Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Calculated Aggression

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Updated on April 18, 2022 9:23AM EST

Early season pitching management is such a conundrum, especially this season as the league ERA is currently below 4.00 — and you know that won't last. On paper, it makes sense to stream liberally while the landscape favors pitching. However, decisions are based on such limited data, the comfort level isn't high. It comes down to one's approach and what one deems the most pertinent factors. For me, the low league ERA is huge. Be the decision right or wrong, I want to take advantage of the lower run environment, so I'm going to be aggressive.

That said, there's a fine line between being aggressive and reckless. Some might call my approach ruthless aggression, but I can't see that. This is fantasy baseball, not pro wrestling. I prefer to consider it calculated aggression. The thing is, I don't see RotoWear putting that in a T-shirt.

For those new, I am happy to address any question on the rankings. I pull the starters from the Projected Starters grid, so if you have a question on the schedule, please post it on that page.

For the Week of April 18-24

Updated Monday April 24 9:15 AM ET

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	at DET, vs. CLE	Spin and velo aren't the problem, facing BOS and TOR and allowing 3 HR, however…
2	Max Scherzer	NYM	vs. SF, at ARI
3	Robbie Ray	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. KC	Deserves benefit of the doubt for two soft matchups

For those new, I am happy to address any question on the rankings. I pull the starters from the Projected Starters grid, so if you have a question on the schedule, please post it on that page.

For the Week of April 18-24

Updated Monday April 24 9:15 AM ET

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	at DET, vs. CLE	Spin and velo aren't the problem, facing BOS and TOR and allowing 3 HR, however…
2	Max Scherzer	NYM	vs. SF, at ARI
3	Robbie Ray	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. KC	Deserves benefit of the doubt for two soft matchups at home
4	Logan Webb	SF	at NYM, at WAS
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. ATL, at SD
6	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. BAL, vs. TEX	2 HR allowed bloating ERA, should be less of an issue with pair at home
7	Corbin Burnes	MIL	vs. PIT
8	Sean Manaea	SD	vs. CIN, vs. LAD
9	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. CWS, at NYY	A bit lucky so far, two good tests this week
10	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. PIT
11	Tylor Megill	NYM	vs. SF, at ARI	For real, 11 K with 0 BB and 0 HR in 10.1 IP
12	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. ATL
13	Shane McClanahan	TB	at CHC, vs. BOS
14	Alex Cobb	SF	at NYM, at WAS
15	Chris Bassitt	NYM	vs. SF
16	Logan Gilbert	SEA	vs. TEX
17	Luis Garcia	HOU	vs. LAA, vs. TOR
18	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. STL
19	Zack Wheeler	PHI	vs. MIL
20	Joe Musgrove	SD	vs. CIN
21	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIA, at CIN
22	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	at HOU
23	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. LAA
24	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	vs. SF
25	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	at NYM
26	Jon Gray	TEX	at SEA, at OAK	May not be ready to go deep
27	Alek Manoah	TOR	at HOU
28	Carlos Rodon	SF	at NYM	21 K in 12 IP
29	Aaron Nola	PHI	at COL, vs. MIL
30	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. STL	No sign of shoulder soreness
31	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PHI	6 BB in 7 IP
32	Michael Kopech	CWS	at CLE
33	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT
34	Julio Urias	LAD	at SD
35	Max Fried	ATL	at LAD
36	Carlos Hernandez	KC	vs. MIN, at SEA
37	Jameson Taillon	NYY	vs. CLE
38	Dylan Cease	CWS	at CLE
39	Marcus Stroman	CHC	vs. TB
40	Matt Brash	SEA	vs. KC
41	Charlie Morton	ATL	at LAD
42	Tommy Romero	TB	vs. BOS
43	Tanner Houck	BOS	at TB	Needs to learn to harness big movement on breakers
44	Yu Darvish	SD	vs. LAD
45	Cole Irvin	OAK	vs. BAL, vs. TEX	Risky, but lesser offenses at home, playable for the two-step
46	Bailey Ober	MIN	vs. CWS
47	Nick Lodolo	CIN	at SD, vs. STL
48	Kevin Gausman	TOR	at BOS
49	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	vs. BAL
50	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. TEX
51	Dane Dunning	TEX	at SEA
52	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. ATL
53	Chris Flexen	SEA	vs. KC
54	Joe Ryan	MIN	at KC
55	Nestor Cortes Jr.	NYY	vs. CLE
56	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. STL
57	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIA
58	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	vs. NYY
59	Tyler Wells	BAL	at OAK
60	Rich Hill	BOS	vs. MIN, at TB	Prefer Garrett Whitlock if he continues to piggyback Hill
61	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	vs. STL, at ATL
62	Huascar Ynoa	ATL	at LAD, vs. MIA
63	Eric Lauer	MIL	vs. PIT
64	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	vs. TOR
65	Triston McKenzie	CLE	vs. CWS, at NYY
66	Jose Berrios	TOR	at BOS
67	JT Brubaker	PIT	at MIL, at CHC
68	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at DET
69	Mix 12 Reliever
70	Zack Greinke	KC	vs. MIN
71	Brad Keller	KC	at SEA
72	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. TOR
73	Michael Wacha	BOS	at TB
74	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TOR
75	Daulton Jefferies	OAK	vs. BAL
76	Andrew Heaney	LAD	at SD
77	Cal Quantrill	CLE	vs. CWS
78	Justin Steele	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT
79	Chris Paddack	MIN	at KC
80	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	at BOS, at HOU
81	Ian Anderson	ATL	vs. MIA
82	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CWS
83	Zach Thompson	PIT	at MIL, at CHC
84	Kris Bubic	KC	at SEA
85	Mix 15 Reliever
86	MacKenzie Gore	SD	vs. CIN
87	Corey Kluber	TB	vs. BOS
88	Paul Blackburn	OAK	vs. BAL
89	Dylan Bundy	MIN	at BOS, vs. CWS
90	Chris Archer	MIN	at KC, vs. CWS
91	Luis Severino	NYY	at DET
92	Austin Gomber	COL	at DET
93	Michael Lorenzen	LAA	at HOU	Impressive! Let's see it again.
94	Keegan Thompson	CHC	vs. PIT
95	Martin Perez	TEX	at OAK
96	Reid Detmers	LAA	vs. BAL
97	Reiver Sanmartin	CIN	at SD
98	Ranger Suarez	PHI	vs. MIL
99	Jose Urquidy	HOU	vs. TOR
100	Jordan Lyles	BAL	at OAK
101	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	vs. LAA
102	Josiah Gray	WAS	vs. ARI, vs. SF
103	Tarik Skubal	DET	vs. COL
104	Adam Oller	OAK	vs. TEX
105	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at WAS, vs. NYM	Just one start, but bump in velo encouraging, viable pickup for double dip
106	Jose Suarez	LAA	vs. BAL
107	Trevor Rogers	MIA	at ATL
108	Aaron Civale	CLE	at NYY
109	Kyle Wright	ATL	vs. MIA
110	Hunter Greene	CIN	vs. STL
111	Taylor Hearn	TEX	at SEA
112	Humberto Castellanos	ARI	vs. NYM
113	Drew Smyly	CHC	vs. PIT
114	Jordan Hicks	STL	at MIA
115	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at ATL
116	Spencer Howard	TEX	at OAK
117	Keegan Akin	BAL	at OAK, at LAA
118	David Peterson	NYM	at ARI
119	Drew Rasmussen	TB	at CHC
120	Nick Martinez	SD	vs. LAD
121	Steven Matz	STL	at CIN
122	Zac Gallen	ARI	at WAS
123	Tyler Alexander	DET	vs. NYY, vs. COL
124	Chad Kuhl	COL	vs. PHI, at DET
125	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at HOU
126	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	at WAS, vs. NYM
127	Adrian Houser	MIL	at PHI
128	Michael Pineda	DET	vs. NYY
129	Ross Stripling	TOR	at HOU
130	Bruce Zimmermann	BAL	at LAA
131	Mitch Keller	PIT	at MIL
132	Dallas Keuchel	CWS	at CLE, at MIN
133	Joan Adon	WAS	vs. ARI, vs. SF
134	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at DET
135	Jose Quintana	PIT	at CHC
136	Nick Pivetta	BOS	vs. TOR
137	Aaron Ashby	MIL	at PHI
138	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. SF
139	Alex Wood	SF	at WAS
140	Vladimir Gutierrez	CIN	at SD
141	Jimmy Lambert	CWS	at CLE, at MIN
142	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. ARI
143	Josh Fleming	TB	at CHC
144	Dakota Hudson	STL	at CIN
145	Daniel Lynch	KC	vs. MIN
146	Bryse Wilson	PIT	at CHC
147	Spenser Watkins	BAL	at OAK, at LAA
148	German Marquez	COL	vs. PHI
149	Matt Manning	DET	vs. COL
150	Vince Velasquez	CWS	at MIN
151	Zach Davies	ARI	at WAS
152	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. PHI
153	Zach Eflin	PHI	at COL
154	Kyle Gibson	PHI	at COL	Well, he was off to a solid start…
155	Josh Rogers	WAS	vs. ARI

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	at DET, vs. CLE	Spin and velo aren't the problem, facing BOS and TOR and allowing 3 HR, however…
2	Robbie Ray	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. KC	Deserves benefit of the doubt for two soft matchups at home
3	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. BAL, vs. TEX	2 HR allowed bloating ERA, should be less of an issue with pair at home
4	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. CWS, at NYY	A bit lucky so far, two good tests this week
5	Shane McClanahan	TB	at CHC, vs. BOS
6	Logan Gilbert	SEA	vs. TEX
7	Luis Garcia	HOU	vs. LAA, vs. TOR
8	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	at HOU
9	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. LAA
10	Jon Gray	TEX	at SEA, at OAK	May not be ready to go deep
11	Alek Manoah	TOR	at HOU
12	Michael Kopech	CWS	at CLE
13	Carlos Hernandez	KC	vs. MIN, at SEA
14	Jameson Taillon	NYY	vs. CLE
15	Dylan Cease	CWS	at CLE
16	Matt Brash	SEA	vs. KC
17	Tommy Romero	TB	vs. BOS
18	Tanner Houck	BOS	at TB	Needs to learn to harness big movement on breakers
19	Cole Irvin	OAK	vs. BAL, vs. TEX	Risky, but lesser offenses at home, playable for the two-step
20	Bailey Ober	MIN	vs. CWS
21	Kevin Gausman	TOR	at BOS
22	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	vs. BAL
23	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. TEX
24	Dane Dunning	TEX	at SEA
25	Chris Flexen	SEA	vs. KC
26	Joe Ryan	MIN	at KC
27	Nestor Cortes Jr.	NYY	vs. CLE
28	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	vs. NYY
29	Tyler Wells	BAL	at OAK
30	Rich Hill	BOS	vs. MIN, at TB	Prefer Garrett Whitlock if he continues to piggyback Hill
31	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	vs. TOR
32	Triston McKenzie	CLE	vs. CWS, at NYY
33	Jose Berrios	TOR	at BOS
34	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at DET
35	Zack Greinke	KC	vs. MIN
36	Brad Keller	KC	at SEA
37	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. TOR
38	Michael Wacha	BOS	at TB
39	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TOR
40	Daulton Jefferies	OAK	vs. BAL
41	Cal Quantrill	CLE	vs. CWS
42	Chris Paddack	MIN	at KC
43	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	at BOS, at HOU
44	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CWS
45	Kris Bubic	KC	at SEA
46	Corey Kluber	TB	vs. BOS
47	Paul Blackburn	OAK	vs. BAL
48	Dylan Bundy	MIN	at BOS, vs. CWS
49	Chris Archer	MIN	at KC, vs. CWS
50	Luis Severino	NYY	at DET
51	Michael Lorenzen	LAA	at HOU	Impressive! Let's see it again.
52	Martin Perez	TEX	at OAK
53	Reid Detmers	LAA	vs. BAL
54	Jose Urquidy	HOU	vs. TOR
55	Jordan Lyles	BAL	at OAK
56	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	vs. LAA
57	Tarik Skubal	DET	vs. COL
58	Adam Oller	OAK	vs. TEX
59	AL Reliever
60	Jose Suarez	LAA	vs. BAL
61	Aaron Civale	CLE	at NYY
62	Taylor Hearn	TEX	at SEA
63	Spencer Howard	TEX	at OAK
64	Keegan Akin	BAL	at OAK, at LAA
65	Drew Rasmussen	TB	at CHC
66	Tyler Alexander	DET	vs. NYY, vs. COL
67	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at HOU
68	Michael Pineda	DET	vs. NYY
69	Ross Stripling	TOR	at HOU
70	Bruce Zimmermann	BAL	at LAA
71	Dallas Keuchel	CWS	at CLE, at MIN
72	Nick Pivetta	BOS	vs. TOR
73	Jimmy Lambert	CWS	at CLE, at MIN
74	Josh Fleming	TB	at CHC
75	Daniel Lynch	KC	vs. MIN
76	Spenser Watkins	BAL	at OAK, at LAA
77	Matt Manning	DET	vs. COL
78	Vince Velasquez	CWS	at MIN

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Max Scherzer	NYM	vs. SF, at ARI
2	Logan Webb	SF	at NYM, at WAS
3	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. ATL, at SD
4	Corbin Burnes	MIL	vs. PIT
5	Sean Manaea	SD	vs. CIN, vs. LAD
6	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. PIT
7	Tylor Megill	NYM	vs. SF, at ARI	For real, 11 K with 0 BB and 0 HR in 10.1 IP
8	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. ATL
9	Alex Cobb	SF	at NYM, at WAS
10	Chris Bassitt	NYM	vs. SF
11	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. STL
12	Zack Wheeler	PHI	vs. MIL
13	Joe Musgrove	SD	vs. CIN
14	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIA, at CIN
15	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	vs. SF
16	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	at NYM
17	Carlos Rodon	SF	at NYM	21 K in 12 IP
18	Aaron Nola	PHI	at COL, vs. MIL
19	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. STL	No sign of shoulder soreness
20	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PHI	6 BB in 7 IP
21	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT
22	Julio Urias	LAD	at SD
23	Max Fried	ATL	at LAD
24	Marcus Stroman	CHC	vs. TB
25	Charlie Morton	ATL	at LAD
26	Yu Darvish	SD	vs. LAD
27	Nick Lodolo	CIN	at SD, vs. STL
28	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. ATL
29	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. STL
30	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIA
31	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	vs. STL, at ATL
32	Huascar Ynoa	ATL	at LAD, vs. MIA
33	Eric Lauer	MIL	vs. PIT
34	JT Brubaker	PIT	at MIL, at CHC
35	Andrew Heaney	LAD	at SD
36	Justin Steele	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT
37	Ian Anderson	ATL	vs. MIA
38	Zach Thompson	PIT	at MIL, at CHC
39	MacKenzie Gore	SD	vs. CIN
40	Austin Gomber	COL	at DET
41	Keegan Thompson	CHC	vs. PIT
42	Reiver Sanmartin	CIN	at SD
43	Ranger Suarez	PHI	vs. MIL
44	Josiah Gray	WAS	vs. ARI, vs. SF
45	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at WAS, vs. NYM	Just one start, but bump in velo encouraging, viable pickup for double dip
46	NL Reliever
47	Trevor Rogers	MIA	at ATL
48	Kyle Wright	ATL	vs. MIA
49	Hunter Greene	CIN	vs. STL
50	Humberto Castellanos	ARI	vs. NYM
51	Drew Smyly	CHC	vs. PIT
52	Jordan Hicks	STL	at MIA
53	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at ATL
54	David Peterson	NYM	at ARI
55	Nick Martinez	SD	vs. LAD
56	Steven Matz	STL	at CIN
57	Zac Gallen	ARI	at WAS
58	Chad Kuhl	COL	vs. PHI, at DET
59	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	at WAS, vs. NYM
60	Adrian Houser	MIL	at PHI
61	Mitch Keller	PIT	at MIL
62	Joan Adon	WAS	vs. ARI, vs. SF
63	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at DET
64	Jose Quintana	PIT	at CHC
65	Aaron Ashby	MIL	at PHI
66	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. SF
67	Alex Wood	SF	at WAS
68	Vladimir Gutierrez	CIN	at SD
69	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. ARI
70	Dakota Hudson	STL	at CIN
71	Bryse Wilson	PIT	at CHC
72	German Marquez	COL	vs. PHI
73	Zach Davies	ARI	at WAS
74	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. PHI
75	Zach Eflin	PHI	at COL
76	Kyle Gibson	PHI	at COL	Well, he was off to a solid start…
77	Josh Rogers	WAS	vs. ARI