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: 37-31
My pick yesterday: Kyle Bradish @ MIL
PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 34-34
PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Colin Rea vs. BAL
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. BOS – Aces gonna ace.
Shohei Ohtani vs. SEA – Aces gonna ace.
Luis Castillo @ LAA – Aces gonna ace.
Cristian Javier @ CLE – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Glasnow vs. TEX – Aces gon–wait. He hasn’t earned it yet and the Rangers are terrifying. If you want to lower him a little because of the risk, go ahead. I think he’ll come out ahead, but I get it.
Marcus Stroman @ SFG – If you want something safer than Glasnow, it’s Stroman. However, we can all agree that Stroman’s ceiling isn’t quite as high on the strikeout side – he’s not going to keep up his 8+ inning outings and the Giants are a solid crew.
Bobby Miller @ PHI – This could be Michael Grove instead as the Dodgers haven’t announced their weekend schedule yet. If it’s Miller, you go for it because duh. If it’s Grove, he falls to the top of the Do Not Start tier.
Merrill Kelly @ WSN – There’s a temptation to put him above Valdez given the better matchup, but it’s Kelly. The floor is lower than those above, even against the Nationals. Note: I’m assuming the Diamondbacks move Kelly to Friday with Thursday’s postponement.
Tyler Wells vs. KCR – Wells is on such a good run that you can’t deny him this outing.
Dylan Cease vs. MIA – Will the slider be the same pitch we saw last time out? The Marlins have been bashing plenty of starters lately…
Eury Pérez @ CHW – Pérez will only get better with more time on the bump and the White Sox are terrible against RHP.
Probable Starts
Yu Darvish @ COL – Darvish does what he does regardless of opposition…and yet it’s Coors.
Garrett Whitlock @ NYY – The Yankees are weaker without Judge and Whitlock should get better with each start.
Sonny Gray @ TOR – I nearly put this in the third tier as I’m scared of Gray’s decline with his curveball and slider and the Jays are as dangerous as they come. At the same time, he’s found a way to have success this season and I imagine if you have him rostered, you’re starting him.
Questionable Starts
Yusei Kikuchi vs. MIN – Kikuchi introduced a new approach of curves + sliders, allowing his four-seamer to take a step back and focus on living inside the zone. Maybe it’s a thing, y’all.
Logan Allen vs. HOU – The Astros are a fearsome matchup for Allen. On the other hand, we’ve seen Allen come through with his command and if it’s on point, he’ll go six strong.
Michael Lorenzen vs. ARI – I want to believe in Lorenzen’s great stretch, while I also recognize that the Diamondbacks put up more of a fight than the stream of weak lineups Lorenzen has seen.
Jordan Montgomery vs. CIN – I worry about the addition of ELDC and The Bear hasn’t been at his peak.
Adrian Houser vs. OAK – The man throws four-seamers and sinkers for outs and the Athletics are bad at fastballs.
UPDATE: AJ Smith-Shawver vs. WSN – Atlanta is pushing him up to Friday and it’s a complete toss-up. I need to see him pitch a full start before properly judging him
Jared Shuster vs. WSN – I’m not totally sold that Shuster’s slider can be relied upon and the Nationals have had some thump. I’m closely watching this one.
Ben Lively @ STL – His slider was gone last time out, though don’t overlook the dire situation in St. Louis. It could resurrect Lively’s slide piece.
Andrew Heaney @ TBR – The strikeout upside is still there, but Heaney’s a Cherry Bomb in a very destructive matchup.
UPDATE: Anthony DeSclafani vs. CHC – His command has been off and the Cubs are good enough to shut off the lights for Tony Disco.
Luis Medina @ MIL – He’s failed to get you the PQS you want…but this is Milwaukee. He’ll be opened for.
Tylor Megill @ PIT – I can’t trust Megill and the Pirates are a volatile crew.
Do Not Starts
Daniel Lynch @ BAL – Maybe the new slider is enough, though I’d prefer to avoid the Orioles if I could.
Update: Michael Grove vs. PHI – He showed signs of improvement last week, but he’s not stretched out and doesn’t have the track record yet.
Rich Hill vs. NYM – Hill does whatever he wants. I still avoid him against tough teams like the Mets, though.
Ranger Suárez vs. LAD – He looked great against the Nationals and yet it’s still too risky against the Dodgers.
Josiah Gray vs. ARI – Josiah hasn’t been fantasy relevant for weeks now. Note: I’m assuming Josiah is pushed to Friday instead of Gore due to Thursday’s postponement.
Austin Gomber vs. SDP – Coors is undefeated.
Jakob Junis? vs. CHC – I’m not sure what the Giants are doing this weekend (is this an opener? Bullpen game? Proper start?) and I’d just avoid it.
Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings
Auto-Starts
Sandy Alcantara @ CHW – Weird to see him at #1 given the struggles, but it’s the best matchup among the studs.
Nathan Eovaldi @ TBR – Can you really deny Eovaldi at this point?
Joe Ryan @ TOR – The secondaries haven’t been there and the Jays are rough, but you still have to do this.
Aaron Nola vs. LAD – He was much better last time out and I wonder if the focus on the four-seamer is a continuing trend.
Bobby Miller @ PHI – The park isn’t fun, but Miller has shown elite stuff with fantastic command.
Probable Starts
Andrew Abbott @ STL – I think the skills are there to make this work against a struggling Cardinals offense.
J.P. France @ CLE – It’s an easy stream of the day with France against the Guardians. He brings enough to the table to take advantage of the poor Guardians crew. Just don’t hit 3 HRs, okay JoRam?
Triston McKenzie vs. HOU – He returned from the IL looking as good as I’ve ever seen him. It’s not wise to imagine he’s at his peak and staying there moving forward, but with the Astros missing Yordan from their lineup, this makes for a calmer decision to start Triston.
Taj Bradley vs. TEX – The Rangers are terrifying against right-handers and yet I trust Bradley’s elite four-seamer to make this work.
Michael Kopech vs. MIA – He’s been on a tear with his four-seamer and the Marlins should allow him to earn at least a strikeout per inning once again.
Domingo Germán vs. BOS – His SwStr rates are still there with the curve as the four-seamer and changeup have been good enough to keep him afloat.
Questionable Starts
Brady Singer @ BAL – He’s still a Cherry Bomb, no matter how you look at it.
Miles Mikolas vs. CIN – Hey, it’s a Toby and let’s hope it’s not a 2.00 WHIP.
Kodai Senga @ PIT – If he has the forkball, this can be amazing. If he doesn’t, it may be a disaster, even against the Pirates.
Jared Shuster vs. WSN – The slider has been decently located since coming back up and the Nationals could make this work out.
Julio Teheran vs. OAK – Sigh. I guess it’s worked? And it’s the Athletics?
MacKenzie Gore @ ATL – I don’t have faith that Gore will keep his four-seamer elevated and without that pitch dominating upstairs, his whole approach looks befuddled. Be careful against Atlanta.
Patrick Sandoval vs. SEA – Despite having a whiff-heavy change and slider, Sandoval has turned into a Toby this year as he can’t reliably have both on a given night.
Kyle Hendricks @ SFG – The changeup has looked good and he’s hyper-reliant on the sinker getting called strikes, though the curve’s absence is apparent. The Giants are a solid crew as well, making me hesitant to throw Hendricks out there.
Johan Oviedo vs. NYM – It comes down to command and we don’t know what we’ll get from Oviedo. The Mets missing Alonso helps Oviedo’s cause, though.
Matthew Boyd vs. ARI – Boyd earned his nine strikeouts via precise four-seamers upstairs, not with his slider. I worry that it’s not a sustainable approach.
Tanner Houck @ NYY – Without Judge in the lineup, there is hope Houck can come through and feature his peak command for a productive outing. Not a whole lot of hope, just some.
Paul Blackburn @ MIL – The Brewers have done damage against Orioles pitchers, though if Blackburn gets both his slider and curve over the plate, he could find six frames.
Ryne Nelson @ DET – I can’t trust Nelson even against the Tigers until he has more than his four-seamer on his side. The cutter isn’t enough.
Do Not Starts
Bryan Woo @ LAA – I want to throw his MLB debut out the window, making this still a wait-and-see start. Not a bad spec add, though, as a great start from Woo will make him the hottest ticket in town.
Bowden Francis vs. MIN – The Jays are replacing Manoah with Bowden, kinda fitting given their proximity to Maine. ANYWAY, He’s sported a 17% SwStr rate in his limited Triple-A sample this year with curves/sliders for strikes and success with his four-seamer upstairs when he executes it. There’s some upside here, but we can’t trust he’ll have the command.
Cole Irvin vs. KCR – Hey, it’s Irvin! I hope he comes through in this one, don’t rule it out for a desperate stream as the Orioles shouldn’t be limiting his pitch-count.
Kyle Freeland vs. SDP – Okay, now we’re really getting desperate.
Ryan Weathers @ COL – Not a chance. Four-seamer is so much worse than it was in the spring.
Jakob Junis? vs. CHC – This is likely a bullpen game.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)