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: 97-71
My pick yesterday: Adrian Houser vs. STL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 84-84
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Jesse Scholtens @ WSN
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
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. UPDATE: Okay so we know a little more now. Ryan Yarbrough will be stepping in at some point, depending on if the Dodgers like the LHP/LHB matchups. That’s super vague. SURE IS. I think it does mean we’ll see the Fratty Pirate around the fifth, though, which likely makes him the better play here.
Johan Oviedo @ CHC – Hey look, a Cherry Bomb against a decent offense.
UPDATE: Kyle Harrison @ LAD – The rook is getting the pearl against the Dodgers and while this looks like an obvious avoid, I want to mention the ceiling is higher for Harrison than Peterson. But the Dodgers! I didn’t say the floor was higher. If Harrison is able to throw strikes across the board, he has a heater that can overwhelm. If you’re in a desperate situation, this has the highest reach of all pitchers down here.
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.
UPDATE: Hunter Gaddis vs. BAL – It looks like Gaddis is getting the ball instead of Curry and I have very little interest in this. He did go over five frames recently in Triple-A (limited in his last one) and it’s too much effort for too little.
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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Tyler Glasnow vs. TOR – Aces gonna ace.
Pablo López vs. LAA – Aces gonna ace. I know, easier matchup than Glasnow, but hot dang is Glasnow productive start-to-start…when not facing the Orioles. I thought this was the Pablo blurb. IT IS. He’s dope and makes us feel dope.
Corbin Burnes @ MIA – I want him to be an ace. He should be an ace. But he’s not and it’s stupid.
Framber Valdez vs. KCR – The cutter finally returned last time out…but the Royals are really good against LHP. I imagine we’ll see a lot of changeups and hopefully that cutter coming inside to their right-handers.
Probably Starts
Carlos Rodón vs. ARI – It’s hard not to buy into what Rodón is doing with 96+ mph on his fastball in his last two games (for the first times this year!), catalyzing 19 strikeouts combined.
Cole Ragans @ HOU – IT’S RAGANS DAY Y’ALL. Let’s hope the Royals know how to actually manage the guy now and not send him out for the seventh when he’s well over 90 pitches….and also pull him when he walks the first batter on four pitches. JUST A THOUGHT.
Chris Bassitt @ TBR – Y’all know the drill. He’s opponent agnostic.
Sawyer Gipson-Long @ OAK – How could you not start him? He’s rostered in 26% of Yahoo! leagues and only 6% of ESPN. It’s absurd and we’re obviously doing it. THAT SAID, he still has the Shag Rug and don’t treat this outing as if he can do no wrong. There is a floor here where his changeup doesn’t get enough strikes and his slider/sinker combo isn’t enough. Just sayin’.
Chris Sale vs. CHW – His velocity is down, but the slider is phenomenal. It’s the White Sox, which means he could easily feast with the breaker once again.
Charlie Morton @ WSN – He’s a Cherry Bomb who we have to obviously start as he pitches for Atlanta and continues to pile on the strikeouts. And, you know, it’s the Nationals.
Dean Kremer @ CLE – I’m not overly enamored by Kremer, but he’s had his cutter for the most part and as long as the four-seamer isn’t horrific, he should be fine.
Brandon Pfaadt @ NYY – Pfaadt has been on a good enough run that I’ll go for it against a Yankee squad that can be susceptible to his sweeper. It still feels a bit weird given the four-seamer isn’t an elite pitch.
Jameson Taillon vs. COL – It’s unclear if Taillon is getting fully skipped by the Cubs or if he was pushed back a few days to this game against Rockie Road. I think it would be unwise to pull him from the rotation now, especially when he’s just beginning to figure out how to pitch to his strengths more than ever. The skills are there and if he gets this start (which he should), I expect him to come through against the poor lineup.
Questionable Starts
Andrew Abbott vs. PIT – It’s sad to say that I had to demote Abbott from a Toby to a Cherry Bomb, but here we are, even against the Pirates.
Bryce Miller @ TEX – It’s up to you here. If you believe Bryce will have his best four-seamer, then go for it. If not, you shouldn’t rely on the cutter and slider to step up.
Dane Dunning vs. SEA – The slider and cutter were better in his last outing, so at least he has that going for him. He has a higher chance of a Win and 5+ frames than the two below him…maybe not the Win vs. Taijuan, but y’all understand why I don’t want to go for Walker.
Shane Bieber vs. BAL – Oh snap, he’s back! And I have no idea what we should expect in this Still ILL. He was at 91 mph with some slider whiffs in his last Triple-A start, but how reliable is that? He tossed just 64 pitches in that start and I wouldn’t expect more than 80 here, if even that.
Taijuan Walker vs. NYM – It’s a slow fastball and his splitter + cutter are so middling. But hey, he’s pulled off Taijuan magic before. Who knows.
Do Not Starts
Tylor Megill @ PHI – It’s the Phils + his slider and changeup are not doing enough.
Dakota Hudson @ SDP – Sure, why the h*ck not – Someone desperate for a Quality Start.
Johnny Cueto vs. MIL – His precision is still there, it’s just the stuff that is lacking. It opens the door for him to fall into a PQS, though.
Sean Manaea @ LAD – At least Manaea is stretched out now and has a good approach. Unfortunately, it’s the Dodgers.
Davis Daniel (Opener) @ MIN – He’s getting called up for his second career game after going three innings on September 7th, likely with an opener in front of him. It’s an elevated heater with a curve + change/slider as the #3 offerings. PLV loved the very small sample of heaters and sliders, but at 93/94 mph on the fastball (and low vertical break), this has a low chance of being that guy.
Matt Waldron vs. STL – Remember kids, Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer. That means if you don’t need anything from him, you may run into some production.
Joe Boyle vs. DET – He throws super hard and is likely limited to just four frames. Still could be helpful.
Touki Toussaint @ BOS – This is strikeout play. Inside Fenway. With terrible ratios in all likelihood. Nooooope.
Gavin Stone vs. SFG – I don’t anticipate a full five frames here from Stone and I don’t like his changeup focus.
Trevor Williams vs. ATL – Team #NeverTrevor, especially against Atlanta. He does have the longest leash down here, for what it’s worth.
Luis L. Ortiz @ CIN – He likely won’t go long and the floor is horrendous.
Noah Davis @ CHC – There’s nothing to chase here.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)