Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Greinke Erases Worries

Todd Zola ranks the week's starting pitching as the spring fears over the Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke have largely faded away.

Updated on June 30, 2018 1:24PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Greinke Erases Worries

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on June 30, 2018 1:24PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

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It's another quiet week on the two-start front, with the usual number of top-end options but a sparse supply of mid and lower end candidates to pick up. This is a repercussion of more off days, making choosing your starters that much more crucial.

There are a few injury questions along with the usual managerial whims which will shuffle the current probable pitching grid. Please check back Sunday night for the final rankings.

For the week, July 2-8

UPDATED: July 1, 8:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	CLE	at KC, vs. OAK
2	Rick Porcello	BOS	at WAS, at KC
3	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. CWS
4	Chris Sale	BOS	at KC
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CWS
6	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC
7	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at MIA, at NYM	May not start but should dominate middle innings against weak lineups
8	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. CWS	Only 2 BB in 7 IP last time after 14 BB in 15.2 IP previous 3 starts
9	Luis Severino	NYY	at TOR
10	Blake Snell	TB	at NYM
11	James Paxton	SEA	vs. COL
12	David Price	BOS	at KC
13	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at SEA, vs. LAD	Should rebound after rough outing versus Boston
14	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CHC, vs. TEX	2.93 ERA, .98 WHIP with 25 K and 3 BB last 4 GS, spanning 27.2 IP
15	Domingo German	NYY	vs. ATL, at TOR	5.32 artificially high as evidenced by

There are a few injury questions along with the usual managerial whims which will shuffle the current probable pitching grid. Please check back Sunday night for the final rankings.

For the week, July 2-8

UPDATED: July 1, 8:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	CLE	at KC, vs. OAK
2	Rick Porcello	BOS	at WAS, at KC
3	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. CWS
4	Chris Sale	BOS	at KC
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CWS
6	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC
7	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at MIA, at NYM	May not start but should dominate middle innings against weak lineups
8	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. CWS	Only 2 BB in 7 IP last time after 14 BB in 15.2 IP previous 3 starts
9	Luis Severino	NYY	at TOR
10	Blake Snell	TB	at NYM
11	James Paxton	SEA	vs. COL
12	David Price	BOS	at KC
13	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at SEA, vs. LAD	Should rebound after rough outing versus Boston
14	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CHC, vs. TEX	2.93 ERA, .98 WHIP with 25 K and 3 BB last 4 GS, spanning 27.2 IP
15	Domingo German	NYY	vs. ATL, at TOR	5.32 artificially high as evidenced by 3.55 xFIP
16	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. LAA
17	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. SD
18	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. LAA, vs. COL	Quietly pitching well buoyed by great control
19	Jose Berrios	MIN	at MIL
20	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. OAK
21	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at TEX, vs. CWS	5.68 ERA since 5/19 but 3.64 xFIP and .364 BABIP point to some bad luck
22	Shane Bieber	CLE	at KC
23	Nathan Eovaldi	TB	at MIA, at NYM
24	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at WAS
25	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. OAK
26	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. SD
27	Garrett Richards	LAA	at SEA	Not official but could return from DL next weekend
28	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. NYM	2 ER in 12 IP since coming off the DL with 9 K and just 1 BB
29	Lance Lynn	MIN	vs. BAL	Settled down after slow start
30	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. NYM
31	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. NYY
32	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. BAL
33	Matt Andriese	TB	at MIA
34	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at MIL, vs. BAL	Little upside but chance of a blow-up is minimal
35	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at SEA
36	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. LAA
37	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. TEX
38	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at MIN
39	Ryan Borucki	TOR	vs. DET	Could get a second start, not assured Aaron Sanchez will be ready
40	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at DET
41	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. CLE, vs. BOS
42	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at MIL, vs. BAL
43	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. LAD
44	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. LAD
45	Cole Hamels	TEX	at DET
46	Alex Cobb	BAL	at PHI, at MIN
47	Sonny Gray	NYY	at TOR
48	Mike Fiers	DET	at TOR, vs. TEX
49	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. COL
50	Brian Johnson	BOS	at WAS
51	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. NYY
52	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at MIN
53	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	at TEX
54	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. TEX
55	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. ATL
56	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at HOU
57	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. CLE
58	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. ATL
59	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. CLE
60	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. HOU
61	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at HOU
62	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CIN
63	Frankie Montas	OAK	at CLE
64	Sam Gaviglio	TOR	vs. NYY
65	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CHC
66	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at MIN
67	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at CLE
68	Austin Bibens-Dirkx	TEX	vs. HOU, at DET
69	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at DET
70	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at CIN, at HOU
71	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. BOS
72	David Hess	BAL	at PHI
73	James Shields	CWS	at CIN, at HOU
74	Brad Keller	KC	vs. BOS
75	Edwin Jackson	OAK	at CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BOS, vs. MIA	Lost last three decisions
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. STL, vs. SD	Remember when we were all worried in the spring? Good times.
3	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. STL, vs. SD	Looked solid in return, boosted with pair at home
4	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL, vs. STL
5	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. PIT, at LAA
6	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ARI, at SF	Picked up slack while C-Mart was out
7	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. DET, vs. CIN
8	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. BAL, at PIT	Showing no signs he's a fluke
9	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. TB
10	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. BAL
11	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. PIT
12	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. STL
13	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. PIT
14	Carlos Martinez	STL	at ARI, at SF	Walks down, now needs to get back to pitching deeper into games
15	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD	Everything back in line except walks
16	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. BOS, vs. MIA	Two starts help mitigate low strikeout rate
17	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. MIA
18	Ross Stripling	LAD	at LAA
19	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. PHI
20	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CWS, at CHC	Homers continue to be a problem, I'm still exercising excruciating patience
21	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CWS	6 HR in 28.1 IP since return from DL
22	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. MIN, vs. ATL
23	Freddy Peralta	MIL	vs. ATL
24	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at PIT
25	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at LAA
26	Luke Weaver	STL	at SF
27	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at NYY, at MIL	Great test for sophomore southpaw, good lineups on the road in hitting venues
28	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. STL
29	Miles Mikolas	STL	at ARI
30	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at LAD
31	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. MIN	Velocity up, results following
32	Clayton Richard	SD	at OAK, at ARI	Pitching into 7th inning often, improtant for points leagues
33	Shelby Miller	ARI	vs. SD
34	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. MIA
35	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. MIN, vs. ATL
36	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CIN	Regression is coming
37	German Marquez	COL	at SEA
38	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. PHI
39	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. TB
40	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. DET
41	Ivan Nova	PIT	at LAD
42	Tyson Ross	SD	at ARI
43	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. SF, at SEA
44	Julio Teheran	ATL	at NYY
45	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. TB
46	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at ARI
47	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at PIT
48	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIL
49	Nick Kingham	PIT	at LAD, vs. PHI
50	Derek Holland	SF	vs. STL
51	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	vs. TB, at WAS
52	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. ATL
53	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. SF
54	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. CWS
55	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. CIN
56	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. TB, at WAS
57	John Gant	STL	at SF
58	Jason Vargas	NYM	vs. TB
59	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at NYY, at MIL
60	Jordan Lyles	SD	at ARI
61	Corey Oswalt	NYM	at TOR	Likely in rotation until Jason Vargas returns
62	Chad Bettis	COL	at SEA
63	Jose Urena	MIA	at WAS
64	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. STL
65	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at CHC
66	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SF
67	Dan Straily	MIA	at WAS
68	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at TOR
69	Eric Lauer	SD	at OAK
70	Max Fried	ATL	at MIL
71	Matt Harvey	CIN	at CHC
72	Chris Stratton	SF	at COL
73	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. BOS
74	Andrew Suarez	SF	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BOS, vs. MIA	Lost last three decisions
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. STL, vs. SD	Remember when we were all worried in the spring? Good times.
3	Corey Kluber	CLE	at KC, vs. OAK
4	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. STL, vs. SD	Looked solid in return, boosted with pair at home
5	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL, vs. STL
6	Rick Porcello	BOS	at WAS, at KC
7	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. PIT, at LAA
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. CWS
9	Chris Sale	BOS	at KC
10	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ARI, at SF	Picked up slack while C-Mart was out
11	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. DET, vs. CIN
12	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CWS
13	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. BAL, at PIT	Showing no signs he's a fluke
14	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. TB
15	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. BAL
16	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC
17	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at MIA, at NYM	May not start but should dominate middle innings against weak lineups
18	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. CWS	Only 2 BB in 7 IP last time after 14 BB in 15.2 IP previous 3 starts
19	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. PIT
20	Luis Severino	NYY	at TOR
21	Blake Snell	TB	at NYM
22	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. STL
23	James Paxton	SEA	vs. COL
24	David Price	BOS	at KC
25	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at SEA, vs. LAD	Should rebound after rough outing versus Boston
26	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. PIT
27	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CHC, vs. TEX	2.93 ERA, .98 WHIP with 25 K and 3 BB last 4 GS, spanning 27.2 IP
28	Carlos Martinez	STL	at ARI, at SF	Walks down, now needs to get back to pitching deeper into games
29	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD	Everything back in line except walks
30	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. BOS, vs. MIA	Two starts help mitigate low strikeout rate
31	Domingo German	NYY	vs. ATL, at TOR	5.32 artificially high as evidenced by 3.55 xFIP
32	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. MIA
33	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. LAA
34	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. SD
35	Ross Stripling	LAD	at LAA
36	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. LAA, vs. COL	Quietly pitching well buoyed by great control
37	Jose Berrios	MIN	at MIL
38	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. OAK
39	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at TEX, vs. CWS	5.68 ERA since 5/19 but 3.64 xFIP and .364 BABIP point to some bad luck
40	Shane Bieber	CLE	at KC
41	Nathan Eovaldi	TB	at MIA, at NYM
42	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. PHI
43	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at WAS
44	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. OAK
45	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. SD
46	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CWS, at CHC	Homers continue to be a problem, I'm still exercising excruciating patience
47	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CWS	6 HR in 28.1 IP since return from DL
48	Garrett Richards	LAA	at SEA	Not official but could return from DL next weekend
49	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. MIN, vs. ATL
50	Freddy Peralta	MIL	vs. ATL
51	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. NYM	2 ER in 12 IP since coming off the DL with 9 K and just 1 BB
52	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at PIT
53	Lance Lynn	MIN	vs. BAL	Settled down after slow start
54	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at LAA
55	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. NYM
56	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. NYY
57	Luke Weaver	STL	at SF
58	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at NYY, at MIL	Great test for sophomore southpaw, good lineups on the road in hitting venues
59	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. BAL
60	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. STL
61	Matt Andriese	TB	at MIA
62	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at MIL, vs. BAL	Little upside but chance of a blow-up is minimal
63	Miles Mikolas	STL	at ARI
64	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at SEA
65	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. LAA
66	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at LAD
67	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. MIN	Velocity up, results following
68	Clayton Richard	SD	at OAK, at ARI	Pitching into 7th inning often, improtant for points leagues
69	Shelby Miller	ARI	vs. SD
70	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. TEX
71	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at MIN
72	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. MIA
73	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. MIN, vs. ATL
74	Ryan Borucki	TOR	vs. DET	Could get a second start, not assured Aaron Sanchez will be ready
75	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at DET
76	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CIN	Regression is coming
77	German Marquez	COL	at SEA
78	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. CLE, vs. BOS
79	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at MIL, vs. BAL
80	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. LAD
81	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. LAD
82	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. PHI
83	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. TB
84	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. DET
85	Ivan Nova	PIT	at LAD
86	Cole Hamels	TEX	at DET
87	Alex Cobb	BAL	at PHI, at MIN
88	Sonny Gray	NYY	at TOR
89	Tyson Ross	SD	at ARI
90	Mike Fiers	DET	at TOR, vs. TEX
91	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. SF, at SEA
92	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. COL
93	Julio Teheran	ATL	at NYY
94	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. TB
95	Brian Johnson	BOS	at WAS
96	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at ARI
97	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. NYY
98	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at PIT
99	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at MIN
100	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIL
101	Nick Kingham	PIT	at LAD, vs. PHI
102	Derek Holland	SF	vs. STL
103	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	vs. TB, at WAS
104	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. ATL
105	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	at TEX
106	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. SF
107	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. CWS
108	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. CIN
109	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. TB, at WAS
110	John Gant	STL	at SF
111	Jason Vargas	NYM	vs. TB
112	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at NYY, at MIL
113	Jordan Lyles	SD	at ARI
114	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. TEX
115	Corey Oswalt	NYM	at TOR	Likely in rotation until Jason Vargas returns
116	Chad Bettis	COL	at SEA
117	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. ATL
118	Jose Urena	MIA	at WAS
119	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at HOU
120	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. STL
121	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at CHC
122	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. CLE
123	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. ATL
124	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. CLE
125	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SF
126	Dan Straily	MIA	at WAS
127	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. HOU
128	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at HOU
129	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CIN
130	Frankie Montas	OAK	at CLE
131	Sam Gaviglio	TOR	vs. NYY
132	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at TOR
133	Eric Lauer	SD	at OAK
134	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CHC
135	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at MIN
136	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at CLE
137	Max Fried	ATL	at MIL
138	Austin Bibens-Dirkx	TEX	vs. HOU, at DET
139	Matt Harvey	CIN	at CHC
140	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at DET
141	Chris Stratton	SF	at COL
142	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at CIN, at HOU
143	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. BOS
144	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. BOS
145	David Hess	BAL	at PHI
146	James Shields	CWS	at CIN, at HOU
147	Andrew Suarez	SF	at COL
148	Brad Keller	KC	vs. BOS
149	Edwin Jackson	OAK	at CLE