Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Mr. Untouchable

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Updated on September 17, 2016 8:07PM 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 Sept. 19-25

AMERICAN LEAGUE

   START  

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	KC	Since his 8 ER outing vs. CLE on 6/26: 2.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 109 Ks, and 5.2 K:BB in 95.3 IP
2	Chris Sale	at PHI	He missed his Ks: 8.6 K9 through July; 10.3 since incl. four starts of 10+
3	Corey Kluber	KC
4	Danny Duffy	at DET
5	Carlos Carrasco	CWS
6	Jose Quintana	at CLE	Was 5-1 through 7 starts pacing for a huge W year ... 7-9 since; at least he finally broke 9 Ws
7	Rick Porcello	at BAL, at TB	His 20 Ws are getting all the love, but the MLB-best 5.8 K:BB and AL-best 1.00 WHIP deserve the attention
8	Yu Darvish	at OAK
9	Masahiro Tanaka	at TB
10	Chris Archer	BOS
11	Marcus Stroman	NYY
12	Aaron Sanchez	at SEA	2 rough outings in L5 has some worried of fatigue, but other 3 are gems; I'm using him til the end
13	Cole Hamels	LAA
14	David Price	at BAL
15	J.A. Happ	at SEA

For the week Sept. 19-25

AMERICAN LEAGUE

   START  

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	KC	Since his 8 ER outing vs. CLE on 6/26: 2.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 109 Ks, and 5.2 K:BB in 95.3 IP
2	Chris Sale	at PHI	He missed his Ks: 8.6 K9 through July; 10.3 since incl. four starts of 10+
3	Corey Kluber	KC
4	Danny Duffy	at DET
5	Carlos Carrasco	CWS
6	Jose Quintana	at CLE	Was 5-1 through 7 starts pacing for a huge W year ... 7-9 since; at least he finally broke 9 Ws
7	Rick Porcello	at BAL, at TB	His 20 Ws are getting all the love, but the MLB-best 5.8 K:BB and AL-best 1.00 WHIP deserve the attention
8	Yu Darvish	at OAK
9	Masahiro Tanaka	at TB
10	Chris Archer	BOS
11	Marcus Stroman	NYY
12	Aaron Sanchez	at SEA	2 rough outings in L5 has some worried of fatigue, but other 3 are gems; I'm using him til the end
13	Cole Hamels	LAA
14	David Price	at BAL
15	J.A. Happ	at SEA	He's finished at least 6 in 8 of his L10: 2.93 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 58 Ks in 58.3 IP
16	Drew Pomeranz	at TB
17	Kevin Gausman	BOS, ARI	Sparkling 2H: 2.58 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 79 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB in 73.3 IP
18	Carlos Rodon	at KC, at CLE
19	Marco Estrada	at SEA, NYY
20	Ian Kennedy	at CLE
21	Matt Boyd	at MIN
22	Ervin Santana	SEA
23	Michael Fulmer	at MIN	As w/Sanchez, everyone worries of fatigue in any shaky outing, but 0-3 ER in 4 of L6
24	Hisashi Iwakuma	TOR
25	Chris Tillman	ARI
26	Alex Cobb	NYY	Has navigated a TOR, at NYY, at TOR schedule nicely since return from TJ: 3.06 ERA, 1.08 WHIP in 17.7 IP
27	Sean Manaea	HOU
28	Felix Hernandez	TOR
29	Jake Odorizzi	BOS
30	James Paxton	at MIN	Wobbly of late (5.75 ERA in L4) and MIN offense can unload; be careful if you're protecting ERA/WHIP
31	Drew Smyly	NYY
32	Jharel Cotton	HOU	Back-to-back gems to open his career and deserves better than his 5 Ks in 12 IP
33	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, at TB
34	Mike Fiers	LAA
35	Michael Pineda	at TB, at TOR	2.84 ERA in his last three starts comes with a catch: he hasn't finished 5 IP in any of them
36	Joe Musgrove	at OAK, LAA
37	Daniel Mengden	HOU
38	Daniel Norris	KC	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his L7 w/35 Ks in 39 IP
39	Trevor Bauer	CWS
40	Colby Lewis	at OAK
41	Blake Snell	NYY
42	Kendall Graveman	TEX
43	Doug Fister	LAA
44	A.J. Griffin	LAA
45	CC Sabathia	at TOR
46	Luis Cessa	at TB
47	Dylan Bundy	BOS, ARI
48	Taijuan Walker	TOR, at MIN	Don't let SHO at LAA cloud your judgment too much, espec. against HR-happy TOR & MIN
49	Martin Perez	LAA, at OAK	Has 17 starts of 0-2 ER, but 7 of 5+ ER so it's kinda hit-and-miss
50	Yordano Ventura	CWS, at DET	Whenever you start trusting him, he drops some 5 ER duds on your face
51	Francisco Liriano	NYY
52	Jordan Zimmermann	KC
53	Collin McHugh	at OAK
54	Kyle Gibson	SEA
55	Anibal Sanchez	at MIN
56	Josh Tomlin	KC, CWS
57	Ricky Nolasco	at HOU
58	Raul Alcantara	TEX
59	Jhoulys Chacin	at TEX, at HOU	5.44 ERA w/LAA, but 4.19 FIP and a 3.18 ERA in his last 22.7 IP (w/24 Ks) ... feeling lucky?
60	Brad Peacock	at OAK, LAA	Might be a sneaky deep league play for some Ks, but can murder your ratios when off
61	James Shields	at PHI
62	Hector Santiago	DET
63	Ariel Miranda	at MIN
64	Miguel Gonzalez	at CLE
65	Mike Clevinger	KC	Has a 3.10 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 29 Ks in 29 IP split between the pen and rotation since Aug. 1
66	Clay Buchholz	at BAL
67	Matt Andriese	BOS
68	Dillon Gee	at CLE
69	Tyler Duffey	DET, SEA	Has allowed at least 5 R in each of his L4 starts (11.15 ERA)
70	Bryan Mitchell	at TOR
71	Jose Berrios	DET
72	Yovani Gallardo	BOS
73	Ubaldo Jimenez	BOS
73	Alex Meyer	at HOU
74	Ross Detwiler	TEX
75	Jered Weaver	at TEX
76	Edinson Volquez	at CLE, at DET
77	Daniel Wright	at TEX, at HOU

   NATIONAL LEAGUE

   START  

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Jose Fernandez	WAS, ATL	Untouchable at home: 1.77 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 13.2 K9, and 5.1 K:BB in 96.7 IP
2	Clayton Kershaw	SF, COL
3	Madison Bumgarner	at LAD, at SD	Much better at home, but 3.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 10.5 K9 on road still very useful
4	Noah Syndergaard	ATL, PHI
5	Max Scherzer	at MIA
6	Rich Hill	SF, COL	Only 4 starts, but he's been a stud w/LAD: 1.48 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 9.3 K:BB in 24.3 IP
7	Johnny Cueto	at LAD, at SD
8	Jon Lester	CIN
9	Tanner Roark	at MIA
10	Kyle Hendricks	STL
11	Jake Arrieta	STL
12	Ivan Nova	WAS
13	Kenta Maeda	SF
14	Julio Teheran	at NYM, at MIA	Bad last inn. vs. MIA last time out resulted in 5 ER, but I still like this 2-step, espec. w/ATL offense scoring (10th in 2H runs)
15	Tyler Anderson	STL, at LAD
16	Anthony DeSclafani	at MIL
17	Zack Greinke	at SD	Uncharacteristic 3.8 BB9 over his last 6
18	Jameson Taillon	WAS
19	Junior Guerra	PIT
20	Seth Lugo	PHI
21	Jacob deGrom	PHI	He throws Saturday which should give some insight into how much we should trust him here
22	John Lackey	STL
23	Matt Moore	at LAD	Has allowed 23 ER w/SF, 11 in 2 bad starts (one of which was in Coors); 2.51 ERA in the other 43 IP
24	Jerad Eickhoff	CWS
25	Bartolo Colon	ATL
26	Dan Straily	at CHC, at MIL	Ugly 2.7 IP/7 ER the only real blemish on 2H ledger: 3.03 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 65 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB ratio in 71.3 IP
27	Jon Gray	at LAD
28	Zach Davies	CIN
29	Jason Hammel	CIN
30	Jeff Samardzija	at LAD
31	Robbie Ray	at BAL	How badly do you need Ks? Big ERA risk, but 12.4 K9 in 2H
32	Robert Gsellman	ATL, PHI	Big righty has shown enough to make this an appealing 2-step
33	Tyler Chatwood	at LAD	Slated to make his final 2 starts on the road: 1.77 ERA, 1.14 WHIP in 66 IP away from Coors despite 1.6 K:BB
34	Brandon Finnegan	at MIL
35	Gio Gonzalez	at PIT
36	Jeremy Hellickson	at NYM
37	Andrew Cashner	ATL
38	Carlos Martinez	at COL, at CHC	Brutal 2-step that you might consider passing on in mixers (5.25 ERA in 46.3 IP vs. CHC since '15 and Coors is Coors)
39	Matt Wisler	at MIA
40	Tom Koehler	WAS
41	Chad Kuhl	at MIL	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in 7 starts since recall (3.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP)
42	Adam Wainwright	at COL
43	Luke Weaver	at COL
44	Jose De Leon	COL
45	Wily Peralta	CIN
46	A.J. Cole	at MIA, at PIT
47	Mike Montgomery	CIN
48	Alex Reyes	at CHC
49	Wei-Yin Chen	WAS, ATL	Wonder how much the elbow played a role in his 4.99 ERA; a decent Hail Mary option
50	Mike Leake	at CHC
51	Jose Urena	ATL
52	Jake Thompson	CWS, at NYM
53	Chase Anderson	CIN
54	Zack Godley	at SD, at BAL
55	Alec Asher	at NYM
56	Drew Hutchison	WAS
57	Reynaldo Lopez	at PIT
58	Luis Perdomo	ARI	Has gone at least 6 IP in each of his L5: 2.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 22 Ks, and 4.4 K:BB in 35 IP
59	Ryan Vogelsong	at MIL
60	Brock Stewart	COL
61	Steven Brault	at MIL
62	Jimmy Nelson	PIT
63	Aaron Blair	at NYM, at MIA
64	Albert Suarez	at SD
65	Jarred Cosart	SF
66	Archie Bradley	at SD
67	Robert Stephenson	at CHC
68	Adam Morgan	at NYM
69	Shelby Miller	at BAL
70	Chad Bettis	at LAD
71	Jorge De La Rosa	STL
72	Edwin Jackson	SF
73	Christian Friedrich	SF
74	Clayton Richard	ARI
75	Jeff Hoffman	STL
76	Tim Adleman	at CHC
77	Matt Garza	PIT
78	John Gant	at NYM
79	Paul Clemens	ARI, SF

 MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Jose Fernandez	WAS, ATL	Untouchable at home: 1.77 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 13.2 K9, and 5.1 K:BB in 96.7 IP
2	Clayton Kershaw	SF, COL
3	Madison Bumgarner	at LAD, at SD	Much better at home, but 3.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 10.5 K9 on road still very useful
4	Noah Syndergaard	ATL, PHI
5	Max Scherzer	at MIA
6	Rich Hill	SF, COL	Only 4 starts, but he's been a stud w/LAD: 1.48 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 9.3 K:BB in 24.3 IP
7	Justin Verlander	KC	Since his 8 ER outing vs. CLE on 6/26: 2.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 109 Ks, and 5.2 K:BB in 95.3 IP
8	Chris Sale	at PHI	He missed his Ks: 8.6 K9 through July; 10.3 since incl. four starts of 10+
9	Johnny Cueto	at LAD, at SD
10	Jon Lester	CIN
11	Corey Kluber	KC
12	Tanner Roark	at MIA
13	Kyle Hendricks	STL
14	Danny Duffy	at DET
15	Carlos Carrasco	CWS
16	Jose Quintana	at CLE	Was 5-1 through 7 starts pacing for a huge W year ... 7-9 since; at least he finally broke 9 Ws
17	Jake Arrieta	STL
18	Ivan Nova	WAS
19	Kenta Maeda	SF
20	Rick Porcello	at BAL, at TB	His 20 Ws are getting all the love, but the MLB-best 5.8 K:BB and AL-best 1.00 WHIP deserve the attention
21	Yu Darvish	at OAK
22	Julio Teheran	at NYM, at MIA	Bad last inn. vs. MIA last time out resulted in 5 ER, but I still like this 2-step, espec. w/ATL offense scoring (10th in 2H runs)
23	Tyler Anderson	STL, at LAD
24	Masahiro Tanaka	at TB
25	Chris Archer	BOS
26	Marcus Stroman	NYY
27	Anthony DeSclafani	at MIL
28	Zack Greinke	at SD	Uncharacteristic 3.8 BB9 over his last 6
29	Jameson Taillon	WAS
30	Aaron Sanchez	at SEA	2 rough outings in L5 has some worried of fatigue, but other 3 are gems; I'm using him til the end
31	Junior Guerra	PIT
32	Cole Hamels	LAA
33	David Price	at BAL
34	J.A. Happ	at SEA	He's finished at least 6 in 8 of his L10: 2.93 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 58 Ks in 58.3 IP
35	Drew Pomeranz	at TB
36	Kevin Gausman	BOS, ARI	Sparkling 2H: 2.58 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 79 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB in 73.3 IP
37	Carlos Rodon	at KC, at CLE
38	Marco Estrada	at SEA, NYY
39	Seth Lugo	PHI
40	Ian Kennedy	at CLE
41	Matt Boyd	at MIN
42	Jacob deGrom	PHI	He throws Saturday which should give some insight into how much we should trust him here
43	John Lackey	STL
44	Matt Moore	at LAD	Has allowed 23 ER w/SF, 11 in 2 bad starts (one of which was in Coors); 2.51 ERA in the other 43 IP
45	Jerad Eickhoff	CWS
46	Bartolo Colon	ATL
47	Dan Straily	at CHC, at MIL	Ugly 2.7 IP/7 ER the only real blemish on 2H ledger: 3.03 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 65 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB ratio in 71.3 IP
48	Jon Gray	at LAD
49	Zach Davies	CIN
50	Ervin Santana	SEA
51	Michael Fulmer	at MIN	As w/Sanchez, everyone worries of fatigue in any shaky outing, but 0-3 ER in 4 of L6
52	Hisashi Iwakuma	TOR
53	Chris Tillman	ARI
54	Alex Cobb	NYY	Has navigated a TOR, at NYY, at TOR schedule nicely since return from TJ: 3.06 ERA, 1.08 WHIP in 17.7 IP
55	Sean Manaea	HOU
56	Felix Hernandez	TOR
57	Jake Odorizzi	BOS
58	James Paxton	at MIN	Wobbly of late (5.75 ERA in L4) and MIN offense can unload; be careful if you're protecting ERA/WHIP
59	Drew Smyly	NYY
60	Jharel Cotton	HOU	Back-to-back gems to open his career and deserves better than his 5 Ks in 12 IP
61	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, at TB
62	Jason Hammel	CIN
63	Jeff Samardzija	at LAD
64	Robbie Ray	at BAL	How badly do you need Ks? Big ERA risk, but 12.4 K9 in 2H
65	Robert Gsellman	ATL, PHI	Big righty has shown enough to make this an appealing 2-step
66	Tyler Chatwood	at LAD	Slated to make his final 2 starts on the road: 1.77 ERA, 1.14 WHIP in 66 IP away from Coors despite 1.6 K:BB
67	Gio Gonzalez	at PIT
68	Brandon Finnegan	at MIL
69	Jeremy Hellickson	at NYM
70	Mike Fiers	LAA
71	Michael Pineda	at TB, at TOR	2.84 ERA in his last three starts comes with a catch: he hasn't finished 5 IP in any of them
72	Joe Musgrove	at OAK, LAA
73	Andrew Cashner	ATL
74	Carlos Martinez	at COL, at CHC	Brutal 2-step that you might consider passing on in mixers (5.25 ERA in 46.3 IP vs. CHC since '15 and Coors is Coors)
75	Matt Wisler	at MIA
76	Tom Koehler	WAS
77	Daniel Mengden	HOU
78	Daniel Norris	KC	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his L7 w/35 Ks in 39 IP
79	Trevor Bauer	CWS
80	Colby Lewis	at OAK
81	Chad Kuhl	at MIL	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in 7 starts since recall (3.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP)
82	Blake Snell	NYY
83	Kendall Graveman	TEX
84	Doug Fister	LAA
85	A.J. Griffin	LAA
85	Adam Wainwright	at COL
86	Luke Weaver	at COL
87	Jose De Leon	COL
88	Wily Peralta	CIN
89	A.J. Cole	at MIA, at PIT
90	Mike Montgomery	CIN
91	Alex Reyes	at CHC
92	Wei-Yin Chen	WAS, ATL	Wonder how much the elbow played a role in his 4.99 ERA; a decent Hail Mary option
93	CC Sabathia	at TOR
94	Luis Cessa	at TB
96	Dylan Bundy	BOS, ARI
97	Mike Leake	at CHC
98	Taijuan Walker	TOR, at MIN	Don't let SHO at LAA cloud your judgment too much, espec. against HR-happy TOR & MIN
99	Jose Urena	ATL
100	Martin Perez	LAA, at OAK	Has 17 starts of 0-2 ER, but 7 of 5+ ER so it's kinda hit-and-miss