Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 4/2 & 4/3

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: 2-1

My pick yesterday: Zach Eflin vs. Det.

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 3-0

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Rich Hill @ CIN.

 

 

Today’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.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• The auto-start tier on Monday is a little tougher to discern than usual. Sure, you have George Kirby facing the Angels, but Freddy Peralta against the Mets is a surprising #2 for me given the difficult matchup. Thing is, there wasn’t much else to choose and I like the skillset of Peralta far better than Drew Rasmussen.
• I’m glad we’ll likely see over 80 pitches Nestor Cortes as he faces the Phillies and he should be well worth your time.

 

• The bottom four of the tier are a little…shifty. Y’all know I’m super in Reid Detmers, but I also acknowledge that there may be a few growing pains as he comes into his new velocity and finds a rhythm with his slider.
• Charlie Morton often needs a few starts to ramp up and the Cardinals are…good.

 

• There’s Hunter Brown making his season debut and returning from a minor back issue against the Tigers. There’s no way you’re not starting him here, but don’t expect it to go perfectly as planned.
• I’ve been vocal about my skepticism of a Tyler Mahle resurgence, though a matchup against the Marlins gives me no choice but to start him.

 

• The second tier is a small one, and may not make everyone comfortable. Carlos Carrasco isn’t the issue, though, as a start against the Brewers should be fine for your squads.
• It’s Jon Gray as he takes on the Orioles. Gray’s fastball isn’t as dominant as I want it to be, leading to a bit of a Cherry Bomb nature. Paired with a hot Baltimore offense, this may be a bit of turmoil.

 

• The third tier is a mighty long one. I don’t trust José Berríos, but it’s the Royals, how bad can this be? I’m so sorry in advance for that sentence.
• He’s going opposite Brady Singer, who I trust more but has a far tougher task facing the Blue Jays’ bats. It’s a risky proposition and your call completely.

 

• I’m favoring Zach Plesac against the Athletics and making him my streaming pick of the day. It’s the A’s and Plesac is capable of navigating 5+ frames. It’s as simple as that.
• Anthony DeSclafani isn’t a terrible streaming option either as the Giants finagle a six-man rotation to give some extra rest early in the season. It’s not in your best interest to do this, but those in deeper leagues may find some sneaky production here.

 

• I’m excited to see what Michael Grove makes of his opportunity against the Rockies, while Drew Smyly could have the Blake Snell Blueprint working against the Reds.
• The bottom half of this tier is all kinds of scary, but all have paths where it works out. Michael Kopech has looked like a shadow of his premier self this spring, Kyle Bradish can’t find consistency in his secondaries, Matthew Boyd has to deal with the Astros, Ryne Nelson doesn’t have his 2022 velocity, and James Kaprielian is a Cherry Bomb rooted in his poor fastball command.

 

• The sneakiest play here is Kutter Crawford against the Pirates, but sometimes the pitcher trumps the poor offense. This may be far more harmful than it looks on paper.
• The final tier hosts Taijuan Walker at the top, who I debated slotting into the third tier but his 3-4 mph velocity dip in his final spring start paired with a dangerous Yankee offense has me simply walking away from this one.

 

• I’m curious if Johan Oviedo can throw enough strikes and keep tossing immaculate sliders this season, but let’s wait and see against the Red Sox.
• There isn’t much else to chase here. It’s possible Trevor Williams and Johnny Cueto find a way to keep their ERAs down, and apparently Ryan Weathers is better than we’ve seen in the past, but do you really want to put your faith in these guys on a Monday?

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)