Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 4/6 & 4/7

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: 5-2

My pick yesterday: Corey Kluber vs. PIT

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 3-4

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Eduardo Rodriguez vs. HOU

 

 

Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• Update: Three games have already been postponed due to rain: CIN vs. PHI, BAL vs. NYY, and MIA vs. NYM. Adjust accordingly.

 

• It’s a short slate for Thursday but we still have some fun plays with Spencer Strider, Kevin Gausman, Lance Lynn, and Zack Wheeler at the top of the ranks. Surely Gausman’s WHIP will fall and Wheeler’s command issues will be remedied…right?
• Nick Lodolo and Dustin May sit at the bottom of the ranks as young arms who we’re starting if we have them. Lodolo earned a career-high 22 whiffs in his first outing and gets a Phillies team that’s susceptible to the big breaker. As for May, I want to see a little more in the whiff department before getting properly excited, though he’s certainly worth the start against the Diamondbacks.

 

• It wasn’t a pristine premier for Blake Snell, but he walked away with nine strikeouts and confidence in his heater. As long as the breakers aren’t bounced as frequently, he should survive against a strong Atlanta squad.
• Chris Sale could not have had a worse season debut as we’re still waiting for that dominant start for us to get hyped again. The thing is, Sale didn’t pitch nearly as poor as the line suggests and the Tigers are as exploitable as any offense out there. I’m going for it.

 

• Our streaming pick of the day is Tylor Megill against the Marlins. His slider was great and while the fastball velocity dipped a bit, he should be good enough to produce against the lowly Miami thump.
• The third tier kicks off with Megill’s opponent Edward Cabrera. I’m still waiting for Cabrera to get his fastball command in order, though I’m not as scared of the Mets crew these days. There’s enough in the tank to make this well worth the gamble.

 

• I’m excited to watch Alex Wood’s first start of the season, but how long will he go? And is this another season of the White Sox punishing southpaws? I’m leaning start but it’s not clear-cut.
• Clarke Schmidt and Spencer Turnbull close out the tier and while Schmidt is a step above Turnbull, both are shifty options. Schmidt wasn’t polished against the Giants and will have to recover quickly to hold off the exciting Orioles squad, while Turnbull got his jitters out of the way in his TJS return last week. The four-seamer/slider combo could take down the Red Sox if he executes on Thursday.

 

• In the bottom tier, I know Kyle Freeland, Merrill Kelly, and Jordan Lyles all came out on top in their first starts, but they have terrible floors and don’t have a great situation ahead. I also have to mention Freeland’s sub-90 mph heater and pitching in Coors (even against the Nationals).
• I wish Josiah Gray was pitching in a different situation as I’m waiting for that one outing to display his new approach with cutters/sliders first and four-seamers second. The potential is there, just not here.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• We have TATIAGA at the top today against the Diamondbacks and Zack Wheeler’s questionable command right behind him. Brandon Woodruff would be at the top if not for a date with the strong Cardinals lineup in front of him, of course.
• Lucas Giolito squeaks into the bottom of the tier as he faces the Pirates. He looked better (not elite) against the Astros than his 2022 self and the Pirates (possibly without Oneil Cruz) are an easy play.

 

• In the second tier, Nathan Eovaldi is looking above and wondering why he isn’t with his friends. Because you’re not an ace, Eovaldi. He should be there soon, especially if he capitalizes against the Cubs.
• I know, it was a horrendous premier for Chris Bassitt, but we all know that isn’t the man he’s supposed to be. Double or nothing, y’all.

 

• I’m sad Zach Eflin is no longer a streaming option as he’s rostered in 30%+ of leagues, but there are still a fair amount of leagues where you can run with this one against the Athletics. Go for it.
• Alex Cobb and Marcus Stroman are standard plays here, with Cobb getting a matchup against the Royals that could be monstrous with his new slider. As for Stroman, the Rangers don’t scare me enough to hold back on another potential QS with more strikeouts than usual.

 

• Our streaming pick of the day is Tylor Megill in his second start against the Marlins. The velocity was a little down last time out, but the slider earned tons of strikes and there’s a chance he’s facing an already weak lineup without Jazz Chisholm Jr. Go for it.
• Finally, Sonny Gray has a terrifying matchup against the Astros, but if I have him rostered, I’m taking the shot. We’ve seen other starters perform with the Jose Altuve-less Houston offense and Gray has enough tools in his belt to make it work.

 

• In the third tier, I’m worried Edward Cabrera can’t find the zone with his heater and will produce another inefficient outing against a solid Mets lineup.
• Patrick Sandoval is incredibly fun to watch when both the slider and changeup are working, but if they waver at all, the Jays will punish him.

 

• I’m horrified at the idea of trusting Jack Flaherty, but pushing my anxiety aside, the Brewers are a volatile crew and could be silenced by a decent game from Flaherty. Bench in most cases, though. This game has the possibility of being the death sentence for Flaherty.
• There’s plenty of excitement surrounding Nick Martinez’s approach and whiffable repertoire, but Atlanta is a lineup you want to avoid whenever possible.

 

• The bottom of the tier holds some intriguing options, including Brad Keller against the Giants. I know, it’s Keller, but the Giants are rough. 
• And hey, why not Ken Waldichuk not walking batters or Rich Hill having another strikeout-per-inning start?

 

• In the bottom tier, I have no idea what the plan is for Atlanta as Jared Shuster needs an IL designation to return from the minors. I’d just sit whoever it is against the Padres.
• It’s Coors and you really don’t want to do it, but pay attention to MacKenzie Gore’s game. If he has the same heater and solid breakers, he could be blossoming sooner than expected.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)