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: 66-48
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- I’m thrilled we get more Jacob deGrom on Sunday, though he’s not the #1 play yet as he flirted with 60 pitches in his season debut. Once he’s let loose properly, he’ll sit atop these ranks every time.
- At the bottom, the trio of Kevin Gausman, Frankie Montas, and Spencer Strider are contentious and could arguably be in the second tier. Gausman looked great last time out, Montas gets a decent matchup in his Yankee debut, and Strider…well he’s too fun not to start.
- The second tier leads with Drew Rasmussen facing the worst offense in the majors. Seems like a pretty safe bet.
- Despite facing the Dodgers, I’d still start Yu Darvish everywhere as he’s less about the lineup he’s facing and more about if his stuff is good enough or not.
- I elected to favor Cristian Javier and Marco Gonzales in solid matchups above the second start of Jesús Luzardo and the hopeful redemption arc of Lucas Giolito. The latter sat a tick up in his velocity last time out and I hope it’s a sign of more success to follow.
- I know, it’s weird seeing Marco Gonzales that high in the ranks, but the Angels are just that blegh right now.
Speaking of Tobys, don’t overlook the success of Cole Irvin as of late. I nearly put him in the second tier given the rhythm he’s currently in and the Giants shouldn’t deter you.Update: Irvin was pushed to Monday, Adrian Martinez starts instead and I’d avoid that.- It’s a tough call for Triston McKenzie, Tyler Anderson, and Adam Wainwright, a trio of names who have helped fantasy managers plenty this year facing three of the toughest offenses around (Juan Soto, what’s up). Proceed with caution.
- The streaming pick of the day stays in Pittsburgh once again with Spenser Watkins, who has paid dividends to trusting managers across the last month or so. I don’t love it, but I feel it’s more likely than not for Watkins to come through on Sunday.
- If you’re chasing a Win, Kutter Crawford against the Royals isn’t the worst call. I don’t have much adoration for his stuff, but there’s enough there for 5/6 frames of 3 ER or fewer.
- The Reds are going with Graham Ashcraft on Sunday and there’s a chance he can pull it off against the Brewers. He’s been too volatile to target for Sunday, though if it’s a desperate Sunday, he’s an option.
- In the bottom tier, don’t overlook Tucker Davidson making his debut for the Angels. He’s had surprising starts in the past for Atlanta and as he’s gone five innings constantly in the minors, we may see him come through here. Only for desperate managers, of course.
- I haven’t been too kind to Adrian Sampson, though he has his moments where everything clicks. It could come out against a struggling Marlins offense on Sunday.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Not many games kick off our week but if you have Chris Bassitt, Zac Gallen, or Blake Snell on your roster, I don’t see a single reason not to start them against middling opponents.
- You could also make a case for Cole Irvin on the wonderful stretch he’s been on and paired with the lowly Angels. I’ll leave him in the second tier for now, alone.
- In said third tier, both Logan Gilbert and Jameson Taillon got shelled against each other last week and we may see a repeat on both sides. Given Gilbert’s success against the Astros prior, I’m giving him the edges (despite the more daunting task). Keep in mind, Taillon is awfully fringe for your rosters right now and if you’re considering taking a shot on a young arm off the wire, I’d make the swap instead of chasing this start against the Mariners.
- Our streaming pick of the day is José Suarez as he faces Oakland for the second time in a row. He allowed just an unearned run when he faced them last week across five frames and it could be more of the same with his breaker and changeup.
- At the bottom of the tier is Yusei Kikuchi, who has tallied only nine frames across his last two outings. He could go five with the high-powered Jays offense behind him, but then again, the Orioles have their magic flowing and it could spell trouble for Kikuchi.
- The bottom tier holds Alex Wood as he faces the upgraded Padres offense. He’s been getting tough breaks with matchups, and I suggest sitting him here while letting him fly against the Pirates on Sunday.
- I haven’t been the biggest fan of Keegan Thompson, though this may be the time to jump in as he faces Natty Lite. He’s been inconsistent with his stuff and the Nationals should give him as much leeway as any offense.
- I’m incredibly curious to watch Justin Dunn in his return to the rotation. Watch being the key word as it’s far too much risk to plug him in on Monday. Feel free to do a spec add if you must, at least Aníbal Sánchez, Jordan Lyles, and Tyler Beede have a decent chance to go farther in their respective games in easier matchups.
- Okay maybe not Tyler Beede – he looked rough in his last outing and I have zero faith in this outing, even against the Diamondbacks.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)