Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Big Week for Cole

Todd Zola ranks the week's starting pitching as Houston's Gerrit Cole has two matchups that are about as good as it gets against the Rays and Royals.

Updated on June 16, 2018 12:15PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Big Week for Cole

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on June 16, 2018 12:15PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

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There's a little of everything this week, which will be the norm during the summer months now that rotations are shuffled. There's a typical number of two-start weeks with the total a little lighter than this time last season with the added off days.

For the week, June 18-24

UPDATED: Sunday, June 17, 9:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TB, vs. KC	Doesn't get much better than this
2	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIN, vs. SEA
3	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. DET	Double digit whiffs in five of his past six outings
4	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. BOS, vs. TEX	Only 15 walks in 89.2 innings
5	Blake Snell	TB	at HOU, vs. NYY	Tough draws but he's pitched well all season
6	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS
7	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB
8	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. SEA
9	Sean Manaea	OAK	at CWS
10	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. KC
11	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. ARI, vs. TOR	Aided by pair in pitcher friendly Angels Stadium
12	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TB
13	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. KC
14	Domingo German	NYY	vs. SEA, at TB	5.23 ERA artificially high, 4.27 FIP/3.69 xFIP more indicative of skills
15	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS
16	David Price	BOS	at MIN
17	Cole Hamels	TEX	at KC
18	James Paxton	SEA	at NYY	Defense let him down last time vs. Red Sox but late rally got him off

For the week, June 18-24

UPDATED: Sunday, June 17, 9:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TB, vs. KC	Doesn't get much better than this
2	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIN, vs. SEA
3	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. DET	Double digit whiffs in five of his past six outings
4	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. BOS, vs. TEX	Only 15 walks in 89.2 innings
5	Blake Snell	TB	at HOU, vs. NYY	Tough draws but he's pitched well all season
6	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS
7	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB
8	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. SEA
9	Sean Manaea	OAK	at CWS
10	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. KC
11	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. ARI, vs. TOR	Aided by pair in pitcher friendly Angels Stadium
12	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TB
13	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. KC
14	Domingo German	NYY	vs. SEA, at TB	5.23 ERA artificially high, 4.27 FIP/3.69 xFIP more indicative of skills
15	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS
16	David Price	BOS	at MIN
17	Cole Hamels	TEX	at KC
18	James Paxton	SEA	at NYY	Defense let him down last time vs. Red Sox but late rally got him off the hook
19	Andrew Heaney	LAA	vs. TOR
20	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. TEX	Homers an issue
21	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. TOR
22	Rick Porcello	BOS	at MIN
23	CC Sabathia	NYY	at TB
24	Daniel Mengden	OAK	at CWS
25	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at CLE, vs. OAK	A risk, but one worth taking if you can absorb some high WHIP
26	Frankie Montas	OAK	at SD	Good spot for a rebound after Astros hit him hard
27	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. TEX
28	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE, vs. OAK	No longer waiting for implosion, but some regression coming
29	Mike Minor	TEX	at MIN
30	Sonny Gray	NYY	at WAS, at TB	Feels like he's jogging in quicksand
31	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SEA	Needs to be more pitch-efficient and work deeper into games
32	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at CWS
33	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. DET	Filling in for Carlos Carrasco
34	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at SD, at CWS	Shouldn't harm ratios, don't expect many K's, even with a pair
35	Marco Estrada	TOR	at LAA
36	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at NYY, at BOS	Pitching decent but tough draw, though Boston has trouble with LHP
37	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at ATL	Strikeouts down lately
38	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. TEX
39	Fernando Romero	MIN	vs. TEX
40	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. NYY	May not start, but should be treated as one
41	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CIN
42	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at LAA
43	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at LAA
44	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CIN	Whiffs down, walks up lately
45	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. ATL
46	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. DET
47	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. OAK
48	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. ARI
49	Yohander Mendez	TEX	at KC
50	Steven Wright	BOS	vs. SEA
51	John Lamb	LAA	vs. TOR
52	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at WAS
53	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. SEA	Pitched well enough in debut for another start, but SEA tougher than TAM
54	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. ATL, at LAA
55	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at KC, at MIN
56	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. TEX, at HOU
57	James Shields	CWS	vs. OAK
58	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. NYY
59	Lance Lynn	MIN	vs. BOS	5.4 BB/9 vs. Boston recipe for disaster
60	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at BOS
61	Danny Duffy	KC	at HOU
62	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at NYY
63	Nathan Eovaldi	TB	at HOU
64	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at CLE
65	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. BOS
66	Mike Fiers	DET	at CLE
67	David Hess	BAL	at WAS, at ATL
68	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at WAS
69	Ryne Stanek	TB	at HOU
70	Mike Leake	SEA	at BOS
71	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CLE
72	Alex Cobb	BAL	at ATL
73	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
74	Brad Keller	KC	at HOU
75	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at MIN

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Zack Greinke	ARI	at LAA, at PIT
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at COL, vs. LAD
3	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BAL
4	Miles Mikolas	STL	at PHI, at MIL
5	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIL, vs. ARI	Tossed at least 6 IP in 7 of 14 GS, including 4 of last 5
6	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at CHC, at NYM
7	Alex Wood	LAD	at NYM	Mets worst team in the league vs. LHP
8	Aaron Nola	PHI	at WAS
9	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. LAD, at CIN	1.14 ERA, .68 WHIP in 4 games as SP
10	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. BAL
11	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
12	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. BAL
13	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. BAL	Risky start, left last outing with sore shoulder
14	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. BAL	Nickname should be Two-Face, good guy has a chance to show up vs. weak offense
15	Luke Weaver	STL	at PHI, at MIL
16	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. STL	Beginning to worry, punchouts way down, skidding lately
17	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. OAK
18	Michael Wacha	STL	at PHI	Walks high lately
19	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. LAD	Baseline skills same as last season, ERA correction coming
20	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. STL, at WAS	Big week, needs to show he won't continue slide like last season
21	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at PIT
22	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. PHI
23	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD
24	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. SD
25	Mike Soroka	ATL	at TOR
26	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at CIN
27	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. DET
28	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. ARI
29	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. NYM, vs. MIA	Weak lineups help offset Coors factor
30	Matt Strahm	SD	at SF	Could eventually be stretched out and not just be an opener
31	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. STL
32	Andrew Suarez	SF	vs. MIA, vs. SD	Lesser lineups really help, worth picking up for double dip
33	Ross Stripling	LAD	at CHC	Nice test for Dodgers current best starter
34	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF	Aiming to be back this week
35	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT, vs. STL
36	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. NYM
37	Jon Gray	COL	vs. MIA
38	Zack Godley	ARI	at PIT	Incremental improvement, still need to hone control
39	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIL	18 BB in 12.2 IP since coming off the DL
40	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. MIA
41	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
42	Jefry Rodriguez	WAS	vs. BAL, vs. PHI
43	German Marquez	COL	vs. NYM, vs. MIA	Matchups soft enough to use in Coors
44	Caleb Ferguson	LAD	at NYM
45	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CIN	Walks high but 2.66 ERA, 1.16 WHIP in last 9 GS
46	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. STL	Capable of dominating but still maddeningly Inconsistent
47	Jose Urena	MIA	at SF
48	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. STL
49	Dan Straily	MIA	at SF
50	Jordan Lyles	SD	at SF
51	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. ARI
52	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CHC
53	Clayton Richard	SD	at SF
54	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. MIL
55	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	vs. LAD, at CIN
56	Caleb Smith	MIA	at SF, at COL
57	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PIT, vs. STL
58	Derek Holland	SF	vs. MIA
59	Matt Koch	ARI	at LAA
60	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CHC
61	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIL, vs. ARI
62	Rich Hill	LAD	at CHC
63	Brent Suter	MIL	at PIT
64	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. OAK
65	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. NYM
66	Zach Eflin	PHI	at WAS
67	Clay Buchholz	ARI	at PIT
68	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. NYY, vs. PHI
69	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at TOR
70	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. DET, vs. CHC
71	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. LAD
72	Matt Harvey	CIN	vs. CHC
73	Jason Vargas	NYM	at COL, vs. LAD
74	Seth Lugo	NYM	at COL
75	Trevor Richards	MIA	at COL
76	Steven Matz	NYM	at COL
77	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TB, vs. KC	Doesn't get much better than this
2	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIN, vs. SEA
3	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. DET	Double digit whiffs in five of his past six outings
4	Zack Greinke	ARI	at LAA, at PIT
5	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at COL, vs. LAD
6	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. BOS, vs. TEX	Only 15 walks in 89.2 innings
7	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BAL
8	Blake Snell	TB	at HOU, vs. NYY	Tough draws but he's pitched well all season
9	Miles Mikolas	STL	at PHI, at MIL
10	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS
11	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB
12	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIL, vs. ARI	Tossed at least 6 IP in 7 of 14 GS, including 4 of last 5
13	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. SEA
14	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at CHC, at NYM
15	Alex Wood	LAD	at NYM	Mets worst team in the league vs. LHP
16	Sean Manaea	OAK	at CWS
17	Aaron Nola	PHI	at WAS
18	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. KC
19	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. ARI, vs. TOR	Aided by pair in pitcher friendly Angels Stadium
20	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. LAD, at CIN	1.14 ERA, .68 WHIP in 4 games as SP
21	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TB
22	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. BAL
23	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. KC
24	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
25	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. BAL
26	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. BAL	Risky start, left last outing with sore shoulder
27	Domingo German	NYY	vs. SEA, at TB	5.23 ERA artificially high, 4.27 FIP/3.69 xFIP more indicative of skills
28	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. BAL	Nickname should be Two-Face, good guy has a chance to show up vs. weak offense
29	Luke Weaver	STL	at PHI, at MIL
30	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS
31	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. STL	Beginning to worry, punchouts way down, skidding lately
32	David Price	BOS	at MIN
33	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. OAK
34	Cole Hamels	TEX	at KC
35	James Paxton	SEA	at NYY	Defense let him down last time vs. Red Sox but late rally got him off the hook
36	Michael Wacha	STL	at PHI	Walks high lately
37	Andrew Heaney	LAA	vs. TOR
38	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. LAD	Baseline skills same as last season, ERA correction coming
39	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. STL, at WAS	Big week, needs to show he won't continue slide like last season
40	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at PIT
41	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. TEX	Homers an issue
42	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. PHI
43	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. TOR
44	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD
45	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. SD
46	Rick Porcello	BOS	at MIN
47	CC Sabathia	NYY	at TB
48	Daniel Mengden	OAK	at CWS
49	Mike Soroka	ATL	at TOR
50	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at CIN
51	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. DET
52	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at CLE, vs. OAK	A risk, but one worth taking if you can absorb some high WHIP
53	Frankie Montas	OAK	at SD	Good spot for a rebound after Astros hit him hard
54	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. ARI
55	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. NYM, vs. MIA	Weak lineups help offset Coors factor
56	Matt Strahm	SD	at SF	Could eventually be stretched out and not just be an opener
57	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. STL
58	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. TEX
59	Andrew Suarez	SF	vs. MIA, vs. SD	Lesser lineups really help, worth picking up for double dip
60	Ross Stripling	LAD	at CHC	Nice test for Dodgers current best starter
61	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE, vs. OAK	No longer waiting for implosion, but some regression coming
62	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF	Aiming to be back this week
63	Mike Minor	TEX	at MIN
64	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT, vs. STL
65	Sonny Gray	NYY	at WAS, at TB	Feels like he's jogging in quicksand
66	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. NYM
67	Jon Gray	COL	vs. MIA
68	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SEA	Needs to be more pitch-efficient and work deeper into games
69	Zack Godley	ARI	at PIT	Incremental improvement, still need to hone control
70	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at CWS
71	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIL	18 BB in 12.2 IP since coming off the DL
72	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. DET	Filling in for Carlos Carrasco
73	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at SD, at CWS	Shouldn't harm ratios, don't expect many K's, even with a pair
74	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. MIA
75	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
76	Marco Estrada	TOR	at LAA
77	Jefry Rodriguez	WAS	vs. BAL, vs. PHI
78	German Marquez	COL	vs. NYM, vs. MIA	Matchups soft enough to use in Coors
79	Caleb Ferguson	LAD	at NYM
80	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CIN	Walks high but 2.66 ERA, 1.16 WHIP in last 9 GS
81	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at NYY, at BOS	Pitching decent but tough draw, though Boston has trouble with LHP
82	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at ATL	Strikeouts down lately
83	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. STL	Capable of dominating but still maddeningly Inconsistent
84	Jose Urena	MIA	at SF
85	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. STL
86	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. TEX
87	Fernando Romero	MIN	vs. TEX
88	Dan Straily	MIA	at SF
89	Jordan Lyles	SD	at SF
90	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. NYY	May not start, but should be treated as one
91	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. ARI
92	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CIN
93	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at LAA
94	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at LAA
95	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CIN	Whiffs down, walks up lately
96	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. ATL
97	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. DET
98	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CHC
99	Clayton Richard	SD	at SF
100	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. OAK
101	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. MIL
102	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. ARI
103	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	vs. LAD, at CIN
104	Yohander Mendez	TEX	at KC
105	Steven Wright	BOS	vs. SEA
106	John Lamb	LAA	vs. TOR
107	Caleb Smith	MIA	at SF, at COL
108	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at WAS
109	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PIT, vs. STL
110	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. SEA	Pitched well enough in debut for another start, but SEA tougher than TAM
111	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. ATL, at LAA
112	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at KC, at MIN
113	Derek Holland	SF	vs. MIA
114	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. TEX, at HOU
115	Matt Koch	ARI	at LAA
116	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CHC
117	James Shields	CWS	vs. OAK
118	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. NYY
119	Lance Lynn	MIN	vs. BOS	5.4 BB/9 vs. Boston recipe for disaster
120	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIL, vs. ARI
121	Rich Hill	LAD	at CHC
122	Brent Suter	MIL	at PIT
123	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. OAK
124	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at BOS
125	Danny Duffy	KC	at HOU
126	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. NYM
127	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at NYY
128	Zach Eflin	PHI	at WAS
129	Nathan Eovaldi	TB	at HOU
130	Clay Buchholz	ARI	at PIT
131	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. NYY, vs. PHI
132	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at CLE
133	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at TOR
134	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. DET, vs. CHC
135	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. BOS
136	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. LAD
137	Mike Fiers	DET	at CLE
138	David Hess	BAL	at WAS, at ATL
139	Matt Harvey	CIN	vs. CHC
140	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at WAS
141	Jason Vargas	NYM	at COL, vs. LAD
142	Ryne Stanek	TB	at HOU
143	Mike Leake	SEA	at BOS
144	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CLE
145	Alex Cobb	BAL	at ATL
146	Seth Lugo	NYM	at COL
147	Trevor Richards	MIA	at COL
148	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
149	Brad Keller	KC	at HOU
150	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at MIN
151	Steven Matz	NYM	at COL
152	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at COL