Weekly Pitcher Rankings: To the Max

Todd Zola breaks down this week's pitcher rankings as Max Scherzer finds himself on top as he is keeping the homers in check this season.

Updated on June 3, 2017 12:11PM EST

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on June 3, 2017 12:11PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

It's a rather bland week for two-start pitchers with only a handful of aces with a double-dip. The slate features Jameson Taillon making his return much earlier than expected along with the long-awaited debut of Tyson Ross. Other highlights include the first two-start week for Dinelson Lamet along with the possible recall of Jose De Leon and Jake Junis.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	James Paxton	SEA	vs. MIN, vs. TOR	Hasn't allowed a home run yet this season
2	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB	Helped by pitcher friendly venues
3	Jose Quintana	CWS	at TB, at CLE	Inconsistent, but facing twi clubs below average vs. LHP
4	J.A. Happ	TOR	at OAK, at SEA	Boosted by huge park upgrades
5	Marco Estrada	TOR	at OAK
6	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB
7	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
8	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. DET
9	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at NYY, vs. DET	Gaining confidence but still homer-prone
10	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. OAK
11	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. HOU, at SD
12	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at SEA
13	Lance McCullers	HOU	at KC
14	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Looked sharp coming off DL
15	Chris Archer	TB	vs. CWS
16	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at KC	Back to being low-end ace
17	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. NYM
18	Sonny Gray	OAK	at TB
19	Andrew Triggs	OAK	vs. TOR
20	Jose De Leon	TB	vs. CWS, vs. OAK	Home field advantage

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	James Paxton	SEA	vs. MIN, vs. TOR	Hasn't allowed a home run yet this season
2	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB	Helped by pitcher friendly venues
3	Jose Quintana	CWS	at TB, at CLE	Inconsistent, but facing twi clubs below average vs. LHP
4	J.A. Happ	TOR	at OAK, at SEA	Boosted by huge park upgrades
5	Marco Estrada	TOR	at OAK
6	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB
7	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
8	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. DET
9	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at NYY, vs. DET	Gaining confidence but still homer-prone
10	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. OAK
11	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. HOU, at SD
12	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at SEA
13	Lance McCullers	HOU	at KC
14	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Looked sharp coming off DL
15	Chris Archer	TB	vs. CWS
16	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at KC	Back to being low-end ace
17	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. NYM
18	Sonny Gray	OAK	at TB
19	Andrew Triggs	OAK	vs. TOR
20	Jose De Leon	TB	vs. CWS, vs. OAK	Home field advantage agaisnt weak lineups
21	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BAL	Repeat after me: A .143 BABIP is not sustainable
22	Ervin Santana	MIN	at SF
23	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. LAA
24	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	vs. OAK
25	Jose Berrios	MIN	at SF
26	David Price	BOS	at NYY
27	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at OAK
28	Blake Snell	TB	vs. OAK
29	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. BAL	Surrendered 14 homers in just 61 innings
30	Joe Biagini	TOR	at SEA
31	Hector Santiago	MIN	at SEA, at SF
32	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at NYY
33	Derek Holland	CWS	at TB	Pitching poorly but boosted by park and offense weak vs. LHP
34	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. CWS
35	Rick Porcello	BOS	at NYY
36	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at SEA
37	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. HOU	I crunched the numbers, only explanation is he sold his soul to the devil
38	Joe Musgrove	HOU	at KC, vs. LAA	One step forward, two steps back
39	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. LAA
40	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. BOS
41	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. BAL
42	Eric Skoglund	KC	at SD
43	Tyson Ross	TEX	at WAS
44	Jake Junis	KC	vs. HOU, at SD
45	Ariel Miranda	SEA	vs. TOR
46	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at TB
47	Mike Fiers	HOU	at KC
48	Alec Asher	BAL	at WAS
49	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS
50	Justin Verlander	DET	at BOS
51	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at HOU
52	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. LAA
53	JC Ramirez	LAA	at DET
54	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. PIT
55	Chris Tillman	BAL	at NYY
56	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at TB
57	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. PIT, at NYY
58	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at DET, at HOU
59	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. TOR
60	Christian Bergman	SEA	vs. MIN
61	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at SEA
62	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	vs. MIN
63	Martin Perez	TEX	at WAS
64	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at HOU
65	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. DET
66	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. LAA, at BOS
67	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. HOU
68	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BOS
69	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at CLE
70	Nick Martinez	TEX	vs. NYM
71	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. LAA
72	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at WAS
73	Danny Salazar	CLE	at COL
74	Alex Meyer	LAA	at DET
75	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at COL
76	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at BOS
77	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	at LAD, vs. TEX	Keeping homers in check
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SD, vs. MIL	Rewarding owners that took chance last season was the fluke
3	Carlos Martinez	STL	at CIN, vs. PHI	Deserves ace/SP1 status
4	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. COL	Peripherals have stabilized, look for ERA to drop
5	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at MIL, vs. MIN	Remaining obstinate, there will be a big ERA correction
6	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. WAS	Best pitcher facing best offense
7	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. CIN	Still shaking off rust, but getting there
8	Jaime Garcia	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. NYM	Quietly rebounding from last season's disaster
9	Ivan Nova	PIT	at BAL, vs. MIA	Stud ratios, pedestrian strikeouts
10	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at LAD, vs. TEX
11	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at LAD
12	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. COL
13	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. CIN
14	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at TEX, at ATL
15	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. PHI
16	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN
17	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. MIA
18	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. SF	21 punch outs, no walks in last two games, covering 15 innings
19	Dan Straily	MIA	at CHC, at PIT
20	John Lackey	CHC	vs. MIA
21	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIA	Rank irrelevant. So good just to see him back.
22	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. BAL
23	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PHI
24	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. TEX
25	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. NYM
26	Johnny Cueto	SF	at MIL
27	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. SF, at ARI
28	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. COL
29	Randall Delgado	ARI	vs. SD
30	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL, at STL
31	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at ARI, vs. KC	Expect some speed bumps, but the rookie looks like real deal
32	Adam Wainwright	STL	at CIN, vs. PHI
33	Vance Worley	MIA	at PIT
34	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. STL, at LAD
35	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. SF, at ARI
36	German Marquez	COL	at CHC
37	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. PHI
38	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. SD
39	Bartolo Colon	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. NYM	Has age finally caught up?
40	Amir Garrett	CIN	vs. STL, at LAD
41	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. MIL
42	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. WAS
43	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at CHC
44	Mike Leake	STL	at CIN
45	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. SF
46	Steven Matz	NYM	at ATL
47	Lance Lynn	STL	at CIN
48	Tyler Anderson	COL	at CHC
49	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. WAS
50	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at STL
51	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. STL
52	Matt Moore	SF	vs. MIN
53	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. MIL
54	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at PIT
55	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CLE, at CHC
56	Matt Wisler	ATL	vs. NYM
57	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at ATL
58	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	vs. MIA
59	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	vs. KC
60	Ben Lively	PHI	at ATL
61	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at BAL
62	Eddie Butler	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. COL
63	Matt Cain	SF	at MIL, vs. MIN
64	Lisalverto Bonilla	CIN	at LAD
65	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	vs. STL
66	Jose Urena	MIA	at CHC
67	Jeff Locke	MIA	at CHC, at PIT
68	Seth Lugo	NYM	at ATL
69	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL, at STL
70	Zach Davies	MIL	at ARI
71	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at TEX
72	Ty Blach	SF	at MIL
73	Luis Perdomo	SD	at ARI
74	Matt Harvey	NYM	at ATL
75	Jarred Cosart	SD	vs. KC
76	Clayton Richard	SD	at ARI
77	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CLE
78	Asher Wojciechowski	CIN	at TOR

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	at LAD, vs. TEX	Keeping homers in check
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SD, vs. MIL	Rewarding owners that took chance last season was the fluke
3	James Paxton	SEA	vs. MIN, vs. TOR	Hasn't allowed a home run yet this season
4	Carlos Martinez	STL	at CIN, vs. PHI	Deserves ace/SP1 status
5	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. COL	Peripherals have stabilized, look for ERA to drop
6	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at MIL, vs. MIN	Remaining obstinate, there will be a big ERA correction
7	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB	Helped by pitcher friendly venues
8	Jose Quintana	CWS	at TB, at CLE	Inconsistent, but facing twi clubs below average vs. LHP
9	J.A. Happ	TOR	at OAK, at SEA	Boosted by huge park upgrades
10	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. WAS	Best pitcher facing best offense
11	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. CIN	Still shaking off rust, but getting there
12	Marco Estrada	TOR	at OAK
13	Jaime Garcia	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. NYM	Quietly rebounding from last season's disaster
14	Ivan Nova	PIT	at BAL, vs. MIA	Stud ratios, pedestrian strikeouts
15	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at LAD, vs. TEX
16	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at LAD
17	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. TOR, at TB
18	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. COL
19	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
20	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. CIN
21	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. DET
22	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at TEX, at ATL
23	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. PHI
24	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at NYY, vs. DET	Gaining confidence but still homer-prone
25	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. OAK
26	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. HOU, at SD
27	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at SEA
28	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN
29	Lance McCullers	HOU	at KC
30	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Looked sharp coming off DL
31	Chris Archer	TB	vs. CWS
32	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. MIA
33	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at KC	Back to being low-end ace
34	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. NYM
35	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. SF	21 punch outs, no walks in last two games, covering 15 innings
36	Sonny Gray	OAK	at TB
37	Dan Straily	MIA	at CHC, at PIT
38	John Lackey	CHC	vs. MIA
39	Andrew Triggs	OAK	vs. TOR
40	Jose De Leon	TB	vs. CWS, vs. OAK	Home field advantage agaisnt weak lineups
41	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BAL	Repeat after me: A .143 BABIP is not sustainable
42	Ervin Santana	MIN	at SF
43	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIA	Rank irrelevant. So good just to see him back.
44	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. LAA
45	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. BAL
46	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PHI
47	Erasmo Ramirez	TB	vs. OAK
48	Jose Berrios	MIN	at SF
49	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. TEX
50	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. NYM
51	Johnny Cueto	SF	at MIL
52	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. SF, at ARI
53	David Price	BOS	at NYY
54	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. COL
55	Francisco Liriano	TOR	at OAK
56	Blake Snell	TB	vs. OAK
57	Randall Delgado	ARI	vs. SD
58	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. BAL	Surrendered 14 homers in just 61 innings
59	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL, at STL
60	Joe Biagini	TOR	at SEA
61	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at ARI, vs. KC	Expect some speed bumps, but the rookie looks like real deal
62	Hector Santiago	MIN	at SEA, at SF
63	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at NYY
64	Derek Holland	CWS	at TB	Pitching poorly but boosted by park and offense weak vs. LHP
65	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. CWS
66	Adam Wainwright	STL	at CIN, vs. PHI
67	Vance Worley	MIA	at PIT
68	Rick Porcello	BOS	at NYY
69	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. STL, at LAD
70	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at SEA
71	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. SF, at ARI
72	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. HOU	I crunched the numbers, only explanation is he sold his soul to the devil
73	German Marquez	COL	at CHC
74	R.A. Dickey	ATL	vs. PHI
75	Joe Musgrove	HOU	at KC, vs. LAA	One step forward, two steps back
76	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. LAA
77	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. BOS
78	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. SD
79	Bartolo Colon	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. NYM	Has age finally caught up?
80	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. BAL
81	Amir Garrett	CIN	vs. STL, at LAD
82	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. MIL
83	Eric Skoglund	KC	at SD
84	Tyson Ross	TEX	at WAS
85	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. WAS
86	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at CHC
87	Jake Junis	KC	vs. HOU, at SD
88	Mike Leake	STL	at CIN
89	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. SF
90	Steven Matz	NYM	at ATL
91	Lance Lynn	STL	at CIN
92	Tyler Anderson	COL	at CHC
93	Ariel Miranda	SEA	vs. TOR
94	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	vs. WAS
95	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at STL
96	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at TB
97	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. STL
98	Mike Fiers	HOU	at KC
99	Alec Asher	BAL	at WAS
100	Matt Moore	SF	vs. MIN
101	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. MIL
102	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS
103	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at PIT
104	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CLE, at CHC
105	Justin Verlander	DET	at BOS
106	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at HOU
107	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. LAA
108	Matt Wisler	ATL	vs. NYM
109	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	at ATL
110	JC Ramirez	LAA	at DET
111	Wade Miley	BAL	vs. PIT
112	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	vs. MIA
113	Chris Tillman	BAL	at NYY
114	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at TB
115	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	vs. KC
116	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. PIT, at NYY
117	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at DET, at HOU
118	Ben Lively	PHI	at ATL
119	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. TOR
120	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at BAL
121	Christian Bergman	SEA	vs. MIN
122	Eddie Butler	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. COL
123	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at SEA
124	Matt Cain	SF	at MIL, vs. MIN
125	Lisalverto Bonilla	CIN	at LAD
126	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	vs. STL
127	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	vs. MIN
128	Jose Urena	MIA	at CHC
129	Martin Perez	TEX	at WAS
130	Jeff Locke	MIA	at CHC, at PIT
131	Seth Lugo	NYM	at ATL
132	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL, at STL
133	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at HOU
134	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. DET
135	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. LAA, at BOS
136	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. HOU
137	Zach Davies	MIL	at ARI
138	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at TEX
139	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BOS
140	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at CLE
141	Nick Martinez	TEX	vs. NYM
142	Ty Blach	SF	at MIL
143	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. LAA
144	Luis Perdomo	SD	at ARI
145	Matt Harvey	NYM	at ATL
146	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at WAS
147	Danny Salazar	CLE	at COL
148	Jarred Cosart	SD	vs. KC
149	Alex Meyer	LAA	at DET
150	Clayton Richard	SD	at ARI
151	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at COL
152	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at BOS
153	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CLE
154	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE
155	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. BOS