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Sep 01, 2023

Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball

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

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 Playback.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 Playback 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.

The streaming record is determined by “Was this a productive game for 12-teamers if I started them?” Roughly a PQS with a Win and a strikeout per inning with a sub 1.20 WHIP, with a minimum of 5 IP. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.

Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 81-64

My pick yesterday: Bryan Woo vs. OAK

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 74-71

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Bryan Woo vs. OAK

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

Pablo López vs. CLE – Aces gonna ace. Don’t let the Rangers change your tune.

George Kirby vs. OAK – It’s Oakland.

Clayton Kershaw vs. ARI – He’s TATIAGA for a reason.

Sandy Alcantara vs. TBR – He didn’t come through against the Padres, but I see no reason to sit against the Rays.

Corbin Burnes @ CHC – Yes, it was a terrible time in his last start, but y’all know that isn’t what to expect moving forward.

Cole Ragans vs. PIT – PEW PEW PEW. Ragans has such a good schedule ahead and is a unicorn, pumping up to 101 mph from the left side and four other legit pitches.

Tarik Skubal vs. NYY – His fastball is fantastic and the changeup + slider are coming along.

Justin Steele vs. MIL – I’m still a little weirded out by Steele’s command across the last month, but we’re all still starting him.

José Berríos vs. WSN – I don’t see a world where you’re not starting Berríos if you have him on your squads.

Probably Starts

Gavin Williams @ MIN – He’s gone through some frustrating command issues but the upside is well worth the floor.

Seth Lugo @ STL – He’s steady, the only annoyance is the lack of Wins with the Padres sitting under .500.

Aaron Civale @ MIA – He’s a solid Toby for a winning club.

Dean Kremer vs. CHW – The cutter is good, the four-seamer usually is too.

Brandon Williamson @ SFG – I dig the new changeup and new velocity + the Giants are not a team to fear.

Merrill Kelly @ LAD – The Dodgers are a team to fear, sadly. It’s a tough call given Kelly’s dominance.

Questionable Starts

Michael Lorenzen vs. LAA – He’s been terrible in his last two games as the wheels are slowly coming off, but the Angels are an atrocity at the moment.

Alex Cobb vs. CIN – He’s had his splitter working for just the second time in ten starts, but does that mean it’s back for good?

Charlie Morton @ COL – He’s a volatile fella heading into Coors. If you’re chasing Wins and strikeouts, you go for it. His sub 3.40 ERA is likely going up, though.

J.P. France @ BOS – He got absolutely trounced last time out and yet we all know he’s not cooked for good.

Tyler Anderson @ PHI – The changeup is good, the question is if everything else can support it enough.

Brayan Bello vs. HOU – It’s the Astros. I am curious to see if his slider has the same shape as last time, though.

Andrew Heaney @ NYM – He’s a Cherry Bomb through and through.

José Quintana vs. TEX – It’s the Rangers and I’m so annoyed by it. Quintana still has a chance if he has impeccable command, of course.

Jhony Brito (Opener) @ DET – Brito was terrible last time, but this is the Tigers. If pitches through the fifth, you may vulture a Win.

Do Not Starts

Ken Waldichuk @ SEA – There are moments where he executes the BSB and tallies up a fair number of strikeouts, but the ratio risk is too high.

MacKenzie Gore @ TOR – He’s a Cherry Bomb against a strong offense. Nooope.

Zack Thompson vs. SDP – I kinda dig Thompson, but the Padres destroy LHP.

Jesse Scholtens @ BAL – If he executes his gameplan, there is a path to survival in Walltimore.

Luis L. Ortiz? @ KCR – Even if he starts, how long will it be? Will he hint at the filth we saw last year? There could be an opener, granting the chance for a stolen Win.

Peter Lambert vs. ATL – In Coors. Against Atlanta. NOPE.

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

Auto-Starts

Gerrit Cole @ DET – Aces gonna ace.

Spencer Strider @ COL – Aces still gonna ace, even in Coors.

Zach Eflin @ MIA – Eflin has been too good to sit.

Brandon Woodruff @ CHC – He would be #3, but the Cubs are a tougher squad than the Marlins.

Logan Webb vs. CIN – Webb got roughed up by Atlanta and Cincy is a nice palette cleanser.

Jesús Luzardo vs. TBR – Luzardo thrived against the Padres, surely he can handle the Rays now.

Sonny Gray vs. CLE – He’s been on a roll and the Guardians aren’t scary.

Bryce Miller vs. OAK – Gotta love a date against the Athletics. Let’s hope the secondaries are there to truly help him soar.

Tanner Bibee @ MIN – Bibee has been incredible for managers who trusted in him.

Chris Bassitt vs. WSN – He’s opponent agnostic, yet the floor is better facing the Nationals.

Probably Starts

Lance Lynn vs. ARI – Lynn has shown signs of weakness without a strong secondary offering, but we’re still going after this.

Hunter Greene @ SFG – His first two starts off the IL have been far from ideal and pitching in San Francisco is the best way to get back on the right track.

Framber Valdez @ BOS – He did toss seven no-hit frames, but the cutter was missing and the curve wasn’t its best self.

Kyle Hendricks vs. MIL – He’s Spider-Man at the moment, which is a green light against the Brewers.

Mitch Keller @ KCR – Keller has killed it across his last two and I guess we’re doing this, hoping the cutter is still magnificent.

Cristopher Sánchez vs. LAA – Our easy streaming option as Sánchez has one more strong matchup before the schedule gets awfully difficult.

Questionable Starts

Kodai Senga vs. TEX – I love Senga over the last two months, but this matchup should give you pause.

Dylan Cease @ BAL – He’s a Cherry Bomb, there isn’t much else to it.

Kyle Gibson vs. CHW – Ditto for Gibson.

Reid Detmers @ PHI – Ditto for Detmers…?

Dane Dunning @ NYM – Dunning didn’t have his slider or cutter working in his last start, but there’s a chance it was just a one time thing.

Brandon Pfaadt @ LAD – Pfaadt has been a Vargas Rule for some, but this is the Dodgers. That’s awfully risky and not my cup of tea.

Matt Manning vs. NYY – He survived the Astros despite not having his best stuff and left early with a back injury. If Manning actually makes this start, it’s possible he’s able to take down the laboring Yankees.

Kutter Crawford vs. HOU – Crawford has a great fastball and a kutter that has its moments.

Do Not Starts

Angel Zerpa vs. PIT – It looks like it’s Zerpa with Singer getting skipped with fatigue. I won’t rule out some success here, but I wonder how long they’ll actually let him go.

Patrick Corbin @ TOR – Corbin has looked a little better lately, but this is the Jays. No thanks.

Zach Neal @ SEA – He stole a Win last time out and maaaaybe he steals another. Highly doubtful opposite Bryce.

Miles Mikolas vs. SDP – Mikolas should not be started. Ever.

Kyle Freeland vs. ATL – It’s Coors and Atlanta.

Rich Hill @ STL – I doubt Hill goes five frames here.

Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)