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 that day’s streaming pick in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow are 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 (in Alphabetical order):
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: 23-20
My pick yesterday: Louie Varland vs. CHC
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 21-22
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Brandon Pfaadt vs SFG
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Shohei Ohtani @ BAL – AGA.
Freddy Peralta @ STL – Great matchup and he’s a stud.
Pablo López @ LAD – Not the best matchup. I believe in the heater + change + breakers these days.
Framber Valdez vs. CHC – Is the heavy cutter usage real?
George Kirby @ BOS – Destroyed the Rangers, likely not the same success, but still great.
Probable Starts
Merrill Kelly @ OAK – He’s a Toby with a great matchup.
Questionable Starts
Charlie Morton @ TEX – Can Morton have his best curveball and sneak in fastballs against on fo the best offenses against RHB?
Hunter Greene @ COL – It’s Coors…and yet Greene could still fan 10.
Michael Wacha vs. KCR – The streaming pick of the day. Wacha could have his best command and earn a Win here.
Bailey Falter @ SFG – There’s a chance at a Win with the Phils on his side. I really don’t love the stuff enough to lean harder into it, sadly.
Grayson Rodriguez vs. LAA – We have yet to see peak Grayson with low secondaries and high heaters, but he did just battle through the Rays. Be careful against the Angels.
Alek Manoah vs. NYY – I may be ranking this a little too high based on Manoah digging deep against the Yankees. It’s really hard to buy in right now.
Jack Flaherty vs. MIL – What will the velocity be? Will he get whiffs? It’s so volatile right now.
Dane Dunning vs. ATL – I’m not buying the surge after taking a rotation spot and Atlanta is a team to avoid.
Tanner Houck vs. SEA – He didn’t have the cutters that got me excited before, but there’s a chance the slider, four-seamer, and splitter make this work.
Do Not Starts
David Peterson @ WSN – I don’t care that it’s Washington, Peterson isn’t who we want him to be.
Jameson Taillon @ HOU – He’s still getting stretched out and the Astros are too tough.
Noah Syndergaard vs. MIN – Is his finger actually okay? Will they limit hit? Is he worth it even when healthy?
Brad Keller @ SDP – He’s been more Bad Keller than Rad Keller and it’s the Padres.
Jhony Brito @ TOR – Capped ceiling given his low IPS + it’s the Jays.
Alex Wood vs. PHI – It’s a Still ILL against a strong offense.
Patrick Corbin vs. NYM – Never.
UPDATE: Cody Bradford vs. ATL – MLB debut for a 91 mph command guy. 37 strikeouts in 39 IP in Triple-A this year, this is a clear wait-and-see. I have little faith in low velocity prospects – generally lower ceilings with a similar risky floor.
Connor Seabold vs. CIN – There isn’t enough here & it’s Coors.
Drew Rucinski vs. ARI – No thanks.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Kevin Gausman vs. NYY – AGA.
Zack Wheeler @ SFG – AGA.
Clayton Kershaw vs. MIN – AGA (TATIAGA). He’s expected to return from the bereavement list (poor guy).
Luis Castillo @ BOS – AGA.
Shane Bieber @ CHW – AGA. Please tell me the slider isn’t going away again.
Cristian Javier vs. CHC – AGA.
Justin Verlander vs. TBR – AGA. Placed him underneath as it’s the Rays n all + he hasn’t been his best self yet.
Jordan Montgomery vs. MIL – He’s a Holly and not nearly as bad as his last start would suggest. The Brewers are also pretty terrible offensively.
Jesús Luzardo vs. WSN – The WHIP has been rough, but it’s the Nationals. He should dominate.
Probable Starts
Josiah Gray @ MIA – There’s a temptation to place him in the top tier, though I’m not sold that Josiah’s repertoire is that amazing.
Seth Lugo vs. KCR – Great matchup and a solid skill set with a high QS and Win chance.
Alex Cobb vs. PHI – Even without the slider, Cobb has made it work this season. Pretty hard to deny him in this matchup.
Justin Steele @ HOU – The Astros are scary and I see regression coming for Steele as his slider is failing to miss bats as it used to. Still, you have to go for it.
Wade Miley @ STL – He’s been a Toby and gets a decent matchup against the Cardinals.
Luis L. Ortiz @ DET – He’s our streaming of the day despite not having his best slider last time out. The Tigers are that rough and Ortiz’s fastball should induce plenty of outs.
Lance Lynn vs. CLE – Hey, you can do whatever you want in your leagues. Me? I think the man has been stupid unfortunate and as long as his CSW, SwStr, and K rates are high while the HOTEL all suggest misfortune (same allows Hard Contact as previous years!), I’ll keep starting him against poor lineups.
Questionable Starts
Bailey Ober @ LAD – I’m digging what Ober is doing, but the Dodgers are a tough matchup. Go with your gut here.
Domingo Germán @ TOR – Germán survived the Rays twice, though I think the Jays are a rougher lineup these days. Be careful.
Brady Singer @ SDP – He’s a Cherry Bomb and we can only hope for the right side of the coin.
Michael Lorenzen vs. PIT – The Pirates are terrible now and Lorenzen is capable of going 6+ for the Tigers.
Nick Pivetta vs. SEA – If Pivetta has his breakers working, he could rack up a fair number of strikeouts.
Dane Dunning vs. ATL – I don’t trust Dunning’s ability as others do and Atlanta is bad draw.
Dean Kremer vs. LAA – The Angels are solid and Kremer is as volatile as they come.
Do Not Starts
Tommy Henry @ OAK – You may want to stream it – go ahead if you must – I personally see a capped ceiling while still holding a low floor despite a date with Oakland.
Chase Silseth @ BAL – I wasn’t too impressed from what we saw last year and I’m waiting to see what has changed. Splitter/slider with high velocity (but few whiffs).
Jared Shuster? @ TEX – Is it Shuster? Has he gotten his command back?
Yonny Chirinos @ NYM – Yonny doesn’t do a whole lot, even if he may be pitching when the fifth inning ends.
Kyle Muller vs. ARI – He hasn’t put it all together yet.
Chase Anderson vs. CIN – In Coors?! Absolutely not.
Ben Lively @ COL – He doesn’t go long and this is so dang dangerous.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)