Fantasy Baseball Streamer Starting Pitcher Rating – 4/22 & 4/23

Here are today’s daily SP Streamer rankings.

Every day of the 2023 baseball season, I’ll be watching today’s and tomorrow’s scheduled starting pitchers and ranking their games for your fantasy baseball streams.

There’s a lot in there and you can hang out with me on Twitch.tv/pitcherlist to talk about specific ranks because I do them every weekday morning from 10am-12pm ET. If you have any questions about these ranks, please ask them during the morning Twitch AMA. These are my office hours as I generally do not respond to comments on the site.

There are four levels in these rankings with 12 teams in the lead:

Automatic start – Just do it. Don’t think too much about it, the man begins. This includes “if I registered them, I start them” launchers.

Probably start – I will probably start these weapons, although I recognize that there is more risk than we would like. Either it’s a tough game for a good non-elite pitcher or a weak formation for a volatile arm. These pitchers have a 50% or better chance of performing well in my opinion.

Doubtful start – Think of this level as “I don’t want to start these pitchers in a vacuum, but you could do worse.” The streamers found in this level are not launchers I target and are only if you desperately need them. To play streaming safe, just start Probably Start streamers.

Do not start – The reward is not worth the risk. Don’t. Seriously, these launchers have a very low chance of success or sometimes no way.

Obviously there will be circumstances where pitchers would need to move between teams for your specific situation and these new levels should act as a little more help than last year’s straight table.

Please keep in mind that streaming is far from a perfect game. In fact, if they work more than half the time, I would consider that a success. These rankings and streamer picks are going to be vastly different from the actual results throughout the year, so please have some sympathy ahead of the scathing comments and tweets. I’m only trying to help!

Be sure to read the notes if you’re wondering why I favor some pitchers over others – I won’t go to everyone and hopefully answer any questions you have.

There is a second table for tomorrow start pitcher clashes as well, helping everyone get a jump on their nighttime pick-ups. Please note that these matches are subject to change, however, and there will be be times when I have the wrong pitcher. Thank you for your future understanding.

Finally, there are my streaming picks of the day, and please keep in mind that I have to choose a streamer every day. Those highlighted in Green are second level and I would ride with them anywhere. those in YELLOW on the third level and should be fine if you are looking for something on any given day, but I don’t recommend streaming unless you need to. Finally, these are Red are the ones I Really don’t want to start (they’re labeled as “Don’t Start”, after all) but have no other choice. Don’t stream these guys until you’re really desperate. A streaming pick is defined as “registered in 20% or fewer leagues”, which Really highlights the fact that I would be happy if more than 50% of them worked. I could do the whole sub 30/40% list, but that’s no fun. You can use the leaderboards to figure out who those picks would be instead.

(Opening) – Indicates that a pitcher is open for that day and the indicated pitcher will follow the opener.

While I’m doing my grading, I thought it would be helpful to present a chart of how we categorize offenses:

I’m sure that will change over the course of the year + there are differences to be made between teams vs LHP or RHP, but it works as a general picture that you should all keep in mind.

Alright, let’s go.

This year, with our new daily PLV-powered fantasy baseball screenings, I’ll be competing with PL Bot to choose the best streaming option each day.

To get access to PL Bot picks every day, sign up for PL Pro here.

Nick’s streamer record in 2023: 12-9

My selection from yesterday: Tyler Wells vs. DET

PL Bot broadcast record in 2023: 10-11

PL Bot’s choice yesterday: Joey Lucchesi @ SFG

Want the choice of PL Bot today? Sign up for PL Pro here.

Ranking of today’s starting pitchers

• The aces are back for Saturday’s games and despite facing the Jays, Gerrit Cole has to be the #1 game of the day. Shane McClanahan And louis castillo make very good cases, though.
• Some may want Andrew Heane a bit higher in the ranks, although we can’t forget his cherry bomb tendencies and inability to systematically go through six images.

• At the bottom of the upper level is Logan Webb, even in a start against the Mets. Webb’s slider isn’t the big step of old, but his change is elite and his lead does a terrific job inside the zone. Hits are an issue that will likely keep the WHIP a little higher than ideal, but it’s worth it every time.
• Joe Musgrove will likely be in the top tier indefinitely after this Saturday start against the Diamondbacks. The only thing holding him here is a Still sick situation that will likely have his throw count capped more than usual.

• The second tier has great options for weekend streams. Kyle Gibson And Tyler Anderson are both available in many leagues and offer the potential of six frames against bad offenses. I ride with both wherever I can.
• Garret Whitlock quietly looks like the man we dreamed of through the winter cold. Whitlock’s lead earned hits, the slider has puffs, and there’s more potential to unlock with his change. Catch him if he’s on the wire.

• The third level equals the guys I follow not start, but are tough decisions. You all know the Alec Manoah situation and even though I believe he is wearing a TIARA, it’s safer to bench him until something changes.
• Kyle Wright gets the Astros and while he loves his curveball, I think it’s too risky against the Astros to go for this one.

• I don’t take advantage by David Peterson new slider and with a pedestrian four-seam, he’s not my target against the Giants.
• The tastes of Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly, and even Joey Wentz could find ways to go 5-6 innings, but matchups are too tough for me to approve of.

• we just saw Wade Miley go seven white frames with eight strikeouts, but it looked like a Birthday party and the Red Sox are not a safe bet for another day of excellence.
• rich hill shocked us with his dominance last time and who knows, maybe he can avoid fathers time for a solid game against the Reds. It doesn’t sound like you’re much of a defender. The guy throws under 88 mph and has already exploded several times. Ok ok, I understand.

• i’m excited about Hayden Wesneski flexing his sniper breaker, but the Dodgers scared me. Its four seams and cutter need to be unscathed to stand out in this one.
• And his Zack Greenke. You never know what this guy is going to do.

• At the lower level, Shintarō Fujinami is a cherry bomb at best and the Rangers are a powerful crew. Sit down if you have any kind of anxiety.
• Y’all know you can’t trust Kyle Freeland. Please don’t put yourself through this.

• Updates: Miami vs. Cleveland rained on Friday, leading to a doubleheader today. Make sure Zach Plesac is in your lineup as it has become the streaming choice of the day now.

Ranking of tomorrow’s starting pitchers

• Lots of aces go on Sunday, which makes it terribly difficult to rank them. I decided to place the arms of clear aces above the likes of Sonny Gray And Reid Detmer despite their best matchups, however. Max fried And Christian Xavier are still safer bets despite their upcoming duel.
• At the bottom of the level is Grayson Rodriguez because I think if you have him listed, you throw him against the Tigers. This small group departure is just around the corner.

• The second tier doesn’t feel so good for Sunday. Lucas Giolito looks better but the Rays are a hard pill to swallow. Marcus Stroman has been solid, but what difficulty will the Dodgers bring to the table? And Taylor Megill gets the best match, but his skills don’t require production.
• Today’s streaming pick is also in this tier with Eduardo Rodriguez against the Orioles. I don’t completely buy his ten strikeout game earlier this week, but he exhibits the ability to go six frames against a good but not elite offense.

• The third level starts with Logan Allen as he makes his MLB debut against the Marlins. It’s a different Allen that you don’t already know, with great slider control in the zone and low-to-mid 90s heating. I make it a rule not to start pitchers on their MLB debut, but I recognize that he has a decent chance of passing this one.
• Zach Eflin comes back from IL, making a clear Still sick situation as he takes on the White Sox, especially with the Rays’ tendency to limit pitches.

• It’s been a ht streak for Vince Velazquez and now he gets the gift of hosting the Reds in Pittsburgh. It’s not the worst game, but I choose to avoid the risk if I can.
• Ignore the start of the season for Brayan Bellow because he came with stage fright and rain and that should be an improvement against Milwaukee. There’s too much haze in the capacity + volume for me to cast, but I’ll be watching closely.

• I do not like at Drey Jameson fast enough to trust him against the Padres, while Jack Flaherty took a big step back in his last start to become a true cherry bomb.
• If you desperately need a QS, Jordan Lyles might do the trick, while Ross Striplin may be able to give you five decent frames against the Mets, even though his luck hasn’t worked its way into the season so far.

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