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Say it with me: Not every streamer recommendation is a must.
Again: Not every streamer recommendation is a must.
Tattoo it on your eyelids if you have to.
Surely, you drafted some good pitchers, ones who you wouldn't dream of sitting regardless of the matchup. So ... don't dream of sitting them, then. These recommendations aren't meant as a substitute for those pitchers, and if you play in a shallow enough league or made an early enough investment in pitching, it's possible you don't have a need for any streamer recommendations yet. That's fine. Just be on your merry way.
The last thing I want is for you to come to me later saying you sat Dizzy Dean for Osvaldo Bido because I told you to. I assure you I did not. But if you're iffy on one of your last pitcher openings and think you might fare better with a matchups play off the waiver wire, then yes, you an count on this article to share the best of those rostered in less than 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues all season long.
This first week is different because opening day is on a Thursday, not a Monday, which means not every league agrees on what the first week should be. The default CBS setting is to count the first weekend as its own four-day scoring period, but some leagues prefer to combine it with the first full week for an 11-day scoring period. The good news is that I have streamer recommendations for each setup. The bad news is that if your league chooses the latter setup, the numbering will be off for all future weekly sleepers articles (my Week 3 will be your Week 2, etc.)
A small price to pay to have it your way, I suspect.
Jose Soriano wrapped up spring training by allowing one earned run over 5 1/3 innings in back-to-back starts. With his near-60 percent ground-ball rate, he's clearly good enough to take advantage of what looks to be the most favorable pitching matchup again this year.
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The Rockies on the road remain a plum matchup, and Drew Rasmussen seems like the Rays pitcher best equipped to take advantage at a venue that should be hitter-friendly in its own right. The one question would be whether he's stretched out enough, but he threw 74 pitches in his final spring start.
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In what will be our first chance to see if Nick Martinez's control gains will carry over from a year ago, the right-hander is facing a Giants lineup that will likely rank in the bottom third of the league in runs scored.
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Tomoyuki Sugano will have the element of surprise working for him in his first major-league start and is efficient enough to work deep into the game as long as he keeps the hits at bay.
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Given his propensity for the long ball, Taj Bradley is one of several Rays pitchers who could fall victim to the team's new home at George M. Steinbrenner Field, with its short porch in right field, but that's less of a concern against a Rockies lineup that figures to be particularly susceptible to his swing-and-miss stuff.
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Mitch Keller's boom-or-bust tendencies always make him a risky play, but he's tended to be at his best earlier in the year. The Marlins make for a cushy first matchup, one that could lead to him going seven strong.
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A big spring would have convinced us that Jeffrey Springs was past the elbow fatigue that sidelined him at the end of last season, but he mostly sleepwalked through it until his final start, when he struck out eight over four innings with a 27 percent whiff rate. Here's hoping he delivers more of the same at Seattle.
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Max Meyer made headlines this spring with improved velocity and an expanded arsenal, but he figures to have his workload carefully managed again and was only stretched out to 65 pitches this spring. His first matchup is a favorable one, but it's hard to say how impactful he'll actually be.
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Other than him being on a different team, there's nothing new to say about Luis Severino, who was a perfectly streamable option last year and should remain so with a matchup as favorable as the Mariners.
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Osvaldo Bido finished spring training on a high note, allowing two earned runs over his final nine innings, and generally puts the ball in the air a ton, which could get him in trouble at his new home in Sacramento but should work out pretty well in Seattle, where he'll begin the season.
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If you love Jose Soriano for his first start at the White Sox, it doesn't hurt that he has a second one, even if it's against a Guardians lineup that should rank closer to the middle of the pack.
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Justin Verlander had a breezy spring, offering hope that he still has something in the tank at age 42, and since his second start is against the Mariners, you should probably roll with him for the longer Week 1.
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Though I do think the Rays lineup has some room to improve, it was actually the worse of the Florida-based lineups last year, which gives Mitch Keller a two-start slate not even he could mess up ... ostensibly.
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Casey Mize showed signs of growth this spring with his splitter adding a few ticks of velocity. His track record isn't the greatest, which is why you shouldn't assume smooth sailing even with favorable matchups, but you can't ask for much better ones than the Mariners and White Sox.
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Coming back from another injury-plagued season, Chris Paddack saw his fastball take off late in spring training, generating big whiff totals in his final two starts. It's unclear whether he lines up for that second start against the Astros, but the White Sox matchup alone may be too enticing to pass up.
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