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: 85-69
My pick yesterday: Clarke Schmidt vs. DET
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 78-76
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Edward Cabrera vs. LAD
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
Luis Castillo @ TBR – Aces gonna ace.
Max Fried vs. STL – This should be the AGA start for Fried.
Carlos Rodón vs. DET – #HotRodónSeptember. His schedule is incredible the rest of the way and I have a good feeling about this.
Probably Starts
Eduardo Rodriguez @ NYY – He’s in a good rhythm, but the Yankees are top tier in Hitter Performance this year against left-handers.
Javier Assad vs. ARI – He won’t be on this incredible run throughout all of September and yet, you can’t big brain this. Let him fly.
Cal Quantrill @ LAA – Quantrill did his thing last time out and the Angels are as good of a stream as any.
Ryan Pepiot @ MIA – He hasn’t gone more than five frames, though this still has a solid Win chance and who knows, maybe this is the one where Pepiot is pushed a little further. He’ll have to regularly start moving forward now, after all.
Questionable Starts
NONE – That’s just how it is sometimes. Your will to make it happen can take you far, but life still needs to agree.
Do Not Starts
Ryne Nelson @ CHC – Nelson is expected to return from the minors to face the Cubs and has apparently refined his slider in the minors (Upon look of last two Triple-A starts, it is a new “cutter” [it’s 84mph. It’s a slider] that returned a ton of strikes and a solid whiff rate). I want to see it first, especially against the Cubs, but there is promise here. He’d get the Mets, Cubs, Yankees after this start and that’s a decent flier.
Zack Littell vs. SEA – At least Littell will be given the chance to get a Win. Seattle has been too hot to consider this as a sneaky Win chance, though.
Braxton Garrett vs. LAD – The Dodgers are too dangerous. Garrett has a possible a sprinkle of magic with sliders and cutters. Just don’t allow hits off the sinker please.
TBD Angels SP/Bullpen vs. CLE – I don’t expect it to be Jaime Barría if he does start given a one-inning relief appearance on Monday. It could be a bullpen game, it could be Griffin Canning starting, even though I haven’t found any confirmation of that anywhere. If it is in fact Canning, he’d be in the second tier. Keep tabs on it.
Adam Wainwright @ ATL – Come on Waino, two more Wins…Sigh. This is worse than a bullpen game from the Angels.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Zac Gallen @ CHC – Aces gonna ace.
Blake Snell @ HOU – Aces gonna ace. You aren’t an ace if you’re benching them for a start.
George Kirby @ TBR – As long as Kirby has his breakers and keeps the heater up, he’s golden.
Kodai Senga @ MIN – The dude has been stupid.
Kyle Bradish @ BOS – So has he.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. KCR – And him…? Save for one weird game, the slider command is still phenomenal.
Jordan Montgomery vs. OAK – It’s Oakland.
Andrew Abbott vs. STL – Abbott is teetering between Tier 1 and 2 and ultimately, you’re starting him if you have him.
Probably Starts
Kyle Harrison vs. COL – This is an interesting one. He’s a Cherry Bomb but it’s Rockie Road. We just saw him dominate the Reds and stumble against the mighty Atlanta offense. I feel good about this one – just throw enough strikes.
Logan Allen @ LAA – It’s the Angels and he’s a Toby.
Eury Pérez @ PHI – It’s hard not to be enamored with Pérez, though the Phillies are an elite offense.
Cristopher Sánchez vs. MIA – He’s our streaming pick as the Marlins are middling and Sánchez has been consistent.
Bryce Elder vs. PIT – It’s a Toby for a winning club.
Emmet Sheehan @ WSN – I dig the situation for Sheehan, I just want the Dodgers to let him throw 80 pitches.
Griffin Canning vs. CLE – Is this Canning? There’s a chance he starts Thursday instead of Friday, which would mean Tyler Anderson instead, who would be in the third tier. If it’s Canning, he’s in a good place with his repertoire to tally the strikeouts. The ratios are a little suspect, though.
Questionable Starts
Reese Olson vs. CHW – Olson has his moments and could be finding his groove now. The White Sox make for a lovely canvas to sweep us off our feet.
Taj Bradley vs. SEA – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Hunter Brown vs. SDP – He’s also a Cherry Bomb against a tough crew.
Ty Blach @ SFG – Here’s your sneaky stream, heading to Oracle Park. The Win chance is higher than you think, especially if Harrison’s control is wonky.
Luis Severino vs. MIL – The rest of this tier is borderline Tier 4, though I’m more generous these days. Severino has a shot here if he doesn’t chuck a ton of pitches down the heart of the plate. Don’t do that.
Mike Clevinger @ DET – Clevinger was fantastic, then horrendous. At least the matchup is good enough if he can get it together.
Colin Rea @ NYY – Colin just took down the Phillies and the Yankees aren’t as scary against RHP.
Tanner Houck vs. BAL – If he has more than his slider, there’s a shot.
Mitch Keller @ ATL – It’s Atlanta. It’s also a super hot Keller. It’s a solid Hail Mary, but if ratios are close I’m running away.
Do Not Starts
Jameson Taillon vs. ARI – You’re hoping for a PQS here and that’s not my jam.
MacKenzie Gore vs. LAD – He’s a Cherry Bomb in the kindest terms against an elite offense.
Alec Marsh @ TOR – We’ve seen some rare Marsh magic. Very rare.
Drew Rom @ CIN – The 90/91 mph heater just isn’t it + pitching in Cincy ain’t great.
Dallas Keuchel vs. NYM – Maybe he gets fortunate again…? Nah.
Kyle Muller @ TEX – Absolutely not. Muller needs two more legit pitches + it’s Texas.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)