Weekly Pitcher Rankings: AL Cy Young Contenders Lead Pack

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Updated on April 7, 2019 11:28PM EST

It's the second full week of the season so many of the Opening-Day starters line up for a double dip, including the top three in last season's Cy Young voting. The week also features the 2019 debut of Clayton Kershaw, as well as the struggling Red Sox staff seeing Fenway Park for the first time this season.

This also marks the third start for most of the rotation staples. This is relevant since it takes three outings before the initial baseline expectation is influenced by the season-to-date performance.

As always, the pitchers are pulled from the probable pitching grid, so please direct all questions regarding scheduled there. All questions concerning the actual rankings will gladly be addressed in the comments.

These rankings are preliminary. Check back Sunday evening for the final version after teams have announced their plans for the week.

For the week of April 8-13.

UPDATED: Sunday, April 7, 9:00 PM ET

MLB

RANK	Pitcher	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. MIN, at ATL	Not definite, but could pick up second start
2	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. NYY, at SEA
3	Blake Snell	TB	at CWS, at TOR	Velo up in second start, on par with April 2018
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at DET, at KC	Nice pair to get things in gear
5	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. TEX, vs. SD	Odd early line: 13 K, 1 BB in 9.2 IP, but 6 HR allowed
6	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIA, vs. STL

These rankings are preliminary. Check back Sunday evening for the final version after teams have announced their plans for the week.

For the week of April 8-13.

UPDATED: Sunday, April 7, 9:00 PM ET

MLB

RANK	Pitcher	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. MIN, at ATL	Not definite, but could pick up second start
2	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. NYY, at SEA
3	Blake Snell	TB	at CWS, at TOR	Velo up in second start, on par with April 2018
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at DET, at KC	Nice pair to get things in gear
5	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. TEX, vs. SD	Odd early line: 13 K, 1 BB in 9.2 IP, but 6 HR allowed
6	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIA, vs. STL	Numbers look great, but 7 BB in 12.2 IP says work to be done
7	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at HOU, vs. CWS
8	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD, vs. COL	Optimistic start to campaign despite 0-2 record
9	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. PIT
10	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF, at ARI	Adding a cutter, could be effective third pitch
11	German Marquez	COL	vs. ATL, at SF	A pair at the extremes
12	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at STL, vs. MIL
13	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. PIT, vs. LAA	Soft matchups elevate ranking
14	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at DET	Off to a record-setting pace
15	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR	Let's see if opening day adrenaline aids velo
16	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at CHC, at WAS
17	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. MIN
18	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at LAA, at LAD	Rare road trip where team doesn't have to switch hotels
19	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. NYY	Catching Yankees at a good time
20	Mike Minor	TEX	at ARI, vs. OAK	Folowed up rough first start with a gem last time out
21	David Price	BOS	vs. BAL	Maybe home cooking and a poor lineup will be the elixir
22	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. DET
23	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. WAS
24	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. MIL	Ready for season debut
25	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at KC, vs. HOU	Pitching well but will need more than a 5.0 K/9 to keep it up
26	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. PIT
27	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at PHI
28	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. BAL	Still mind-numblingly pitch inefficient
29	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at KC
30	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. LAA
31	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at KC
32	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at MIA
33	Charlie Morton	TB	at CWS
34	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. BAL	Veteran suffering from minimal spring work
35	Shane Bieber	CLE	at DET
36	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. CWS
37	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. SEA, vs. CLE	Boosted by home pair, worth picking up if available
38	Zach Eflin	PHI	at MIA	Strong debut with 9 K in 5 IP versus Nationals
39	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at KC	Let down by defense big time last outing
40	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. LAD, at CIN	7.20 and 1.50 should be K/9 and BB/9, not ERA and WHIP
41	Brad Peacock	HOU	at SEA
42	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. ATL, at SF
43	Collin McHugh	HOU	vs. NYY	Conversion back to starter going swimmingly
44	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. MIA
45	Jon Gray	COL	at SF
46	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. WAS, at MIA	Should be among leaders in whiffs for the week
47	Walker Buehler	LAD	at STL
48	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. SD
49	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at LAA	Arguably best start of his young career last time out
50	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. CWS
51	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. NYM	Hopes to return next weekend
52	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. DET	Sat 87 touched 92, down about 3-5 mph from pre-TJS
53	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. PIT
54	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. LAA
55	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. MIA	Solid outing in a loss last time out
56	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at PHI, vs. PIT
57	Trevor Cahill	LAA	vs. MIL, at CHC	Worth a pick-up for double-dip if available
58	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at CWS	Modest 10 K in first 11 IP, but only a pair of walks is a great sign
59	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. LAD
60	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. NYM
61	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD
62	Derek Holland	SF	vs. SD, vs. COL
63	Ross Stripling	LAD	at STL
64	Jose Urena	MIA	at CIN, vs. PHI
65	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. PIT	Not sharp to open the season
66	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. TB, at NYY	Not the easiest pair, but 15 K, 2 BB in first 11.2 frames of the season
67	Julio Urias	LAD	vs. MIL
68	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at STL
69	Eric Lauer	SD	at SF, at ARI	May not have a better two-start week all season
70	Matt Strahm	SD	at ARI	Hang in there, things will get better
71	Julio Teheran	ATL	at COL, vs. NYM
72	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SD
73	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. TEX
74	James Paxton	NYY	at HOU
75	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at ATL
76	Marco Estrada	OAK	at BAL, at TEX
77	Kyle Wright	ATL	vs. NYM
78	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at NYM, vs. DET
79	Chris Paddack	SD	at ARI	Carrying over spring success to the regular season
80	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. TOR
81	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. WAS	A bit of a rocky start for everyone's favorite sleeper
82	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. CLE	We've seen flashes before, can he keep it up?
83	Corbin Burnes	MIL	at LAD
84	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. PHI	Big test, but at least it's at home
85	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at CHC	Off to a great start
86	Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. SD
87	Nick Margevicius	SD	at SF
88	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. STL
89	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
90	Chad Bettis	COL	at SF
91	Wade Miley	HOU	at SEA
92	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. TB
93	Pablo Lopez	MIA	at CIN
94	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	at HOU
95	Ervin Santana	CWS	vs. TB
96	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	at PHI
97	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. LAD
98	Trevor Richards	MIA	at CIN
99	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at NYM
100	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at TOR
101	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. TB	Deception effective early on
102	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. PHI
103	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at KC, vs. HOU
104	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. HOU
105	Mike Fiers	OAK	at TEX
106	Matt Shoemaker	TOR	at BOS, vs. TB	We'll know if strong start is fluke or fact by the end of the week
107	Zach Davies	MIL	at LAD
108	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB
109	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. COL
110	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at LAA
111	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE, at MIN
112	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at CHC
113	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. MIL
114	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. OAK
115	Steven Matz	NYM	at ATL
116	Chris Archer	PIT	at WAS
117	Lance Lynn	TEX	at ARI
118	Mike Leake	SEA	at KC
119	Trevor Williams	PIT	at WAS
120	Frankie Montas	OAK	at BAL
121	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. OAK
122	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. COL
123	Ivan Nova	CWS	at NYY
124	Brad Keller	KC	vs. CLE
125	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. LAD
126	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. OAK
127	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. SEA, vs. CLE
128	Jason Vargas	NYM	at ATL
129	Aaron Brooks	OAK	at BAL
130	Brett Anderson	OAK	at BAL, at TEX
131	Tyson Ross	DET	at MIN
132	Adam Wainwright	STL	at CIN
133	Matt Harvey	LAA	vs. MIL
134	Kevin Gausman	ATL	at COL	Looked great in debut, but… Coors.
135	Jorge Lopez	KC	vs. SEA
136	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. CLE	Keep an eye on Turnbull, showing signs he could be useful
137	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. OAK, at BOS
138	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at NYY
139	Dan Straily	MIA	at BOS
140	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BOS
141	Heath Fillmyer	KC	vs. SEA
142	Max Fried	ATL	at COL
143	Chris Stratton	LAA	at CHC
144	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. OAK
145	John Means	BAL	vs. OAK
146	Daniel Norris	DET	at MIN
147	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CHC
148	David Hess	BAL	at BOS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. NYY, at SEA
2	Blake Snell	TB	at CWS, at TOR	Velo up in second start, on par with April 2018
3	Corey Kluber	CLE	at DET, at KC	Nice pair to get things in gear
4	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at HOU, vs. CWS
5	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at DET	Off to a record-setting pace
6	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR	Let's see if opening day adrenaline aids velo
7	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. NYY	Catching Yankees at a good time
8	Mike Minor	TEX	at ARI, vs. OAK	Folowed up rough first start with a gem last time out
9	David Price	BOS	vs. BAL	Maybe home cooking and a poor lineup will be the elixir
10	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. DET
11	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at KC, vs. HOU	Pitching well but will need more than a 5.0 K/9 to keep it up
12	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. BAL	Still mind-numblingly pitch inefficient
13	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at KC
14	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at KC
15	Charlie Morton	TB	at CWS
16	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. BAL	Veteran suffering from minimal spring work
17	Shane Bieber	CLE	at DET
18	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. CWS
19	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. SEA, vs. CLE	Boosted by home pair, worth picking up if available
20	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at KC	Let down by defense big time last outing
21	Brad Peacock	HOU	at SEA
22	Collin McHugh	HOU	vs. NYY	Conversion back to starter going swimmingly
23	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. CWS
24	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. DET	Sat 87 touched 92, down about 3-5 mph from pre-TJS
25	Trevor Cahill	LAA	vs. MIL, at CHC	Worth a pick-up for double-dip if available
26	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at CWS	Modest 10 K in first 11 IP, but only a pair of walks is a great sign
27	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. TB, at NYY	Not the easiest pair, but 15 K, 2 BB in first 11.2 frames of the season
28	James Paxton	NYY	at HOU
29	Marco Estrada	OAK	at BAL, at TEX
30	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at NYM, vs. DET
31	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. TOR
32	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. CLE	We've seen flashes before, can he keep it up?
33	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
34	Wade Miley	HOU	at SEA
35	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. TB
36	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	at HOU
37	Ervin Santana	CWS	vs. TB
38	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at NYM
39	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at TOR
40	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. TB	Deception effective early on
41	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at KC, vs. HOU
42	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. HOU
43	Mike Fiers	OAK	at TEX
44	Matt Shoemaker	TOR	at BOS, vs. TB	We'll know if strong start is fluke or fact by the end of the week
45	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB
46	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE, at MIN
47	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at CHC
48	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. MIL
49	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. OAK
50	Lance Lynn	TEX	at ARI
51	Mike Leake	SEA	at KC
52	Frankie Montas	OAK	at BAL
53	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. OAK
54	Ivan Nova	CWS	at NYY
55	Brad Keller	KC	vs. CLE
56	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. OAK
57	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. SEA, vs. CLE
58	Aaron Brooks	OAK	at BAL
59	Brett Anderson	OAK	at BAL, at TEX
60	Tyson Ross	DET	at MIN
61	Matt Harvey	LAA	vs. MIL
62	Jorge Lopez	KC	vs. SEA
63	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. CLE	Keep an eye on Turnbull, showing signs he could be useful
64	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. OAK, at BOS
65	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at NYY
66	Dan Straily	BAL	at BOS
67	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BOS
68	Heath Fillmyer	KC	vs. SEA
69	Chris Stratton	LAA	at CHC
70	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. OAK
71	John Means	BAL	vs. OAK
72	Daniel Norris	DET	at MIN
73	David Hess	BAL	at BOS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. MIN, at ATL	Not definite, but could pick up second start
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. TEX, vs. SD	Odd early line: 13 K, 1 BB in 9.2 IP, but 6 HR allowed
3	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIA, vs. STL	Numbers look great, but 7 BB in 12.2 IP says work to be done
4	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD, vs. COL	Optimistic start to campaign despite 0-2 record
5	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. PIT
6	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF, at ARI	Adding a cutter, could be effective third pitch
7	German Marquez	COL	vs. ATL, at SF	A pair at the extremes
8	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at STL, vs. MIL
9	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. PIT, vs. LAA	Soft matchups elevate ranking
10	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at CHC, at WAS
11	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. MIN
12	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at LAA, at LAD	Rare road trip where team doesn't have to switch hotels
13	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. WAS
14	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. MIL	Ready for season debut
15	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. PIT
16	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at PHI
17	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. LAA
18	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at MIA
19	Zach Eflin	PHI	at MIA	Strong debut with 9 K in 5 IP versus Nationals
20	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. LAD, at CIN	7.20 and 1.50 should be K/9 and BB/9, not ERA and WHIP
21	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. ATL, at SF
22	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. MIA
23	Jon Gray	COL	at SF
24	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. WAS, at MIA	Should be among leaders in whiffs for the week
25	Walker Buehler	LAD	at STL
26	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. SD
27	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at LAA	Arguably best start of his young career last time out
28	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. NYM	Hopes to return next weekend
29	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. PIT
30	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. LAA
31	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. MIA	Solid outing in a loss last time out
32	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at PHI, vs. PIT
33	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. LAD
34	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. NYM
35	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD
36	Derek Holland	SF	vs. SD, vs. COL
37	Ross Stripling	LAD	at STL
38	Jose Urena	MIA	at CIN, vs. PHI
39	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. PIT	Not sharp to open the season
40	Julio Urias	LAD	vs. MIL
41	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at STL
42	Eric Lauer	SD	at SF, at ARI	May not have a better two-start week all season
43	Matt Strahm	SD	at ARI	Hang in there, things will get better
44	Julio Teheran	ATL	at COL, vs. NYM
45	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SD
46	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. TEX
47	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at ATL
48	Kyle Wright	ATL	vs. NYM
49	Chris Paddack	SD	at ARI	Carrying over spring success to the regular season
50	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. WAS	A bit of a rocky start for everyone's favorite sleeper
51	Corbin Burnes	MIL	at LAD
52	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. PHI	Big test, but at least it's at home
53	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at CHC	Off to a great start
54	Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. SD
55	Nick Margevicius	SD	at SF
56	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. STL
57	Chad Bettis	COL	at SF
58	Pablo Lopez	MIA	at CIN
59	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	at PHI
60	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. LAD
61	Trevor Richards	MIA	at CIN
62	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. PHI
63	Zach Davies	MIL	at LAD
64	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. COL
65	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at LAA
66	Steven Matz	NYM	at ATL
67	Chris Archer	PIT	at WAS
68	Trevor Williams	PIT	at WAS
69	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. COL
70	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. LAD
71	Jason Vargas	NYM	at ATL
72	Adam Wainwright	STL	at CIN
73	Kevin Gausman	ATL	at COL	Looked great in debut, but… Coors.
74	Max Fried	ATL	at COL
75	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CHC