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: 47-41
7/7 Note: I’m hyper aware of the last three weeks. It’s been rough, as I’ve pulled down my record dramatically. I can’t help but feel awful for anyone following the ranks and it going south in that time – it’s all about the process we choose them and that’s all I can do. I highly recommend y’all chatting with me in the morning as I make them moving forward if you feel my process is flawed, and at the end of the day, the streaming pick is a product of the landscape – I can’t select the “good” arms, I’m innately choosing the ones most managers don’t want on their teams. Let’s hope for better days ahead.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Nothing too interesting in the top tier for Friday. Pablo López has the toughest matchup, landing him at the bottom of the ranks, but he’s a clear start in all your leagues.
- And obviously, Shane McClanahan gets the top slot. The dude is so dang legit, it hurts.
- The Phillies shifted their rotation and pushed Kyle Gibson to Saturday with Zack Wheeler starting today instead. Make sure Wheeler is in your lineups.
- I elected to put Chris Bassitt at the top of the second tier. He’s coming back from the COVID-IL to face the Marlins and while there is some hesitation (maybe it’s a Still ILL?) I think Bassitt is too good of a talent to sit against the Marlins.
- It’s a pretty easy decision to start Zac Gallen and Sonny Gray in their matchups, but not as easy for Nestor Cortes against the Red Sox. He’s performed at too high of a level to sit him, though we all wish this were an easier day at the park.
- At the bottom of the tier, Tyler Anderson gets what should be a cushy matchup against the Cubs and Adam Wainwright should be started by managers as he faces a weakened Phillies crew.
- And at the end is José Urquidy against the Athletics as he’s been cruising with his four-seamer over the past few outings. Let it ride, let it ride.
- In the third tier, Aaron Ashby is our streaming pick of the day as he faces the Pirates a second time. His return from the IL wasn’t exactly what we hoped for and I’m anticipating a rebound as Ashby finds his groove.
- I want to rank both Jon Gray and Blake Snell higher, but with Gray facing the Twins and Snell’s overall volatility this year, I can’t slot them any higher than #14 and #15.
Michael Lorenzen’sstart against the Orioles is up in the air at the moment and would be replaced by Reid Detmers if he can’t go on Friday. I would bench Detmers if so. Update: It is Detmers and yes, he’s a bench.- I’m intrigued by Aaron Civale’s matchup against the Royals as he’s shown promise with his breakers as of late. That said, the Royals are as hot as they have been all season (albeit, against middling opponents), and you may not want to chance it.
- In the final tier, it gives me no joy to bench Tarik Skubal, but his downward spiral has no end in sight, especially against a White Sox team that excels against southpaws.
- There are some desperate streams here in Brady Singer, Kyle Gibson, Chad Kuhl, and JT Brubaker. It’s all too risky for me, but I can see at least one of these working out on Friday.
I know Michael Wacha has performed surprisingly well over the last month, but don’t forget – he was skipped in his last start because of a fatigued arm. This seems awfully dangerous against the Yankees.Update: Annnnd it’s Connor Seabold instead now. That’s a clear pass.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- The top tier is split in two or aces and those who could get the label in the near future. Framber Valdez gets the call at #5 as his sinker has been far better in 2022 and gets a cushy date with the Athletics.
- There’s also Robbie Ray at the end, hoping to earn his AGA label as he faces the tough Jays offense. The introduction of his sinker has catalyzed an incredible run and we can only hope it sticks around.
- In the second tier, you’re starting Triston McKenzie as he faces the Royals and recovered after his rough outing against the Royals.
- I can see some wanting to favor Carlos Carrasco over Patrick Sandoval, but the strikeout potential is higher for the latter, with Sandoval’s changeup and slider combining for 15 whiffs in his last start against the Astros. This could be an explosive outing.
- In the third tier, I’d stream Devin Smeltzer where I could (25% rostered) as he faces the Rangers. He’s been able to earn Wins and consistently go six frames, making him a cheap option on Saturday.
- The actual streaming pick of the day was a choice between Johnny Cueto getting a lovely date with the Tigers and banking on Madison Bumgarner carrying 92 mph heaters against Rockie Road. I’m going with Cueto as I believe he holds a higher Win chance, but I’m okay with either here.
- It’s not the easiest choice to start Jordan Montgomery against the Red Sox. If he’s able to steal strikes consistently with his sinker, he should keep his head above water with changeups and curveballs. However, if you need to avoid a clunker badly, The Bear may be best on your bench.
- The same goes for the Cherry Bomb that is Hunter Greene. The Rays aren’t the most intimidating, but if Greene isn’t able to steer with sliders, this could get ugly.
- In the bottom tier, Dean Kremer may be able to bounce back against the laboring Angels offense, while Martín Pérez has had his Vargas Rule come to a halt, especially with the Twins on deck.
- I know we’re all a little intrigued about Patrick Corbin after his last two starts, but Atlanta is awfully good against southpaws and it’s just two outings from Patrick. Play this cautiously.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)