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: 3-1
My pick yesterday: Graham Ashcraft vs. PIT
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 3-1
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Cole Irvin @ BOS
Today’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. Update: Word is Tony Disco and Sean Manaea are going to piggy-back with DeSclafani first and Manaea second. I’ve dropped them both down the ranks accordingly.
- 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?
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- We have many aces returning for their second starts of the season and you can’t go wrong with anyone in the top tier. Yu Darvish may feel a little left out as he makes his season debut (WBC hangover and six-man rotation in San Diego) and I’m excited to see what he does with his slider and four-seamer.
- Zac Gallen can be represented by this GIF as he sits in the second tier. It’s been a rough few weeks and a date with the Padres makes it a bit more concerning. That said, if Gallen is re-calibrated, it doesn’t matter who his opponent is.
- Joining Gallen in the second tier is Kenta Maeda as he gets a lovely introduction to 2023 as he squares up against the Marlins. I’m projecting a ramp-up for Maeda as he finds his former rhythm and Miami’s bats make for a smooth start.
- I’m starting both Hayden Wesneski and Andrew Heaney where I have them. They both feature fantastic sliders that can rack up the strikeouts and while the matchups aren’t ideal, it’s a case where I’m more inclined to let it ride this early in the year.
- The third tier carries our streaming pick of the day in Nick Pivetta. I’m not thrilled about it, but his new curve looked good in the spring and Pivetta’s fastball has been a solid PLV offering. The Pirates will let some of his mistakes go unpunished as well, making for an overall decent chance for production.
- Another consideration is Yusei Kikuchi, who tallied a boatload of whiffs in March. The Royals pave the way for a high Win chance, but walks still plague Kikuchi and may terrorize his evening.
- The rest of the Questionable Start tier is filled with there’s a chance plays. Domingo Germán could have his best curve against the Phillies, JP Sears has improved his slider and may cruise through the Guardians, Tyler Wells demanded a roster spot over Grayson Rodriguez, and Steven Matz was once a dependable southpaw…even if he gets Atlanta.
- I’m excited to get a glimpse of Dylan Dodd in his MLB debut against the Cardinals. It’s a difficult matchup to start a career, but if he’s able to overcome jitters, there’s upside to be had here.
- The final two of the tier are Roansy Contreras and José Suarez. I don’t have much faith in Contreras’ four-seamer, but there’s a chance his slider does enough to rack up the strikeouts against Boston.
- As for Suarez, he had a fantastic second-half stretch in 2022 and I won’t rule out his success carrying over into this season. He obliterates left-handers with his breaking ball, but the question each night comes down to how he mitigates damage against right-handers.
- In the bottom tier, Chad Kuhl and Kris Bubic have a shot at surprising managers, but it’s far too risky to chase.
- Germán Márquez came out firing in his opening day start against the Padres and in another game outside of Coors, there’s hope he can dominate once again…versus the Dodgers. I just can’t lean into a Márquez start after just one game.
Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)