Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 3/31 & 4/1

Here are today’s daily SP Streamer rankings.

Every day of the 2023 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:

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 works as a general table that y’all should keep in mind.

Alright, let’s get to it.

 

This year, with our new daily fantasy baseball projections powered by PLV, I’ll be competing against PL Bot to pick the best streaming option each day.

To get access to PL Bot’s picks each day, sign up for PL Pro here.

 

Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 0-1

 

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 1-0

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Eduardo Rodriguez vs. TBR.

 

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• It’s a small five-game slate on Friday, with Robbie Ray and Cristian Javier leading the way. I trust Ray to throw more innings than Javier, while Ray has thrown harder this spring and Javier has shown a touch lower velocity. It’s a little safer and I hope to be so wrong as I swoon for Javier once again.
• The second tier features plenty of names I adore, including Jesús Luzardo and Lance Lynn. Unfortunately, they each get a top-tier offense and I can’t slot them in the top tier. Bummer.

 

• I would love 2023 to be the year of Dustin May’s proper breakout as he pitches a full season returning from TJS, but his spring wasn’t as smooth as can be. I’m still starting him against the Diamondbacks, but there’s a chance this doesn’t go the way we want it to.
• There are two streaming options for today in David Peterson and Nick Martinez, both of whom I’d roster for their starts on Friday. Peterson’s new slider mixed with a BSB approach could help him take full advantage of Miami’s offense, while Martinez has a premier Win chance facing Rockie Road – his spring has been stellar and I think he’s going to surprise many.

 

• There is a rare day when we don’t have a pitcher for the Questionable Start tier. I don’t compromise my ranks just to satisfy superficial needs, ya’ll.
• You could argue Merrill Kelly belongs in the third tier, but a date with the Dodgers brings nothing but fear for the first game of the season. The strikeout ceiling is low and the ratios you’re chasing are just not worth it.

 

• Otherwise, there’s Kyle Freeland and Hunter Gaddis. There are brief moments when Freeland soars but picking your spots is more difficult than finding the right time to cross a freeway. That makes no sense. Neither does starting Freeland.
• As for Gaddis, there maaaay be some promise as we progress through the season, but we have to wait for the man to make a few starts and showcase the receipts first. From what I’ve seen already, there isn’t enough in the repertoire for us to chase this – let alone being able to toss 90 pitches in a game.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• There are plenty of aces left over on the third day of the season and you shouldn’t hesitate from starting any of them. Patrick Sandoval and Sonny Gray squeeze into the top tier with the rest as they face weak opponents with solid chances to grab a Win.
• We’ve been waiting years to feel great about Chris Sale again and this feels like the moment as he faces the Orioles. I understand those having hesitation with the Orioles’ offense lighting up the scoreboard on Opening Day, though if I drafted Sale, I’m absolutely starting him. Let it ride.

 

• In the second tier, Nathan Eovaldi has had his heaters around 96 mph this spring and should be a solid play on a Harper-and-Hoskins-less Phillies crew…even if they got to Jacob deGrom. 
• Our streaming pick of the day lands in the second for a consecutive day with Zach Eflin facing the Tigers. It’s a strong Win chance with a reasonable floor and I’d attack this start in all leagues I could.

 

• What are we doing with Lucas Giolito against the Astros? He’s looked much better than his 2022 self this spring, though I haven’t seen him at the ideal 94 mph threshold much at all. The Astros can make any pitcher hit the showers quickly and if you’d rather wait and see, I have no qualms with that (sidenote: why don’t we ever actually have qualms?). I’m leaning in favor of a start with Giolito starting his path to redemption.
• Clarke Schmidt excites me with his recent shift in approach to feature 40% sweepers and reduce his fastball usage. The Giants aren’t an offense to fear and Schmidt could soar in his first start for the Yankees this year.

 

• I don’t love starting José Urquidy against the White Sox, but it’s…fine. His final spring tune-up looked just like normal Urquidy, who is in a great situation in Houston and could carve 5-6 frames of production without much hoopla.
• The third tier begins with two arms I heavily considered slotting into the second group. Alex Cobb has a new slider that may be the key to unlocking the consistency he’s desired for years, while Tylor Megill gets a shot in the rotation with Justin Verlander dealing with a shoulder injury. This spring didn’t feature Megill’s velocity that got us amped this time last year, and he may not be ramped up enough to take on the Marlins in full.

 

• There are a few more intriguing options in the third tier. Justin Steele could have his best fastball and cruise through the Brewers, Shintaro Fujinami is a Cherry Bomb who make rack up the strikeouts, but walk the farm along the way, Edward Cabrera is a fun play but has to deal with a strong Mets offense, and Michael Wacha may steal a Win as he faces Rockie Road.
• Aaron Civale and Dean Kremer do little to excite, but they have chances to go six frames and produce for teams needing something on a Saturday evening. Spencer Turnbull, however, could turn some heads this weekend as he makes his formal return from TJS. If he’s tossing 80% four-seamers and sliders, it could mean a 25%+ strikeout rate season is incoming.

 

• In the bottom, I’m terrified of Jack Flaherty against the Jays. He’s been rugged this spring and the Jays’ offense is as dangerous as any. I’d play this one incredibly safe.
• Otherwise, the only arm of reasonable interest here is Josiah Gray, who has a new cutter that allows him to save his four-seamer as a putaway pitch in two-strike counts. I wish he didn’t have to face the mighty Atlanta bats this early in the year, but look out for his arsenal’s overall effectiveness here – he could be a new man to target on the wire in a few weeks.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)