Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 8/10 & 8/11

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:

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: 67-50

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Just four atop the rankings on Wednesday, with an interesting debate between Sandy Alcantara and Justin Verlander for the #1 spot. Verlander has gone 6+ IP and 1 or fewer ER across his last seven starts, but then again it is Sandy.
• The real consideration was Kyle Wright landing in the first or second tier as he faces a solid Red Sox lineup. His success depends highly on his curveball on a given day and while it wasn’t at its best last time, I’d trust a rebound here.

 

• The second tier is dicier than usual. The first three are expected, though, with Nestor Cortes and Robbie Ray squaring off (and I’m favoring the one not facing the Yankee offense) plus Patrick Sandoval facing the lowly Athletics offense. You’re very likely starting these guys. Update: Sandoval is starting on Friday against the Twins now, with Touki Toussaint getting the start today (don’t start him). Bummer.
• However, the final five bring hesitation. José Berríos hasn’t rebounded as I anticipated, but the Orioles aren’t a team to turn away. Jeffrey Springs is looking more like his May self and could perform well in Milwaukee. And Sean Manaea may very well benefit not facing the Dodgers with his improved changeup, but it could be dicey.

 

• The final two are even tougher. Yes, Taijuan Walker faces a poor Reds offense in Citi Field, but he hasn’t looked the same across his last three starts. I’m worried he’ll continue the downward spiral, even with the great matchup.
• As for Noah Syndergaard, he deserves the second tier spot with a date against the Marlins, but we can’t forget his struggles against Natty Lite last time out. The floor is still much lower than we’d like it to be.

 

• In the third tier, it’s tough deciding between Josiah Gray or Justin Steele. Josiah has the higher ceiling, while I’ve found myself enamored by Steele’s slider, which holds a super low 13% hard contact for the year. He’s my streaming pick of the day because of it and while you shouldn’t anticipate 10 strikeouts again, this could very well work out in his favor against Natty Lite.
• Other streams to consider are, well, the rest of this tier. Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, and Paul Blackburn are all Toby types with the former cruising with his veteran magic, Bumgarner getting the Pirates, and the latter hoping for a rebound to his recent downward trend as he faces the weak Angels.

 

• Don’t overlook the return of Aaron Civale as he faces the Tigers. It’s the Tigers, the worst offense in the majors against right-handers. I think that allows Civale to avoid a full Still ILL situation.
• And hey, Mitch Keller has found a way to make it work as of late, even if the strikeouts are hard to come by. If you’re in need of a decent ERA, he could make it work against the Sneks.

 

• In the bottom tier, I’m avoiding Sonny Gray and José Quintana in some terrible matchups. Sonny’s breakers haven’t clicked yet and the Dodgers could mess him up in a hurry, while Quintana has to deal with Coors. You don’t want to start Quintana in Coors.
• Kris Bubic has had a nice mini-run as of late against good offenses, though I’m not ready to commit to him against the lefty-mashing White Sox. Chase it if you like, I think the horrendous floor is still present while the chances of hitting the ceiling are slim.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• We have few games on Thursday making for a slim top tier. Dylan Cease is the obvious choice as the sole ace of the day squaring off against the Royals, while it’s a little tougher between Merrill Kelly and Framber Valdez. Both have been sturdy for managers and I gave the nod to Kelly to continue his Vargas Rule against the easier opponent than Valdez’s tendency to earn a PQS.
• The second tier begins with my fortunate streaming pick of the day Nick Lodolo who is right at the 20% rostered threshold. He didn’t have his best command last time out, but the Cubs aren’t a scary offense and I believe Lodolo will be his better self. (And hey, it’s the Field of Dreams game! There’s a chance MLB whips out the juiced balls – it felt like that last year – but once again, it’s the Cubs.)

 

• It’s a tough call between Kyle Gibson and Zach Plesac as they both face paltry offenses. I gave the nod to Gibson as he’s been a touch more consistent, but this could go either way. Start em both.
• In the third tier, I can see many feeling Edward Cabrera is out of place and belongs near Lodolo. He’s only had one start in his return to the majors, a start where he held just an 18% zone rate. I’m a bit concerned the command is still wonky and the Phillies are a team that can punish an erratic starter.

 

• Closing out the short tier is Zack Greinke as he faces the White Sox. Chicago is pedestrian against right-handers and Greinke has the Toby blood in him to give you 5/6 decent frames.
• The bottom tier is split in half – the first four have a tough but visible path toward success, while the bottom crew have a treacherous journey. If you’re in dire need, consider the first four.

 

• Those four include Drew Smyly and JT Brubaker. Smyly faces Cincy and has had a much better curve as of late. I don’t love it, but there’s a chance the hook does some work.
• As for JT Brubaker, I hope his slider can earn whiffs while carrying the ability to land his sinker for strikes against the Diamondbacks. Coffee Cakes has been as volatile as anyone this year and even against Arizona, it seems like he’s more dangerous than he’s worth.

 

• The final two of “consideration” are Josh Winckowski and Austin Voth, dueling each other in Boston on Thursday. Winckowski isn’t special, but has found himself earning cheap Wins as he can survive five frames, while Voth’s curveball is coming alive. He has the tougher matchup against the Sawx, slotting him below Winckowski, but there’s a tinge more upside here.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)