Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 4/7 & 4/8

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: 5-3

My pick yesterday: Alex Wood @ CHW

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 3-5

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Alex Wood @ CHW

 

 

Today’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.

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

• We don’t have any bonafide aces going on Saturday, but Jeffrey Springs is looking like one as he goes against the Athletics. You’re starting him and that’s that.
• I have Brady Singer far higher than I ever expected on these lists as he gets a favorable matchup with the other strong arms facing contentious lineups.

 

• Sneaking in at the bottom of the tier is Jordan Montgomery as he gets the Brewers. It doesn’t feel right having The Bear this high up, but at the end of the day, I don’t see a scenario where you’re not starting him here. Let it fly.
• I wish Nestor Cortes, Nick Lodolo, and Joe Ryan were facing weaker teams, but with their tough matchups, I had to put them behind Kodai Senga and his fantastic situation against the Marlins.

 

• In the second tier, Mike Clevinger leads the way after showcasing a solid fastball/slider combo in his first outing. The Pirates offense makes this a start to make…but don’t hold onto Clev too long after.
• I wonder how many pitches the Giants will let Sean Manaea throw in his first start of the year. He came through with 95 mph fastballs in his relief role earlier this week and hopefully that velocity is present across 70+ pitches against a poor offense.

 

• Both Noah Syndergaard and Martín Pérez look like solid plays as Thor is a decent play for a Win each night with the Dodgers while Pérez had his 2022 command in his first start. Let them both fly.
• Luis Garcia and Charlie Morton are a little more contentious. Garcia had his cutter but nothing else in his first start and the Twins could get to him, while Morton may need a few starts to get into the rhythm we know and love. I understand not risking it with Morton, but for the most part, you start the man.

 

• The third tier is a long one and starts with our streaming pick of the day in Bailey Falter. The Reds are worse on the road (even if Citizen’s Bank Park is still a hitter-friendly environment) and Falter’s elevated heater could allow him to produce for fantasy managers.
• It’s a mix of Toby types in poor matchups on Saturday, and take your pick if you want to chance one of them. I’m favoring Tyler Anderson over Michael Wacha, Cal Quantrill, Marco Gonzales, and Joey Wentz, but I have no qualms if you want someone else.

 

• The other half of the tier are Cherry Bomb arms I’d love to avoid. Justin Steele and Shintaro Fujinami are the most volatile if you’re chasing strikeouts, while a start of Tanner Houck against the Tigers looks better on paper than how his arsenal has actually been performing.
• I almost slotted Trevor Rogers and José Berríos into this crew, but elected to flat-out avoid them instead. The floor is too dang low.

 

• And hey, maybe Cole Irvin has the same Toby magic we saw glimpses of last year as he faces the Yankees, but he was rough in his first start and I’m not ready to jump in on this one.
• The rest of the tier is rough with Eric Lauer getting the mighty Cardinals, Zach Davies against the Dodgers, and Austin Gomber vs. Trevor Williams in Coors. You want none of that.

 

• And no, Vince Velasquez is very likely not the streaming option you need this weekend. There’s always a chance, but he likely with hurt a lot more than help.

 

Featured Image by Drew Wheeler (@drewisokay on Twitter)