Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Second-Half Surge for Kershaw?

Todd Zola ranks this week's starting pitchers, as Clayton Kershaw, who looks poised for a second-half surge, is one of the few elite hurlers with two starts.

Updated on July 15, 2017 2:12PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Second-Half Surge for Kershaw?

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on July 15, 2017 2:12PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

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The first full week back following the midseason hiatus typically features relatively few ace two-start options because they're more likely to work the post-break weekend. There are a handful, though, including the best of the bunch as the Dodgers are giving Clayton Kershaw some extra time to freshen up for the second half.

UPDATED Sunday July 16, 10:15 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR
2	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. SEA, at BAL	Needs to go deeper into games to be true ace
3	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TOR	Deserves double-digit wins
4	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at SF	Homers an issue lately, game in AT&T perfect panacea
5	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. TOR, at LAA	Pitching well before knee injury and facing beatable lineups
6	David Price	BOS	at LAA	Has edge back since his spat with the Boston press
7	Luis Severino	NYY	at SEA	Gets more impressive with every outing
8	Yu Darvish	TEX	at TB
9	Jacob Faria	TB	at OAK	Six starts, six quality starts
10	Rick Porcello	BOS	at LAA	Homers still an issue but showing signs he'll have a better second half
11	Jake Odorizzi	TB	at OAK, vs. TEX
12	Chris Archer	TB	vs. TEX
13	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. DET, vs. CWS	A pair of multi-HR games in last three starts
14	Cole Hamels	TEX	at BAL
15	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. TB	Could return to lower-tier ace status
16	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at

UPDATED Sunday July 16, 10:15 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR
2	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. SEA, at BAL	Needs to go deeper into games to be true ace
3	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TOR	Deserves double-digit wins
4	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at SF	Homers an issue lately, game in AT&T perfect panacea
5	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. TOR, at LAA	Pitching well before knee injury and facing beatable lineups
6	David Price	BOS	at LAA	Has edge back since his spat with the Boston press
7	Luis Severino	NYY	at SEA	Gets more impressive with every outing
8	Yu Darvish	TEX	at TB
9	Jacob Faria	TB	at OAK	Six starts, six quality starts
10	Rick Porcello	BOS	at LAA	Homers still an issue but showing signs he'll have a better second half
11	Jake Odorizzi	TB	at OAK, vs. TEX
12	Chris Archer	TB	vs. TEX
13	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. DET, vs. CWS	A pair of multi-HR games in last three starts
14	Cole Hamels	TEX	at BAL
15	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. TB	Could return to lower-tier ace status
16	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at BOS, at CLE	Tough draw, facing pair dangerous offenses on the road
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
18	Michael Fulmer	DET	at KC	Solid sophomore season
19	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at SF, vs. TOR
20	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. TOR
21	Ervin Santana	MIN	vs. DET
22	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. TEX
23	Luis Cessa	NYY	at MIN, at SEA
24	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. SEA	High strikeouts plus high walks equals fewer innings
25	Blake Snell	TB	at OAK	Still wildly out of control
26	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TEX, vs. HOU
27	Tyson Ross	TEX	at BAL, at TB
28	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at HOU, vs. NYY
29	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. TOR
30	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at SF	Showing why he was a popular spring sleeper
31	CC Sabathia	NYY	at SEA	Trying to get back in groove after DL stint, looked solid vs. Red Sox
32	Sean Manaea	OAK	at NYM
33	James Paxton	SEA	at HOU	Could be ranked too low, but the Astros are slugging at a historical clip
34	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. BOS
35	Justin Verlander	DET	at KC	Walks remain uncharacteristically high
36	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. DET
37	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at MIN
38	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. SEA
39	Chris Smith	OAK	vs. TB
40	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. NYY
41	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. TOR	Not definite but Red Sox need SP on Tuesday and the spot lines up perfectly
42	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. NYY	Hit hard lately, but drawing tough foes
43	Jesse Chavez	LAA	vs. WAS, vs. BOS
44	Mike Fiers	HOU	at BAL
45	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. TB, at NYM
46	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. NYY, vs. DET
47	J.A. Happ	TOR	at BOS, at CLE	Strikeouts down, pair of tough lineups on the road
48	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. DET
49	Andrew Moore	SEA	vs. NYY
50	Collin McHugh	HOU	at BAL
51	Travis Wood	KC	vs. DET, vs. CWS
52	Caleb Smith	NYY	at MIN
53	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BOS
54	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. TEX
55	Martin Perez	TEX	at BAL
56	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. LAD
57	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. TEX
58	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at KC, at MIN
59	Matt Boyd	DET	at KC, at MIN
60	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at BAL, at TB
61	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at NYM
62	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	vs. WAS
63	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at HOU, vs. NYY
64	Derek Holland	CWS	at KC
65	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TEX, vs. HOU
66	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. LAD
67	Anibal Sanchez	DET	at MIN
68	James Shields	CWS	at KC
69	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. CWS
70	Marco Estrada	TOR	at CLE
71	Parker Bridwell	LAA	vs. BOS
72	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. DET
73	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at KC
74	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at BOS
75	Bartolo Colon	MIN	vs. NYY
76	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. HOU

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at CWS, vs. ATL	Poised to go on patented second half roll
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at CIN, at ARI	Visiting a pair of homer-friendly venues
3	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ARI
4	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD	Solid in return from DL, Padres invoke their rematch clause
5	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ATL	Innings could become an issue, but not yet
6	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. OAK	Rare poor outing vs. Colorado last time, look for a rebound
7	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. STL	Bright spot in Queens
8	Robbie Ray	ARI	at CIN, vs. WAS	Walked at least four in last five efforts
9	Zack Greinke	ARI	at CIN	Showing no signs of slowing down
10	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD	Continuing to ride the skills-wagon
11	Michael Wacha	STL	at NYM, at CHC	Should carry pre-break success into second half
12	Carlos Martinez	STL	at CHC	Not pitching well, perhaps home cooking is the panacea
13	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at PIT	Getting better as season moves along
14	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PHI
15	Brent Suter	MIL	at PIT, at PHI	Taking well to rotation, facing pair of soft lineups
16	Jon Lester	CHC	at ATL, vs. STL	Had a long time to think about pre-break disaster
17	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIL	1.78 ERA, .99 WHIP with 41 K over last 35 1/3 IP
18	Trevor Cahill	SD	at SF	Expecting a big second half
19	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. CHC, at LAD
20	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIL, at COL
21	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at LAA	Enjoyed some luck in the first half, expect ERA correction
22	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ATL
23	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. STL
24	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at CWS
25	Ty Blach	SF	vs. CLE, vs. SD
26	Matt Moore	SF	vs. CLE, vs. SD	Pitching poorly but helped by park boost
27	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIL
28	Junior Guerra	MIL	at PIT, at PHI
29	Adam Conley	MIA	vs. PHI
30	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. PIT
31	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. STL, vs. OAK
32	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. STL	Fewer homers lately, but walking more and fanning fewer
33	German Marquez	COL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
34	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. MIL
35	Matt Garza	MIL	at PHI
36	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
37	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at MIA, vs. MIL
38	Adam Wainwright	STL	at NYM, at CHC	Strikeouts down, walks up since returning from thoracic outlet surgery
39	Mike Leake	STL	at NYM
40	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. CHC
41	Jon Gray	COL	vs. SD	Looking to rebound after getting lit up by Mets, facing good team to do it
42	Lance Lynn	STL	at NYM	Homers continue to be a problem
43	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at COL, at SF
44	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. ATL
45	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. CHC, at LAD
46	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
47	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. MIL
48	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at MIA	Expected to return from DL, pitching well in rehab
49	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. ARI	Strikeouts are nice, walks and homers allowd…not so much
50	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at LAD
51	Seth Lugo	NYM	vs. STL
52	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at MIA	Still missing bats but needs to cut down on walks big time
53	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. PHI, at CIN
54	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. WAS, vs. MIA
55	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. MIL, at COL
56	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. STL, vs. OAK
57	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. MIA
58	John Lackey	CHC	at ATL
59	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. ARI, vs. MIA
60	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at SF
61	Taijuan Walker	ARI	at CIN
62	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. WAS
63	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ARI
64	Luis Perdomo	SD	at COL, at SF
65	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. ARI
66	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at LAD
67	Chris O'Grady	MIA	at CIN
68	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at ATL
69	Edwin Jackson	WAS	at LAA
70	Matt Cain	SF	vs. CLE
71	Jose Urena	MIA	at CIN
72	Trevor Williams	PIT	at COL
73	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. WAS
74	Clayton Richard	SD	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at CWS, vs. ATL	Poised to go on patented second half roll
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at CIN, at ARI	Visiting a pair of homer-friendly venues
3	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ARI
4	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR
5	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. SEA, at BAL	Needs to go deeper into games to be true ace
6	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD	Solid in return from DL, Padres invoke their rematch clause
7	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TOR	Deserves double-digit wins
8	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at SF	Homers an issue lately, game in AT&T perfect panacea
9	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ATL	Innings could become an issue, but not yet
10	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. OAK	Rare poor outing vs. Colorado last time, look for a rebound
11	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. STL	Bright spot in Queens
12	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. TOR, at LAA	Pitching well before knee injury and facing beatable lineups
13	Robbie Ray	ARI	at CIN, vs. WAS	Walked at least four in last five efforts
14	Zack Greinke	ARI	at CIN	Showing no signs of slowing down
15	David Price	BOS	at LAA	Has edge back since his spat with the Boston press
16	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. SD	Continuing to ride the skills-wagon
17	Michael Wacha	STL	at NYM, at CHC	Should carry pre-break success into second half
18	Luis Severino	NYY	at SEA	Gets more impressive with every outing
19	Yu Darvish	TEX	at TB
20	Jacob Faria	TB	at OAK	Six starts, six quality starts
21	Rick Porcello	BOS	at LAA	Homers still an issue but showing signs he'll have a better second half
22	Carlos Martinez	STL	at CHC	Not pitching well, perhaps home cooking is the panacea
23	Jake Odorizzi	TB	at OAK, vs. TEX
24	Chris Archer	TB	vs. TEX
25	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at PIT	Getting better as season moves along
26	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PHI
27	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. DET, vs. CWS	A pair of multi-HR games in last three starts
28	Brent Suter	MIL	at PIT, at PHI	Taking well to rotation, facing pair of soft lineups
29	Jon Lester	CHC	at ATL, vs. STL	Had a long time to think about pre-break disaster
30	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIL	1.78 ERA, .99 WHIP with 41 K over last 35 1/3 IP
31	Trevor Cahill	SD	at SF	Expecting a big second half
32	Cole Hamels	TEX	at BAL
33	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. TB	Could return to lower-tier ace status
34	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at BOS, at CLE	Tough draw, facing pair dangerous offenses on the road
35	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
36	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. CHC, at LAD
37	Michael Fulmer	DET	at KC	Solid sophomore season
38	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIL, at COL
39	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at LAA	Enjoyed some luck in the first half, expect ERA correction
40	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ATL
41	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. STL
42	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at CWS
43	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at SF, vs. TOR
44	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. TOR
45	Ty Blach	SF	vs. CLE, vs. SD
46	Matt Moore	SF	vs. CLE, vs. SD	Pitching poorly but helped by park boost
47	Ervin Santana	MIN	vs. DET
48	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIL
49	Junior Guerra	MIL	at PIT, at PHI
50	Adam Conley	MIA	vs. PHI
51	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. TEX
52	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. PIT
53	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. STL, vs. OAK
54	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. STL	Fewer homers lately, but walking more and fanning fewer
55	German Marquez	COL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
56	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. MIL
57	Matt Garza	MIL	at PHI
58	Luis Cessa	NYY	at MIN, at SEA
59	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
60	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at MIA, vs. MIL
61	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. SEA	High strikeouts plus high walks equals fewer innings
62	Blake Snell	TB	at OAK	Still wildly out of control
63	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TEX, vs. HOU
64	Adam Wainwright	STL	at NYM, at CHC	Strikeouts down, walks up since returning from thoracic outlet surgery
65	Tyson Ross	TEX	at BAL, at TB
66	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at HOU, vs. NYY
67	Mike Leake	STL	at NYM
68	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. TOR
69	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at SF	Showing why he was a popular spring sleeper
70	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. CHC
71	Jon Gray	COL	vs. SD	Looking to rebound after getting lit up by Mets, facing good team to do it
72	CC Sabathia	NYY	at SEA	Trying to get back in groove after DL stint, looked solid vs. Red Sox
73	Lance Lynn	STL	at NYM	Homers continue to be a problem
74	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at COL, at SF
75	Sean Manaea	OAK	at NYM
76	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. ATL
77	James Paxton	SEA	at HOU	Could be ranked too low, but the Astros are slugging at a historical clip
78	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. CHC, at LAD
79	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. BOS
80	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
81	Justin Verlander	DET	at KC	Walks remain uncharacteristically high
82	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. DET
83	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. MIL
84	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at MIN
85	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at MIA	Expected to return from DL, pitching well in rehab
86	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. ARI	Strikeouts are nice, walks and homers allowd…not so much
87	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at LAD
88	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. SEA
89	Chris Smith	OAK	vs. TB
90	Seth Lugo	NYM	vs. STL
91	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. NYY
92	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. TOR	Not definite but Red Sox need SP on Tuesday and the spot lines up perfectly
93	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. NYY	Hit hard lately, but drawing tough foes
94	Jesse Chavez	LAA	vs. WAS, vs. BOS
95	Mike Fiers	HOU	at BAL
96	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at MIA	Still missing bats but needs to cut down on walks big time
97	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. TB, at NYM
98	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. NYY, vs. DET
99	J.A. Happ	TOR	at BOS, at CLE	Strikeouts down, pair of tough lineups on the road
100	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. DET
101	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. PHI, at CIN
102	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. WAS, vs. MIA
103	Andrew Moore	SEA	vs. NYY
104	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. MIL, at COL
105	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. STL, vs. OAK
106	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. MIA
107	Collin McHugh	HOU	at BAL
108	Travis Wood	KC	vs. DET, vs. CWS
109	Caleb Smith	NYY	at MIN
110	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BOS
111	John Lackey	CHC	at ATL
112	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. ARI, vs. MIA
113	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at SF
114	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. TEX
115	Taijuan Walker	ARI	at CIN
116	Martin Perez	TEX	at BAL
117	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. LAD
118	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. TEX
119	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. WAS
120	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ARI
121	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at KC, at MIN
122	Matt Boyd	DET	at KC, at MIN
123	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at BAL, at TB
124	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at NYM
125	Luis Perdomo	SD	at COL, at SF
126	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. ARI
127	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at LAD
128	Chris O'Grady	MIA	at CIN
129	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	vs. WAS
130	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at HOU, vs. NYY
131	Derek Holland	CWS	at KC
132	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TEX, vs. HOU
133	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. LAD
134	Anibal Sanchez	DET	at MIN
135	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at ATL
136	Edwin Jackson	WAS	at LAA
137	Matt Cain	SF	vs. CLE
138	James Shields	CWS	at KC
139	Jose Urena	MIA	at CIN
140	Trevor Williams	PIT	at COL
141	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. CWS
142	Marco Estrada	TOR	at CLE
143	Parker Bridwell	LAA	vs. BOS
144	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. WAS
145	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. DET
146	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at KC
147	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at BOS
148	Bartolo Colon	MIN	vs. NYY
149	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. HOU
150	Clayton Richard	SD	at COL