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: 32-27
My pick yesterday: Brayan Bello vs. CIN
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 28-31
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Kyle Hendricks 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
Aaron Nola @ NYM – I want to feel more confident with the #1 play, but you really can’t deny Nola a start here.
George Kirby vs. NYY – The same goes for Kirby. It’s a little scary against the volatile Yankee offense.
Hunter Brown vs. MIN – Brown has looked great as of late and there’s a case to be made that he’s the #1 play if he can continue to earn plenty of called strikes on the four-seamer.
Mitch Keller @ SFG – He stumbled in his last start and the Giants are a decent crew, but you still roll with the man.
Probable Starts
Shane Bieber @ BAL – Don’t rely on the strikeouts, but there’s enough here inside Camden to make Bieber worth your time.
James Paxton vs. CIN – He struggled with his four-seamer command in his last start, but the Reds don’t fear me inside Fenway…even if Elly De La Cruz gets the call.
Zach Eflin @ CHC – The cutter hasn’t been as stellar lately, but he still brings enough to the table.
Lance Lynn vs. LAA – He’s been on a wonderful stretch, but this is the toughest opponent Lynn has had in weeks.
Blake Snell @ MIA – The curve returned, the slider didn’t, and the four-seamer command disappeared. But hey, it’s the Marlins. You gotta try it…right?
Dane Dunning @ DET – The Tigers can be sneaky good and I hate Dunning’s strikeout potential, but there’s streamability here.
Justin Steele vs. TBR – I almost put him in the third tier as the four-seamer/slider combo is looking vulnerable at the moment + the Rays. I feel like if you have him, you’re leaning Start given his 2023 thus far. Good luck.
Questionable Starts
Jared Shuster @ OAK – Shuster is our streaming pick of the day as he gets the Athletics. The slider looked fantastic last time out and I’m hoping it’s enough to return at least five frames of production.
Louie Varland @ HOU – I really do dig Varland once he’s past the rough schedule as he features a much better four-seamer than the majority of the league.
Braxton Garrett vs. SDP – The new cutter is helping Garrett a ton, but the Padres are a team to fear with Tatis back and Soto looking back to form…even if Machado is on the mend.
Jaime Barría @ CHW – He came out and killed it with his slider last time out and the White Sox are prone to right-handed sliders.
Tommy Henry vs. COL – The big curve and solid changeup may be enough to pull off a decent stream against Rockie Road.
Alex Wood vs. PIT – I don’t trust Wood’s stuff to carry a high ceiling even against the Pirates. It’s riskier than I want it to be.
Clarke Schmidt @ SEA – You’re hoping for five frames of 2 ER ball and a Win. Schmidt hasn’t quite figured out the winning approach yet.
Noah Syndergaard vs. WSN – Thor has been far from what we want him to be, but there’s a decent Win chance here against the Nats.
Do Not Starts
Carlos Carrasco vs. PHI – He showed up with a legit curve instead of a slider last time out, maybe that’s a real thing? It’s too risky against the Phils.
Luke Weaver @ BOS – There’s a touch of upside for Weaver if he has everything locked in, but I don’t want to chase it.
James Kaprielian vs. ATL – When the four-seamer finds the zone, good things happen for Jimmy Hat. Sure don’t want to chance that against Atlanta, though.
Austin Voth vs. CLE – Voth is starting or acting as the bulk reliever in this one and if he is able to go 80 pitches, there actually is some value to be had here against the Guardians. The haze of how they’ll use Voth (and if he’s actually, you know, good) has me staying away.
Alek Manoah vs. MIL – I don’t care it’s the Brewers. Manoah has just been that poor this season.
Dinelson Lamet @ ARI – Hey, it’s Lamet! I’m excited to see him get a chance to start again, though we have to wait and see here. And remember, he pitches for the Rockies now.
Julio Teheran @ TOR – I’m shocked (and not shocked because baseball) Teheran pulled it off for the Brewers last time out, but this is the Jays and y’all know better.
Joey Wentz vs. TEX – Wentz isn’t looking good and the Rangers are a mighty tall hurdle.
Patrick Corbin @ LAD – Corbin had his fun and came back down to Earth.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Kevin Gausman vs. MIL – He’s the clear #1 against the Brewers. Funny enough, the splitter is arguably worse this year as it has dipped below a 60% strike rate for the first time in years.
Max Scherzer vs. PHI – Scherzer gets the toughest matchup of the lot, but the Phillies chase a ton of pitches and after a 20-whiff game in Coors, he deserves the high rank.
Pablo López vs. CLE – He’s two starts away from the AGA label and I so badly want him to get it.
Joe Musgrove @ MIA – Musgrove is still searching for the slider, but the curve and cutter stepped up last time out. I’m not worried about the Marlins’ offensive surge as of late. Coors does that.
Chris Sale vs. CIN – The velocity has slightly dipped lately, but Sale has been a legit ace after his first start of the season. Just a few more games without turbulence and he’ll get the label.
Framber Valdez vs. LAA – He’s a clear start, but I really hope Framber has his cutter back. It’s a gamechanger for him and transforms him into a legit fantasy ace when it’s on.
Probable Starts
Hunter Greene @ BOS – He was a stud in his last game and Fenway isn’t as scary as Great American Ballpark. Please go double-digit strikeouts again.
Tanner Bibee @ MIN – It’s all about repetition with Bibee. He has enough tools in the arsenal to flourish on any given day, and we just need to see it happen with frequency.
Jesús Luzardo vs. SDP – The bad luck has to end at some point, right? The K-BB% rate is elite and it’s just that dang 1.39 WHIP that’s killing us with a three point jump in hits-per-nine. It’ll get corrected.
Freddy Peralta @ TOR – It’s the Jays and Peralta has been all kinds of shaky…and he doesn’t deserve it. In addition, Peralta is one of those like Darvish and Gibson – he performs how he does regardless of the opposition.
Questionable Starts
Reid Detmers @ HOU – You’re fed up with Detmers and now he gets the Astros. This is a play to make only if you’re hankering for strikeouts. Otherwise, you’re putting yourself at a large WHIP risk.
Zach Davies vs. COL – He’s our streaming pick of the day with a date against Rockie Road. I don’t love it, but if Davies has his changeup, he just needs to steal a fair number of called strikes with his sinker to make this worthwhile.
Do Not Starts
Taijuan Walker @ NYM – If the splitter is good enough, Walker can survive this. That ceiling isn’t worth the start, sadly.
Chase Anderson @ ARI – You know, when I do these rankings every day, I often ask myself “Is this pitcher actually going to return the worst game of the night?” and in this case, it seems clear that Anderson has the worst opportunity, and yet, he’s had surprising games inside Coors and now gets to be outside the horrid park. It could happen.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)