Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Carrasco Fights Off Injury Bug

Todd Zola's weekly pitcher rankings has Carlos Carrasco on top in a two-start week after he dodged an injury bullet and had a start pushed back.

Updated on May 20, 2017 8:18AM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Carrasco Fights Off Injury Bug

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on May 20, 2017 8:18AM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

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It's a rather tepid week for stud two-start pitchers, making the choice of the lesser options that much more important. However, there's still a chance Clayton Kershaw picks up a second start as the Dodgers haven't formally announced their plans when Brandon McCarthy is ready to return.

David Price was tentatively slated to return, but since he only tossed 65 pitches in his rehab start, the Red Sox may opt to delay his 2017 debut a little longer.

Note there's a scheduled twin bill Friday, with the White Sox entertaining the Tigers for a pair.

Check back on Sunday. All major changes will be posted in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CIN, vs. KC	Expected to be fine after havings start pushed back from sore left glute
2	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Continuing to drive the Team Math bandwagon
3	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. DET, vs. BAL	Stellar skills, so far health cooperating
4	Michael Fulmer	DET	at HOU, at CWS	No slump for this sophomore
5	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX
6	Ervin Santana	MIN	at BAL, vs. TB	More regression coming
7	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. BAL	Expected to come off DL for weekend date with Orioles
8	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at TB, at MIA	Driven by great matchups, needs to hone control
9	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. LAA, at MIN	Low BABIP fueling artificially low WHIP, though improved control also a factor
10	Rick Porcello

David Price was tentatively slated to return, but since he only tossed 65 pitches in his rehab start, the Red Sox may opt to delay his 2017 debut a little longer.

Note there's a scheduled twin bill Friday, with the White Sox entertaining the Tigers for a pair.

Check back on Sunday. All major changes will be posted in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CIN, vs. KC	Expected to be fine after havings start pushed back from sore left glute
2	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Continuing to drive the Team Math bandwagon
3	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. DET, vs. BAL	Stellar skills, so far health cooperating
4	Michael Fulmer	DET	at HOU, at CWS	No slump for this sophomore
5	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX
6	Ervin Santana	MIN	at BAL, vs. TB	More regression coming
7	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. BAL	Expected to come off DL for weekend date with Orioles
8	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at TB, at MIA	Driven by great matchups, needs to hone control
9	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. LAA, at MIN	Low BABIP fueling artificially low WHIP, though improved control also a factor
10	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TEX, vs. SEA
11	JC Ramirez	LAA	at TB, at MIA	Juicy matchups in swing through Florida, should prove fruitful
12	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. TEX, at CWS
13	Danny Duffy	KC	at NYY, at CLE	Surprisingly, Yankees tough on southpaw; Indians, not so much
14	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Two of the softer opponents for a home pair
15	David Price	BOS	vs. TEX
16	Yu Darvish	TEX	at TOR
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. KC
18	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. KC
19	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. TEX
20	Justin Verlander	DET	at HOU
21	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. MIN
22	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. LAA, at MIN	Finally healthy for an extended stretch, showing why he was so highly thought of as a prospect
23	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. KC
24	Matt Andriese	TB	vs. LAA
25	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. MIA	Looked good against Red Sox, should handle Fish at home
26	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at CIN, vs. KC
27	Chris Archer	TB	at MIN	Park downgrade costs about 20 spots
28	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. DET	Eight walks last two games after walking just ten over his first six
29	Hector Santiago	MIN	vs. TB
30	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. BAL
31	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. MIA
32	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	vs. LAA
33	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at TB
34	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. SEA
35	Jason Vargas	KC	at NYY, at CLE
36	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BAL	The kid is here to stay, tough road affair in Camden Yards
37	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at MIA
38	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SEA
39	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. MIN
40	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. DET
41	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. OAK
42	Joe Biagini	TOR	at MIL
43	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at MIL
44	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. TEX
45	Phil Hughes	MIN	vs. TB
46	Sean Manaea	OAK	at NYY
47	Ian Kennedy	KC	at NYY
48	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at NYY
49	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at HOU, at CWS
50	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CIN
51	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at ARI, vs. DET
52	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CIN
53	Alex Meyer	LAA	at TB
54	Jose Quintana	CWS	at ARI
55	Daniel Norris	DET	at HOU
56	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. DET
57	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. MIN, at HOU
58	Jason Hammel	KC	at CLE
59	Wade Miley	BAL	at HOU
60	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at HOU
61	Nathan Karns	KC	at NYY
62	Matt Boyd	DET	at CWS
63	Dylan Covey	CWS	at ARI, vs. DET
64	A.J. Griffin	TEX	at TOR
65	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at WAS
66	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at BOS, at TOR
67	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. DET
68	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at NYY
69	Christian Bergman	SEA	at WAS, at BOS
70	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at WAS
71	Martin Perez	TEX	at BOS
72	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at BOS
73	Nick Martinez	TEX	at BOS
74	Dillon Overton	SEA	at BOS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. SF, at LAD	Beginning to look like Lester of old
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. CWS, at MIL	Lately, seems the only way to score against him is hitting it out
3	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. SF, at LAD	Sharper than early in the season, not as lucky as last year
4	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. SEA, vs. SD	More walks resulting in higher pitch counts
5	Johnny Cueto	SF	at CHC, vs. ATL	Homer issues inflating ERA
6	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at ATL, vs. NYM	Below average strikeout rate tempers ranking
7	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. STL
8	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PIT, at SF	His problem is not pitching at home; it's he's not lights out versus RHB to compensate for continued issues with LHB
9	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. SD	Pitched through blister last time
10	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. SD
11	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. SEA
12	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. COL, vs. CIN	Whiffs up but not maintaining control gains
13	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PIT, at SF	A few more strikeouts away from taking the next step
14	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. STL	So far, so good.
15	Tyler Anderson	COL	at PHI
16	German Marquez	COL	at PHI
17	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. SF
18	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. STL
19	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. SD
20	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. CIN
21	Carlos Martinez	STL	at LAD	Lots of walks plus lots of strikeouts equals throwing too many pitches
22	John Lackey	CHC	at LAD
23	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. SD, at PIT	If the Dark Knight still exists, these are the opponents to get him out of the cave
24	Ivan Nova	PIT	at ATL
25	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at CHC	33 punch outs to one walk over last 28 2/3 IP, spanning four starts
26	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. CHC	Dominated lesser lineups, let's see what happens against the Cubs
27	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. TOR
28	Mike Leake	STL	at LAD
29	Jeff Hoffman	COL	at PHI
30	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. COL
31	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. COL
32	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at PHI, vs. STL	Tough call, Chatwood usually struggles at home
33	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. PIT
34	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. LAA
35	Bartolo Colon	ATL	vs. PIT
36	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. CLE, at PHI
37	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. ARI
38	David Phelps	MIA	vs. LAA
39	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at SF
40	Amir Garrett	CIN	vs. CLE, at PHI
41	Tommy Milone	NYM	at PIT
42	Jose Urena	MIA	at OAK
43	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at OAK
44	Lance Lynn	STL	at LAD, at COL
45	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at PHI
46	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. CWS
47	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. COL, vs. CIN
48	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. SEA
49	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	at ATL, vs. NYM
50	Brett Anderson	CHC	vs. SF
51	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. TOR, vs. ARI	Better than I thought, but not completely buying in…yet
52	Trevor Williams	PIT	at ATL
53	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. CHC
54	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. ARI
55	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at PIT
56	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. NYM
57	Matt Cain	SF	vs. ATL
58	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. CHC
59	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. ARI
60	Ty Blach	SF	at CHC, vs. ATL
61	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. CWS, at MIL
62	Robbie Ray	ARI	at MIL
63	Justin Nicolino	MIA	vs. LAA
64	Jacob Turner	WAS	vs. SD
65	Matt Moore	SF	at CHC
66	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at NYM, at WAS
67	Jered Weaver	SD	at NYM
68	Tim Adleman	CIN	at CLE
69	Luis Perdomo	SD	at WAS
70	Zack Godley	ARI	at MIL
71	Lisalverto Bonilla	CIN	at CLE
72	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. STL
73	Jarred Cosart	SD	at NYM
74	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. STL
75	Clayton Richard	SD	at WAS
76	Michael Wacha	STL	at COL
77	Adam Wilk	NYM	at BAL
78	Adam Wainwright	STL	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CIN, vs. KC	Expected to be fine after havings start pushed back from sore left glute
2	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. SF, at LAD	Beginning to look like Lester of old
3	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Continuing to drive the Team Math bandwagon
4	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. DET, vs. BAL	Stellar skills, so far health cooperating
5	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. CWS, at MIL	Lately, seems the only way to score against him is hitting it out
6	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. SF, at LAD	Sharper than early in the season, not as lucky as last year
7	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. SEA, vs. SD	More walks resulting in higher pitch counts
8	Johnny Cueto	SF	at CHC, vs. ATL	Homer issues inflating ERA
9	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at ATL, vs. NYM	Below average strikeout rate tempers ranking
10	Michael Fulmer	DET	at HOU, at CWS	No slump for this sophomore
11	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. STL
12	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PIT, at SF	His problem is not pitching at home; it's he's not lights out versus RHB to compensate for continued issues with LHB
13	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. SD	Pitched through blister last time
14	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX
15	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. SD
16	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. SEA
17	Ervin Santana	MIN	at BAL, vs. TB	More regression coming
18	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. COL, vs. CIN	Whiffs up but not maintaining control gains
19	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PIT, at SF	A few more strikeouts away from taking the next step
20	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. BAL	Expected to come off DL for weekend date with Orioles
21	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at TB, at MIA	Driven by great matchups, needs to hone control
22	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. LAA, at MIN	Low BABIP fueling artificially low WHIP, though improved control also a factor
23	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TEX, vs. SEA
24	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. STL	So far, so good.
25	JC Ramirez	LAA	at TB, at MIA	Juicy matchups in swing through Florida, should prove fruitful
26	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. TEX, at CWS
27	Tyler Anderson	COL	at PHI
28	Danny Duffy	KC	at NYY, at CLE	Surprisingly, Yankees tough on southpaw; Indians, not so much
29	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Two of the softer opponents for a home pair
30	David Price	BOS	vs. TEX
31	German Marquez	COL	at PHI
32	Yu Darvish	TEX	at TOR
33	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. KC
34	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. KC
35	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. SF
36	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. TEX
37	Justin Verlander	DET	at HOU
38	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. STL
39	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. SD
40	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. MIN
41	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. LAA, at MIN	Finally healthy for an extended stretch, showing why he was so highly thought of as a prospect
42	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. CIN
43	Carlos Martinez	STL	at LAD	Lots of walks plus lots of strikeouts equals throwing too many pitches
44	John Lackey	CHC	at LAD
45	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. KC
46	Matt Andriese	TB	vs. LAA
47	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. MIA	Looked good against Red Sox, should handle Fish at home
48	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. SD, at PIT	If the Dark Knight still exists, these are the opponents to get him out of the cave
49	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at CIN, vs. KC
50	Ivan Nova	PIT	at ATL
51	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at CHC	33 punch outs to one walk over last 28 2/3 IP, spanning four starts
52	Chris Archer	TB	at MIN	Park downgrade costs about 20 spots
53	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. CHC	Dominated lesser lineups, let's see what happens against the Cubs
54	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. TOR
55	Mike Leake	STL	at LAD
56	Jeff Hoffman	COL	at PHI
57	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. DET	Eight walks last two games after walking just ten over his first six
58	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. COL
59	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. COL
60	Hector Santiago	MIN	vs. TB
61	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. BAL
62	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. MIA
63	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at PHI, vs. STL	Tough call, Chatwood usually struggles at home
64	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. PIT
65	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. LAA
66	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	vs. LAA
67	Bartolo Colon	ATL	vs. PIT
68	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at TB
69	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. SEA
70	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. CLE, at PHI
71	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. ARI
72	David Phelps	MIA	vs. LAA
73	Jason Vargas	KC	at NYY, at CLE
74	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BAL	The kid is here to stay, tough road affair in Camden Yards
75	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at SF
76	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at MIA
77	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SEA
78	Amir Garrett	CIN	vs. CLE, at PHI
79	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. MIN
80	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. DET
81	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. OAK
82	Tommy Milone	NYM	at PIT
83	Jose Urena	MIA	at OAK
84	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at OAK
85	Lance Lynn	STL	at LAD, at COL
86	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at PHI
87	Joe Biagini	TOR	at MIL
88	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. CWS
89	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at MIL
90	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. COL, vs. CIN
91	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. SEA
92	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	at ATL, vs. NYM
93	Brett Anderson	CHC	vs. SF
94	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. TOR, vs. ARI	Better than I thought, but not completely buying in…yet
95	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. TEX
96	Phil Hughes	MIN	vs. TB
97	Trevor Williams	PIT	at ATL
98	Sean Manaea	OAK	at NYY
99	Ian Kennedy	KC	at NYY
100	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at NYY
101	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. CHC
102	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. ARI
103	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at PIT
104	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. NYM
105	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at HOU, at CWS
106	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CIN
107	Matt Cain	SF	vs. ATL
108	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at ARI, vs. DET
109	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CIN
110	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. CHC
111	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. ARI
112	Alex Meyer	LAA	at TB
113	Jose Quintana	CWS	at ARI
114	Daniel Norris	DET	at HOU
115	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. DET
116	Ty Blach	SF	at CHC, vs. ATL
117	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. CWS, at MIL
118	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. MIN, at HOU
119	Robbie Ray	ARI	at MIL
120	Justin Nicolino	MIA	vs. LAA
121	Jason Hammel	KC	at CLE
122	Wade Miley	BAL	at HOU
123	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at HOU
124	Jacob Turner	WAS	vs. SD
125	Matt Moore	SF	at CHC
126	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at NYM, at WAS
127	Nathan Karns	KC	at NYY
128	Matt Boyd	DET	at CWS
129	Dylan Covey	CWS	at ARI, vs. DET
130	Jered Weaver	SD	at NYM
131	Tim Adleman	CIN	at CLE
132	A.J. Griffin	TEX	at TOR
133	Luis Perdomo	SD	at WAS
134	Zack Godley	ARI	at MIL
135	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at WAS
136	Lisalverto Bonilla	CIN	at CLE
137	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at BOS, at TOR
138	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. STL
139	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. DET
140	Jarred Cosart	SD	at NYM
141	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. STL
142	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at NYY
143	Christian Bergman	SEA	at WAS, at BOS
144	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at WAS
145	Clayton Richard	SD	at WAS
146	Michael Wacha	STL	at COL
147	Adam Wilk	NYM	at BAL
148	Adam Wainwright	STL	at COL
149	Martin Perez	TEX	at BOS
150	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at BOS
151	Nick Martinez	TEX	at BOS
152	Dillon Overton	SEA	at BOS