Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Two-Start Kershaw is Tops

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Updated on April 22, 2017 1:50AM EST

This week's Z Files discusses the fine tuning of the ranking system. We're looking at the first run with the described changes. To be honest, I'm still not warm and fuzzy with the effect of the opposition, in part because many teams have yet to establish their identity. Don't worry, I'll keep plugging away.

Something came to me as I was adding comments. A neat way to put things in perspective is determining how many starting pitchers will likely be active in your league, then using that as an eye-test cutoff. For example, in a 15-team mixed league, most teams will use seven starting pitchers, with some deploying six, meaning about 100 starters will be active each week. Check out the pitchers near that mark and see which side they fall. I did this with not only 15-team mixed, but also 12-team mixed along with 12-team AL and NL only and was satisfied with the results.

As always, your comments are encouraged. Happy streaming!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Marco Estrada	TOR	at STL, vs. TB	Strikeouts up so far
2	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. NYY
3	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. NYY, vs. CHC	Looked much better last time out
4	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at CLE, vs. OAK	Not getting whiffs, but control is back
5	Danny Duffy	KC	at CWS	Guaranteed Rate Park quietly suppresses runs
6	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. HOU
7	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. SEA
8	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. CWS
9	Carlos

As always, your comments are encouraged. Happy streaming!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Marco Estrada	TOR	at STL, vs. TB	Strikeouts up so far
2	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. NYY
3	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. NYY, vs. CHC	Looked much better last time out
4	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at CLE, vs. OAK	Not getting whiffs, but control is back
5	Danny Duffy	KC	at CWS	Guaranteed Rate Park quietly suppresses runs
6	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. HOU
7	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. SEA
8	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. CWS
9	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. SEA
10	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. OAK
11	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. KC
12	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. MIN
13	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. LAA
14	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. OAK
15	Chris Archer	TB	at BAL, at TOR	Pair of explosive offenses in hitter's parks
16	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. BAL
17	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. NYY
18	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TB
19	Jason Vargas	KC	at CWS, vs. MIN	Still not 100 percent buying in, but these matchups too good to ignore
20	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. MIN
21	Luis Severino	NYY	at BOS, vs. BAL
22	Sean Manaea	OAK	at LAA
23	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at LAA, vs. TB	Typical Liriano, lots of whiffs but lots of walks too
24	James Paxton	SEA	at DET	I guess he's human after all
25	J.A. Happ	TOR	at STL
26	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB
27	Kendall Graveman	OAK	at LAA, at HOU	Shoulder soreness gone, expected to miss just one start
28	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at HOU	tossed 17.7 scoreless innings but peripherals are pedestrian
29	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at HOU
30	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. KC, at DET
31	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. SEA
32	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. OAK
33	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. OAK
34	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at NYY	Drop in strikeouts disturbing, as is control
35	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at DET, at CLE	Hit rate will normalize, but maybe not this week
36	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at STL
37	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. HOU, vs. SEA	Home for a pair, but both opponents have power to make him pay
38	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. MIN
39	Lance McCullers	HOU	at CLE	Nicked by good team in hitter's park
40	Ervin Santana	MIN	at TEX
41	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. BAL
42	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	vs. TOR, at TEX
43	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at BOS
44	Nathan Karns	KC	at CWS
45	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at KC
46	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. MIN, vs. LAA	High walk rate holding him back, especially with below average K/9
47	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. OAK, at TEX	Only if you're chasing wins, and if you are, STOP!
48	Phil Hughes	MIN	at TEX, at KC
49	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. TB, at NYY
50	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at DET
51	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. SEA, vs. CWS
52	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. KC
53	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. CWS
54	Blake Snell	TB	at TOR
55	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. CHC
56	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	at BAL
57	Matt Andriese	TB	at TOR
58	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. HOU
59	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. TB
60	Steven Wright	BOS	vs. CHC
61	Alex Cobb	TB	at BAL
62	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. SEA
63	Jayson Aquino	BAL	at NYY
64	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at TEX
65	Derek Holland	CWS	at DET
66	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. MIN
67	Hector Santiago	MIN	at TEX
68	A.J. Griffin	TEX	vs. LAA
69	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at LAA
70	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at KC
71	CC Sabathia	NYY	at BOS
72	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at DET
73	Charlie Morton	HOU	at CLE
74	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at CLE
75	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at SF, vs. PHI	Hey, looks like the new system is working!
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SD, vs. COL	Keeping the ball in the yard
3	Julio Teheran	ATL	at NYM, at MIL	Driven by my high initial expectations, walks an issue
4	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at COL, vs. NYM	Coors costs him a couple spots
5	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM
6	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. ATL
7	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at PHI, vs. PIT	Benefits from middling offenses
8	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. TOR, vs. CIN	A pleasant surprise, can he stay healthy?
9	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. LAD
10	Jon Lester	CHC	at PIT
11	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD
12	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at BOS
13	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. TOR
14	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at MIA
15	Joe Ross	WAS	at COL, vs. NYM
16	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. ATL
17	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. MIA, at LAD
18	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
19	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIA
20	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. CHC, at MIA	Under the radar, could be available in shallower leagues
21	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at LAD
22	Mike Leake	STL	vs. CIN
23	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. CIN
24	Robert Gsellman	NYM	vs. ATL, at WAS	Inconsistency costs him a few spots
25	Ivan Nova	PIT	at MIA
26	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SD
27	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at SF, vs. PHI	Mediocre pitcher with nice matchups
28	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at PIT
29	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. MIA
30	Amir Garrett	CIN	at MIL, at STL	Looked great last time, but still raw, plus on the road for both
31	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CIN	Not maintaining last season control gains… yet
32	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. SD	If humidor is indeed coming to desert, Walker really benefits
33	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at MIL
34	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. CHC
35	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SF
36	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIL
37	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. PHI
38	Adam Conley	MIA	at PHI
39	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. SD, vs. COL	Two offenses that struggle versus southpaws
40	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at PHI
41	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PIT
42	Ty Blach	SF	vs. LAD, vs. SD	Two in AT&T puts him in play
43	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. WAS, at ARI	Homers will come down, though saddled with two homer friendly venues
44	John Lackey	CHC	at BOS	Fenway Faithful will give him a warm ovation
45	Shelby Miller	ARI	vs. COL
46	Matt Moore	SF	vs. LAD
47	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. ATL
48	Tim Adleman	CIN	at MIL
49	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at NYM
50	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. CIN, vs. ATL
51	Matt Cain	SF	vs. LAD, vs. SD
52	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at NYM
53	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. ATL
54	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at ARI, at SF
55	Alex Wood	LAD	at SF
56	Clayton Richard	SD	at ARI, at SF
57	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. TOR
58	Chris Rusin	COL	vs. WAS, at ARI
59	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. PIT
60	Scott Feldman	CIN	at MIL
61	Brett Anderson	CHC	at PIT, at BOS
62	Tanner Roark	WAS	at COL
63	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	vs. CHC
64	Luis Perdomo	SD	at SF
65	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at COL
66	Cody Reed	CIN	at STL
67	Wily Peralta	MIL	vs. CIN
68	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. WAS
69	Zach Eflin	PHI	at LAD
70	Trevor Cahill	SD	at ARI
71	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS
72	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at STL
73	Kyle Freeland	COL	at ARI
74	Jered Weaver	SD	at ARI
75	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. WAS

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at SF, vs. PHI	Hey, looks like the new system is working!
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SD, vs. COL	Keeping the ball in the yard
3	Julio Teheran	ATL	at NYM, at MIL	Driven by my high initial expectations, walks an issue
4	Marco Estrada	TOR	at STL, vs. TB	Strikeouts up so far
5	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at COL, vs. NYM	Coors costs him a couple spots
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM
7	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. ATL
8	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at PHI, vs. PIT	Benefits from middling offenses
9	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. NYY
10	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. TOR, vs. CIN	A pleasant surprise, can he stay healthy?
11	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. NYY, vs. CHC	Looked much better last time out
12	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at CLE, vs. OAK	Not getting whiffs, but control is back
13	Danny Duffy	KC	at CWS	Guaranteed Rate Park quietly suppresses runs
14	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. LAD
15	Jon Lester	CHC	at PIT
16	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. HOU
17	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. SEA
18	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. CWS
19	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. SEA
20	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. OAK
21	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. KC
22	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD
23	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. MIN
24	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at BOS
25	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. LAA
26	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. TOR
27	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at MIA
28	Joe Ross	WAS	at COL, vs. NYM
29	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. OAK
30	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. ATL
31	Chris Archer	TB	at BAL, at TOR	Pair of explosive offenses in hitter's parks
32	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. MIA, at LAD
33	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. BAL
34	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. NYY
35	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TB
36	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
37	Jason Vargas	KC	at CWS, vs. MIN	Still not 100 percent buying in, but these matchups too good to ignore
38	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIA
39	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. MIN
40	Luis Severino	NYY	at BOS, vs. BAL
41	Sean Manaea	OAK	at LAA
42	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. CHC, at MIA	Under the radar, could be available in shallower leagues
43	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at LAD
44	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at LAA, vs. TB	Typical Liriano, lots of whiffs but lots of walks too
45	James Paxton	SEA	at DET	I guess he's human after all
46	Mike Leake	STL	vs. CIN
47	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. CIN
48	Robert Gsellman	NYM	vs. ATL, at WAS	Inconsistency costs him a few spots
49	J.A. Happ	TOR	at STL
50	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB
51	Ivan Nova	PIT	at MIA
52	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SD
53	Kendall Graveman	OAK	at LAA, at HOU	Shoulder soreness gone, expected to miss just one start
54	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at SF, vs. PHI	Mediocre pitcher with nice matchups
55	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at PIT
56	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at HOU	tossed 17.7 scoreless innings but peripherals are pedestrian
57	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. MIA
58	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at HOU
59	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. KC, at DET
60	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. SEA
61	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. OAK
62	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. OAK
63	Amir Garrett	CIN	at MIL, at STL	Looked great last time, but still raw, plus on the road for both
64	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at NYY	Drop in strikeouts disturbing, as is control
65	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CIN	Not maintaining last season control gains… yet
66	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at DET, at CLE	Hit rate will normalize, but maybe not this week
67	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. SD	If humidor is indeed coming to desert, Walker really benefits
68	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at STL
69	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. HOU, vs. SEA	Home for a pair, but both opponents have power to make him pay
70	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at MIL
71	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. MIN
72	Lance McCullers	HOU	at CLE	Nicked by good team in hitter's park
73	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. CHC
74	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SF
75	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIL
76	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. PHI
77	Adam Conley	MIA	at PHI
78	Ervin Santana	MIN	at TEX
79	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. BAL
80	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	vs. TOR, at TEX
81	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at BOS
82	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. SD, vs. COL	Two offenses that struggle versus southpaws
83	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at PHI
84	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PIT
85	Ty Blach	SF	vs. LAD, vs. SD	Two in AT&T puts him in play
86	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. WAS, at ARI	Homers will come down, though saddled with two homer friendly venues
87	John Lackey	CHC	at BOS	Fenway Faithful will give him a warm ovation
88	Shelby Miller	ARI	vs. COL
89	Matt Moore	SF	vs. LAD
90	Nathan Karns	KC	at CWS
91	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at KC
92	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. MIN, vs. LAA	High walk rate holding him back, especially with below average K/9
93	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. ATL
94	Tim Adleman	CIN	at MIL
95	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at NYM
96	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. OAK, at TEX	Only if you're chasing wins, and if you are, STOP!
97	Phil Hughes	MIN	at TEX, at KC
98	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. TB, at NYY
99	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. CIN, vs. ATL
100	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at DET
101	Matt Cain	SF	vs. LAD, vs. SD
102	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. SEA, vs. CWS
103	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at NYM
104	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. ATL
105	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at ARI, at SF
106	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. KC
107	Alex Wood	LAD	at SF
108	Clayton Richard	SD	at ARI, at SF
109	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. TOR
110	Chris Rusin	COL	vs. WAS, at ARI
111	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. PIT
112	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. CWS
113	Scott Feldman	CIN	at MIL
114	Blake Snell	TB	at TOR
115	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. CHC
116	Brett Anderson	CHC	at PIT, at BOS
117	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	at BAL
118	Matt Andriese	TB	at TOR
119	Tanner Roark	WAS	at COL
120	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. HOU
121	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. TB
122	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	vs. CHC
123	Steven Wright	BOS	vs. CHC
124	Alex Cobb	TB	at BAL
125	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. SEA
126	Jayson Aquino	BAL	at NYY
127	Luis Perdomo	SD	at SF
128	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at COL
129	Cody Reed	CIN	at STL
130	Wily Peralta	MIL	vs. CIN
131	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at TEX
132	Derek Holland	CWS	at DET
133	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. MIN
134	Hector Santiago	MIN	at TEX
135	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. WAS
136	A.J. Griffin	TEX	vs. LAA
137	Zach Eflin	PHI	at LAD
138	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at LAA
139	Trevor Cahill	SD	at ARI
140	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS
141	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at STL
142	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at KC
143	Kyle Freeland	COL	at ARI
144	CC Sabathia	NYY	at BOS
145	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at DET
146	Jered Weaver	SD	at ARI
147	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. WAS
148	Charlie Morton	HOU	at CLE
149	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at CLE
150	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at CLE