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: 25-22
My pick yesterday: Trevor Williams @ MIA
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 24-23
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Tylor Megill vs TBR
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
With the new formatting for the notes, I’ve made the streaming pick of the day Underlined and Italicized.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Shane McClanahan vs. MIL – AGA. Don’t worry about his last start.
Zac Gallen @ PIT – AGA. The Pirates?!
Joe Ryan @ LAA – AGA. If you haven’t listened to Fast’s 1-on-1 interview with Joe Ryan, you gotta do it now. So good.
Sandy Alcantara @ SFG – AGA. He still has the label for now and don’t forget – his last game had 3 ER in the eighth inning.
Probable Starts
Bryce Miller @ ATL – The second tier doesn’t have a whole lot of slam dunks on Friday, which has me being awfully aggressive with Miller in this one. It’s a bit risky (all of these are…?) as the secondaries haven’t come through quite yet, but I know we’re all doing it. You got this Bryce.
Marcus Stroman @ PHI – He just had a stumble and it’s not the first time he’s had to rebound. Start the guy.
Anthony DeSclafani vs. MIA – The last two starts have come with a lack of precision. Hopefully Tony Disco has enough of it to capitalize on a Miami Marlins start.
James Paxton @ SDP – His four-seamer dominated inside the zone in his season debut and I’d wager the 96 mph heater will carry him again, especially if either the curve or cutter can take a step up.
Reid Detmers vs. MIN – It’s tough to figure out what to do with Detmers. His last start helped save for the WHIP and I still have hope he can figure out his two-strike four-seamers.
Blake Snell vs. BOS – It’s been all kinds of whacky with Snell’s repertoire, but it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and the Red Sox are a volatile crew.
Martín Pérez vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road for one of the better Toby arms out there.
Tony Gonsolin @ STL – I debated this one as the Cardinals are heating up and Gonsolin doesn’t have the elite splitter of 2022. Still, his velocity is up and pitching for the Dodgers is always a plus.
Questionable Starts
Bryce Elder vs. SEA – He’s fine? I hate buying into sub 90 mph heaters with just one other pitch in the tank and the Mariners could get to Elder quickly.
Brandon Bielak vs. OAK – It’s the Athletics and Bielak just came through. Fine.
Zack Greinke @ CHW – Yeah, it’s a bad third tier on Friday. Maybe Greinke goes 5+ strong?
Cal Quantrill @ NYM – The Mets are dangerous…and also can be, you know, The Mets. Quantrill always has a chance for six frames, though the WHIP and strikeouts may not be what you want them to be.
Johan Oviedo vs. ARI – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Yusei Kikuchi vs. BAL – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Michael Kopech vs. KCR – He’s a Cherry Bomb.
Do Not Starts
Carlos Carrasco vs. CLE – It’s a Still ILL situation for Carrasco and I would wait-and-see given his ceiling isn’t too high.
Matthew Boyd @ WSN – We hold off on Boyd until the slider whiffs return to full form.
Kyle Gibson @ TOR – He’s a Cherry Bomb with a matchup that aims for destruction.
Jake Irvin vs. DET – You see the Tigers and wonder, but Irvin just doesn’t do enough to warrant a stream.
Clarke Schmidt @ CIN – I’ve lost a fair amount of faith in Schmidt and I hate throwing guys in Cincy.
Ken Waldichuk @ HOU – Waldichuk walks far too many and it’s the Astros.
Ranger Suárez vs. CHC – He’s not stretched out in full and needs a little more time to get comfortable + the Cubs are solid.
Adrian Houser @ TBR – Houser Schmouser.
Steven Matz vs. LAD – Matz will likely be the one kicked out of the rotation to make it five-man again for Liberatore.
Ben Lively vs. NYY – Never Raggedy Anne.
Karl Kauffmann? @ TEX – He could be coming up for the Rockies after holding a sub 20% strikeout rate in the minors. Noooooope.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Max Scherzer vs. CLE – AGA. Obviously the top pick.
Logan Webb vs. MIA – Best matchup in the tier and he can cruise to a Win and even 7+ frames.
Aaron Nola vs. CHC – He’s been shaky this season and the Cubs are a bit scary, but you have to do this. He’s not as bad as he’s been.
Mitch Keller vs. ARI – I’m believing in the command, though command is the least sticky of all skills. After striking out 13 (watch my breakdown of it here), how can I not give him this spot?
Chris Sale @ SDP – His velocity jumped to 96, then 95, and I’m hoping it’s not back to 94 here. The slider was ridiculous and it feels like Sale is back to his old self.
Joe Musgrove vs. BOS – The last game was rough and we’re not going to overreact to it.
Jon Gray vs. COL – The skills we saw two starts ago disappeared last time out – fewer slider whiffs (still hard, though), slightly lower velocity – but it’s Rockie Road and he is seemingly a step above his April self.
Charlie Morton vs. SEA – The curve returned 20 whiffs alone in his last start. He’s in as good of a groove you’ll ever see from Morton.
Logan Gilbert @ ATL – Atlanta scares me, but the strikeout rate is up due to his splitter and slider putaway rates. Let’s hope it sticks.
Lucas Giolito vs. KCR – He’s not chucking 94 with his signature changeup as we hoped + mayyyybe I’m too high on him as the Royals have been heating up. Nah, you start Giolito.
Probable Starts
Hunter Brown vs. OAK – The breakers aren’t as magical as I want them to be while the four-seamer is a called-strike machine. The Athletics should pave the way for a good outing here.
Zach Eflin vs. MIL – Eflin looks like a Holly and gets a poor Brewers offense. Sign me up.
Tanner Bibee @ NYM – The Mets are volatile, though I’m going to trust Bibee to have his secondaries and hopefully an elevated heater here. The overall package can be so dominant when it comes together properly.
Patrick Sandoval vs. MIN – I’ve been tepid on Sandoval this year, but he usually has at least one of his changeup and slider and that should be enough here.
Braxton Garrett @ SFG – The new cutter has revived Garrett after his disaster against Atlanta. The Giants aren’t much of a hurdle here.
Louie Varland @ LAA – I don’t like a date with the Angels, but Varland has consistently earned whiffs and is a solid strikeout play here. There’s a little worry about the ratios, though.
Brandon Pfaadt @ PIT – He’s getting more comfortable throwing strikes and the Pirates are baaaaad.
Questionable Starts
JP Sears @ HOU – I adore the high swinging strike rates, but the Astros are a dangerous foe.
Miles Mikolas vs. LAD – There’s a change Mikolas finds a way to go six here. I hate it, but those are the facts.
Do Not Starts
Kyle Freeland @ TEX – I hate it, but he’s had some magic lately. Ugh.
Luke Weaver vs. NYY – Weaver had his cutter working last time and while I’m not starting him, I can see this working more than the ones below.
Jhony Brito @ CIN – His ceiling is five innings with 2 ER and a Win, but hey, it could happen.
Noah Syndergaard @ STL – The Cardinals are as hot as any team and Syndergaard may not even last five frames.
Jameson Taillon @ PHI – Is Taillon fully stretched out to go 5-6 frames?
Alek Manoah vs. BAL – It’s impossible to start Manoah these days as everything is worse than it was last year.
Grayson Rodriguez @ TOR – Grayson has failed to get his secondaries down and the Jays are ready to punish him for it.
Eric Lauer @ TBR – He was given some extra rest and maybe the velocity creeps back up with it, but we haven’t seen more than 91 mph and the Rays are the Rays.
Patrick Corbin vs. DET – I don’t care if it’s Detroit, it’s Patrick.
Jordan Lyles @ CHW – Despite the matchup and high pitch counts, Lyles hasn’t come through in the slightest this year. Easy pass.
Alex Faedo @ WSN – He actually had his slider last time and this is a weak opponent, but the floor is so dang low that he’s down here. Weird for me to tell you the #30 SP actually has a chance to come through.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)