This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that isn't correct, assume that it was a change that has occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments, and I'll let you know where the new arm slots.
For the week May 26-June 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
For the week May 26-June 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
| 1. Yu Darvish - at MIN, at WAS Note: These top two are the AL frontrunners for Cy Young, though Tanaka will have his say as well |
| 2. Max Scherzer - at OAK, at SEA |
| 3. Yordano Ventura - HOU, at TOR Note: I don't like facing TOR at all right now, but you can't sit Ventura against anyone |
| 4. Jon Lester - at ATL, TB Note: Speaking of TOR, they mauled Lester's ERA, but he'd been brilliant to that point |
| 5. Masahiro Tanaka - MIN Note: Tanaka and Sale can do more in one start than many can do in two, especially those two-start guys facing fierce competition as Cobb and Gray are this week |
| 6. Chris Sale - CLE |
| 7. Alex Cobb - at TOR, at BOS |
| 8. Sonny Gray - DET, LAA |
| 9. Jose Quintana - CLE, SD Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last six; ERA indicators point to a low-3.00s arm right now, I'm buying |
| 10. Jered Weaver - at SEA, at OAK Note: Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated |
| 11. Felix Hernandez - LAA Note: The two |
As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that isn't correct, assume that it was a change that has occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments, and I'll let you know where the new arm slots.
For the week May 26-June 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
CONSIDER
SIT
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CONSIDER
SIT
MLB TOP 100
For the week May 26-June 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
| 1. Yu Darvish - at MIN, at WAS Note: These top two are the AL frontrunners for Cy Young, though Tanaka will have his say as well |
| 2. Max Scherzer - at OAK, at SEA |
| 3. Yordano Ventura - HOU, at TOR Note: I don't like facing TOR at all right now, but you can't sit Ventura against anyone |
| 4. Jon Lester - at ATL, TB Note: Speaking of TOR, they mauled Lester's ERA, but he'd been brilliant to that point |
| 5. Masahiro Tanaka - MIN Note: Tanaka and Sale can do more in one start than many can do in two, especially those two-start guys facing fierce competition as Cobb and Gray are this week |
| 6. Chris Sale - CLE |
| 7. Alex Cobb - at TOR, at BOS |
| 8. Sonny Gray - DET, LAA |
| 9. Jose Quintana - CLE, SD Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last six; ERA indicators point to a low-3.00s arm right now, I'm buying |
| 10. Jered Weaver - at SEA, at OAK Note: Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated |
| 11. Felix Hernandez - LAA Note: The two Seattle studs find their rankings depressed by a load of two-start weeks and the fact that they're facing big time offenses; still auto-starts, of course |
| 12. Hisashi Iwakuma - DET |
| 13. Corey Kluber - COL Note: 2.33 FIP is an AL-best; he has at least 8 Ks in each of his four May starts along with a 2.51 ERA in 28.7 IP |
| 14. C.J. Wilson - at SEA |
| 15. Anibal Sanchez - at OAK |
| 16. James Shields - at TOR Note: He's allowed 4 ER in 21 IP since that 7 ER dud against DET |
| 17. David Price - at BOS |
| 18. Phil Hughes - TEX, at NYY Note: I hope doesn't drop into a fetal position and start convulsing upon returning to Yankee Stadium |
| 19. Drew Smyly - at OAK, at SEA |
| 20. Drew Hutchison - TB, KC Note: Facing two bottom five teams in K% vs. RHP will test his 24% K rate |
| 21. Scott Kazmir - DET |
| 22. Jesse Chavez - DET |
| 23. Justin Verlander - at SEA Note: We can only blindly trust for so long |
| 24. Garrett Richards - at OAK Note: I'm not sure he's getting enough love for his great start to the season, he has two 5 ER outings and yet still sits at 2.90 ERA overall |
| 25. Rick Porcello - at OAK Note: Would love to see the 2013 Ks return, but everything else has been fantastic |
| 26. John Lackey - ATL |
| 27. Dallas Keuchel - BAL |
| 28. Drew Pomeranz - LAA Note: Sure, you would like more innings, but it's hard to complain about three straight 5 IP/0 ER efforts |
| 29. Hiroki Kuroda - at STL Note: He's rebounded nicely in May, though he's more of a high-3.00s ERA guy if the HR issues don't correct as opposed to the mid-3.00s guy we're used to seeing |
| 30. Chris Tillman - at MIL, at HOU Note: Big proving ground for him this week as neither offense is too scary, especially with the injuries in Milwaukee |
| 31. Tyler Skaggs - at SEA, at OAK Note: This is what it's like to watch a guy learn on the job; unfortunately that yields some inconsistency, but roto owners need to set it & forget it |
| 32. Collin McHugh - at KC, BAL Note: The Ks are starting to look believable with 7+ in four of his six starts |
| 33. David Phelps - at STL, MIN Note: He's been solid in the rotation with a 2.82 ERA |
| 34. Mark Buehrle - TB, KC |
| 35. Danny Duffy - HOU |
| 36. R.A. Dickey - KC Note: He has six straight quality starts helping pare down his ERA from 6.26 to 4.20 |
| 37. Ubaldo Jimenez - at HOU Note: Still tough to fully trust start-to-start, but you can't sit him with this matchup |
| 38. Trevor Bauer - COL Note: The matchup is rough, but at least it's not in Coors |
| 39. Nick Tepesch - at MIN, at WAS |
| 40. Jarred Cosart - at KC, BAL Note: How much risk can you stomach? |
| 41. Josh Tomlin - at CWS, COL |
| 42. Bud Norris - at MIL Note: Quietly succeeding despite a total evaporation of his K rate |
| 43. Miguel Gonzalez - at HOU |
CONSIDER
| 44. Tommy Milone - DET, LAA Note: Two tough opponents, but both at home where he excels |
| 45. John Danks - SD Note: Anyone facing the Padres deserves some consideration, even lower tier options |
| 46. Andre Rienzo - SD |
| 47. Chris Archer - at TOR Note: I can't figure him lately, but I'm nervous with this matchup |
| 48. Wei-Yin Chen - at MIL, at HOU |
| 49. Erik Bedard - at TOR, at BOS Note: He allowed 4 ER in each of his first two starts, but then just 3 ER in his last five combined |
| 50. Colby Lewis - at WAS |
| 51. Jake Odorizzi - at BOS Note: The K surge has been impressive |
| 52. Jake Peavy - ATL Note: Who is the bigger mess - Peavy or the ATL offense? Let your answer dictate whether you roll with him |
| 53. Ricky Nolasco - TEX |
SIT
| 54. Jason Vargas - HOU, at TOR Note: I think we all knew it wouldn't last, but three 5+ ER outings in his last five certainly sped up the regression |
| 55. Roenis Elias - LAA, DET |
| 56. Clay Buchholz - at ATL, TB |
| 57. Chris Young - LAA, DET |
| 58. Jeremy Guthrie - HOU, at TOR |
| 59. Justin Masterson - at CWS |
| 60. Scott Baker - at MIN |
| 61. Kyle Gibson - TEX |
| 62. Scott Feldman - BAL |
| 63. Brad Peacock - at KC |
| 64. Matt Shoemaker - at SEA |
| 65. Brandon Maurer - LAA |
| 66. Samuel Deduno - at NYY |
| 67. J.A. Happ - KC |
| 68. Chase Whitley - at STL, MIN Note: The upside seems to be a five-and-dive as they've limited him to about 70-75 pitches |
| 69. Vidal Nuno - MIN |
| 70. T.J. House -at CWS |
| 71. Liam Hendriks - TB |
| 72. Nick Martinez - at MIN |
| 73. Hector Noesi - CLE |
| 74. Kevin Correia - TEX, at NYY |
| 75. BOS Fifth Starter - TB Note: Doubront DL'd, unsure of the replacement right now |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
START
| 1. Johnny Cueto - at LAD, at ARI Note: Even in his first real dud of the year, he still had a 6/0 K/BB ratio |
| 2. Zack Greinke - CIN, PIT Note: I kinda wish the Dodgers or Reds would flip their rotation a bit so Cueto and Greinke would square off |
| 3. Jeff Samardzija - at SF, at MIL Note: MLB-best ERA has made up for K decline and 0 wins through 10 starts |
| 4. Hyun-Jin Ryu - CIN, PIT |
| 5. Michael Wacha - NYY, SF Note: A foul ball of the elbow while in the dugout cut his last outing short |
| 6. Clayton Kershaw - CIN Note: If you were worried after the meltdown in ARI that's your own fault |
| 7. Adam Wainwright - SF |
| 8. Stephen Strasburg - TEX Note: He allowed 6 ER at MIA on 4/15; he's allowed 9 ER in the six starts since then |
| 9. Julio Teheran - at MIA |
| 10. Cole Hamels - COL, NYM Note: The Mets generally own him so this isn't a great two-start slate |
| 11. Kyle Lohse - BAL, CHC Note: He's very quietly been excellent |
| 12. Ervin Santana - BOS, at MIA Note: Can't overreact to a pair of duds in a row as he's still having a great season |
| 13. Lance Lynn - NYY, SF |
| 14. Nathan Eovaldi - at WAS, ATL Note: Deserves a better fate than his 4.98 road ERA as evidenced by his 3.80 FIP |
| 15. Jon Niese - PIT, at PHI |
| 16. Tim Hudson - CHC, at STL |
| 17. Matt Cain - CHC, at STL Note: Of course he gets rain delayed after three no-hit innings in Coors |
| 18. Tyson Ross - at ARI, at CWS Note: His sharp home/road splits make this a worrisome two-start week |
| 19. Aaron Harang - BOS, at MIA Note: His 2.31 FIP is a full run lower than 3.32 ERA; he's kinda legit |
| 20. Brandon McCarthy - SD, CIN Note: His last outing was his first in seven starts with fewer than 5 Ks, I'm buying the surge |
| 21. Doug Fister - TEX Note: Hope you tried to buy low after the shaky debut outing in OAK |
| 22. Gerrit Cole - at LAD |
| 23. Madison Bumgarner - at STL Note: 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in May after a 3.74 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in April |
| 24. Dan Haren - PIT |
| 25. Mike Minor - at BOS Note: His one bad outing vs. STL is artificially inflating his numbers |
| 26. Ian Kennedy - at CWS |
| 27. Wily Peralta - CHC |
| 28. Jordan Zimmermann - MIA Note: I'm not sure quite sure what his deal is lately, hopefully just a blip |
| 29. Wade Miley - SD, CIN Note: A gaudy 22.6% HR/FB rate at home in inflating his numbers; has a 3.98 xFIP at home nearly matching his 3.93 on the road |
| 30. Tanner Roark - MIA, TEX |
| 31. Alfredo Simon - at LAD, at ARI |
| 32. Jason Hammel - at MIL |
| 33. Gavin Floyd - at BOS Note: Remember when they were scrambling for SPs? The emergence of Floyd pushed Alex Wood and his 3.29 ERA to the pen |
| 34. Zack Wheeler - at PHI |
| 35. Homer Bailey - at LAD Note: Four QS in his last five, but just 1.8 K/BB in those outings |
| 36. Travis Wood - at MIL |
| 37. A.J. Burnett - NYM |
| 38. Tony Cingrani - at ARI Note: The D'Backs offense is coming on in May |
| 39. Mike Leake - at ARI |
| 40. Josh Beckett - PIT |
| 41. Francisco Liriano - at LAD Note: He's sputtered this year, but LAD struggles with southpaws |
| 42. Bartolo Colon - PIT Note: Three rough starts have ballooned his ERA; he's still quite useful |
| 43. Brandon Cumpton - at NYM, at LAD |
| 44. Edwin Jackson - at SF |
| 45. Jaime Garcia - SF Note: Keep an eye on his second start of the season on Saturday |
| 46. Ryan Vogelsong - at STL |
| 47. Charlie Morton - at NYM |
| 48. Jordan Lyles - at PHI Note: I definitely didn't expect anything from him this year, but he's been impressive |
CONSIDER
| 49. Marco Estrada - BAL Note: I'd be careful letting this HR machine face BAL |
| 50. Matt Garza - BAL |
| 51. Yovani Gallardo - CHC Note: Stay tuned to our news section to make sure he's going to start this one |
| 52. Jacob deGrom - PIT, at PHI Note:Dillon Gee could be back for the second of these outings |
| 53. Bronson Arroyo - CIN |
| 54. Jorge De La Rosa - at PHI Note: Far better ERA at home is misleading as skills have been equal or better on road |
| 55. Jake Arrieta - at SF |
| 56. Tim Lincecum - CHC |
| 57. Chase Anderson - SD Note: Yes, consider anyone against SD |
SIT
| 58. Shelby Miller - NYY Note: The Reds took a chunk out of his remarkably flimsy ERA on Friday and I expect more damage to come |
| 59. Henderson Alvarez - at WAS Note: Carrying a 4.88 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and 1.9 K/BB ratio on the road |
| 60. Rafael Montero - at PHI |
| 61. Jacob Turner - ATL |
| 62. Blake Treinen - MIA |
| 63. Edinson Volquez - at NYM, at LAD |
| 64. Tom Koehler - at WAS |
| 65. Juan Nicasio - at CLE |
| 66. Josh Collmenter - CIN |
| 67. Franklin Morales - at CLE |
| 68. Eric Stults - at ARI |
| 69. Donn Roach - at CWS |
| 70. Jhoulys Chacin - at PHI, at CLE |
| 71. Kyle Kendrick - COL, NYM |
| 72. Roberto Hernandez - COL |
| 73. David Buchanan - NYM Note: This the Cliff Lee replacement |
| 74. SD Fifth Starter - at ARI Note: Erlin DL'd, Stauffer will sub for him this weekend, but unsure about next week |
| 75. MIA Fifth Starter - ATL Note: Desclafani optioned, unsure of the replacement |
MLB TOP 100
| 1. Yu Darvish - at MIN, at WAS Note: These top two are the AL frontrunners for Cy Young, though Tanaka will have his say as well |
| 2. Max Scherzer - at OAK, at SEA |
| 3. Johnny Cueto - at LAD, at ARI Note: Even in his first real dud of the year, he still had a 6/0 K/BB ratio |
| 4. Zack Greinke - CIN, PIT Note: I kinda wish the Dodgers or Reds would flip their rotation a bit so Cueto and Greinke would square off |
| 5. Jeff Samardzija - at SF, at MIL Note: MLB-best ERA has made up for K decline and 0 wins through 10 starts |
| 6. Hyun-Jin Ryu - CIN, PIT |
| 7. Michael Wacha - NYY, SF Note: A foul ball of the elbow while in the dugout cut his last outing short |
| 8. Yordano Ventura - HOU, at TOR Note: I don't like facing TOR at all right now, but you can't sit Ventura against anyone |
| 9. Jon Lester - at ATL, TB Note: Speaking of TOR, they mauled Lester's ERA, but he'd been brilliant to that point |
| 10. Clayton Kershaw - CIN Note: If you were worried after the meltdown in ARI that's your own fault |
| 11. Masahiro Tanaka - MIN Note: Tanaka and Sale can do more in one start than many can do in two, especially those two-start guys facing fierce competition as Cobb and Gray are this week |
| 12. Chris Sale - CLE |
| 13. Adam Wainwright - SF |
| 14. Alex Cobb - at TOR, at BOS |
| 15. Sonny Gray - DET, LAA |
| 16. Stephen Strasburg - TEX Note: He allowed 6 ER at MIA on 4/15; he's allowed 9 ER in the six starts since then |
| 17. Julio Teheran - at MIA |
| 18. Cole Hamels - COL, NYM Note: The Mets generally own him so this isn't a great two-start slate |
| 19. Kyle Lohse - BAL, CHC Note: He's very quietly been excellent |
| 20. Ervin Santana - BOS, at MIA Note: Can't overreact to a pair of duds in a row as he's still having a great season |
| 21. Lance Lynn - NYY, SF |
| 22. Nathan Eovaldi - at WAS, ATL Note: Deserves a better fate than his 4.98 road ERA as evidenced by his 3.80 FIP |
| 23. Jon Niese - PIT, at PHI |
| 24. Tim Hudson - CHC, at STL |
| 25. Jose Quintana - CLE, SD Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last six; ERA indicators point to a low-3.00s arm right now, I'm buying |
| 26. Jered Weaver - at SEA, at OAK Note: Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated |
| 27. Matt Cain - CHC, at STL Note: Of course he gets rain delayed after three no-hit innings in Coors |
| 28. Tyson Ross - at ARI, at CWS Note: His sharp home/road splits make this a worrisome two-start week |
| 29. Aaron Harang - BOS, at MIA Note: His 2.31 FIP is a full run lower than 3.32 ERA; he's kinda legit |
| 30. Brandon McCarthy - SD, CIN Note: His last outing was his first in seven starts with fewer than 5 Ks, I'm buying the surge |
| 31. Felix Hernandez - LAA Note: The two Seattle studs find their rankings depressed by a load of two-start weeks and the fact that they're facing big time offenses; still auto-starts, of course |
| 32. Hisashi Iwakuma - DET |
| 33. Corey Kluber - COL Note: 2.33 FIP is an AL-best; he has at least 8 Ks in each of his four May starts along with a 2.51 ERA in 28.7 IP |
| 34. C.J. Wilson - at SEA |
| 35. Doug Fister - TEX Note: Hope you tried to buy low after the shaky debut outing in OAK |
| 36. Gerrit Cole - at LAD |
| 37. Madison Bumgarner - at STL Note: 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in May after a 3.74 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in April |
| 38. Dan Haren - PIT |
| 39. Anibal Sanchez - at OAK |
| 40. James Shields - at TOR Note: He's allowed 4 ER in 21 IP since that 7 ER dud against DET |
| 41. David Price - at BOS |
| 42. Phil Hughes - TEX, at NYY Note: I hope doesn't drop into a fetal position and start convulsing upon returning to Yankee Stadium |
| 43. Drew Smyly - at OAK, at SEA |
| 44. Mike Minor - at BOS Note: His one bad outing vs. STL is artificially inflating his numbers |
| 45. Ian Kennedy - at CWS |
| 46. Wily Peralta - CHC |
| 47. Jordan Zimmermann - MIA Note: I'm not sure quite sure what his deal is lately, hopefully just a blip |
| 48. Drew Hutchison - TB, KC Note: Facing two bottom five teams in K% vs. RHP will test his 24% K rate |
| 49. Scott Kazmir - DET |
| 50. Jesse Chavez - DET |
| 51. Justin Verlander - at SEA Note: We can only blindly trust for so long |
| 52. Garrett Richards - at OAK Note: I'm not sure he's getting enough love for his great start to the season, he has two 5 ER outings and yet still sits at 2.90 ERA overall |
| 53. Rick Porcello - at OAK Note: Would love to see the 2013 Ks return, but everything else has been fantastic |
| 54. John Lackey - ATL |
| 55. Wade Miley - SD, CIN Note: A gaudy 22.6% HR/FB rate at home in inflating his numbers; has a 3.98 xFIP at home nearly matching his 3.93 on the road |
| 56. Tanner Roark - MIA, TEX |
| 57. Alfredo Simon - at LAD, at ARI |
| 58. Jason Hammel - at MIL |
| 59. Gavin Floyd - at BOS Note: Remember when they were scrambling for SPs? The emergence of Floyd pushed Alex Wood and his 3.29 ERA to the pen |
| 60. Dallas Keuchel - BAL |
| 61. Drew Pomeranz - LAA Note: Sure, you would like more innings, but it's hard to complain about three straight 5 IP/0 ER efforts |
| 62. Hiroki Kuroda - at STL Note: He's rebounded nicely in May, though he's more of a high-3.00s ERA guy if the HR issues don't correct as opposed to the mid-3.00s guy we're used to seeing |
| 63. Chris Tillman - at MIL, at HOU Note: Big proving ground for him this week as neither offense is too scary, especially with the injuries in Milwaukee |
| 64. Tyler Skaggs - at SEA, at OAK Note: This is what it's like to watch a guy learn on the job; unfortunately that yields some inconsistency, but roto owners need to set it & forget it |
| 65. Collin McHugh - at KC, BAL Note: The Ks are starting to look believable with 7+ in four of his six starts |
| 66. David Phelps - at STL, MIN Note: He's been solid in the rotation with a 2.82 ERA |
| 67. Mark Buehrle - TB, KC |
| 68. Zack Wheeler - at PHI |
| 69. Homer Bailey - at LAD Note: Four QS in his last five, but just 1.8 K/BB in those outings |
| 70. Travis Wood - at MIL |
| 71. A.J. Burnett - NYM |
| 72. Tony Cingrani - at ARI Note: The D'Backs offense is coming on in May |
| 73. Mike Leake - at ARI |
| 74. Josh Beckett - PIT |
| 75. Francisco Liriano - at LAD Note: He's sputtered this year, but LAD struggles with southpaws |
| 76. Bartolo Colon - PIT Note: Three rough starts have ballooned his ERA; he's still quite useful |
| 77. Danny Duffy - HOU |
| 78. R.A. Dickey - KC Note: He has six straight quality starts helping pare down his ERA from 6.26 to 4.20 |
| 79. Ubaldo Jimenez - at HOU Note: Still tough to fully trust start-to-start, but you can't sit him with this matchup |
| 80. Brandon Cumpton - at NYM, at LAD |
| 81. Edwin Jackson - at SF |
| 82. Jaime Garcia - SF Note: Keep an eye on his second start of the season on Saturday |
| 83. Ryan Vogelsong - at STL |
| 84. Charlie Morton - at NYM |
| 85. Jordan Lyles - at PHI Note: I definitely didn't expect anything from him this year, but he's been impressive |
| 86. Trevor Bauer - COL Note: The matchup is rough, but at least it's not in Coors |
| 87. Nick Tepesch - at MIN, at WAS |
| 88. Jarred Cosart - at KC, BAL Note: How much risk can you stomach? |
| 89. Josh Tomlin - at CWS, COL |
| 90. Bud Norris - at MIL Note: Quietly succeeding despite a total evaporation of his K rate |
| 91. Miguel Gonzalez - at HOU |
| 92. Marco Estrada - BAL Note: I'd be careful letting this HR machine face BAL |
| 93. Matt Garza - BAL |
| 94. Yovani Gallardo - CHC Note: Stay tuned to our news section to make sure he's going to start this one |
| 95. Jacob deGrom - PIT, at PHI Note:Dillon Gee could be back for the second of these outings |
| 96. Tommy Milone - DET, LAA Note: Two tough opponents, but both at home where he excels |
| 97. John Danks - SD Note: Anyone facing the Padres deserves some consideration, even lower tier options |
| 98. Andre Rienzo - SD |
| 99. Chris Archer - at TOR Note: I can't figure him lately, but I'm nervous with this matchup |
| 100. Wei-Yin Chen - at MIL, at HOU |
