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: 27-24
My pick yesterday: Michael Lorenzen vs KCR
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 25-26
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Kyle Muller @ 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
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.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Joe Ryan vs. SFG – AGA. He gets an easier matchup than McShane and Gallen.
Shane McClanahan vs. TOR – AGA. Despite the Jays, it’s McClanahan. Don’t overthink it.
Zac Gallen @ PHI – AGA. Gallen didn’t have his command last time but it was a One Night Bland. You have to start him.
Bryce Miller vs. OAK – He’s killing it and it’s the Athletics. I could even see a case for him at #2.
Nestor Cortes vs. BAL – The slider returned last time out and I may be overly aggressive after just one game of the breaker showing up. I think it’s one of those “ah, there it is” situations and he’ll keep it going against Baltimore.
Probable Starts
Sandy Alcantara @ COL – He was stripped of his AGA tag and now has to endure Coors…and I’m still starting him. The stuff is too good.
James Paxton @ LAA – Paxton is sitting 96 mph with fastballs performing comfortably inside the zone + there’s another level to reach once his secondaries lock in.
Marcus Stroman vs. NYM – Stroman is a QS rock and even against his former squad, he should be thrown out there.
Martín Pérez @ PIT – It’s a fantastic matchup for a Toby.
Anthony DeSclafani @ MIN – Tony Disco does enough to take advantage of a middling Twins offense.
Michael Kopech @ CLE – He just earned 20 whiffs against the Royals, but volatility is the name of the game for Kopech. The Guardians are a perfect litmus test.
Cal Quantrill vs. CHW – It’s a Toby against a weak offense.
Questionable Starts
Tyler Wells @ NYY – I’m astounded by his 0.79 WHIP and sub 3.00 ERA when he’s 90th+ percentile in BABIP (sub 200) and LOB rate (nearly 90%). It’s not going to last, but if you want to Vargas Rule it as he’s earning more whiffs than expected, go for it.
Brandon Bielak @ MIL – Bielak earned plenty of whiffs with his changeup last time and the Brewers are a weak crew, making him our streaming pick of the day. There could be a cheap Win here.
Tony Gonsolin @ ATL – I don’t trust what Gonsolin does, but he’s kept his head above water thus far. Facing Atlanta doesn’t remove the anxiety, either.
Bryce Elder vs. LAD – Elder’s slider/sinker is overperforming and the Dodgers are a scary offense.
Johan Oviedo vs. TEX – I love the Oviedo we saw last time he started, but Texas is a difficult lineup to face. I really hope the command sticks around.
Zack Greinke vs. DET – Who knows with Greinke, but at least it’s the Tigers.
Tyler Anderson vs. BOS – If the changeup is there, this could work.
Do Not Starts
Yusei Kikuchi @ TBR – He’s too volatile and it’s the Rays.
Ryan Weathers @ WSN – It’s the Nationals, but Weathers doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table.
Matthew Boyd @ KCR – No slider whiffs no start.
Ben Lively vs. STL – He had a ton of whiffs last time and there’s a chance he’s going super slider heavy for another outing…but the Cardinals are hot right now. Too risky.
Tylor Megill @ CHC – There’s nothing new to lean on here from Megill and the Cubs are a solid crew.
Ranger Suárez vs. ARI – He isn’t locked in and not stretched out in full. Avoid this one.
Adrian Houser vs. HOU – Houser has a chance as he chucks fastballs and hopes they find gloves. That floor is terrible because of it.
Trevor Williams vs. SDP – Are the Padres that bad of an offense after all?
Steven Matz @ CIN – Matz is laboring on the bump and a date in Cincy doesn’t spell redemption.
Ken Waldichuk @ SEA – The high walk rate makes for a difficult path to a worthwhile ceiling.
Karl Kauffmann vs. MIA – He’s in Coors and doesn’t do a whole lot with his arsenal.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)