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: 96-71
My pick yesterday: Taj Bradley vs. LAA
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 84-83
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Paul Blackburn vs. SEA
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
Kevin Gausman @ NYY – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby @ OAK – Here’s the easy one for Kirby, he should take full advantage.
Kodai Senga @ MIA – Senga has been your stud since June.
Logan Webb @ ARI – Boy do I hope that new slider is still there.
Merrill Kelly vs. SFG – The Giants are as favorable of a matchup you’ll find.
Bobby Miller vs. DET – Miller is one of the safer plays here with the Dodgers behind him.
Justin Steele vs. PIT – Steele’s command has been wonky for a bit and got properly punished for it last time out. Jameson Taillon is getting skipped this series and it’s unclear when he’ll return to the rotation.
Hunter Greene vs. MIN – He’s had some Cherry Bomb tendencies, but the skills are there with great fastball and slider separation.
Eury Pérez vs. NYM – There are still some growing pains with Eury as his breakers failed him in his last outing.
Probably Starts
Seth Lugo vs. COL – He’s been making a play for Spider-Man and this start should help the cause.
Lucas Giolito @ KCR – The skills are there as his changeup usage has been above 40% in four of his last five starts.
Aaron Civale vs. LAA – It’s the Angels and Civale has been cruising. Gotta love the Canibal McSanchez approach with curveballs landing low.
Bailey Ober @ CIN – I liked Bailey’s four-seamer last time out and maybe the heavy emphasis on curveballs does him wonders as the slider and changeup haven’t been great in the second half.
Kyle Bradish @ HOU – It’s the Astros, but Bradish has been phenomenal. It’s your call.
Michael King vs. TOR – King has been a fantastic development over the last month, though this is a challenge against the Jays. We start him and hope he perseveres.
UPDATE: Mitch Keller @ CHC – He’s on a fantastic roll, though the Cubs aren’t the friendliest of opponents.
Questionable Starts
Brayan Bello @ TEX – Bello was at his absolute peak in his last outing and I don’t expect it to be a plateau as his slider and four-seamer didn’t take steps foward.
Wade Miley @ STL – Sure, he’s a low-end Toby against a mediocre squad.
Reid Detmers @ TBR – I was hoping he’d get the Tigers over the weekend and now with the Rays, I’m much more reluctant to give this a whirl. I wonder if the changeup will make a major appearance again.
Aaron Nola @ ATL – Nola has been a Cherry Bomb and it’s Atlanta.
Cristian Javier vs. BAL – That’s a Cherry Bomb.
UPDATE: Adrian Houser vs. STL – He’s been able to find six frames without phenomenal stuff in the past. It’s a better shot in my view than those below.
Zack Thompson vs. MIL – Thompson has some sneaky upside with a solid three pitch mix, but he has the Shag Rug and hasn’t found his groove yet.
Bryce Elder vs. PHI – Elder whipped out a deep repertoire in his last outing and may be able to do it again, even against the Phils. I’m mostly avoiding this, though.
Jon Gray vs. BOS – Gray’s last two starts have come with far worse command and when things go south for Gray, they usually stay there for a bit.
Josiah Gray vs. CHW – I wish I had more to latch onto inside Josiah’s repertoire.
Do Not Starts
Reese Olson @ LAD – I dig Olson against weak teams. The Dodgers are not that.
Jesse Scholtens (Opener) @ WSN – At least he has a chance against a mediocre team? Don’t be fooled by Michael Kopech, he’s the opener.
Chase Anderson @ SDP – Absolutely not.
Joey Estes vs. SEA – From a quick glance of his last Triple-A start on Statcast, the stuff isn’t awfully exciting. However, his approach was sound and relied heavily on command to make it work. Not the guy I want to go for with a 93/94 mph heater, but at least he elevates for whiffs, lands low fastballs to set up his changeup and slider, and has more of a floor than other hurlers making their MLB debut. Don’t do this, of course – who knows how long they’ll even let him go for?
Quinn Priester @ CHC – When has this worked.
Zack Greinke vs. CLE – Greinke does what Greinke does.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Gerrit Cole vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Tarik Skubal @ OAK – Aces gonna ace.
Zach Eflin vs. LAA – He’s as steady as them come and gets the Angels.
Grayson Rodriguez @ CLE – There’s a decent case for AGA with Grayson since returning to the majors.
José Berríos @ NYY – Berríos is chained to your lineup and there’s no reason to get the bolt cutters.
Max Fried @ WSN – It looks weird having Fried down here and there’s a good reason – I expect Atlanta will be careful with Fried. He has a hot spot on his finger and with Atlanta’s record, they have little reason to push Fried. It’s a lower ceiling than the others.
Probably Starts
Kyle Hendricks vs. PIT – He’s vying for Spider-Man and it’s the Pirates.
Ranger Suárez vs. NYM – He’s locked in and we start Suárez when he’s locked in.
Questionable Starts
Griffin Canning @ TBR – He’s our streaming pick of the day as he’s been able to get plenty of strikes with his secondaries. He still allows a fair number of hits, though, and it makes for a larger ratio risk than ideal.
Wade Miley @ STL – Sure, he’s a low-end Toby against a mediocre squad.
Emmet Sheehan vs. SFG – I wish I knew the leash for Sheehan here. He’s gone over five innings just twice since the start of July, but they may let him go long in this one (like the OTC Podcast) as the Dodgers have are all but locked into the #2 seed in the National League.
Johan Oviedo @ CHC – Hey look, a Cherry Bomb against a decent offense.
David Peterson @ PHI – Peterson has gotten strikeouts out of nowhere in his last two games, though I’m worried it’s a product of two different skills appearing suddenly. That’s normally a suggestion of instability and against the Phillies, it seems like a long shot. Still, maybe there’s something there I should believe in more.
Do Not Starts
Xzavion Curry vs. BAL – Curry has had some silly nights in the past when he’s able to get a ton of strikes on his slider.
Luis Medina vs. DET – If Medina is able to go five frames and have his best slider (and maybe more?) then this is a sneaky play. He just hasn’t done either in too long.
Miles Mikolas vs. MIL – Mikolas is not worth it, y’all.
Ross Stripling @ LAD – As much as I dig that the Giants are actually letting Stripling start (I think), it’s the Dodgers.
Jake Irvin vs. ATL – Irvin is not the guy you want him to be + Atlanta n all.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)