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 in the second tier and I’d roll with them everywhere. Those in Yellow 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: 19-15
My pick yesterday: Bailey Ober @ CLE
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 16-18
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Edward Cabrera @ CHC
Want PL Bot’s pick today? Sign Up for PL Pro here.
Today’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Hooo boy, Saturday is a bit rough. Only five are defiantly in the top tier, with Logan Allen sneaking in at the end as he’s proven himself during his early career to take on a questionable Twins offense.
- The other four are easy choices, even Drew Rasmussen and Nick Lodolo as they’ve each been a Cherry Bomb as of late. They face weak offenses and are clear starts.
- In the second tier, Drew Smyly gets the Marlins and should perform well with his sinker/curve combo, while Brady Singer seems like a no-brainer against the Athletics…and yet, he’s displayed an uncomfortable floor as of late.
- Nathan Eovaldi was pushed back to Saturday and retains his Probable Start designation. He looks to be a solid play throughout the season.
- This is the time to start Alex Cobb, even if he hasn’t had his slider much at all this season. I still see a Cherry Bomb instead of this, but the Brewers widen the margin for error.
- In the third tier, Dustin May, Blake Snell, and Reid Detmers are struggling to find a rhythm that we can rely on. I believe in Detmers the most long term, but the Rangers are a dangerous offense that you may want to avoid.
- With Blake Snell, I loved watching his curveball be the pitch it’s meant to be last time out – now all that’s left is his slider to find strikes at a 55-60% rate. He’s close, y’all.
- I don’t trust Dustin May at the moment, but I recognize he could have one of his excellent outings against the Padres. Give me curve and cutter whiffs plz k thx.
- The streaming pick of the day (right at 20% rostered!) is Tylor Megill as he faces Rockie Road at home. It’s a solid Win chance, even if I don’t think he’s pumping fastballs like he used to.
- Closing out the tier is MacKenzie Gore who is doing a wonderful job of getting his curveball down and may have found a path to success. The Diamondbacks aren’t the biggest challenge, marking an outing that could reward trusting managers.
- We’re at #15 and we’re already at the DO NOT START tier. Hooooo boy. Nick, how can you tell me to not start half of the guys going on Saturday? Because it’s all super risky against tough opponents, Still ILL situations, MLB debuts, and downright blegh pitchers.
- Sorry Adam Wainwright, I know it’s the Tigers, but it’s your first start back and let’s be honest, your ceiling ain’t that great.
- We just saw José Berríos display he’s The Great Undulator once again, Johan Oviedo got trounced by the Nationals and it’ll be the same skill set against the Jays, Spencer Turnbull doesn’t pack enough of a punch, and Corey Kluber + Mike Clevinger are not convincing enough to chase despite not the worst matchups.
- There are a few that I do kinda like but don’t want to go after. Domingo Germán’s strikeout rate has soared lately, but it’s the Rays. You can’t do that.
- Marco Gonzales is showcasing stellar command and yet, he gets the Astros. Colin Rea has shown he can go 5+ frames of decency and maybe that works against the Giants, and Ken Waldichuk fanned seven last time out with a BSB approach that could stick against the Royals.
- One more for you – the Astros are likely calling up JP France to face the Mariners and there’s a small chance it works. Based on my quick analysis of his starts on Savant, he throws 94/95 mph four-seamers with solid cutters and not a whole lot else. I don’t love it – it’s not an elite four-seamer – but there could be some Houston magic here.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
- Another short top tier for Sunday’s games, including Sandy Alcantara despite his shaky start to the 2023 season. He’s not at the top of his game but we’re not at the point of sitting him on the bench quite yet.
- Mason Miller also enters the top tier after his dominance last time out. He now gets the Royals and I can’t see a reason not to start Mason here.
- His counterpart Bryce Miller has the misfortune of facing the Astros on Sunday as I teetered between a second and third tier placement. In the end, I think I’m starting Bryce with his stellar four-seamer, but I understand benching on a Sunday for those who want to be conservative with a young arm.
- The other options are clear in the second tier. Joe Musgrove was pushed back with a foot blister as we wait for him to make his first stellar outing of the year, Graham Ashcraft has been a ratio darling and gets the poor White Sox crew, and Hayden Wesneski is the clear streaming option against the Marlins.
- The third tier is a big boi. Ross Stripling is in heavy consideration for me against the lowly Brewers as Stripling looked like a better version of himself last time out.
- Martín Pérez, Bryce Elder, Cal Quantrill, and Tyler Wells are all Toby arms who could defy their rough matchups to pull out a Quality Start on Sunday if you’re in need.
- If you’re chasing strikeout upside, Yusei Kikuchi and Michael Kopech are the guys to consider, though their volatile natures makes me avoid them in any situation where you need to protect your ratios.
- I’m not sure how to rank Ryne Nelson as he’s allowed 15 ER across his last three starts…with two against Coors and the Padres. The Nationals make for a higher probability of production, but he hasn’t found a groove with his breakers yet. We’ll see.
- There are two deep options at the end. Joey Lucchesi is not an arm I’d traditionally chase, but it is Rockie Road and despite failing against the Tigers early in the week, I won’t rule out a cheap Win here.
- I’m not sure if the Cardinals will even let Steven Matz pitch (it could be Matthew Liberatore making his 2023 debut), but if they do, it’s the clearest chance of him coming through for managers with a date against Detroit. If it is Liberatore going, I’d place him above Ryne Nelson in these ranks (don’t do debuts, but Liberatore has been killing it in the minors).
- In the bottom tier, there are arms here who could come through for you, even I’m not encouraged by them. Trevor Williams has some dark magic, Tanner Houck’s best self would take down the Phillies, and if Roansy Contreras can prevent his four-seamer from punishment, he could survive the Jays.
- I love José Suarez’s new changeup, but it’s far too risky against the Rangers.
- The rest of the tier is far from interesting, but all of them have an outside shot of working. Not the worst situation of desperate dart throws for a Sunday, though make sure your reserve them just for that – a Hail Mary with nothing to lose.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)