Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 4/29 & 4/30

Every day of the 2022 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 Twitch.tv/pitcherlist to talk about the specific ranks as I make them every weekday morning from 9am – 12am ET. If you have questions to these ranks, please ask during the morning Twitch 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.

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 pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm.

Questionable Start – There are situations where I’d take the chance, either with strong enough upside on the ability side, or a poor offense that a pitcher could take advantage of.

Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it.

 

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 in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. The most common are those in Yellow in the third tier and should be decent if you’re searching for something on a given day. 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. Dave Swan does an incredible job of showcasing future SP matchups every 2-3 weeks in this article, and I’ve elected to use his offense ranks to share with all of you here:

 

 

I’m sure it’ll change through the year + there are differences to be made about teams vs. LHP or RHP, but it’s a great general table that y’all should keep in mind.

Alright, let’s get to it.

 

2022 Streamer Record: 15-7

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• It looks like the Athletics are going to skip Adam Oller to let Frankie Montas pitch a day earlier in the rotation after Thursday’s off-day. Make sure he’s in your lineup as he’s cruised to kick off the season.
• After returning from the IL and tossing nearly 80 pitches, you should feel very comfortable starting Lucas Giolito, even if he squares off against the Angels.

 

• Despite a few ups and downs thus far, I’m rolling out Adam Wainwright with confidence on Friday. It’s the Diamondbacks, y’all.
• Lastly, his name is TYLORD MEGILL. The Phillies are a strong crew and it doesn’t matter to me as he’s sitting 96 mph. Let him do his thing.

 

• The second tier could be rearranged to your liking, and I elected to lead with Tanner Houck. We have yet to see his slider do the wonderful things we know it’s capable of, but the Orioles could pave the streets for its arrival.
• It’s not the best matchup for Noah Syndergaard against the White Sox, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a manager not starting him given his excellent start to 2022.

 

• The last two starts have displayed the volatility of Matt Brash, but I wouldn’t get too discouraged. We’ll see the undulation a bit this year and need to stay disciplined that the highs will outweigh the lows – especially against the Marlins (even if they’ve started hot!).
• Normally a start for Kyle Hendricks against the Brewers would elevate him further up the ranks, but Hendricks has already showcased his low floor this year, adding a sprinkle of concern we wish wasn’t there.

 

• As for our questionable starters, it’s a whole lot of uneasiness. Aaron Civale hasn’t been sharp and carried diminished velocity…but it’s the Athletics. It’s your call there.
• The same goes for Ian Anderson who has struggled terribly with his command. The ceiling is great, while the Rangers could make it difficult to reach it.

 

• We’ve all been surprised to see Dylan Bundy suppress home runs thus far this season, though that could change quickly against the Rays. It’s a Vargas Rule at best and your choice if you want to follow it.
• With Tyler Anderson getting a shot for the Dodgers in the rotation, he could provide value against the Tigers over the weekend. Keep in mind, Anderson is a Toby at best – the reward may not be worth the risk.

 

• The final tier comes with a few names who could achieve far more than the ranking would suggest. Hunter Greene heads to Coors after his questionable 96 mph outing, but if he performs at his peak, he could still thrive in the mile high city.
• If you’re looking for a Quality Start, Adrian Houser has a chance to pull it off against the Cubs. It’s all about his sinker coming through and if you want to bank on the Chicago offense slowing down, be my guest.

 

• Kyle Bradish is getting the call for the Orioles and makes his MLB debut on Friday. Expect him sitting 94/95 (or harder, MLB debuts can add a tick or two from adrenaline) with a solid a cutter. My very brief and totally not great review of him from the spring has Bradish as the best pitcher on the Orioles right now, as someone who could be a little better than a Toby. Like a Merrill Kelly kind of arm.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Plenty of great arms are going on Saturday, where I expect y’all to have very few disagreements with those listed in the top tier today.
• Okay fine, Jesús Luzardo and José Berríos have a pair of difficult matchups as the Mariners are #3 in wRC+ and the Astros are never an easy outing. However, Berríos is The Great Undulater where the opponent matters little to his success and Luzardo is performing too well for a manager to consider benching him right now.

 

• I can see some wanting Miles Mikolas to be pushed into the top tier as he faces the paltry Arizona offense. I have no problems with it, I kept him in the second tier as I recognize Mikolas’ reliance on BABIP to get his outs. It opens the door for a lower floor than the other options.
• Joining Mikolas is Merrill Kelly on the other side of the ball. Kelly has proven himself to be a Toby and could continue his ways on the back of his new changeup.

 

• The third tier kicks off with Luis Garcia as he’s set for a date in Toronto. Garcia has been throwing harder as of late, reinventing himself as a fastball-first arm who could be his best self if his cutter and slider replicate their 2021 success. That said, it’s the Jays for the second straight start and there’s a whole lot risk there.
• Cole Irvin is our reluctant stream of the day against the Guardians. He’s a Toby and the Guardians are a middling crew. This may be the Quality Start you’re looking for.

 

• I know, I know, Justin Steele in the third tier is weird. By all means, ignore him if you like, I’m acknowledging that Steele could go 5+ against a poor Milwaukee lineup.
• Kyle Gibson has had some recent success, though he’ll have a challenge ahead as he faces the Mets. Up to you if you want to take a shot on it.

 

• The bottom tier could be separated in two with the bottom crew (starting around Bryce Elder) being very easy to avoid while the top four have intriguing cases to steal your attention.
• It comes down to soldiers. JT Brubaker, Chad Kuhl, and Dane Dunning each displayed a much better slider recently while leaning on the pitch. Sadly, they are in poor situations for Saturday, with Kuhl in Coors, Dunning against Atlanta, and Coffee Cakes getting the Padres.

 

• And hey, maybe Chris Archer still has it as he faces his old crew. He’s certainly looking like the best self we’ve seen from him for ages. Am I concerned about his fastball only sitting 93/94 mph? Absolutely. There’s still an outside chance, though.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)