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: 76-58
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- There are two halves in the first tier in my view, with the first ranging from Brandon Woodruff to Luis Castillo. That includes Yu Darvish returning from paternity leave (he’ll be motivated, right?) and Dustin May getting another chance to pummel the Marlins* *This time with more pitches! 10% more value!
- The bottom crew begins with Shohei Ohtani, recovered from a stomach bug. Jordan Montgomery faces Charlie Morton and that came down to Morton enduring the Cardinals, the hottest offense in the majors.
- The second start begins with Kyle Gibson, granted a gift of facing the Pirates. He should be able to take full advantage of it with a solid floor.
- Look, Sandy Alcantara is my man, but the Dodgers have his number. I hope he can get revenge, but let’s not ignore the hesitation every manager has starting him here.
- The likes of Jeffrey Springs, Merrill Kelly, Sonny Gray, and José Urquidy are pretty straightforward calls. All face middling teams save for Springs, who has had his premier changeup as of late. Let em fly.
- I also want to keep tossing Drew Smyly out there until his run ends as he’s spotted sinkers up and curveballs down consistently over the last month. Throw in some increased velocity while you’re at it, and you have a starter you don’t want to sit.
- The streaming pick of the day is David Peterson as he returns to the Mets rotation to face Rockie Road. His slider is still legit and I’d stream him where I could as we may see another 7+ strikeout game from the southpaw.
- Another option is Domingo Germán as he continues his attempt to get comfortable in the Yankees rotation against the Athletics. There’s a decent floor here paired with a high Win chance, making him a solid stream as well.
- The third tier begins with Alex Cobb facing the Twins. He could arguably be in the second tier with the weakened Twins lineup, though I still have a bit of caution sending him out there. Let’s hope the splitters are on point.
- The same goes with Eduardo Rodriguez against the Rangers despite his successful line last time out against the Angels. I don’t think Eduardo has his best stuff right now and this is more dangerous than it would seem.
If you’re looking for a deep streamer, I have two options for you. First is Kohei Arihara against the Tigers as any pitcher able to go at least five frames is worth consideration against the Tigers.- The second is someone I’ve waited a long to become considerable and Saturday is finally the day as Paolo Espino faces the Reds in Washington. Look, I don’t think you need to do this in 12-teamers, but for a guy like Espino to have a decent chance of being productive for a change, you get excited, you know?
- Despite the hot stretch of Dean Kremer, I don’t want to chance it against the Astros. Too much risk here.
- I don’t believe Zach Plesac deserved his failure against the Tigers last time out, but expecting a proper rebound when facing a solid Mariners offense may be too much to ask.
- In the bottom tier, are we actually seeing Rich Hill pitch again? And for how long?
- Adam Oller is the only one here that has expressed legit ability for going 5+ frames, but he has to take on a stronger Yankee offense and I want absolutely nothing to do with that.
- Updates: The Rangers are using Dallas Keuchel, today, pushing Kohei Arihara to Sunday. Don’t start Keuchel. Please.
- Daniel Lynch is getting the ball instead of Jackson Kowar. I don’t trust his development enough to start against the Padres.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It’s a small auto-start tier as few defacto pitchers are going on Sunday. If you’re shocked to see Dylan Cease ranked fourth, remember how he hasn’t been locked in with his four-seamer and curve across the last few outings.
- I can see some wanting Adam Wainwright or Noah Syndergaard in the top tier, but Atlanta isn’t a pushover and Syndergaard simply isn’t dominant enough.
- The second tier has a fair amount of low(ish) rostered arms that could help on Sunday. Nick Lodolo is our streaming pick of the day against Natty Lite, for example, while Ross Stripling could still be around in your league as he faces the Angels.
- And why not, Eric Lauer against the Cubs could be available if managers have had enough of his volatility. I think Lauer is able to make this worthwhile against a mediocre lineup.
- It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Sean Manaea, but I think the chances of him helping against the Royals are higher than hurting.
- The same goes for Corey Kluber, who has been a solid arm but has a tougher challenge against the Red Sox. Let’s hope the cutters and curves are on point.
- In the third tier, Edward Cabrera has been stellar, but is it enough to risk a start against the Dodgers? Be careful here.
- Nick Pivetta has redeemed himself as of late, even if I don’t love his command. I wouldn’t encourage a start against a difficult crew, but the Rays aren’t the largest of threats.
- If you’re looking for a deep streamer, you may want to look at Kohei Arihara against the Tigers as any pitcher able to go at least five frames is worth consideration against the Tigers.
- Also note Jakob Junis and Clarke Schmidt as possible streaming options. Junis’ slider has been fantastic and the Twins are hurting without Buxton. Schmidt is getting his chance in the rotation with Nestor on the mend, is stretched out, and could secure a cheap Win.
- In the bottom tier, Austin Voth and Jake Odorizzi have been grooving, but face tough lineups that warrant a bench wherever you can afford it.
- There’s an outside shot that both Aaron Sanchez and Drew Hutchison can showcase some magic against middling offenses, which Sanchez tossing 50% curveballs and Hutchison…surviving.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)