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: 27-23
My pick yesterday: Alex Wood vs MIA
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 25-25
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Jared Shuster vs SEA
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
Luis Castillo vs. OAK – AGA. I know he hasn’t been at his peak, but it’s Oakland.
Zack Wheeler vs. ARI – AGA. He was pushed back a day and should cruise here.
Cristian Javier @ MIL – AGA. The Brewers make for massive strikeout potential.
Corbin Burnes vs. HOU – AGA. At the bottom solely because it’s the Astros.
Probable Starts
Bailey Ober vs. SFG – Solid matchup and Ober is commanding incredibly well.
Chris Bassitt @ TBR – Would have him higher, but the Rays can rough him up. Still start him, of course, just a lower ceiling.
Charlie Morton vs. LAD – Killed it last time, but we won’t see 20 curveball whiffs again + it’s the Dodgers.
Alex Cobb @ MIN – I’m not too scared of the Twins and Cobb has done well as a Toby…for the most part. Please have the splitter.
Brady Singer vs. DET – He’s a Cherry Bomb who could be ultra sweet against the Tigers.
Jordan Montgomery @ CIN – I hate the matchup and his high WHIP, but Monty deserves to be started here.
Michael Lorenzen @ KCR – The bottom three are all Toby types facing terrible offenses. They could all go 6+ and deserve the attention as a solid Monday streamer.
Dane Dunning @ PIT – Even if I think he allows too much hard contact and few whiffs, Dunning deserves a nod against the Pirates.
Mike Clevinger @ CLE – His cutter made him more than a two-pitch arm and the Guardians are rough.
Questionable Starts
Edward Cabrera @ COL – It’s Coors…but Cabrera has survived there before. If he could just replicate his 67% fastball strike rate from last game…
Brandon Williamson vs. STL – He was impressive in Coors, but I don’t think the skills are that amazing and the Cardinals are hot as h*ck.
Do Not Starts
Tanner Houck @ LAA – I don’t trust that he has more than the slide piece and the Angels are a tough lineup to face.
Luis Ortiz vs. TEX – He didn’t have it last time, but there’s a chance he gets it back, even against the Rangers. I’d avoid this in most cases.
Hunter Gaddis vs. CHW – Is he even stretched out enough? And if he is…does it matter?
Update: Jesse Scholtens @ CLE – The White Sox placed Clevinger on the IL and Scholtens will get the call. He’s a 91 mph four-seamer + slider guy (with some curveballs) and I wouldn’t chase this.
Chase Anderson vs. MIA – It’s Coors, I don’t care if it’s Miami.
Kyle Muller @ SEA – Has he been productive yet this year?
Gavin Stone @ ATL – He’s a changeup first arm and didn’t have it in his debut + Atlanta.
Chase Silseth vs. BOS – I didn’t see anything exceptional in his 2023 debut + the Red Sox are a dangerous crew.
Update: Jaime Barría vs. BOS – Barria is getting the chance to start again and while there’s a chance the breaker does work, I wouldn’t lean on it at all.
Josh Fleming vs. TOR – It’s the Jays + a capped ceiling from Fleming.
Tommy Henry @ PHI – Two first names. Absolutely not.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Gerrit Cole vs. BAL – AGA.
Spencer Strider vs. LAD – AGA.
Sonny Gray vs. SFG – He’s not dominating with the curveball as much as I want him to, but it’s the Giants.
Nathan Eovaldi @ PIT – He’s been on a tear and it’s the Pirates.
Yu Darvish @ WSN – Darvish does what Darvish does.
Dylan Cease @ CLE – It’s been a year of volatility for Cease but we’re still very much going for it here.
Eduardo Rodriguez @ KCR – It wasn’t a Vargas Rule in full and even with a rough game against Pittsburgh, you have to start him in hopes he recovers against the Royals.
Probable Starts
Logan Allen vs. CHW – I believe in his fastball/slider/change mix against a laboring White Sox crew.
J.P. France @ MIL – He didn’t come through last time, but this is the Brewers and I still think his arsenal does enough to make it work with Houston behind him.
Alex Cobb @ MIN – As long as he has the splitter, this will be solid.
Drew Smyly vs. NYM – The BSB is in full effect and the Mets aren’t so terrifying.
Questionable Starts
Marco Gonzales vs. OAK – It’s another perfect streaming moment for Marco, but he’s in the third tier as the floor is still low (even against Oakland!).
Kodai Senga @ CHC – He’s a Cherry Bomb and those live here.
Graham Ashcraft vs. STL – He’s been shaky the last three and while the beginning success wasn’t meant to last, he still should be better than this.
Eury Pérez @ COL – It’s Coors but hot dang do I feel like he’s going to do well regardless. But fine, Coors.
MacKenzie Gore vs. SDP – Gore is volatile but so is the Padres offense.
Taj Bradley vs. TOR – I adore Bradley’s high heater and I think the curve will turn into his premier secondary, but the Jays? Yeaaaah that’s no fun.
Brayan Bello @ LAA – I don’t buy that Bello can return 12 fastball whiffs with any sort of regularity and the Angels are a solid crew.
Bobby Miller @ ATL – It’s Miller’s debut! And I don’t start pitchers in their debuts! 99 mph heaters with a few command questions. Get pumped and grab him now.
Kyle Bradish @ NYY – Will Bradish have enough outside his slider?
José Berríos @ TBR – He’s The Great Undulator. No thanks.
Luis Medina @ SEA – He’s returned back-to-back PQS games and I won’t rule out a third against the Mariners if that’s your thing.
Do Not Starts
Griffin Canning vs. BOS – There’s a chance all his secondaries work, but even then, the ceiling isn’t high enough.
Ryne Nelson @ PHI – He hasn’t had his breakers on point and this scares me.
Adam Wainwright @ CIN – Naaaaaaah.
Daniel Lynch vs. DET – He’s returning and gets the Tigers and I’m curious what we see. No reason to chance it here, though.
Rich Hill vs. TEX – He’s had some success against poor teams, but the Rangers are too good to start Hill.
Austin Gomber vs. MIA – It’s Coors.
Colin Rea vs. HOU – Rea doesn’t do a whole lot + Houston.
Connor Brogdon vs. ARI – You already forgot who this is.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)