Starting Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball – 7/30 & 7/31

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. Close calls are decided by Playback chat.

 

Nick’s 2023 Streamer Record: 66-49

My pick yesterday: Johnny Cueto vs. DET

PL Bot’s 2023 Streamer Record: 58-57

PL Bot’s Pick yesterday: Emmet Sheehan vs. CIN

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

 

Luis Castillo @ ARI – Aces gonna ace.

Jesús Luzardo vs. DET – He’s on the verge of the AGA tag and this Detroit start should accomplish that.

Tyler Glasnow @ HOU – It’s the Astros, but if Glasnow has the slider working, it’s game over man. Game over.

Justin Verlander vs. WSN – Verlander has been looking much better in his final audition for the trade deadline.

Kenta Maeda @ KCR – Maeda’s splitter has been dominant and it’s the Royals.

Blake Snell vs. TEX – Snell’s fastball command has been all kinds of weird.

Tarik Skubal @ MIA – The four-seamer is cooking and as long as the secondaries don’t let him down, he cruises.

Merrill Kelly vs. SEA – Kelly looked in form in his return from the IL and should be started here without question.

 

Probably Starts

 

Nathan Eovaldi @ SDP – Apparently he’s only missing one start to recover his velocity…I’m not sure I buy it. However, if the Rangers feel he’s good enough to start, then we start him. Probably.

Charlie Morton vs. MIL – He’s the Cherry Bomb you deal with and it’s the Brewers.

José Berríos vs. LAA – Berríos hasn’t let us down since his third start of the year, even if this is Ohtani.

Kyle Hendricks @ STL – Hendricks has his sinker and changeup command and who knows, maybe Arenado is gone.

Cristopher Sánchez @ PIT – Sanchez’s changeup is filthy and he’s getting outs with his sinker.

Nick Pivetta (Opener) @ SFG – Pivetta is looking fantastic and while I love this start (inside Oracle Park is incredible), I had to drop him a few spots for the lack of track record.

Steven Matz vs. CHC – Matz is spotting his sinker, he just needs good enough changeups and curves to make it work.

Dean Kremer vs. NYY – Kremer hasn’t been as sharp as of late and this is a Yankee squad with Judge, and yet I think we still roll with it. Very close to the third tier.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Luis Severino @ BAL – I wouldn’t start any of these moreso than most Tier 3 options. Severino at least is inside Walltimore and is spotting his pitches well. I wonder if tipping on his secondaries is the problem…

Aaron Civale @ CHW – The velocity came back up two ticks last time to dominate across eight frames and yet, I’m still worried. He made up half of the velocity gap, leaving two to go and I wouldn’t be shocked if it goes the other direction here. Be careful.

Ross Stripling (Opener) vs. BOS – Strip was finally stretched out last time out and he’s pitching inside Oracle Park, but the Red Sox are a better offense than most.

UPDATE: AJ Smith-Shawver vs. MIL – He’s getting the call to return to the majors, which I don’t treat as harshly as a typical MLB debut. This does look like a decent streaming option on paper against the Brewers (and pitching for Atlanta, of course) and I’ve slotted him above the high risk plays of Ashcraft and Bielak for a desperate Sunday option.

Graham Ashcraft @ LAD – I know he’s done well lately, but Ashcraft’s cutter is not a well commanded pitch and often the slider isn’t either.

Brandon Bielak vs. TBR – The Rays are a little worse and Bielak could have a great changeup. Probably not, though.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Luis Medina @ COL – It’s Coors, which is all kinds of unfortunate considering Medina has earned whiffs galore on his breakers over his last three outings. But hey, Sears pulled it off, why not Medina?

Tyler Anderson @ TOR – Anderson is in a great spot with the changeup and yet I can’t endorse this. The Jays are strong and it’s a small sample for Anderson.

Michael Grove vs. CIN – Grove has a great slider and if the four-seamer doesn’t get trounced, he could go five decent frames.

Michael Kopech vs. CLE – I loved Kopech’s locations last time out, I hated his 95 mph velocity that outlined punishment for all his mistakes. Throw in a team that resists strikeouts and I’m out.

Trevor Williams @ NYM – T-Ells at least has the chance to go as long as he wants.

Rich Hill vs. PHI – Hill hasn’t been worth your time in ages.

Colin Rea @ ATL – It’s Atlanta. Yikes.

Ryan Yarbrough vs. MIN – The Fratty Pirate has some magic here and there, but he’ll likely be limited and detrimental.

UPDATE: Cody Bradford – Okay, so Eovaldi needs more time. Not surprising and it means Bradford will get some innings. We don’t trust players with three first names. And those with skillsets and situations like Bradford’s but the names thing too.

Ty Blach vs. OAK – It’s Coors and likely a bullpen game.

UPDATE: Rays Bullpen – With Glasnow going tomorrow, the Rays are going full bullpen today. A little weird without Chirinos on the squad anymore.

 

 

Tomorrow’s Starting Pitcher Rankings

 

Auto-Starts

 

Corbin Burnes @ WSN – He’s on a hot streak, though I want to see the cutters get low and the secondaries continue their success before the AGA tag is real.

Tyler Glasnow @ NYY – Aces gonna ace, even with Judge.

George Kirby vs. BOS – I really hope the new strikeout rates are real. Highly unlikely without a whiff pitch in his secondaries (is it the splitter…?), but I can dream.

Andrew Abbott @ CHC – Abbott with four-seamers up and sweepers for strikes and under is a wonderful combo if Abbott can keep spotting them.

 

Probably Starts

 

Chris Bassitt vs. BAL – Bassitt is a sturdy arm you easily start against Baltimore but don’t expect the world.

Marcus Stroman vs. CIN – Same with Stroman, even if he’s been a little worse as of late.

Charlie Morton vs. LAA – He’s a premium Cherry Bomb that we live with and hope for the best.

Alex Cobb vs. ARI – The splitter returned last time out and traditionally it sticks around for a while when it does.

Brayan Bello @ SEA – Bello’s new cutter hopefully gets featured more than five times here as he takes on a middling offense.

Edward Cabrera vs. PHI – As long as he gets enough strikes, Cabrera will be worthwhile.

Taijuan Walker @ MIA – Taijuan magic is still around with sinkers, cutters, and splitters, making him a proper Toby against a mediocre squad.

 

Questionable Starts

 

Domingo Germán vs. TBR – I’m not as scared of the Rays as we were a month ago, but they are still as strong crew while Germán’s fastball and change aren’t always good enough to survive.

J.P. France vs. CLE – He’s a Toby in a decent matchup. Simple as that.

Seth Lugo @ COL – It’s Coors, though Lugo is the kind of arm who could survive.

Ryne Nelson @ SFG – I love the matchup and hate where Nelson is with his repertoire.

Jake Irvin vs. MIL – Irivin was back over 95 mph and with a focus on his curve, but he needs one more offering to fill out the approach.

Griffin Canning @ ATL – It’s Atlanta, even if Canning has been a strikeout hound across the last month.

Kyle Gibson @ TOR – You never know with Gibson, but the extra element of Toronto has me sitting in most cases. There’s always a chance with Gibson, though.

 

Do Not Starts

 

Noah Syndergaard @ HOU – We haven’t seen Thor be a stable arm in ages + it’s Houston.

Austin Gomber vs. SDP – It’s Coors. It’s Gomber. It’s Gombors.

 

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