Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings – 8/12 & 8/13

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: 68-51

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Despite how hot Max Scherzer has been, could I really deny Carlos Rodón the top spot with a date against the Pirates? I’m not a mad man, you know.
• Tyler Mahle and Luis Garcia earned their spots in the top tier for Friday with their cushy matchups against California teams. Let em loose.

 

• The second tier is an interesting one. I haven’t been too encouraged by Mike Clevinger or Michael Kopech lately, but dates with Natty Lite and the Tigers make for outings you simply can’t deny.
• The bottom half of the tier is a bit tricky. Pablo López hasn’t found his groove lately, but his ceiling is well worth the play against Atlanta, Jordan Montgomery has a solid defense behind him, but are his secondaries consistent enough? And Corey Kluber has benefited teams a fair amount this year and faces a volatile Orioles lineup. You’re very likely starting all of them, but I can feel your anxiety. It’s normal.

 

• The third tier begins with George Kirby, who arguably could be in the second tier. I’m worried about his limited pitch count and the susceptible nature of his secondary pitches. Just because he took down the Angels does not mean he’ll repeat success against a better string of bats.
• The following three arms are all Cherry Bombs with José Berríos, Eric Lauer, and Patrick Sandoval. The latter has the toughest matchup against the Twins and I was awfully tempted to place him in the bottom tier. Still, it’s a coin flip for him and the other two given their inability to dominate with regular frequency, and I’ll be holding my breath for all managers needing to start them.

 

• Update: I’ve elected to move Patrick Sandoval into the fourth tier and changed my mind from yesterday. I rarely do it, but felt I was overvaluing The Irish Panda’s upside while putting myself in too much danger facing the Twins with his volatility.
• Update #2: With Max Fried hitting the concussion IL (I hope he’s okay), Jake Odorizzi starts today and slides into the third tier, becoming our streaming pick of the day. His command has been solid and he faces a paltry Miami Marlins offense that could return a Win.

 

• Streaming is awfully difficult on Friday, forcing me to choose Austin Voth against the Rays. He benefited from Wednesday’s rainout, moving his start from Boston to Tampa Bay, opening the door for his curveball to feast. It’s a risky proposition, but of all the highly questionable options for Friday, Voth seems the safest. Update: Voth is no longer the streaming pick with Jake Odorizzi starting for Atlanta.
• I can also see some favoring Dane Dunning, though I’m a bit more worried about the Mariners lately. Coming off a series win against the Yankees, I fear they are carrying more momentum that may break down Dunning’s defenses. Update: It’s Taylor Hearn with an opener instead, with Dunning going tomorrow. I have no interest in Hearn.

 

• The other pitchers in the bottom tier all have horrendous matchups or aren’t worth your time regardless. Ranger Suárez may be on a redemption tour, but he’ll have to make a difficult stop in New York first and I’d rather hop on the bus after. Nathan Eovaldi still has velocity issues, and Domingo Germán isn’t polished enough to likely suppress the Red Sox offense.
• I’m still incredibly curious about Daniel Lynch, but his command isn’t there yet and now he gets his biggest challenge against the Dodgers. We may have to wait until 2023 for him to truly blossom.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• It’s ace day on Saturday, with three of my top four starters all toeing the rubber. I can’t wait until we see 90+ pitches from Jacob deGrom…
• At the bottom of the tier, it’s weird to see Aaron Nola this far down, but we have too many good matchups ahead of him. The elephant in the room is Lucas Giolito, but a date with the Tigers is a clear “obviously I’m doing this” start, even with his recent struggles.

 

• The probable start tier is pretty straightforward as well. Adam Wainwright faces a middling offense and he has been a rock for managers over the last two months when not facing the toughest of offenses.
• Despite likely being limited to 75-80 pitches, I’d still start Andrew Heaney everywhere. The Royals may be performing better than usual as of late, but without Merrifield and Benintendi, I imagine Heaney should produce in the limited frames he gets – he could very well squeeze out five frames and a Win here.

 

• The third tier is a chonker (as Fast would say), leading off with five starters who would be in the second tier if not for a difficult matchup. Yes, that’s all of Triston McKenzie, Frankie Montas, Reid Detmers, Jesús Luzardo, and Zac Gallen. Luck of the draw can be rough at times.
• As for Luzardo, I know he’s performed well in his two starts back from the IL, but Atlanta is strong against lefties + I’m worried about his dip in velocity.

 

• The back half of the third tier is focusing on lower rostered arms facing weak teams. Lance McCullers Jr. is a touch different, making his return from the IL to face Oakland, though despite being stretched out in his rehab (5.0 IP, 24 batters faced), he allowed 10 baserunners and 5 ER in the final start, suggesting his command is still a work in progress. It could go either way, and he very well may be a “Still Ill”. Don’t activate him unless you need to.
• The streaming pick of the day can be found here with Graham Ashcraft facing the Cubs. I’m not heavily infatuated with Ashcraft as he can’t find a proper groove, but there seems to be a decent floor here as Graham could shove through six frames.

 

• Atlanta demoted Ian Anderson, but has him back on schedule for this doubleheader against the Marlins. He’s a Cherry Bomb, and the Marlins could tip the scales in his favor.
• Spenser Watkins and Marco Gonzales are a pair of arms who can go 5+ frames without destroying your ratios. Watkins faces the meager Rays offense, while Gonzo has shown the ability to earn Quality Starts for those in need.

 

• At the top of the fourth tier, Adrian Sampson and Dylan Bundy have more intrigue than usual. Sampson has his moments of bliss and the Reds aren’t the scariest of foes, while Bundy increased his slider usage to 40% in his last start and thrived with it. It may have been the beginning of a major trend.
• I can also see some favoring Dane Dunning, though I’m a bit more worried about the Mariners lately. Coming off a series win against the Yankees, I fear they are carrying more momentum that may break down Dunning’s defenses.

 

• Lastly, I have to mention y’all to keep an eye on Tyler Beede. He’s still getting stretched out, but he pumps 96 mph with a strong breaker. He could be taking the steps forward to be a 12-teamer add in the next few weeks.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)