Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 5/2 & 5/3

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: 18-7

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• There isn’t a whole lot to talk about for Monday. The top tier has all of your lovely matchups, including a duel between Patrick Sandoval and Dylan Cease. Y’all know how much I adore The Irish Panda, but I have to give the nod to Cease, who has been plenty sweeter than sour this year + the White Sox are known for performing well against left-handers.
• And hey, let’s take a moment to smile at Pablo López earning the top spot as he squares off against the Snakes. He deserves it without question.

 

• In the second tier, I’m leading with Drew Rasmussen after he dominated with his cutter & slider + he gets the lowly Athletics. Sign. Me. Up.
• I struggled with where to place Jordan Montgomery, and in the end, I’m starting him if I have him rostered (I actually don’t anywhere, but that’s another story) even against the Jays. Let’s see that sinker continue to thrive.

 

• I elected to squeeze Chris Paddack into the second tier, making him a solid streaming pick of the day. I’m encouraged by his increased curveball usage and improved four-seamer command, which could excel against the Orioles. Sorry for those who expected a Sunday outing, but now you get a lovely two-step with Baltimore + Oakland. I’d pick him up everywhere I could.
• It’s Steven Matz vs. Zack Greinke is a battle of the Tobys. Take your pick.

 

• In the third tier, I think some may be surprised to see the recent success of Marco Gonzales despite his rough schedule and I won’t rule out another day of success on the mound. Can’t say I’m going after it, though.
• Jake Odorizzi had his best start last time out, but he needed to be ultra-efficient to last as long as he did. The Mariners are a respectable offense and should present too much of a challenge to let him fly.

 

• For those in weekly leagues, Ross Stripling is interesting with his two-starts ahead, but I don’t think he’s there with his secondaries to warrant a pick-up in traditional 12-teamers. There’s a chance it works, but too risky for me.
• And finally, in the bottom tier we have just two arms in Daulton Jefferies and Tyler Wells. I don’t expect a whole lot from either one, making them easy avoids at this point.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• We have a slate of 32 starters with the Atlanta-New York doubleheader and it’s making for a massive third tier today. Lots of options to choose from if you want to get ahead of the week.
• But before we get there, we have the comfortable top tier, which is clear as day. I highly doubt anyone would contest any of these plays – Trevor Rogers is facing the Diamondbacks, ya’ll. Don’t question it.

 

• The second tier is awfully small and leads with Michael Kopech against the Cubs. I’ve been a little concerned about Kopech given his 94/95 mph velocity and heavy shift away from his secondaries. Still, the Cubs shouldn’t be the team that adds the final straw to the camel’s back.
• Noah Syndergaard has had a wonderful run to kick off the start of the year and the Red Sox have been in a rut. I’m not sure if Boston’s woes will continue, though it’s enough encouragement to slide Thor into your lineups.

 

• So here’s that massive third tier and I’m starting with Charlie Morton. It was a rough April for the veteran and it’s easy to fall into the thought of age getting the better of him. However, he was slow until the middle of May last year and is not showcasing depreciated velocity. I still believe it’s a matter of time before he rebounds in full, but I understand letting him warm the bench until then.
• I’m excited to watch Mike Clevinger tomorrow as he returns from the IL. I have to believe he’s a Still ILL given we haven’t seen him pitch a regular season game since 2020. He’s been better during his rehab (and properly stretched out), I still want to see it first before confidence returns.

 

• The streaming pick of the day goes to Bruce Zimmermann as he faces the Twins. I’m not terribly excited about this (third tier, n all) but Zim has a strong changeup with a solid slider and it could make for trouble against a volatile Twins lineup.
• There are many other options to consider, and Dakota Hudson stands out as he faces the Royals. He’s been everything we’ve wanted across his last two starts, allowing his defense to do the heavy lifting for few earned runs. It could continue in Kansas City.

 

• There’s hype around Cristian Javier getting his chances in the rotation, I just wish he weren’t facing the dangerous Seattle offense. Be careful here.
• Jameson Taillon is often a play I feel safe making, but the Jays make many pitchers sweat on the mound. They bring the heat as much as anyone.

 

• The bottom half of this tier is filled with your typical Toby types who don’t have the benefit of Zim and Hudson’s matchups. Well, Brad Keller kinda does, but he hasn’t been in the same groove with his fastball and slider recently and it could result in disaster.
• Paul Blackburn, Chris Flexen, and Ranger Suárez each get strong opponents on Tuesday, though each possesses the skills to stay on the path for six frames.

 

• In normal situations, Ryan Yarbrough would be a strong play against the Athletics, but he only went 2.2 frames in his final rehab start. I worry he doesn’t have a great shot at five frames here.
• Oh, and there’s Germán Márquez, who will always be in the third tier. There’s little rhyme or reason to his success and failure.

 

• Heading to the bottom tier, I can see some being enamored by Michael Pineda as he faces the Pirates, though it seems to me as if he’s running on fumes. This isn’t the same arm from previous years with a ridiculous slider. This smells like a trap.
• Lastly, Glenn Otto, David Peterson, and Michael Wacha could be of consideration on Tuesday, but given their tough matchups, I think you’re better off avoiding potential catastrophes than chasing their ceilings.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)