Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Bieber Jumps to the Top

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Bieber Jumps to the Top

This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.

Compared to what the schedule has afforded us lately, this isn't a bad week for double dippers. There's a nice group at the top with more than the usual in the middle, some likely available for pickup in 12-team mixed leagues.

With Chris Sale headed to see Dr. Andrews plus Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole no longer scheduled for a pair, Shane Bieber leapfrogs the trio to the top spot in the week's final rankings.

By means of reminder, please direct all questions about the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. As always, I'll handle all ranking question in the comments below.

Also, keep in mind there are preliminary rankings. The final version will be posted Sunday night after teams firm up their plans.

For the week Aug. 19-25.

UPDATED: Sunday, August 18 11:00 PM ET

MLB

RankPITCHERTMOPPCOMMENT
1Shane BieberCLEat NYM, vs. KCCould be a Top-20 SP in 2020
2Clayton KershawLADvs. TOR, vs. NYYRewarding those taking the chance
3Trevor BauerCINvs. SD, at PITGood pair to rebound from last outing
4Stephen StrasburgWASat PIT, at CHC  
5Justin VerlanderHOUvs. DET  
6Gerrit ColeHOUvs. DET  
7Wade MileyHOUvs. DET, vs. LAAGreat pair at home
8Cole HamelsCHCvs. SF, vs. WASShould rebound from last time out
9Domingo GermanNYYat OAK, at LAD16 wins obviously lucky but K% and BB%

Compared to what the schedule has afforded us lately, this isn't a bad week for double dippers. There's a nice group at the top with more than the usual in the middle, some likely available for pickup in 12-team mixed leagues.

With Chris Sale headed to see Dr. Andrews plus Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole no longer scheduled for a pair, Shane Bieber leapfrogs the trio to the top spot in the week's final rankings.

By means of reminder, please direct all questions about the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. As always, I'll handle all ranking question in the comments below.

Also, keep in mind there are preliminary rankings. The final version will be posted Sunday night after teams firm up their plans.

For the week Aug. 19-25.

UPDATED: Sunday, August 18 11:00 PM ET

MLB

RankPITCHERTMOPPCOMMENT
1Shane BieberCLEat NYM, vs. KCCould be a Top-20 SP in 2020
2Clayton KershawLADvs. TOR, vs. NYYRewarding those taking the chance
3Trevor BauerCINvs. SD, at PITGood pair to rebound from last outing
4Stephen StrasburgWASat PIT, at CHC  
5Justin VerlanderHOUvs. DET  
6Gerrit ColeHOUvs. DET  
7Wade MileyHOUvs. DET, vs. LAAGreat pair at home
8Cole HamelsCHCvs. SF, vs. WASShould rebound from last time out
9Domingo GermanNYYat OAK, at LAD16 wins obviously lucky but K% and BB% very good -- HRs the issue
10Max ScherzerWASat PITCrossing fingers this is the week
11Kyle GibsonMINvs. CWS, vs. DETStill carrying higher than perceived K%
12Dallas KeuchelATLvs. MIA, at NYMHomers big issue
13Walker BuehlerLADvs. TOR  
14Jacob deGromNYMvs. ATL  
15Brendan McKayTBvs. SEA, at BALDisplaying surprising dominance
16Charlie MortonTBvs. SEACould be pitching as well as ever
17Zack GreinkeHOUvs. LAA  
18Steven MatzNYMvs. CLE, vs. ATLPair in one of the best parks for pitching in the game
19Jose BerriosMINvs. DET  
20Mike SorokaATLvs. MIA  
21Noah SyndergaardNYMvs. CLE  
22Jack FlahertySTLvs. COL3 straight 7 IP 0 ER outing with 26 K and just 4 BB in that span
23Lance LynnTEXat CWS  
24Mike ClevingerCLEvs. KC  
25Corey KluberCLEvs. KCOn track to return over the weekend
26Hyun-Jin RyuLADvs. NYY  
27Kyle HendricksCHCvs. SF  
28German MarquezCOLat STLExcellent WHIP, good Ks but little lower than expected, ERA estimators say he's been unlucky
29Zack WheelerNYMvs. ATL  
30Mike MinorTEXvs. LAAQuelling fears of a second half swoon
31Luis CastilloCINvs. SD  
32Patrick CorbinWASat PIT  
33David PriceBOSat SD  
34Yu DarvishCHCvs. SFControl remains impeccable
35Julio TeheranATLvs. MIA  
36Andrew HeaneyLAAat TEX, at HOU  
37Madison BumgarnerSFat OAK  
38Jake OdorizziMINvs. CWS  
39Aaron SanchezHOUvs. DET, vs. LAA  
40John MeansBALvs. KC, vs. TBMaybe hitting wall, but opponents worth the risk
41Marcus StromanNYMvs. CLE  
42Sonny GrayCINvs. SD  
43Ryan YarbroughTBat BAL  
44Masahiro TanakaNYYat OAK  
45Chris ArcherPITvs. WAS, vs. CINHere we go again, the good Archer is back to tease us
46Chris PaddackSDvs. BOS  
47Jason VargasPHIat MIA  
48Jose QuintanaCHCvs. WASQuietly crushing it lately, 1.89 ERA, .79 WHIP with 26 K and just 1 BB in 19 IP in August
49Zach DaviesMILat STL, vs. ARI  
50Eduardo RodriguezBOSat SD  
51Max FriedATLat NYM  
52Miles MikolasSTLvs. COL  
53Michael PinedaMINvs. CWS  
54Mike MontgomeryKCat BAL  
55Kenta MaedaLADvs. TOR  
56Mike FiersOAKvs. NYY  
57James PaxtonNYYat LAD  
58Gio GonzalezMILat STL  
59Joey LucchesiSDvs. BOS  
60Brett AndersonOAKvs. SF  
61Chris BassittOAKvs. SF  
62Jalen BeeksTBvs. SEA, at BALLikely to be primary pitcher - matchups worth using
63Marco GonzalesSEAat TB, vs. TORRegression caught up, but matchups aren't daunting
64Kolby AllardTEXvs. LAA, at CWSEarly whiffs a little higher than minor league numbers portend
65Vince VelasquezPHIat MIA  
66Zach EflinPHIat MIA  
67Lucas GiolitoCWSat MINBack in the groove, 57 K last 36.2 IP
68Brad KellerKCat BAL  
69Spencer TurnbullDETat HOU, at MINTough opponents in their yard, otherwise would be ranked higher
70CC SabathiaNYYat LAD  
71Ivan NovaCWSat MIN, vs. TEX.49 ERA, .70 WHIP last 5 GS spanning 37 IP, but only 17 K so tread carefully
72Caleb SmithMIAat ATL  
73Trevor WilliamsPITvs. WAS, vs. CINBig second half swoon
74Jordan YamamotoMIAvs. PHI  
75Mike FoltynewiczATLat NYM  
76Joe MusgrovePITvs. WAS  
77Matt StrahmSDat CIN  
78Aaron NolaPHIat BOS  
79Martin PerezMINvs. DET  
80Joe PalumboTEXat CWS, vs. LAA  
81Justus SheffieldSEAvs. TOR  
82Anthony DeSclafaniCINat PIT  
83Asher WojciechowskiBALvs. TB  
84Jon LesterCHCvs. WAS  
85Jeff SamardzijaSFat CHC  
86Alex WoodCINat PIT  
87Chase AndersonMILvs. ARI  
88Rick PorcelloBOSvs. PHIBetter last time, let's see it again
89Dillon PetersLAAat TEX, at HOUShowing signs he can be an asset, but this is a tough two-step
90Tanner RoarkOAKvs. NYY  
91Dylan BundyBALvs. KC, vs. TB  
92Reynaldo LopezCWSat MIN, vs. TEX  
93Dakota HudsonSTLvs. MIL, vs. COL  
94Joe RossWASat PIT, at CHC 
95J.A. HappNYYat OAK  
96Jon GrayCOLat ARI  
97Matthew BoydDETat MIN  
98Aaron CivaleCLEat NYM  
99Cal QuantrillSDat CIN  
100Adam PlutkoCLEat NYM 
101Merrill KellyARIat MIL  
102Trevor RichardsTBat BAL  
103Thomas PannoneTORat SEA  
104Adam WainwrightSTLvs. MIL  
105Nathan EovaldiBOSat SD 
106Dylan CeaseCWSvs. TEX  
107Michael WachaSTLvs. MIL, vs. COL  
108Brock StewartTORat SEA  
109Eric LauerSDat CIN  
110Jordan LylesMILvs. ARI  
111Dinelson LametSDvs. BOS  
112Sean Reid-FoleyTORat LAD, at SEA  
113Tommy MiloneSEAat TB  
114Griffin CanningLAAat HOU  
115Adrian HouserMILat STL  
116Felix HernandezSEAvs. TOR  
117Zac GallenARIvs. COL, at MIL  
118Mitch KellerPITvs. CIN  
119Tony GonsolinLADvs. NYY 
120Anibal SanchezWASat CHC  
121Brian JohnsonBOSvs. PHI 
122Logan WebbSFat OAK 
123Jakob JunisKCat CLE  
124Kyle FreelandCOLat ARI, at STL  
125Wade LeBlancSEAat TB  
126Brock BurkeTEXvs. LAA  
127Peter LambertCOLat STL  
128Alex YoungARIvs. COL  
129Dereck RodriguezSFat CHC  
130Elieser HernandezMIAat ATL, vs. PHI  
131Steven BraultPITvs. WAS  
132Trent ThorntonTORat LAD  
133Aaron BrooksBALvs. KC  
134Sandy AlcantaraMIAat ATL  
135Jaime BarriaLAAat TEX 
136Jorge LopezKCat BAL, at CLE  
137Ariel JuradoTEXat CWS  
138Drew SmylyPHIat BOS  
139Hector NoesiMIAvs. PHI  
140Mike LeakeARIvs. COL  
141Jacob WaguespackTORat LAD  
142Edwin JacksonDETat HOU, at MIN  
143Chi Chi GonzalezCOLat ARI, at STL 
144Taylor ClarkeARIat MIL 
145Gabriel YnoaBALvs. TB  
146Daniel NorrisDETat HOU  
147Homer BaileyOAKvs. NYY  
148Jordan ZimmermannDETat HOU  
149Patrick SandovalLAAat TEX 
150Ross DetwilerCWSvs. TEX 
151Glenn SparkmanKCat CLE 
152Tyler BeedeSFat CHC 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANKPITCHERTMOPPCOMMENT
1Shane BieberCLEat NYM, vs. KCCould be a Top-20 SP in 2020
2Justin VerlanderHOUvs. DET  
3Gerrit ColeHOUvs. DET  
4Wade MileyHOUvs. DET, vs. LAAGreat pair at home
5Domingo GermanNYYat OAK, at LAD16 wins obviously lucky but K% and BB% very good -- HRs the issue
6Kyle GibsonMINvs. CWS, vs. DETStill carrying higher than perceived K%
7Brendan McKayTBvs. SEA, at BALDisplaying surprising dominance
8Charlie MortonTBvs. SEACould be pitching as well as ever
9Zack GreinkeHOUvs. LAA  
10Jose BerriosMINvs. DET  
11Lance LynnTEXat CWS  
12Mike ClevingerCLEvs. KC  
13Corey KluberCLEvs. KCOn track to return over the weekend
14Mike MinorTEXvs. LAAQuelling fears of a second half swoon
15David PriceBOSat SD  
16Andrew HeaneyLAAat TEX, at HOU  
17Jake OdorizziMINvs. CWS  
18Aaron SanchezHOUvs. DET, vs. LAA  
19John MeansBALvs. KC, vs. TBMaybe hitting wall, but opponents worth the risk
20Ryan YarbroughTBat BAL  
21Masahiro TanakaNYYat OAK  
22Eduardo RodriguezBOSat SD  
23Michael PinedaMINvs. CWS  
24Mike MontgomeryKCat BAL  
25Mike FiersOAKvs. NYY  
26James PaxtonNYYat LAD  
27Brett AndersonOAKvs. SF  
28Chris BassittOAKvs. SF  
29Jalen BeeksTBvs. SEA, at BALLikely to be primary pitcher - matchups worth using
30Marco GonzalesSEAat TB, vs. TORRegression caught up, but matchups aren't daunting
31Kolby AllardTEXvs. LAA, at CWSEarly whiffs a little higher than minor league numbers portend
32Lucas GiolitoCWSat MINBack in the groove, 57 K last 36.2 IP
33Brad KellerKCat BAL  
34Spencer TurnbullDETat HOU, at MINTough opponents in their yard, otherwise would be ranked higher
35CC SabathiaNYYat LAD  
36Ivan NovaCWSat MIN, vs. TEX.49 ERA, .70 WHIP last 5 GS spanning 37 IP, but only 17 K so tread carefully
37Martin PerezMINvs. DET  
38Joe PalumboTEXat CWS, vs. LAA  
39Justus SheffieldSEAvs. TOR  
40Asher WojciechowskiBALvs. TB  
41Rick PorcelloBOSvs. PHIBetter last time, let's see it again
42Dillon PetersLAAat TEX, at HOUShowing signs he can be an asset, but this is a tough two-step
43Tanner RoarkOAKvs. NYY  
44Dylan BundyBALvs. KC, vs. TB  
45Reynaldo LopezCWSat MIN, vs. TEX  
46J.A. HappNYYat OAK  
47Matthew BoydDETat MIN  
48Aaron CivaleCLEat NYM  
49Adam PlutkoCLEat NYM 
50Trevor RichardsTBat BAL  
51Thomas PannoneTORat SEA  
52Nathan EovaldiBOSat SD 
53Dylan CeaseCWSvs. TEX  
54Brock StewartTORat SEA  
55Sean Reid-FoleyTORat LAD, at SEA  
56Tommy MiloneSEAat TB  
57Griffin CanningLAAat HOU  
58Felix HernandezSEAvs. TOR  
59Brian JohnsonBOSvs. PHI 
60Jakob JunisKCat CLE  
61Wade LeBlancSEAat TB  
62Brock BurkeTEXvs. LAA  
63Trent ThorntonTORat LAD  
64Aaron BrooksBALvs. KC  
65Jaime BarriaLAAat TEX 
66Jorge LopezKCat BAL, at CLE  
67Ariel JuradoTEXat CWS  
68Jacob WaguespackTORat LAD  
69Edwin JacksonDETat HOU, at MIN  
70Gabriel YnoaBALvs. TB  
71Daniel NorrisDETat HOU  
72Homer BaileyOAKvs. NYY  
73Jordan ZimmermannDETat HOU  
74Patrick SandovalLAAat TEX 
75Ross DetwilerCWSvs. TEX 
76Glenn SparkmanKCat CLE 

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANKPITCHERTMOPPCOMMENT
1Clayton KershawLADvs. TOR, vs. NYYRewarding those taking the chance
2Trevor BauerCINvs. SD, at PITGood pair to rebound from last outing
3Stephen StrasburgWASat PIT, at CHC  
4Cole HamelsCHCvs. SF, vs. WASShould rebound from last time out
5Max ScherzerWASat PITCrossing fingers this is the week
6Dallas KeuchelATLvs. MIA, at NYMHomers big issue
7Walker BuehlerLADvs. TOR  
8Jacob deGromNYMvs. ATL  
9Steven MatzNYMvs. CLE, vs. ATLPair in one of the best parks for pitching in the game
10Mike SorokaATLvs. MIA  
11Noah SyndergaardNYMvs. CLE  
12Jack FlahertySTLvs. COL3 straight 7 IP 0 ER outing with 26 K and just 4 BB in that span
13Hyun-Jin RyuLADvs. NYY  
14Kyle HendricksCHCvs. SF  
15German MarquezCOLat STLExcellent WHIP, good Ks but little lower than expected, ERA estimators say he's been unlucky
16Zack WheelerNYMvs. ATL  
17Luis CastilloCINvs. SD  
18Patrick CorbinWASat PIT  
19Yu DarvishCHCvs. SFControl remains impeccable
20Julio TeheranATLvs. MIA  
21Madison BumgarnerSFat OAK  
22Marcus StromanNYMvs. CLE  
23Sonny GrayCINvs. SD  
24Chris ArcherPITvs. WAS, vs. CINHere we go again, the good Archer is back to tease us
25Chris PaddackSDvs. BOS  
26Jason VargasPHIat MIA  
27Jose QuintanaCHCvs. WASQuietly crushing it lately, 1.89 ERA, .79 WHIP with 26 K and just 1 BB in 19 IP in August
28Zach DaviesMILat STL, vs. ARI  
29Max FriedATLat NYM  
30Miles MikolasSTLvs. COL  
31Kenta MaedaLADvs. TOR  
32Gio GonzalezMILat STL  
33Joey LucchesiSDvs. BOS  
34Vince VelasquezPHIat MIA  
35Zach EflinPHIat MIA  
36Caleb SmithMIAat ATL  
37Trevor WilliamsPITvs. WAS, vs. CINBig second half swoon
38Jordan YamamotoMIAvs. PHI  
39Mike FoltynewiczATLat NYM  
40Joe MusgrovePITvs. WAS  
41Matt StrahmSDat CIN  
42Aaron NolaPHIat BOS  
43Anthony DeSclafaniCINat PIT  
44Jon LesterCHCvs. WAS  
45Jeff SamardzijaSFat CHC  
46Alex WoodCINat PIT  
47Chase AndersonMILvs. ARI  
48Dakota HudsonSTLvs. MIL, vs. COL  
49Joe RossWASat PIT, at CHC 
50Jon GrayCOLat ARI  
51Cal QuantrillSDat CIN  
52Merrill KellyARIat MIL  
53Adam WainwrightSTLvs. MIL  
54Michael WachaSTLvs. MIL, vs. COL  
55Eric LauerSDat CIN  
56Jordan LylesMILvs. ARI  
57Dinelson LametSDvs. BOS  
58Adrian HouserMILat STL  
59Zac GallenARIvs. COL, at MIL  
60Mitch KellerPITvs. CIN  
61Tony GonsolinLADvs. NYY 
62Anibal SanchezWASat CHC  
63Logan WebbSFat OAK 
64Kyle FreelandCOLat ARI, at STL  
65Peter LambertCOLat STL  
66Alex YoungARIvs. COL  
67Dereck RodriguezSFat CHC  
68Elieser HernandezMIAat ATL, vs. PHI  
69Steven BraultPITvs. WAS  
70Sandy AlcantaraMIAat ATL  
71Drew SmylyPHIat BOS  
72Hector NoesiMIAvs. PHI  
73Mike LeakeARIvs. COL  
74Chi Chi GonzalezCOLat ARI, at STL 
75Taylor ClarkeARIat MIL 
76Tyler BeedeSFat CHC 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Todd Zola
Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
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