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: 11-6
My pick yesterday: Steven Matz vs. PIT
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 7-10
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Matt Strahm @ CIN
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Ahhhh, this is where the aces have been hiding. You can rank all of them however you want – I spent far too long trying to find some semblance of feeling right about the order – as long as you’re starting all of them in your leagues.
- Yes, that includes Reid Detmers who was originally in the second tier, but he felt a sure step above the other options, allowing him to squeak into the top tier at the bottom. His stuff is much better this year and the Red Sox aren’t the scariest of foes.
- Speaking of the second tier, there’s uncertainty with everyone in here. Alek Manoah has looked far from sharp to begin the year, Kyle Wright and Garrett Whitlock are each just one game removed from their IL stints, Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t clicked quite yet, and Andrew Heaney has to endure the Astros after fanning ten batters last game.
- When you have a Toby like Miles Mikolas, starts against the Pirates are what you dream of.
- The third tier is smaller than usual as I’m not quite ready to start believing in Mitch Keller on a regular basis, even if the Cardinals have been going through a “Coors hangover” this weekend. Give me one more strong outing and we’re good to go. For those wanting to jump ahead of this, there’s still time with his 21% rostership. If Keller soars again, expect that mark to rise massively with his next start hosting the Reds.
- The streaming pick of the day falls to Matthew Boyd as he goes against the Giants. I didn’t love what we saw last time out from Boyd – down a tick and only two slider whiffs – but he could bounce back against a middling offense on Sunday.
- The bottom tier has little to chase. There’s a chance JP Sears‘ new fastball and slider can silence the Mets, and maybe Drew Smyly’s dominant performance against the Mariners translates to success against the Dodgers (keep executing the BSB please!), but the risk far outweighs the ceiling in both cases.
- And sure, if you’re looking for a sneaky Win chance, Zack Greinke and Wade Miley have displayed the ability to be in good favor with the BABIP gods for 5+ frames. Good luck.
- Updates: With Max Scherzer getting his start pushed back due to an ailing back, José Butto is getting the call to start against the Athletics…and I kinda like it. Here’s your sneaky Sunday play to steal a Win and I’m placing him at the bottom of the third tier to emphasize this. He just went six frames in his second minor league start of the year.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have plenty of aces on Monday, primed for two-start weeks to the rejoice of fantasy managers everywhere. Cristian Javier is the one I’m most curious about here as his heater and slider haven’t worked in tandem yet this season. If both are working, it won’t matter that he’s squared up against the mighty Jays offense.
- Yes, Jesús Luzardo sits above Kevin Gausman on Monday. Luzardo’s skills are there and he gets a far easier matchup. Love them both, of course.
- The second tier begins with Lance Lynn against the Phillies as I see him beginning his path to redemption with a big strikeout game last time out against the Twins.
- Alex Wood hasn’t been dominant, but the Marlins open the door for a solid stream, marking my pick of the day. Just 5% rostered across Yahoo and ESPN leagues.
- I’m excited to watch more of Taj Bradley as he’s expected to face the Reds in Cincinnati. It’s not the ideal matchup, but looking at the rest of the second tier, I felt like slotting the electric arm above the rest.
- I’m back on the Jack Flaherty train after witnessing his increased velocity paired with a whiffable slider once again. The Diamondbacks aren’t the ideal matchup, but it’s a better situation than Dustin May (Mets and lack of whiffs) and his opponent Merrill Kelly (the man is a Toby and I don’t know what to make of the Cardinals offense right now).
- The third tier starts with one of the biggest disappointments thus far in Hayden Wesneski. This feels like a “make or break” start for the youngin’ as he faces the weak Athletics lineup. I’m leaning start as the slider should overwhelm in time and I’m hoping his first two starts were just him getting settled in.
- Wesneski will be facing Kyle Muller, who displayed solid four-seamer/slider pitch separation last time out and it could fare better against the Cubs. Not my favorite play, but it could work.
- There’s another interesting pitching matchup in Eduardo Rodriguez vs. Hunter Gaddis. Rodriguez could coast six frames with decent strikeout numbers, while Gaddis should have a much easier time against the Tigers than the Yankees who jumped him for 8 ER last week.
- I know, I put Kyle Freeland in this tier as he hosts the Pirates inside Coors. It’s the third tier (which means I hate it in the first place), but I recognize the man has gotten results thus far and this should be an easier time facing Pittsburgh.
- We’re getting our first look at Brayan Bello this year on Monday as he’ll be removed from the IL. Yes, that means this is a Still ILL and I’d leave him in your IL spots if I could.
- There’s a chance Ryan Weathers or Jordan Lyles overcome their difficult matchups (not really for Rich Hill inside Coors), but I don’t think the reward is worth the risk.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)
I think Taj got optioned