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 – 11am 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: 41-25
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
It’s a stacked top tier with many favorites at the top followed by Pablo López as he goes against the Phils. There is slight concern that the comebacker to his wrist will affect Wednesday’s outing, but it’s too small of a variable to make any changes to your lineup.Update: Nope, the Marlins are giving Pablo more time. Womp womp.- At the bottom of the tier, Nestor Cortes will hopefully bounce back against the Rays and Luis Castillo should be able to take advantage of the Sneks. Easy choices here.
- In the second tier, Zac Gallen will go opposite Castillo and gets the Reds on the road. Even with his recent bumps on the road, that’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.
- I love what I saw from Luis Garcia in his last start – 95 mph, 50%+ CSW on his slider, a solid cutter – and I’m crossing my fingers we see the trifecta a second time against the Rangers.
- Also in this tier are Tyler Anderson and Roansy Contreras. The party came to a halt for Anderson as he faced the White Sox last time out and while the Angels aren’t pushovers, Anderson’s 2022 season demands you give you him a second chance before losing all your faith.
- As for Roansy Contreras, he stumbled against Atlanta, but the Cardinals have been an average offense over the last two weeks and with Contreras’s solid four-seamer and slider command as of late, I’d feel good starting him here.
- The third tier begins with a tried-and-true Toby in Kyle Gibson against the Marlins. He’s rostered for starts like these and while I don’t expect the world, he’s a play most will be making.
Our streaming pick of the day follows in Andre Pallante, a pitcher I’m sure some of you aren’t aware of. He tosses a cut-fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s with a solid breaker and will be starting instead of Steven Matz in a cushy matchup against the Pirates. This has legit sneaky stream potential that I’m cool taking a chance on.Update: The Cardinals are bringing Jack Flaherty back, which is exciting and also a bit disappointing since this start against the Pirates is a bit wasted. Flaherty shouldn’t toss more than 60 pitches, making it a Still ILL, while Pallante could be a follower or start on Sunday against the Red Sox.
- It’s a fun day for young streamers with Caleb Kilian and Alex Faedo also facing teams that struggle against right-handers. If Faedo has his slider working, he’ll come out on top, while the major question for Kilian is how long the Cubs will let him go. All three young arms could impress on Wednesday and I’m excited to watch them. Update: With Pallante getting bounced, Faedo is the streaming pick of the day. Cool.
- Closing out the tier is Sonny Gray who will be returning from his stint on the IL as he suffered a pectoral injury. It’s a Still ILL in my book as we don’t know how long the Twins will let him go in this game + the Mariners can put up a crooked number.
- The bottom tier is a large one and I wouldn’t go diving into this one. From Marco Gonzales facing an elite Twins offense to Reid Detmers getting the Dodgers and James Kaprielian squared up against Boston, there is so much risk that you don’t want to touch.
- I guess David Peterson and Vince Velasquez could make something happen, but their floors are awfully low and are not worth the gamble. Don’t do it.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It’s nice to have a top tier where I’m enjoying my confidence in starting every member – I really don’t see how you don’t start any of these pitchers.
- I find it weird that Shohei Ohtani is the definitive bottom rank of the tier as he faces the Mariners, but I’ve checked this list and checked it twice. Yep, he’s #5 and that’s the way it is.
- The second tier is a bit more contentious. Martín Pérez encountered his first bump in the road since April last time out, failing to hit the edges with his cutters and sinkers constantly. Normally, it would be a tough call to decide if his Vargas Rule wall had been hit or not, but this is the Tigers. His changeup was well spotted and you’re better off chasing a rebound than conservatively benching.
- Continuing in the second tier, George Kirby will likely be started everywhere as he faces the Angels. Do I feel great about it? Not necessarily, but his four-seamer gives him ample opportunity to go six strong, especially if his secondaries are earning consistent strikes.
- I’m glad to see the road to recovery continuing for Tylor Megill as he faces the Brewers. I’d normally have him below Kirby, but there’s still a touch of rust let to shake off for Megill as he likely tosses fewer pitches.
- In the third tier, Rich Hill is our streaming pick of the day as he faces the Athletics. He’s only 7% rostered in standard leagues and has displayed the ability to go at least five for a winning ball club. I’m cool rolling him out there for this.
- If you need another streaming, consider Matt Swarmer against the Padres. I know, he just allowed a ton of longballs to the Yankees, but the Padres are far worse against right-handers and Swarmer’s plus slider could catalyze a strong outing.
- It’s hard to decide what to do with Aaron Ashby against the Mets. I believe in the southpaw long-term, but his last start has left us sour as he tossed far too many hittable pitches, even if the defense let him down a bit. It’s a high risk/reward play and up to you to decide.
- I’ve been digging what we see from Triston McKenzie this season, though a date in Coors is rarely a fun experience. I’m generally conservative in Colorado.
- Who knows, Paul Blackburn has been such a stable Toby this year that he could pull it off against the Red Sox. I won’t blame you for taking the shot, especially in QS leagues.
- And don’t ignore Beau Brieske if you’re searching for starts. He’s comfortably gone 5+ multiple times and now gets a middling offense in the Rangers. Sure, the floor is low and I don’t recommend it for standard affairs, but it is an option.
- In the bottom tier, I want nothing to do with Drew Rasmussen against the Yankees. He’s been going through a rough stretch, hasn’t been able to earn consistent whiffs with his cutter and slider, and now faces the daunting task of facing the mighty Yankee offense. Nope, not interested.
- There’s slight intrigue still with Chad Kuhl if he has his slider and curve working, but it’s Coors and the Guardians are a volatile offense, presenting more potential danger than I’m comfortable with.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)