This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
Records are kept on everything nowadays, so someone must know for sure, but we might be looking at the weakest slate of two-start pitchers ever. Yes, ever.
This could be a week to float in a third closer, or even a dominant middle reliever to offer ratio support while adding some punchouts. Speaking of which, strikeouts in May were the fewest since June 2018. Maybe it's happenstance, or maybe batters are making adjustments. That said, Friday's ledger generated the fourth-most homers on a single day in history.
Just as you think you know the answer, they change the question.
Speaking of questions, I'm always happy to address queries below, though please direct those involving scheduling to the Probable Pitchers page.
UPDATED: Monday June 6 1:40 AM ET
Week of June 6 - 12
Mixed
| Rank | Pitcher | TM | OPP | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Wright | ATL | OAK, PIT | Two soft home dates |
| 2 | Nestor Cortes Jr. | NYY | @MIN, CHC | No signs of slowing down |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | PHI | |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | HOU | SEA | Strikeouts up, but so are homers |
| 5 | Carlos Rodon | SF | COL, LAD | |
| 6 | Shane Bieber | CLE | TEX | Velo down, but revamping approach |
| 7 | Joe Musgrove | SD | COL | |
| 8 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | WAS | |
| 9 | Max Fried | ATL | PIT | |
| 10 | Cal Quantrill | CLE | TEX, OAK | Two lesser lineups at home |
| 11 | Alek Manoah | TOR | @KC | |
| 12 | Shane McClanahan | TB | STL | |
| 13 | Michael Kopech | CWS | LAD, TEX | |
| 14 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | OAK | |
| 15 |
Records are kept on everything nowadays, so someone must know for sure, but we might be looking at the weakest slate of two-start pitchers ever. Yes, ever.
This could be a week to float in a third closer, or even a dominant middle reliever to offer ratio support while adding some punchouts. Speaking of which, strikeouts in May were the fewest since June 2018. Maybe it's happenstance, or maybe batters are making adjustments. That said, Friday's ledger generated the fourth-most homers on a single day in history.
Just as you think you know the answer, they change the question.
Speaking of questions, I'm always happy to address queries below, though please direct those involving scheduling to the Probable Pitchers page.
UPDATED: Monday June 6 1:40 AM ET
Week of June 6 - 12
Mixed
| Rank | Pitcher | TM | OPP | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Wright | ATL | OAK, PIT | Two soft home dates |
| 2 | Nestor Cortes Jr. | NYY | @MIN, CHC | No signs of slowing down |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | PHI | |
| 4 | Justin Verlander | HOU | SEA | Strikeouts up, but so are homers |
| 5 | Carlos Rodon | SF | COL, LAD | |
| 6 | Shane Bieber | CLE | TEX | Velo down, but revamping approach |
| 7 | Joe Musgrove | SD | COL | |
| 8 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | WAS | |
| 9 | Max Fried | ATL | PIT | |
| 10 | Cal Quantrill | CLE | TEX, OAK | Two lesser lineups at home |
| 11 | Alek Manoah | TOR | @KC | |
| 12 | Shane McClanahan | TB | STL | |
| 13 | Michael Kopech | CWS | LAD, TEX | |
| 14 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | OAK | |
| 15 | Framber Valdez | HOU | MIA | |
| 16 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | @MIN | |
| 17 | Cristian Javier | HOU | SEA, MIA | |
| 18 | Aaron Nola | PHI | @MIL | |
| 19 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | ARI | |
| 20 | Blake Snell | SD | NYM, COL | |
| 21 | Sean Manaea | SD | NYM | |
| 22 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | TEX | |
| 23 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | @DET | |
| 24 | Julio Urias | LAD | @SF | |
| 25 | Tarik Skubal | DET | @PIT | |
| 26 | MacKenzie Gore | SD | COL | |
| 27 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | CHC | |
| 28 | Yu Darvish | SD | NYM | |
| 29 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | @HOU | |
| 30 | Logan Webb | SF | LAD | Strikeouts on the rise |
| 31 | Frankie Montas | OAK | @CLE | Not letting team context affect performance |
| 32 | Tyler Anderson | LAD | @CWS | I call him Tyer after taking the L |
| 33 | Tony Gonsolin | LAD | @CWS | |
| 34 | Graham Ashcraft | CIN | ARI, @STL | Could use better offspeed pitches, but encouraging start |
| 35 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | @SF | Slated to return |
| 36 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | @LAA | |
| 37 | Adam Wainwright | STL | CIN | |
| 38 | Walker Buehler | LAD | @SF | |
| 39 | Luis Garcia | HOU | MIA | |
| 40 | Robbie Ray | SEA | @HOU, BOS | Tough pair while struggling with command and control |
| 41 | Edward Cabrera | MIA | WAS, @HOU | |
| 42 | Drew Rasmussen | TB | STL | |
| 43 | Zach Plesac | CLE | OAK | |
| 44 | Luis Severino | NYY | CHC | |
| 45 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | @HOU | |
| 46 | Mike Clevinger | SD | COL | |
| 47 | Miles Mikolas | STL | @TB | |
| 48 | Luis Castillo | CIN | @STL | Shoving, and it's not that warm yet |
| 49 | Garrett Whitlock | BOS | @LAA, @SEA | 6 IP with no strikeouts last time out |
| 50 | Michael Wacha | BOS | @LAA, @SEA | |
| 51 | Martin Perez | TEX | @CWS | |
| 52 | Ian Anderson | ATL | OAK | |
| 53 | Jon Gray | TEX | @CLE, @CWS | Would like to see what he can do when healthy for an extended run |
| 54 | Jameson Taillon | NYY | @MIN | Only four homers allowed in 58 IP |
| 55 | Alex Wood | SF | COL | |
| 56 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | @MIA | Short term outlook after TOS often solid, long term is sketchy |
| 57 | Konnor Pilkington | CLE | TEX, OAK | Top pickup this week if available |
| 58 | Carlos Carrasco | NYM | @SD, @LAA | |
| 59 | Rich Hill | BOS | @SEA | |
| 60 | Zac Gallen | ARI | @PHI | |
| 61 | Chris Bassitt | NYM | @SD | |
| 62 | Zach Eflin | PHI | @MIL | |
| 63 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | BOS | |
| 64 | Tyler Wells | BAL | @KC | |
| 65 | Dakota Hudson | STL | @TB, CIN | |
| 66 | Devin Smeltzer | MIN | TB | |
| 67 | Noah Syndergaard | LAA | BOS, NYM | Fastball down 3 mph, slider down 6 mph |
| 68 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | @LAA | |
| 69 | George Kirby | SEA | BOS | |
| 70 | Bailey Ober | MIN | NYY, TB | |
| 71 | Jose Berrios | TOR | @DET | Track record too good to be this bad |
| 72 | Michael Lorenzen | LAA | NYM | |
| 73 | Alex Cobb | SF | COL | |
| 74 | Dylan Cease | CWS | LAD | |
| 75 | Roansy Contreras | PIT | @ATL | |
| 76 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | NYM | |
| 77 | Mix 12 Reliever | |||
| 78 | German Marquez | COL | @SF, @SD | |
| 79 | Corey Kluber | TB | STL, @MIN | |
| 80 | Eric Lauer | MIL | @WAS | |
| 81 | Jakob Junis | SF | LAD | |
| 82 | Joe Ryan | MIN | NYY | |
| 83 | Chad Kuhl | COL | @SD | |
| 84 | Josiah Gray | WAS | @MIA | |
| 85 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | @WAS | |
| 86 | Charlie Morton | ATL | PIT | |
| 87 | Mix 15 Reliever | |||
| 88 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | BOS | |
| 89 | Dane Dunning | TEX | @CLE | |
| 90 | Spencer Strider | ATL | PIT | |
| 91 | David Peterson | NYM | @LAA | |
| 92 | Austin Gomber | COL | @SF | Uh oh, road start in Oracle Park. What could possibly go wrong? |
| 93 | Adrian Houser | MIL | PHI | |
| 94 | Jose Quintana | PIT | DET, @ATL | |
| 95 | Shane Baz | TB | @MIN | |
| 96 | Jose Urquidy | HOU | SEA | |
| 97 | Brad Keller | KC | TOR, BAL | |
| 98 | Keegan Thompson | CHC | @BAL | |
| 99 | Marcus Stroman | CHC | @BAL | |
| 100 | Ranger Suarez | PHI | @MIL, ARI | |
| 101 | Mike Minor | CIN | ARI | |
| 102 | Alex Faedo | DET | @PIT | |
| 103 | Kyle Gibson | PHI | ARI | |
| 104 | Brady Singer | KC | TOR | |
| 105 | Taijuan Walker | NYM | @SD | |
| 106 | Reid Detmers | LAA | BOS | |
| 107 | Tyler Gilbert | ARI | @CIN, @PHI | |
| 108 | Trevor Rogers | MIA | WAS | So befuddling, but nothing exhibits reason for optimism |
| 109 | Aaron Ashby | MIL | @WAS | |
| 110 | Steven Matz | STL | CIN | |
| 111 | Mitch White | LAD | @CWS | |
| 112 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | @CIN | |
| 113 | Madison Bumgarner | ARI | @CIN, @PHI | |
| 114 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | ARI | |
| 115 | Glenn Otto | TEX | @CWS | |
| 116 | Kyle Freeland | COL | @SD | |
| 117 | Chris Flexen | SEA | @HOU | |
| 118 | Jason Alexander | MIL | PHI | |
| 119 | Dylan Bundy | MIN | TB | |
| 120 | Kris Bubic | KC | BAL | |
| 121 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | @KC | |
| 122 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | @CLE | |
| 123 | JT Brubaker | PIT | @ATL | |
| 124 | Mitch Keller | PIT | DET | |
| 125 | Matt Swarmer | CHC | @NYY | |
| 126 | Hunter Greene | CIN | ARI, @STL | |
| 127 | Trevor Williams | NYM | @LAA | |
| 128 | James Kaprielian | OAK | @CLE | |
| 129 | Ryan Feltner | COL | @SD | |
| 130 | Ross Stripling | TOR | @KC, @DET | |
| 131 | Johnny Cueto | CWS | LAD | |
| 132 | Zach Thompson | PIT | @ATL | |
| 133 | Chase Silseth | LAA | BOS | |
| 134 | Jonathan Heasley | KC | BAL | |
| 135 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | @SF | |
| 136 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | @NYY | |
| 137 | Daniel Lynch | KC | TOR, BAL | |
| 138 | Cole Irvin | OAK | @ATL, @CLE | |
| 139 | Chris Archer | MIN | NYY | |
| 140 | Dean Kremer | BAL | @KC | |
| 141 | Zach Davies | ARI | @CIN | |
| 142 | Justin Steele | CHC | @NYY | |
| 143 | Bruce Zimmermann | BAL | @KC | |
| 144 | Jordan Lyles | BAL | CHC | |
| 145 | Beau Brieske | DET | TOR | |
| 146 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | CHC, @KC | |
| 147 | Erick Fedde | WAS | MIL | |
| 148 | Jared Koenig | OAK | @ATL | |
| 149 | Braxton Garrett | MIA | @HOU | |
| 150 | Joan Adon | WAS | @MIA, MIL | |
| 151 | Patrick Corbin | WAS | MIL | |
| 152 | Zack Thompson | STL | @TB | |
| 153 | Davis Martin | CWS | TEX | |
| 154 | Rony Garcia | DET | TOR | |
| 155 | Ryan Yarbrough | TB | @MIN | |
| 156 | Taylor Hearn | TEX | @CLE | |
| 157 | Elvin Rodriguez | DET | TOR |
American League
| Rank | Pitcher | TM | OPP | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nestor Cortes Jr. | NYY | @MIN, CHC | No signs of slowing down |
| 2 | Justin Verlander | HOU | SEA | Strikeouts up, but so are homers |
| 3 | Shane Bieber | CLE | TEX | Velo down, but revamping approach |
| 4 | Cal Quantrill | CLE | TEX, OAK | Two lesser lineups at home |
| 5 | Alek Manoah | TOR | @KC | |
| 6 | Shane McClanahan | TB | STL | |
| 7 | Michael Kopech | CWS | LAD, TEX | |
| 8 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | OAK | |
| 9 | Framber Valdez | HOU | MIA | |
| 10 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | @MIN | |
| 11 | Cristian Javier | HOU | SEA, MIA | |
| 12 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | TEX | |
| 13 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | @DET | |
| 14 | Tarik Skubal | DET | @PIT | |
| 15 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | CHC | |
| 16 | Frankie Montas | OAK | @CLE | Not letting team context affect performance |
| 17 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | @LAA | |
| 18 | Luis Garcia | HOU | MIA | |
| 19 | Robbie Ray | SEA | @HOU, BOS | Tough pair while struggling with command and control |
| 20 | Drew Rasmussen | TB | STL | |
| 21 | Zach Plesac | CLE | OAK | |
| 22 | Luis Severino | NYY | CHC | |
| 23 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | @HOU | |
| 24 | Garrett Whitlock | BOS | @LAA, @SEA | 6 IP with no strikeouts last time out |
| 25 | Michael Wacha | BOS | @LAA, @SEA | |
| 26 | Martin Perez | TEX | @CWS | |
| 27 | Jon Gray | TEX | @CLE, @CWS | Would like to see what he can do when healthy for an extended run |
| 28 | Jameson Taillon | NYY | @MIN | Only four homers allowed in 58 IP |
| 29 | Konnor Pilkington | CLE | TEX, OAK | Top pickup this week if available |
| 30 | Rich Hill | BOS | @SEA | |
| 31 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | BOS | |
| 32 | Tyler Wells | BAL | @KC | |
| 33 | Devin Smeltzer | MIN | TB | |
| 34 | Noah Syndergaard | LAA | BOS, NYM | Fastball down 3 mph, slider down 6 mph |
| 35 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | @LAA | |
| 36 | George Kirby | SEA | BOS | |
| 37 | Bailey Ober | MIN | NYY, TB | |
| 38 | Jose Berrios | TOR | @DET | Track record too good to be this bad |
| 39 | Michael Lorenzen | LAA | NYM | |
| 40 | Dylan Cease | CWS | LAD | |
| 41 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | NYM | |
| 42 | Corey Kluber | TB | STL, @MIN | |
| 43 | Joe Ryan | MIN | NYY | |
| 44 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | BOS | |
| 45 | Dane Dunning | TEX | @CLE | |
| 46 | Shane Baz | TB | @MIN | |
| 47 | Jose Urquidy | HOU | SEA | |
| 48 | Brad Keller | KC | TOR, BAL | |
| 49 | Alex Faedo | DET | @PIT | |
| 50 | Brady Singer | KC | TOR | |
| 51 | Reid Detmers | LAA | BOS | |
| 52 | AL Reliever | |||
| 53 | Glenn Otto | TEX | @CWS | |
| 54 | Chris Flexen | SEA | @HOU | |
| 55 | Dylan Bundy | MIN | TB | |
| 56 | Kris Bubic | KC | BAL | |
| 57 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | @KC | |
| 58 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | @CLE | |
| 59 | James Kaprielian | OAK | @CLE | |
| 60 | Ross Stripling | TOR | @KC, @DET | |
| 61 | Johnny Cueto | CWS | LAD | |
| 62 | Chase Silseth | LAA | BOS | |
| 63 | Jonathan Heasley | KC | BAL | |
| 64 | Daniel Lynch | KC | TOR, BAL | |
| 65 | Cole Irvin | OAK | @ATL, @CLE | |
| 66 | Chris Archer | MIN | NYY | |
| 67 | Dean Kremer | BAL | @KC | |
| 68 | Bruce Zimmermann | BAL | @KC | |
| 69 | Jordan Lyles | BAL | CHC | |
| 70 | Beau Brieske | DET | TOR | |
| 71 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | CHC, @KC | |
| 72 | Jared Koenig | OAK | @ATL | |
| 73 | Davis Martin | CWS | TEX | |
| 74 | Rony Garcia | DET | TOR | |
| 75 | Ryan Yarbrough | TB | @MIN | |
| 76 | Taylor Hearn | TEX | @CLE | |
| 77 | Elvin Rodriguez | DET | TOR |
National League
| Rank | Pitcher | TM | OPP | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Wright | ATL | OAK, PIT | Two soft home dates |
| 2 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | PHI | |
| 3 | Carlos Rodon | SF | COL, LAD | |
| 4 | Joe Musgrove | SD | COL | |
| 5 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | WAS | |
| 6 | Max Fried | ATL | PIT | |
| 7 | Aaron Nola | PHI | @MIL | |
| 8 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | ARI | |
| 9 | Blake Snell | SD | NYM, COL | |
| 10 | Sean Manaea | SD | NYM | |
| 11 | Julio Urias | LAD | @SF | |
| 12 | MacKenzie Gore | SD | COL | |
| 13 | Yu Darvish | SD | NYM | |
| 14 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | @HOU | |
| 15 | Logan Webb | SF | LAD | Strikeouts on the rise |
| 16 | Tyler Anderson | LAD | @CWS | I call him Tyer after taking the L |
| 17 | Tony Gonsolin | LAD | @CWS | |
| 18 | Graham Ashcraft | CIN | ARI, @STL | Could use better offspeed pitches, but encouraging start |
| 19 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | @SF | Slated to return |
| 20 | Adam Wainwright | STL | CIN | |
| 21 | Walker Buehler | LAD | @SF | |
| 22 | Edward Cabrera | MIA | WAS, @HOU | |
| 23 | Mike Clevinger | SD | COL | |
| 24 | Miles Mikolas | STL | @TB | |
| 25 | Luis Castillo | CIN | @STL | Shoving, and it's not that warm yet |
| 26 | Ian Anderson | ATL | OAK | |
| 27 | Alex Wood | SF | COL | |
| 28 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | @MIA | Short term outlook after TOS often solid, long term is sketchy |
| 29 | Carlos Carrasco | NYM | @SD, @LAA | |
| 30 | Zac Gallen | ARI | @PHI | |
| 31 | Chris Bassitt | NYM | @SD | |
| 32 | Zach Eflin | PHI | @MIL | |
| 33 | Dakota Hudson | STL | @TB, CIN | |
| 34 | Alex Cobb | SF | COL | |
| 35 | Roansy Contreras | PIT | @ATL | |
| 36 | German Marquez | COL | @SF, @SD | |
| 37 | Eric Lauer | MIL | @WAS | |
| 38 | Jakob Junis | SF | LAD | |
| 39 | Chad Kuhl | COL | @SD | |
| 40 | Josiah Gray | WAS | @MIA | |
| 41 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | @WAS | |
| 42 | Charlie Morton | ATL | PIT | |
| 43 | Spencer Strider | ATL | PIT | |
| 44 | David Peterson | NYM | @LAA | |
| 45 | Austin Gomber | COL | @SF | Uh oh, road start in Oracle Park. What could possibly go wrong? |
| 46 | Adrian Houser | MIL | PHI | |
| 47 | Jose Quintana | PIT | DET, @ATL | |
| 48 | Keegan Thompson | CHC | @BAL | |
| 49 | Marcus Stroman | CHC | @BAL | |
| 50 | Ranger Suarez | PHI | @MIL, ARI | |
| 51 | Mike Minor | CIN | ARI | |
| 52 | Kyle Gibson | PHI | ARI | |
| 53 | Taijuan Walker | NYM | @SD | |
| 54 | Tyler Gilbert | ARI | @CIN, @PHI | |
| 55 | Trevor Rogers | MIA | WAS | So befuddling, but nothing exhibits reason for optimism |
| 56 | NL Reliever | |||
| 57 | Aaron Ashby | MIL | @WAS | |
| 58 | Steven Matz | STL | CIN | |
| 59 | Mitch White | LAD | @CWS | |
| 60 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | @CIN | |
| 61 | Madison Bumgarner | ARI | @CIN, @PHI | |
| 62 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | ARI | |
| 63 | Kyle Freeland | COL | @SD | |
| 64 | Jason Alexander | MIL | PHI | |
| 65 | JT Brubaker | PIT | @ATL | |
| 66 | Mitch Keller | PIT | DET | |
| 67 | Matt Swarmer | CHC | @NYY | |
| 68 | Hunter Greene | CIN | ARI, @STL | |
| 69 | Trevor Williams | NYM | @LAA | |
| 70 | Ryan Feltner | COL | @SD | |
| 71 | Zach Thompson | PIT | @ATL | |
| 72 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | @SF | |
| 73 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | @NYY | |
| 74 | Zach Davies | ARI | @CIN | |
| 75 | Justin Steele | CHC | @NYY | |
| 76 | Erick Fedde | WAS | MIL | |
| 77 | Braxton Garrett | MIA | @HOU | |
| 78 | Joan Adon | WAS | @MIA, MIL | |
| 79 | Patrick Corbin | WAS | MIL | |
| 80 | Zack Thompson | STL | @TB |
