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: 77-58
Today’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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have half the schedule on Monday and I can see many getting ahead of their opponents quickly with some of these auto-start arms. José Berríos and Frankie Montas are the questionable additions today, but their easy matchups make for easy decisions for fantasy managers.
- The second tier is pretty clear as well. Pablo López is often beneficial, though you will be hesitant to trust him against the Dodgers. This one is up to you, I imagine most managers are starting Pablo and his excellent changeup.
- Mike Clevinger and Ranger Suárez are both facing weak teams, but have their questions. Clevinger hasn’t found his secondaries, creating more havoc than usual, while Suárez isn’t quite matching the 2021 groove yet. Let’s hope both can take advantage of their luscious schedules.
- The rest of these rankings are rough. JT Brubaker is my streaming pick of the day simply because I have to choose someone. I wouldn’t recommend risking this one on a Monday, though there’s a chance his sinker finds the zone and sliders can earn whiffs.
- Brayan Bello is the only one joining Coffee Cakes in the third tier after he looked more like the Bello who was promised in his last outing. You can ask Alex Wood about the danger the Twins offense still possesses, though there’s a chance Bello continues taking a step forward here.
- In the bottom tier, I have no interest in chasing any of these difficult matchups, including Madison Bumgarner or Dylan Bundy. Leave me out of this.
- Chase Anderson is making a start for the first time in a while…and it’s against the Cardinals, as if we were interested in the first place. That seems to be a rough date.
- I’m sure there’s some intrigue about Javier Assad after surviving in his MLB debut, but this is the Jays and his stuff isn’t demanding your attention. If he finds himself against a weak team in the near future (the Cardinals are next so it may be some time), we’ll revisit this.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)