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 about 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: 53-44
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It feels weird to place Gerrit Cole as the #3 for Sunday, but he struggled the last time he faced the Red Sox, creating a bit more risk than Logan Webb and Shane Bieber in much safer matchups.
- And don’t forget Aaron Nola as he goes up against the Marlins. He’s a little prone to the blowup inning but still is very much worth the start.
- In the second tier, Dylan Cease is forced to be demoted down here with his high WHIP tendencies facing the threatening Twins lineup. Still start him, but it’s not as clear of a path to success.
- I’m starting the Cherry Bomb arms of José Berríos and Spencer Strider as well. Berríos gets the depleted Royals offense while as long as Strider throws strikes, he’ll make managers thrilled.
- I haven’t been too thrilled with Mike Clevinger thus far, but a date with the Diamondbacks shouldn’t warrant time on your bench.
- I’ve doubted Corey Kluber a little too much lately and even facing the scorching hot Orioles, Kluber should be a safe bet on Sunday.
- The third tier starts with two players you may be able to snag off the wire. David Peterson has featured a strong slider as of late and could carry it for another outing against a mediocre Cubs lineup.
- There’s also Jake Odorizzi who just overwhelmed the Athletics with his fastball, even if it wasn’t his best command of the pitch. As long as he keeps it elevated, he should soar again.
- I suggest being a little safe with Chris Sale even after he cruised through his 2022 debut earlier this week. The Yankees can ruin his day quickly and Sale isn’t fully stretched out quite yet.
- Merrill Kelly and Chris Flexen round out the tier as Toby types who could give you six innings without the same floor as many inside the final tier.
- For the third start in a row, I’m reluctantly choosing Jordan Lyles as my streaming pick of the day. I feel like I’m pushing my luck here, but sadly there isn’t a better option as he has the capability of going 6+ with a Win on Sunday.
- I can see some favoring Trevor Rogers or Graham Ashcraft instead, though Rogers hasn’t gone six in a long time and Ashcraft hasn’t found a rhythm with his cutter/slider approach yet.
- I wouldn’t consider much else in this tier, even if you’re desperate for something. It isn’t confirmed if Steven Matz is returning from the IL on Sunday, but even against Cincy, I’d consider it a Still ILL.
- Chris Archer could give you five frames, but will they be worth it? And Glenn Otto may be able to dance around the zone with breakers, but there’s just not enough of a ceiling for me to consider it.
- Update: The Brewers are starting Aaron Ashby on short rest instead of Jason Alexander. I imagine he’ll go a few frames as his bullpen day, then hand the ball over to Alexander. I’d avoid completely, while it’s possible Alexander (or someone else, maybe Alexander is hurt?) could steal a Win.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
It’s the All-Star Break tomorrow.
I’ll see you guys on Wednesday morning.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)