young Cherry Bomb slinger from the left side who can soar when his four-seamer and curve find the zone enough, but he carries as much of a Shag Rug as anyone.
Kyle Gibson vs. STL – We have absolutely no idea when Gibson shows up or not. Best of luck y’all with the Cherry Bomb poster boy.
Ryan Pepiot vs. SDP – He’s on a good run and the Padres are the final hurdle before a trio of phenomenal matchups. I hope the changeup and slider are at their peaks here.
Tanner Houck vs. NYY – With an elite slider and nothing else, trust Houck breaks the Huascar Rule and Ynoa better than that. He’s at the very bottom of this tier since the Yankees are just that blegh these days and maybe his splitter shows up.
Do Not Starts
Alec Marsh @ CHW – There’s strikeout potential here for Marsh and I still don’t want to chase it at all. The floor is too low.
Chase Silseth @ SEA – I’m thrilled to see that he’s okay and able to pitch again. That said, it’s the Mariners, he’s dependent on his slider and splitter showing up, he may be on a pitch count, and I imagine there’s some rust to shake off.
Colin Rea vs. MIA – He’s had some success here and there, I just don’t trust the arsenal a whole lot. There’s an argument to made about slotting him at the end of the Questionable Start tier, but I think the ceilings for Marsh and Silseth are better and Rea is all kinds of mediocre.
Jameson Taillon @ COL – Taillon was incredible with his four-seamer command in the upper half + secondaries landing effectively in the zone underneath and while I don’t like starting him in Coors, I’ll be watching intently here, hoping to see Taillon in place where we want to start him in the following outing against his alma mater, the Pirates.
Joey Lucchesi vs. ARI – Keep an eye on Lucchesi. I don’t like the Churve a whole lot (it’s a curveball thrown with a circle change-grip. I know, it’s weird and you can check twitter for an explanation on how he throws it), but he has his moments with it. It’s a great schedule ahead and if he’s spotting sinkers on top of it, this may be worth your time.
Dallas Keuchel vs. TBR – Keuchel isn’t as horrific as he used to be and executed his classic Neckbeard approach last time out, earning 6/13 slider whiffs. That was the peak, though, and I have zero expectations it’ll stick.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. ATL – It’s unfortunate he gets Atlanta here, but with Michael Lorenzen possibly heading to the pen, it means he won’t have to face them a second time…and may mean you hold onto him after all. Just put him on your bench here.
Paul Blackburn @ HOU – It’s the Astros. Nope.
Drew Rom @ BAL – It’s a 90/91 mph fastball that just isn’t good enough.
Ty Blach vs. CHC – We’re back in Coors and it didn’t even work in San Francisco.
Thaddeus Ward @ PIT – I wonder if he’ll be a different arm now that he’s starting, but hot dang don’t dive in head first. Wait and see at the very least.
Quinn Priester vs. WSN – I have yet to see a Priester start that gets me excited to watch more of him. I hope that changes.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)
So is it too galaxy brain benching Strider coming off an illness in a QS league?