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: 46-39
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Let me start by saying the last two weeks of streaming have been rough. The exciting options have regressed, I find myself taking the wrong side of the coin flip, or the landscape itself is in a terrible place. Just to be clear, despite the necessity of me needing to select a streamer each day, I typically end the season around 60/40 and this is just one of those rough patches. It affects me (it’s impossible not to!) and I feel for everyone who has leaned on them recently and gotten burned for it. I’m right there with you and here are to better times ahead.
- H’ok, with that aside, our National holiday has just three defacto arms in the top tier and a whole lot of blegh at the end. You can’t ask for much better than Carlos Rodón, Alek Manoah, and Julio Urías facing weak offenses on Monday. What a way to start your week.
- I considered Kyle Wright in the same tier, but he’s not as solid as the other three at the moment and faces a dangerous Cardinals offense. I’d still start him, but it’s not as much of a slam dunk (hey, that’s the wrong sport).
- Joining Wright in the second tier are Sean Manaea and Taijuan Walker. Manaea has been rather consistent but has failed to take the final step with his secondaries to become a Top 25 starter. He should be a safe play against the Mariners.
- As for Taijuan Walker, his arsenal has swung all over the place this season and it’s…worked. It makes me more uneasy than I’d like but hey, you start the man right now.
- The third tier begins with Zach Plesac, who has found his slider across the last month and improved his changeup control. I still have him in the third tier despite facing the Tigers given his low floor, though this may be the most obvious day of success we’ve seen from Plesac for a while.
Michael Wacha follows after as he’s surprised me lately. Sure, he hasn’t been perfect, but he gets the Rays, who aren’t putting up a major fight. I think you’re okay chasing a Win here.Update: Wacha is dealing with a “heavy arm” and was scratched. Don’t start Austin Davis in his place.
- I’m pretty dang fed up with Eric Lauer, but I recognize this could work if he’s sitting 94 mph and keeping heaters up. Totally get it if you just want to move on to something else instead.
- I know, I know, Patrick Corbin has dealt a lot of pain this year. However, he just fanned thirteen batters across eight frames and now he gets the Marlins. It’s a dangerous game we play.
- The bottom tier is large. It starts with Dane Dunning and Konnor Pilkington, who get some lovely matchups against the Orioles and the Tigers. I’m not in a position to trust them despite their opponents, but it’s a better situation than the others below. Maybe Dunning has his command and maybe Pilk has his changeup.
- I never know how to feel about Justin Steele, who has days where his fastball earns enough whiffs or balls find gloves to make the day worthwhile. The Brewers have pop in their bats and make it too risky for me.
- Take your pick on the rest of the tier. Do you want to take a shot on Alex Faedo having his slider? What about Dylan Bundy surviving the White Sox? Maybe Johnny Cueto can go six against the Twins? Or do you want the coin flip of Dakota Hudson against Atlanta?
- As for Jake Odorizzi and
Luis Patiño, I don’t trust that they’ll be able to go long enough to make those starts worth your time. Update: It looks like Jalen Beeks is starting a bullpen game while we’ll need to wait longer for the return of Patiño.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Just two arms sit atop the ranks today, and really just one name as a defacto stud – Sandy Alcantara. If you don’t have a Sandy Crush, you’re doing it wrong.
- As for Max Scherzer, I’m starting him where I have him. All signs point to him being the man we know from his rehab starts and I’d imagine 5+ frames en route. Just start him.
- Two guys in rhythm lead the second tier with Luis Garcia and Nick Pivetta facing mediocre lineups. Let them both fly and enjoy the strong start to the week.
- We’re all starting Jameson Taillon against his former crew, though he has had some trouble against weak teams lately, including the Athletics. Still in your best interest, just not definitive.
- I’m cool starting both sides of Mike Clevinger vs. Logan Gilbert on Tuesday. Clev looked better with his secondaries last time, while I’d anticipate the Padres struggling against Gilbert’s four-seamer plenty.
- Two Toby arms end the tier with Noah Syndergaard and Cal Quantrill, each facing offenses that shouldn’t place them on your bench. Don’t expect the world and the floor is still present, but the odds are in your favor.
- In the third tier, I feel as if the BSB approach of Jeffrey Springs warrants heavy consideration despite squaring off against the Red Sox.
- It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Alex Wood this year, but he is sitting 92/93 mph with a strong slider at the moment. The Diamondbacks give ample opportunity for the best side of Wood to shine.
- What are we to make of Michael Kopech against the Twins? His stuff and command have been turbulent while the Twins are as dangerous as they come, yet Kopech has acted like a Cherry Bomb and could overwhelm on Tuesday.
- You could make the same case for Kyle Hendricks against the Brewers, as he’s adapted more changeups as of late and could continue his hot stretch with the slowball.
- The streaming pick of the day is Mitch White as he faces Rockie Road. I love his breakers, and his susceptible fastball may escape damage against a Colorado team that struggles mightily on the road. Throw in a solid chance at a Win and it elevates him above those in the bottom tier.
- After looking excellent against the Reds last time out, Yusei Kikuchi should be of consideration against the Athletics. I don’t buy that he’s back to being a consistent arm – he has a long history of fluctuation – but it’s the Athletics and is a solid spin of the wheel.
- It’s great to see Nick Lodolo returning to the majors as he leads the bottom tier. It’s a clear Still ILL with jitters mixed in the normal concerns + he has a challenge against the Mets. Cheer from afar, ya’ll.
- There’s a desperate chance of Andre Pallante surviving against Atlanta on Tuesday. He throws mid-90s with a decent breaker and Atlanta is weaker against right-handers. Something to consider in NL-Only leagues.
- The rest of the bottom tier is an absolute landmine. Ian Anderson is more often wonky with his command than precise, Zack Greinke faces the Astros, José Quintana gets the Yankees, and can you buy into Chris Archer producing in the limited five frames (if you’re lucky) he’ll get against the White Sox? Chase other arms.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)