Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Strasburg at Home on K Street

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Updated on May 7, 2016 4:11AM EST

As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that looks incorrect, assume that it was a change that occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments. I'll let you know where the new arm slots.

For the week May 9-15

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	at HOU, MIN	Skills as good as ever, but 10 of his 16 ER came in 2 shaky starts have his ERA inflated
2	Masahiro Tanaka	KC, CWS	23 K% a bit off from '14 peak (26%), but 14% SwStr rate is actually a career high; seems entirely unaffected by elbow
3	Chris Sale	at NYY
4	Danny Salazar	at HOU	BBs a little high (11%), but that's way better than his HRs being high (career-low 0.2 HR/9)
5	Cole Hamels	CWS
6	Drew Smyly	at SEA, OAK
7	David Price	HOU	On this pattern of 1 good, 1 awful start; ER by start: 2, 5, 2, 8, 2, and 6; K:BB still great at 5.4
8	Chris Archer	at SEA
9	Jose Quintana	at NYY	Three straight seasons of 9 Ws depressed fantasy dollar values; already 4-1 this year
10	Jake Odorizzi	OAK	75% of his 12 ER have come in two starts (1, 0, 1, and 1 in other 4 starts)
11	Kevin Gausman	at MIN, DET	Sitting 95-plus mph, walks down, GBs up, and stifling RHB more than ever; buy
12	Sonny Gray

For the week May 9-15

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	at HOU, MIN	Skills as good as ever, but 10 of his 16 ER came in 2 shaky starts have his ERA inflated
2	Masahiro Tanaka	KC, CWS	23 K% a bit off from '14 peak (26%), but 14% SwStr rate is actually a career high; seems entirely unaffected by elbow
3	Chris Sale	at NYY
4	Danny Salazar	at HOU	BBs a little high (11%), but that's way better than his HRs being high (career-low 0.2 HR/9)
5	Cole Hamels	CWS
6	Drew Smyly	at SEA, OAK
7	David Price	HOU	On this pattern of 1 good, 1 awful start; ER by start: 2, 5, 2, 8, 2, and 6; K:BB still great at 5.4
8	Chris Archer	at SEA
9	Jose Quintana	at NYY	Three straight seasons of 9 Ws depressed fantasy dollar values; already 4-1 this year
10	Jake Odorizzi	OAK	75% of his 12 ER have come in two starts (1, 0, 1, and 1 in other 4 starts)
11	Kevin Gausman	at MIN, DET	Sitting 95-plus mph, walks down, GBs up, and stifling RHB more than ever; buy
12	Sonny Gray	at BOS, at TB
13	Matt Moore	at SEA, OAK	Skills are there, but often falls victim to one bad inning per start leaving big split between FIP and ERA
14	Felix Hernandez	TB, LAA	Skills aren't close to the 2.21 ERA; two starts and thin upper-tier in AL keeps his rank relatively high
15	Taijuan Walker	TB
16	Jordan Zimmermann	at WAS
17	Ian Kennedy	at NYY
18	Hector Santiago	STL, at SEA	After making it 6-plus IP in first four starts, he's fallen short in each of his last two; feels like whenever we start to fully buy in, he sputters
19	Carlos Rodon	at TEX
20	Dallas Keuchel	at BOS	It's now on him to adjust back to the league
21	Rick Porcello	OAK
22	Justin Verlander	at BAL	Suffers from the same one-bad-inning syndrome as Rodon; only has 2 bad starts, but they're really bad
23	Yordano Ventura	at NYY
24	Hisashi Iwakuma	LAA
25	Chris Tillman	DET	There are tangible changes in this run
26	Marcus Stroman	at SF	17 Ks in last two starts after 19 in his first five; had a 13% SwStr in both, backing the surge
27	Rich Hill	at BOS	A 30% K rate and 51% GB rate offer a great foundation, even with a 10% BB rate
28	Michael Pineda	KC
29	Steven Wright	HOU	Has yet to allow more than 2 ER in a start
30	Marco Estrada	at TEX
31	J.A. Happ	at SF	I want to buy into this more, but the 16% K rate is keeping me at bay
32	Aaron Sanchez	at SF, at TEX	Still has a platoon split, but he has greatly improved vs. LHB and throwing the change 10% of the time
33	Nathan Eovaldi	KC
34	Ervin Santana	at CLE	Returning from the DL this weekend after a minimum stay
35	Jose Berrios	BAL, at CLE	This just in: rookie struggles with command! Joking aisde, the upside is evident in the midst of flawed first two outings
36	Chris Devenski	CLE, at BOS	Missing bats and limiting walks, which is in line with his Double-A work from '15; good speculative buy in deeper leagues
37	Kendall Graveman	at TB
38	Jesse Hahn	at TB	Came out averaging 95 mph on his fastball, way better than we've ever seen
39	A.J. Griffin	TOR	Keeping the ball in the yard, which has always been the key
40	Nate Karns	LAA
41	Edinson Volquez	ATL
42	Josh Tomlin	MIN	HRs an eternal concern, but limited base runners have minimized their impact thus far
43	Mike Fiers	CLE, at BOS	Speaking of HRs, they're decimating him, but 5 of the 8 came in 2 starts
44	Trevor Bauer	at HOU, MIN
45	Anibal Sanchez	at WAS, at BAL	Sanchez and Fulmer are two more members of the one-bad-inning club
46	Michael Fulmer	at WAS, at BAL
47	Chris Young	at NYY, ATL	Skills are actually better than '15, but misses are being absolutely obliterated (2.4 HR/9); it should get better
48	Collin McHugh	at BOS
49	Luis Severino	CWS
50	Nick Tropeano	at SEA
51	Mat Latos	at TEX	I wonder if that 88% LOB rate will hold; wait, no I don't ... it definitely won't
52	Tyler Duffey	at CLE
53	R.A. Dickey	at TEX
53	Ricky Nolasco	BAL	And three straight duds put him right back where we expected him to be this year
54	Sean Manaea	at BOS	Just because a rookie has upside doesn't mean it'lll all click immediately; patience is necessary

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
55	Kris Medlen	at NYY, ATL	Consistently allowing too many hits, walking too many, or both
56	Phil Hughes	BAL
57	Henry Owens	OAK, HOU
58	Martin Perez	TOR
59	Cory Rasmus	STL
60	Wade Miley	TB
61	Clay Buchholz	OAK, HOU
62	Matt Shoemaker	at SEA
63	Derek Holland	CWS
64	Ubaldo Jimenez	DET
65	Doug Fister	CLE
66	Miguel Gonzalez	at TEX, at NYY
67	Colby Lewis	CWS, TOR
68	Tyler Wilson	at MIN, DET
69	Ivan Nova	KC, CWS
70	Jered Weaver	STL
71	Mike Wright	DET
72	Mike Pelfrey	at BAL

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Stephen Strasburg	DET, MIA	Takes the top spot with two starts, though he's definitely top 5 even with one start
2	Clayton Kershaw	NYM	Still the top guy skills-wise and only another stud with 2 starts can dethrone him in a given week
3	Jake Arrieta	PIT	Pitching brilliantly, but actually not all that close to Kershaw skills-wise
4	Noah Syndergaard	at LAD
5	Jose Fernandez	MIL, at WAS	About a click off and hasn't gone more than 6 IP in any start yet, but still an unquestionably elite talent
6	Johnny Cueto	at ARI
7	Jon Lester	SD, PIT
8	Jaime Garcia	at LAA	Has long had an elite GB%, but now pairing it with an elite K%; really want to see him stay healthy all year
9	Madison Bumgarner	TOR	Just 9 BB in six starts since that 5 BB season opener
10	Gerrit Cole	at CHC	About a click off and hasn't gone more than 6 IP in any start yet, but still an unquestionably elite talent
11	Max Scherzer	DET
12	Jacob deGrom	at LAD, at COL	We haven't seen the Ks to match his elite SwStr rate, which is worrisome for a trip to Coors; still buying, though
13	Zack Greinke	at COL	Torched the Braves, but it was the Braves so it doesn't really build confidence and now a trip to Coors ...
14	Matt Harvey	at COL
15	Gio Gonzalez	MIA
16	Aaron Nola	CIN	Not just a lucky ERA, his skills have been absolutely fantastic (29% K, 25% K-BB%)
17	Carlos Martinez	at LAA	There's panic after being lifted for fatigue because that was the similar diagnosis for Garrett Richards initially before TJ
18	Michael Wacha	at LAD
19	Jason Hammel	PIT	Riding a 92% LOB to the insane 1.24 ERA, but even as that regresses toward his 71% career mark, he should still be a low-3.00s arm
20	Vincent Velasquez	at ATL
21	Steven Matz	at LAD, at COL	Has a 0.67 ERA with 29 Ks in 27 IP since that season opening debacle vs. MIA (1.7 IP/7 ER)
22	Kenta Maeda	NYM	Bounced back from his first real hiccup with six strong in Toronto
23	Jerad Eickhoff	at ATL
24	Joe Ross	DET, MIA	Back-to-back gems in STL and CHC with skills surge to match
25	John Lackey	SD	Two bad starts really influencing his bottom line with 67% of his season ER coming in those outings
26	Francisco Liriano	at CIN
27	Drew Pomeranz	at CHC	Needs to control the BBs to stay at this level, but he's showing why he was such a highly regarded prospect years ago
28	Tanner Roark	MIA
29	Adam Conley	MIL, at WAS	Since his 1 IP/3 ER debut: 2.30 ERA, 32 Ks in 31.3 IP; BB is the biggest hangup, but an all-formats investment right now
30	James Shields	at MIL
31	Jeff Samardzija	at ARI	He's really only had one bad start ... but of course it was against SD because why not?!
32	Wei-Yin Chen	MIL	Move to NL and specifically MIA hasn't helped curbed HR rate as expected; still solid
33	Jimmy Nelson	SD
34	Julio Teheran	at KC	Don't look now, but just 3 ER in last three starts after 6 ER in that tough start at WAS
35	Adam Wainwright	at LAD	Not fooling anyone, to the point where a baselne quality start is a good start for him
36	Scott Kazmir	NYM, STL	Could be a worthy buy-low after back-to-back strong outings
37	Juan Nicasio	at CIN
38	Kyle Hendricks	SD
39	Brandon Finnegan	at PHI
40	Jeremy Hellickson	CIN	Three gems, three duds ... whenever we start trusting him, he punches us in the teeth ... or rather punches our ERA in the teeth ... yes, ERAs have teeth
41	Bartolo Colon	at LAD
42	Matt Wisler	PHI, at KC	Only has one truly bad start in his 5; figuring it out, but a very intriguing arm here
43	Jhoulys Chacin	PHI	Decimation at NYM ruined solid work from first four starts, but there are still solid skills here even at 4 HR and 4 BB in that dud
44	Aaron Blair	PHI	Lots of nice matchups for these fringe starters
45	John Lamb	at PHI	Showed some things in 10 starts last year, but still very much a work in progress so practice patience if you want to invest
46	Andrew Cashner	at MIL	Three QS in his last four ... turning a corner? I'm skeptical after falling for him so many times before
47	Colin Rea	at CHC, at MIL	I'd feel more comfortable with this high-GB, low-K profile if it also included a good BB%
48	Chase Anderson	at MIA
49	Mike Leake	at LAA, at LAD
50	Ross Stripling	STL	Been tellin y'all, he's this year's Chris Heston ... which is fine, but unspectacular

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
51	Patrick Corbin	SF	He's just being hit too hard for something not be wrong (2.0 HR/9, 39% Hard contact rate)
52	Shelby Miller	SF
53	Jon Gray	NYM	If only these three Rockies pitched anywhere else
54	Tyler Chatwood	ARI, NYM	If only he pitched anywhere else
55	Chad Bettis	ARI
56	Cesar Vargas	at CHC, at MIL	Can't buy the ERA with this meager 1.3 K:BB ratio, but love the 58% GB rate
57	Rubby De La Rosa	at COL, SF	Another one of those guys who smacks us down whenever we start trusting him; can't back a trip to Coors
58	Jon Niese	at CIN, at CHC	Where's the Pirate magic??
59	Robbie Ray	at COL, SF
60	Alex Wood	NYM, STL
61	Tom Koehler	at WAS	Not even a home-only starter
62	Dan Straily	PIT, at PHI
63	Junior Guerra	SD
64	Jake Peavy	TOR, at ARI
65	Matt Cain	TOR, at ARI
66	Adam Morgan	at ATL, CIN
67	Wily Peralta	at MIA, SD
68	Zach Davies	at MIA, SD
69	Tim Adleman	PIT
70	Alfredo Simon	PIT
71	Justin Nicolino	at WAS
72	Mike Foltynewicz	at KC
73	Chris Rusin	ARI
74	Jeff Locke	at CHC
75	Eddie Butler	NYM

MLB TOP 100

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Stephen Strasburg	DET, MIA	Takes the top spot with two starts, though he's definitely top 5 even with one start
2	Clayton Kershaw	NYM	Still the top guy skills-wise and only another stud with 2 starts can dethrone him in a given week
3	Jake Arrieta	PIT	Pitching brilliantly, but actually not all that close to Kershaw skills-wise
4	Corey Kluber	at HOU, MIN	Skills as good as ever, but 10 of his 16 ER came in 2 shaky starts have his ERA inflated
5	Masahiro Tanaka	KC, CWS	23 K% a bit off from '14 peak (26%), but 14% SwStr rate is actually a career high; seems entirely unaffected by elbow
6	Noah Syndergaard	at LAD
7	Jose Fernandez	MIL, at WAS	About a click off and hasn't gone more than 6 IP in any start yet, but still an unquestionably elite talent
8	Chris Sale	at NYY
9	Danny Salazar	at HOU	BBs a little high (11%), but that's way better than his HRs being high (career-low 0.2 HR/9)
10	Johnny Cueto	at ARI
11	Jon Lester	SD, PIT
12	Jaime Garcia	at LAA	Has long had an elite GB%, but now pairing it with an elite K%; really want to see him stay healthy all year
13	Cole Hamels	CWS
14	Drew Smyly	at SEA, OAK
15	Madison Bumgarner	TOR	Just 9 BB in six starts since that 5 BB season opener
16	David Price	HOU	On this pattern of 1 good, 1 awful start; ER by start: 2, 5, 2, 8, 2, and 6; K:BB still great at 5.4
17	Chris Archer	at SEA
18	Jose Quintana	at NYY	Three straight seasons of 9 Ws depressed fantasy dollar values; already 4-1 this year
19	Jake Odorizzi	OAK	75% of his 12 ER have come in two starts (1, 0, 1, and 1 in other 4 starts)
20	Gerrit Cole	at CHC	About a click off and hasn't gone more than 6 IP in any start yet, but still an unquestionably elite talent
21	Max Scherzer	DET
22	Jacob deGrom	at LAD, at COL	We haven't seen the Ks to match his elite SwStr rate, which is worrisome for a trip to Coors; still buying, though
23	Kevin Gausman	at MIN, DET	Sitting 95-plus mph, walks down, GBs up, and stifling RHB more than ever; buy
24	Zack Greinke	at COL	Torched the Braves, but it was the Braves so it doesn't really build confidence and now a trip to Coors ...
25	Matt Harvey	at COL
26	Sonny Gray	at BOS, at TB
27	Matt Moore	at SEA, OAK	Skills are there, but often falls victim to one bad inning per start leaving big split between FIP and ERA
28	Gio Gonzalez	MIA
29	Felix Hernandez	TB, LAA	Skills aren't close to the 2.21 ERA; two starts and thin upper-tier in AL keeps his rank relatively high
30	Taijuan Walker	TB	Confident he'll make his next start after neck spasms on Friday
31	Aaron Nola	CIN	Not just a lucky ERA, his skills have been absolutely fantastic (29% K, 25% K-BB%)
32	Carlos Martinez	at LAA	There's panic after being lifted for fatigue because that was the similar diagnosis for Garrett Richards initially before TJ
33	Michael Wacha	at LAD
34	Jason Hammel	PIT	Riding a 92% LOB to the insane 1.24 ERA, but even as that regresses toward his 71% career mark, he should still be a low-3.00s arm
35	Vincent Velasquez	at ATL
36	Jordan Zimmermann	at WAS
37	Ian Kennedy	at NYY
38	Steven Matz	at LAD, at COL	Has a 0.67 ERA with 29 Ks in 27 IP since that season opening debacle vs. MIA (1.7 IP/7 ER)
39	Kenta Maeda	NYM	Bounced back from his first real hiccup with six strong in Toronto
40	Jerad Eickhoff	at ATL
41	Joe Ross	DET, MIA	Back-to-back gems in STL and CHC with skills surge to match
42	John Lackey	SD	Two bad starts really influencing his bottom line with 67% of his season ER coming in those outings
43	Francisco Liriano	at CIN
44	Drew Pomeranz	at CHC	Needs to control the BBs to stay at this level, but he's showing why he was such a highly regarded prospect years ago
45	Tanner Roark	MIA
46	Hector Santiago	STL, at SEA	After making it 6-plus IP in first four starts, he's fallen short in each of his last two; feels like whenever we start to fully buy in, he sputters
47	Carlos Rodon	at TEX
48	Dallas Keuchel	at BOS	It's now on him to adjust back to the league
49	Adam Conley	MIL, at WAS	Since his 1 IP/3 ER debut: 2.30 ERA, 32 Ks in 31.3 IP; BB is the biggest hangup, but an all-formats investment right now
50	James Shields	at MIL
51	Justin Verlander	at BAL	Suffers from the same one-bad-inning syndrome as Rodon; only has 2 bad starts, but they're really bad
52	Rick Porcello	OAK
53	Jeff Samardzija	at ARI	He's really only had one bad start ... but of course it was against SD because why not?!
54	Yordano Ventura	at NYY
55	Hisashi Iwakuma	LAA
56	Chris Tillman	DET	There are tangible changes in this run
57	Marcus Stroman	at SF	17 Ks in last two starts after 19 in his first five; had a 13% SwStr in both, backing the surge
58	Rich Hill	at BOS	A 30% K rate and 51% GB rate offer a great foundation, even with a 10% BB rate
59	Wei-Yin Chen	MIL	Move to NL and specifically MIA hasn't helped curbed HR rate as expected; still solid
60	Michael Pineda	KC
61	Steven Wright	HOU	Has yet to allow more than 2 ER in a start
62	Marco Estrada	at TEX
63	J.A. Happ	at SF	I want to buy into this more, but the 16% K rate is keeping me at bay
64	Jimmy Nelson	SD
65	Aaron Sanchez	at SF, at TEX	Still has a platoon split, but he has greatly improved vs. LHB and throwing the change 10% of the time
66	Julio Teheran	at KC	Don't look now, but just 3 ER in last three starts after 6 ER in that tough start at WAS
67	Adam Wainwright	at LAD	Not fooling anyone, to the point where a baselne quality start is a good start for him
68	Nathan Eovaldi	KC
69	Ervin Santana	at CLE	Returning from the DL this weekend after a minimum stay
70	Jose Berrios	BAL, at CLE	This just in: rookie struggles with command! Joking aisde, the upside is evident in the midst of flawed first two outings
71	Chris Devenski	CLE, at BOS	Missing bats and limiting walks, which is in line with his Double-A work from '15; good speculative buy in deeper leagues
72	Kendall Graveman	at TB
73	Jesse Hahn	at TB	Came out averaging 95 mph on his fastball, way better than we've ever seen
74	A.J. Griffin	TOR	Keeping the ball in the yard, which has always been the key
75	Nate Karns	LAA
76	Scott Kazmir	NYM, STL	Could be a worthy buy-low after back-to-back strong outings
77	Juan Nicasio	at CIN
78	Kyle Hendricks	SD
79	Brandon Finnegan	at PHI
80	Edinson Volquez	ATL
81	Josh Tomlin	MIN	HRs an eternal concern, but limited base runners have minimized their impact thus far
82	Jeremy Hellickson	CIN	Three gems, three duds ... whenever we start trusting him, he punches us in the teeth ... or rather punches our ERA in the teeth ... yes, ERAs have teeth
83	Bartolo Colon	at LAD
84	Matt Wisler	PHI, at KC	Only has one truly bad start in his 5; figuring it out, but a very intriguing arm here
85	Jhoulys Chacin	PHI	Decimation at NYM ruined solid work from first four starts, but there are still solid skills here even at 4 HR and 4 BB in that dud
85	Aaron Blair	PHI	Lots of nice matchups for these fringe starters
86	John Lamb	at PHI	Showed some things in 10 starts last year, but still very much a work in progress so practice patience if you want to invest
87	Mike Fiers	CLE, at BOS	Speaking of HRs, they're decimating him, but 5 of the 8 came in 2 starts
88	Trevor Bauer	at HOU, MIN
89	Andrew Cashner	at MIL	Three QS in his last four ... turning a corner? I'm skeptical after falling for him so many times before
90	Colin Rea	at CHC, at MIL	I'd feel more comfortable with this high-GB, low-K profile if it also included a good BB%
91	Chase Anderson	at MIA
92	Anibal Sanchez	at WAS, at BAL	Sanchez and Fulmer are two more members of the one-bad-inning club
93	Michael Fulmer	at WAS, at BAL
94	Chris Young	at NYY, ATL	Skills are actually better than '15, but misses are being absolutely obliterated (2.4 HR/9); it should get better
96	Collin McHugh	at BOS
97	Luis Severino	CWS
98	Nick Tropeano	at SEA
99	Mat Latos	at TEX	I wonder if that 88% LOB rate will hold; wait, no I don't ... it definitely won't
100	Tyler Duffey	at CLE