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 10am – 12pm 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 (Updated 9/10):
Auto-Start – Just do it. Don’t overthink this, start the man. This includes “if I have them rostered, I’m starting them” pitchers.
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-not-elite pitcher or a weak lineup for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or greater chance of performing well in my view.
Questionable Start – Think of this tier as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” Streamers found in this tier are not pitchers I’m targeting and are only if you are in dire need of one. To play it safe with streaming, just start the Probably Start streamers.
Do Not Start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t do it. Seriously, these pitchers have a very slim chance of success or sometimes none at all.
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. Those in Yellow in the third tier and should be okay if you’re searching for something on a given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you’re in need. 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: 95-70
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- It’s a long top tier for Tuesday and y’all might not love that I have Hunter Greene at the bottom. Thing is, if you’re rostering Greene, you’re gonna see the double-digit strikeout ceiling and a feast awaiting against the Pirates. You’re starting him.
- The same goes for Patrick Sandoval and Tyler Anderson as they aren’t necessarily locks, but very much worth the start.
- In the second tier, despite how hot Blake Snell was last time out, he’s facing the Dodgers and that can mess guys up. I’m going for it, though I can see the hesitation.
- Miles Mikolas has another two strong outings in him left, right? Good.
- Here’s the toughest one – Pablo López against the Mets. I’m going for it though there are many who believe the Mets are destined to continue their track record of punishing his arsenal. Fortune favors the bold.
- The other arms here – Bailey Ober, Corey Kluber, and Michael Wacha should be able to come though. I may be too high on Ober, but I believe his stuff is in order and the floundering White Sox are a little less scary than some of those in the third tier.
- Alright, it’s time to trust Mitch Keller as the streaming pick of the day. It’s the Reds, how wrong could this go?
- Kyle Bradish reduced his four-seamer usage and nearly tossed a Maddux against the Astros last week. The Red Sox are not the easiest of foes, but it does feel like Bradish is figuring things out a bit.
- You have your QS stalwarts in Zack Greinke (yay, the Tigers!) and Marcus Stroman, though Stro did just struggle in a wonderful matchup and now has a tougher challenge. Let’s hope he can go through with it well.
- It’s hard to tell who is the better choice in the José Berríos vs. Jameson Taillon bout, and the answer may be neither. Don’t chase this if you don’t have to.
- It looks like Atlanta is calling on Kyle Muller for a start on Tuesday and that could be interesting. He’s given up a fair amount of runs in his last few games in Triple-A, but the strikeouts have been there and this could be a very sneaky stream. It’s a gamble.
- James Kaprielian has a chance at a Quality Start after last week’s strong performance, but he’s been far less consistent than I imagined, while his stuff doesn’t display a high ceiling.
- The bottom tier has very little of interest, though Joey Wentz has been on a little hot stretch and it could continue against the Royals. Just a thought.
- The rest of the names should be avoided per usual. You can do better across the week.
- Updates: The Rangers are calling up Tyson Miller to be the bulk reliever and he’s not the electric arm we hope prospects to be.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- The top tier is straightforward per usual, though it may be strange to see Gerrit Cole down at #6. It’s the homerun threat + the Jays being the Jays. Still start him, obviously.
- I know George Kirby just messed things up, but you have to give him a break for one bad start across a sea of success.
- In the second tier, José Quintana just took down the Dodgers, why would you be scared of some birds now? On the real, Quintana looks back to normal now, I’d start him everywhere.
- Jesús Luzardo has transitioned back to the man we saw pre-injury – 96 mph four-seamers + a lovely breaker – and it’s good enough for me to take him in a bout with a tough Mets offense.
- I’ve elected to move Joe Musgrove down from the second tier to the third as he faces the Dodgers. I’m a touch worried about the shoulder fatigue he’s endured over the last two weeks and the Dodgers are…the Dodgers. I’m not sure I want to take the chance.
- Our streaming pick of the day is Michael Lorenzen as Dean Kremer is juuust over the 20% threshold. Lorenzen isn’t an exciting option, but he could give you a solid six frames, while Kremer looked phenomenal last time out with a CGSHO and reducing his four-seamer usage. Both are considerable options.
- I think you’re okay with Jake Odorizzi against the Nationals. He just got pummeled by the Phillies, but the stuff is still intact and Natty Lite doesn’t put up much of a fight.
- Maybe Johnny Cueto magic is still sparkling in the air? Maybe?
- I really don’t want to go for Rich Hill and Luis Cessa, and I’m also heavily reluctant to chase Matt Manning against the Royals. I get it if you need innings this late in the season, but those in standard leagues should look at the full week and chase others.
- Lastly, I’ll mention Hayden Wesneski as I’m sure he’s earned the adoration of many of you with his curveball and heater. The Phillies are dangerous, though, and be careful. Don’t start this unless you need to something to tip the scales in your favor.
- The bottom tier is…the bottom tier. Daniel Lynch gets the Tigers but has already failed at that task this year, Adrian Martinez hasn’t squeezed everything out of his arsenal yet and I wouldn’t bank on that happening against the Angels, and Josiah Gray isn’t getting the whiffs he used to.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)