Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 4/22 & 4/23

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: 12-9

My pick yesterday: Tyler Wells vs DET

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 10-11

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Joey Lucchesi @ SFG

Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• The aces have returned for Saturday’s games and despite facing the Jays, Gerrit Cole has to be the #1 play for the day. Shane McClanahan and Luis Castillo make awfully good cases, though.
• Some may want Andrew Heaney a bit higher in the ranks, though we can’t forget his Cherry Bomb tendencies and inability to consistently go six frames.

 

• At the bottom of the top tier is Logan Webb, even in a start against the Mets. Webb’s slider isn’t the big whiff pitch of old but his changeup is elite and his sinker does a wonderful job inside the zone. The hits are an issue that will likely keep the WHIP a touch higher than ideal, but he’s worth the start each time out.
• Joe Musgrove will likely be in the top tier indefinitely following this start on Saturday against the Diamondbacks. The only thing holding him back here is a Still ILL situation that will likely have his pitch count capped more than usual.

 

• The second tier has a some great options for weekend streams. Kyle Gibson and Tyler Anderson are both available in many leagues and bring the potential for six frames against poor offenses. I’m rolling with both wherever I can.
• Garrett Whitlock is quietly looking like the man we dreamed of across the cold winter. Whitlock’s sinker earned strikes, the slider gets whiffs, and there is more more potential to unlock with his changeup. Grab him if he’s out on the wire.

 

• The third tier equates to guys I’m not starting but are tough decisions. Y’all know the Alek Manoah situation and while I believe he is wearing a TIARA, it’s safest to bench him until something changes.
• Kyle Wright gets the Astros and despite liking his curveball, I think it’s too risky against the Astros to go for this one.

 

• I’m not enjoying David Peterson’s new slider and with a pedestrian four-seamer, he isn’t a target of mine against the Giants.
• The likes of Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly, and even Joey Wentz could find ways to go 5-6 innings, but the matchups are too difficult for me to endorse it.

 

• We just saw Wade Miley go seven shutout frames with eight strikeouts, but it felt like a Birthday Party and the Red Sox aren’t a safe bet for another day of excellence.
• Rich Hill shocked us with his dominance last time out and who knows, maybe he can stave off father time for a solid matchup against the Reds. That doesn’t seem like you’re much of an advocate. The guy throws sub 88 mph and has blown up already multiple times. Okay okay, I get it.

 

• I’m excited by Hayden Wesneski flexing his elite breaker, but the Dodgers have me scared. His four-seamer and cutter need to go unscathed to pull out ahead in this one.
• And it’s Zack Greinke. You never know what that guy is gonna do.

 

• In the bottom tier, Shintaro Fujinami is a Cherry Bomb at best and the Rangers are a powerful crew. Sit this one out if you have any sort of anxiety.
• Y’all know you can’t trust Kyle Freeland. Please don’t put yourself through this.

 

• Updates: Miami vs. Cleveland rained out on Friday, leading to a doubleheader today. Make sure Zach Plesac is in your lineup as he’s become the streaming pick of the day now.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Plenty of aces are going on Sunday, making it awfully difficult to rank them. I decided to place the clear ace arms above the likes of Sonny Gray and Reid Detmers even though they have better matchups. Max Fried and Cristian Javier are still safer bets despite their upcoming duel.
• At the bottom of the tier is Grayson Rodriguez as I feel that if you have him rostered, you’re starting him against the Tigers. That breakout start is just around the corner.

 

• The second tier doesn’t feel so great for Sunday. Lucas Giolito has looked better but the Rays are a tough pill to swallow. Marcus Stroman has been sturdy, but what difficulty will the Dodgers bring to the table? And Tylor Megill gets the best matchup, but his skill set doesn’t demand production.
• The streaming pick of the day can be found in this tier as well with Eduardo Rodriguez against the Orioles. I don’t completely buy his ten strikeout game earlier this week, but he presents the ability to go six frames against a good-but-not-elite offense.

 

• The third tier kicks off with Logan Allen as he makes his MLB debut against the Marlins. This is a different Allen than you already know, with great command of sliders down in the zone and a low-to-mid 90s heater. I have a rule to not start pitchers in their MLB debuts, but I recognize that he has a decent chance of pulling this one off.
• Zach Eflin returns from the IL, making a clear Still ILL situation as he faces the White Sox, especially with the Rays’ tendency to limit pitch counts.

 

• It’s been a ht streak for Vince Velasquez and now he gets the gift of hosting the Reds in Pittsburgh. Not the worst play out there, but I’m electing to avoid the risk if I can.
• Ignore the season debut for Brayan Bellow as it came with jitters and the rain and it should be an improvement against Milwaukee. There’s too much haze in ability + volume for me to start him, but I’ll be watching closely.

 

• I don’t like Drey Jameson’s fastball enough to trust him against the Padres, while Jack Flaherty took a major step back in his last start to turn into a proper Cherry Bomb.
• If you’re in dire need of a QS, Jordan Lyles could do the trick, while Ross Stripling may be able to give you five decent frames against the Mets, even if his luck hasn’t gone his way thus far in the season.

 

• In the bottom tier, I have zero interest in Clarke Schmidt facing the mighty Jays, Chris Flexen’s horrific floor that comes without a glistening ceiling, and Kyle Muller hasn’t flashed his upside in ages.
• Don’t do José Ureña or Patrick Corbin. You know this.

 

Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)