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: 1-1
My pick yesterday: David Peterson vs. MIA.
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 2-0
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: David Peterson vs. MIA.
Today’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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have a small number of legit starts for Sunday, with Joe Ryan, Jeffrey Springs, and Kodai Senga leading the way as the premier options against poor offenses. If there’s a reason to sit any of these, I can’t seem to find it.
- There’s a bit of debate about Chris Bassitt’s ranking, but his velocity has crept back to normal across the spring and I imagine he’ll be okay for his first start of the season. The Cardinals are a tough crew as well, though, and I understand if you want to be a little cautious. I don’t.
- Leading off the second tier is Jameson Taillon and his new breakers that propelled a phenomenal spring strikeout tally. Matched up against a middling Brewers offense is all I needed to see to feel great to kick off the year.
- Luis Garcia should be fine against the White Sox and so should Tyler Anderson against the Athletics. The latter is sure to regress from his stellar 2022 season, but Anderson’s changeup is going to make him a solid play against poor offenses all season long.
- I adore Jared Shuster against the Nationals and apparently 45% of Yahoo leagues do too. Let it fly and we’ll take it from there.
- The streaming pick of the day then falls to Graham Ashcraft as we continue our 2nd tier streak of streamers to kick off the season. Ashcraft has reportedly been a little different this spring and I’m excited to see what he does against the Pirates. Maybe he can be a 20%+ strikeout guy for once?
- The third tier is a massive one as I feel so uncomfortable starting all of these arms, but I see worlds where they provide value for trusting managers. The Jays are as tough as any for Jordan Montgomery, we don’t know what fastball Eric Lauer will bring to the table, and Noah Syndergaard’s 93 mph spring fastball has us running for the hills.
- Seth Lugo is an interesting play against the Rockies…though Colorado is currently the only 2-0 team in baseball. Weird. Sample size aside, Lugo should be decent enough to make this work.
- It’s a crew of the guys I hate drafting in 12-teamers, but if you’re chasing a QS, you’re likely to find one here. Cal Quantrill, Cole Irvin, Martín Pérez, and Marco Gonzales all have a track record for it, but the floors against competent offenses make for a stressful evening.
- Sandwiched inside of them is Ross Stripling as he faces the Yankees. If his elite changeup is working, he could dance through 5-6 frames. I’m a little cautious of Stripling this season given the lack of support inside his arsenal, but the upside is there.
- Speaking of upside, Trevor Rogers and Jhony Brito find their way into the bottom of the third tier. Rogers is hoping for a renaissance season but has to endure the wrath of the Mets first. Brito gets the start out of nowhere and is stretched out enough to possibly steal a Win for the Yankees as he sports a decent fastball/slider combo. Not my favorite, but I can see it working well.
- I almost put Ken Waldichuk and MacKenzie Gore with Rogers and Brito, but Waldichuk has been far too wild in the spring while Gore has too steep of a hill to climb facing Atlanta.
- The rest of the final tier is straight forward. Vince Velasquez could have his best fastball against the Reds, but it’s too risky. Joey Wentz isn’t as bad as you think, but why risk it today? Bailey Falter doesn’t bring enough to the table, Brad Keller is…Brad Keller, and even if Zach Davies has his ideal changeup, it might not be enough.
- There’s some intrigue in Austin Gomber after the Padres let Germán Márquez and Kyle Freeland soar across the first two games of the season. I don’t think it’s a wise chance to take.
- I know it’s Tanner Houck, but he’s been rough this spring while the Orioles’ offense is looking mighty good right now.
- And lastly, you shouldn’t be rostering Mike Clevinger, especially against the Astros.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)