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: 31-25
My pick yesterday: Michael Lorenzen vs. CHW
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 28-28
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Hogan Harris vs. HOU
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
Spencer Strider vs. PHI – The strikeouts are insane.
Cristian Javier @ OAK – Javier gets the push up considering it’s the Athletics.
Gerrit Cole vs. SDP – He’s still my ROS SP #1, but I recognize how hot Strider is right now and he doesn’t get the Athletics.
Yu Darvish @ NYY – Darvish does what Darvish does regardless of opponent.
Dylan Cease @ DET – Surely Cease can come through against the Tigers, right? Just throw strikes, kid – I say, getting flashbacks of my ninth-grade travel coach.
Eduardo Rodriguez vs. CHW – He stumbled last time out but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt right now.
Probable Starts
Drew Smyly vs. CIN – He’s on an insane run and we can’t stop now that he’s hosting the Reds.
Alex Cobb @ MIL – The slider isn’t there but that’s okay against the Brewers, right? He was heavy curveball last time and I’m curious if Cobb keeps that up. Probably not.
Patrick Sandoval vs. MIA – Despite the low strikeout totals (and high WHIP), we start Sandoval against the Marlins.
Merrill Kelly vs. BOS – He’s a Toby and this is a decent enough start.
Jordan Montgomery @ CLE – Monty has disappointed me a bit this year, but it’s Cleveland. You do this.
Eury Pérez @ LAA – I love Eury and the Angels aren’t an elite offense that would deter me here.
Marco Gonzales vs. PIT – In typical Toby fashion, Gonzo is our streaming pick of the day against a poor offense.
Tanner Houck @ ARI- I’m not sure how much I buy into the elite command Houck expressed in his last start, but I feel like it’s worthwhile to chase against the Diamondbacks.
Questionable Starts
MacKenzie Gore @ KCR – I’ts hard to gauge how much you can trust Gore right now, even against the Royals. He’s a Cherry Bomb at the moment.
Bailey Ober vs. TOR – I dig Ober, I don’t dig the matchup against Toronto.
UPDATE: Luis Ortiz @ SEA – He performed well last time and I could see this working again. I still have my questions about his fastball effectiveness + how filthy the slider actually is.
Taj Bradley vs. LAD – Taj is still working out the kinks and the Dodgers are scary. Decent strikeout upside, though.
Dane Dunning @ BAL – I really don’t buy the run Dunning is on and Baltimore can mess pitchers up quickly.
José Berríos @ MIN – He’s boasted a sub 3.00 ERA across his last fifty frames, but he’s The Great Undulator for a reason. Here’s to more sinkers in the zone at low hard contact rates.
Colin Rea vs. SFG – Hey, Rea made it work against the Astros. There’s a chance he replicates it against a worse offense.
Do Not Starts
Roansy Contreras @ SEA – I don’t like the four-seamer at all and while the floor is a little higher than the others here, I think we’re far from greatness.
Daniel Lynch? vs. WSN – Lynch is making his season debut and I’m awfully curious what we get. Let’s wait and see.
Luis Medina vs. HOU – He’s a desperate PQS play and the Astros are oddly streamable at times.
Kyle Bradish vs. TEX – The slider is all he has and it abandoned him last start + it’s Texas.
Graham Ashcraft @ CHC – He’s allowed 7+ ER in three of his last four games. Give him a break for a second.
UPDATE: Josh Fleming vs. LAD – This one already started (sorry!) as Taj is going later this week instead. Y’all know I’m not a fan of Fleming.
Hunter Gaddis vs. STL – Gaddis was worthwhile last time out, but that felt like a Birthday Party instead of a display of legitimacy.
Gavin Stone @ TBR – There are kinks to work out here and the Rays are legit.
Dylan Covey @ ATL – He was great last time out, but we don’t actually believe in Covey, right? Against Atlanta?!
Austin Gomber vs. NYM – It’s Coors.
Tylor Megill @ COL – It’s Coors.
Update: Cody Bradford @ BAL – He chucks a sub 90 mph heater and isn’t worth your time.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Nathan Eovaldi @ DET – He’s in a wonderful place and the Tigers are a lovely gift.
Bryce Miller vs. NYY – Bryce’s heater is brilliant and you can’t deny him this start.
Probable Starts
Bobby Miller vs. WSN – The worse Miller is still a promising arm and the Nationals make for a fun day at the park. His floor is still unclear, but if you’re unfamiliar with what he does, check out my YouTube breakdown of his MLB debut.
Sonny Gray @ HOU – Sonny hasn’t been at his peak as of late and I’m worried this may be the start that gets people scared. I still feel you have to start him, though.
Tyler Wells vs. CLE – It’s been a Vargas Rule for Wells and the Guardians are an easy decision.
Anthony DeSclafani vs. PIT – He’s a Toby against a weak offense.
Marcus Stroman vs. TBR – Stroman gets a tough team, but he’s gone six frames so often that it’s hard to sit him.
J.P. France vs. MIN – I like the matchup and the Astros make France’s starts come with a solid win chance.
Taj Bradley @ CHC – A little risky here, but I think the strikeout ceiling makes me lean start.
Michael Kopech vs. LAA – Same with Kopech as he’s had a much better fastball in his last two games. His command is still an issue, though, and it may burn you here.
Questionable Starts
Logan Allen @ BAL – I wrestled with where to place Allen as he’s a Toby against a solid crew. He has a higher floor than the others, though.
Ryne Nelson vs. COL – It’s Rockie Road, but Nelson hasn’t found his secondaries quite yet.
Rich Hill @ SFG – Hill has come through against poor offenses throughout the year.
Domingo Germán @ SEA – He’s returning from his suspension and I’m not sure what we’ll get – will he get the same amount of whiffs with an elevated focus on his rosin application?
Griffin Canning @ CHW – When Canning is able to go 70% secondaries, he can cruises through 5/6 frames. The floor isn’t fun is he has to lean too heavily on his heater, sadly.
Michael Soroka @ OAK – Soroka is expected to return to the majors after a long hiatus and the Athletics are as great of a matchup as you could hope for. No idea what we’re going to get, though.
Adam Wainwright vs. KCR – I know it’s the Royals, but Waino is not the pitcher he used to be.
Mike Mayers @ STL – He impressed last time out and I understand how this could work, but boy is it risky.
Matthew Boyd vs. TEX – The slider whiffs returned last week as his slider felt better than it has for three years. It was just one game, though, and the Rangers can make Boyd pay if it’s not there.
Do Not Starts
Trevor Williams @ LAD – Never Williams.
Karl Kauffmann @ ARI – Kauffman is not the pitcher you’re looking for.
Paul Blackburn vs. ATL – It’s a Still ILL mixed with a tough matchup and a low ceiling pitcher with a low Win chance. Ho boy.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)