Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Chance for Redemption

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Updated on September 12, 2015 7:30PM EST

As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that looks incorrect, assume that it was a change that occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments, I'll let you know where the new arm slots.

For the week Sept. 14-20

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	David Price	at ATL	This might be the best pitching of his career
2	Chris Sale	at CLE
3	Chris Archer	BAL	He has 32 Ks in only six more IP at home this year
4	Dallas Keuchel	at TEX
5	Cole Hamels	HOU, SEA
6	Sonny Gray	at CWS, at HOU	Has been markedly better on the road: 1.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 92 Ks in 94.3 IP
7	Danny Salazar	KC, CWS
8	Collin McHugh	at TEX, OAK
9	Corey Kluber	KC, CWS	Kluber slated to return w/a 2-start week
10	Jake Odorizzi	NYY, BAL	Excellent at home: 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 63 Ks in 62 IP
11	Felix Hernandez	LAA
12	Justin Verlander	KC
13	Derek Holland	HOU	Bad start and bad finish sunk him in SEA, allowed 3 H and had 5 Ks in middle 5 IP
14	Lance McCullers	at TEX
15	Johnny Cueto	at DET
16	Garrett Richards	at SEA, at MIN	Could be poised for a big finish w/6 QS in L7 w/the L3 being especially good: 3.05 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 21 Ks in 20.7 IP
17	Hisashi Iwakuma

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	David Price	at ATL	This might be the best pitching of his career
2	Chris Sale	at CLE
3	Chris Archer	BAL	He has 32 Ks in only six more IP at home this year
4	Dallas Keuchel	at TEX
5	Cole Hamels	HOU, SEA
6	Sonny Gray	at CWS, at HOU	Has been markedly better on the road: 1.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 92 Ks in 94.3 IP
7	Danny Salazar	KC, CWS
8	Collin McHugh	at TEX, OAK
9	Corey Kluber	KC, CWS	Kluber slated to return w/a 2-start week
10	Jake Odorizzi	NYY, BAL	Excellent at home: 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 63 Ks in 62 IP
11	Felix Hernandez	LAA
12	Justin Verlander	KC
13	Derek Holland	HOU	Bad start and bad finish sunk him in SEA, allowed 3 H and had 5 Ks in middle 5 IP
14	Lance McCullers	at TEX
15	Johnny Cueto	at DET
16	Garrett Richards	at SEA, at MIN	Could be poised for a big finish w/6 QS in L7 w/the L3 being especially good: 3.05 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 21 Ks in 20.7 IP
17	Hisashi Iwakuma	LAA
18	Carlos Carrasco	CWS	Not going to overreact to the rough return, he's still a must-start
19	Masahiro Tanaka	at NYM
20	Michael Pineda	at NYM
21	Jose Quintana	at CLE	A career-high .341 BABIP has kept him from a career year, but some of that is on the defense behind him
22	Marco Estrada	at ATL	11 of his 18 HRs have been solo shots and that .225 BABIP is a big reason behind his season
23	Andrew Heaney	at MIN
24	R.A. Dickey	BOS
25	Drew Smyly	BAL
26	Mike Fiers	OAK	Even w/that 6 ER relief appearance, he still has a 2.92 ERA in 37 IP w/HOU (plus 35 Ks)
27	Scott Kazmir	at TEX, OAK
28	Taijuan Walker	LAA, at TEX	Too much inconsistency to feel great trusting him in tight ERA/WHIP battles
29	Erasmo Ramirez	NYY, BAL
30	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, at TB
31	Kevin Gausman	BOS, at TB	He can be really good, but he's like Walker in that you can't really trust him in tight ratio races
32	Yovani Gallardo	SEA
33	Yordano Ventura	at CLE	He's either excellent or awful since his recall: 6, 1, 5, 6, 0, 2, 1, 0, 1, and 4 ER
34	Ervin Santana	DET	Three straight gems suggest he's back: 1.23 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 27 Ks in 22 IP
35	Luis Severino	at TB	Can't be too surprised that TOR steamrolled him; still starting him
36	Chris Tillman	at TB
37	Marcus Stroman	BOS	Makes his 2015 debut this weekend!
38	Kyle Gibson	LAA
39	Carlos Rodon	OAK
40	Edinson Volquez	at CLE, at DET	Has 8 QS in 11 starts since the break, the other three are 5-6 ER each, though, so just a 3.76 ERA
41	Martin Perez	HOU, SEA
42	Kris Medlen	at CLE, at DET
43	Joe Kelly	at BAL
44	Colby Lewis	HOU	Another boom-or-bust guy: 7 starts of 5+ ER incl. a 9 and 10; 8 starts of 0-1 ER incl. a two-hitter
45	Erik Johnson	OAK	Rebounded from his 2014 disaster w/a 2.37 ERA and 136 Ks in 132.7 IP at AAA; has 2 MLB starts - 3 HRs in one, 5 BB in the other
46	Tommy Milone	LAA	Has a 2.93 ERA in his last 30.7 IP and a 3.20 in his last 84.3
47	Hector Santiago	at MIN	First solid outing in a while with six scoreless on just one hit, but he did walk six; still nervous
48	Roenis Elias	at TEX
49	John Danks	OAK, at CLE	Who'd have thought we'd be at a point where Danks is a better option than Samardzija?

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
50	Jeff Samardzija	OAK
51	Rick Porcello	at TOR	He's been pitching great of late, but I can't really get behind on him in TOR
52	Trevor Bauer	CWS	He has 13 QS in his L22, all 0-2 ER, good for a 1.72 ERA in 94.3 IP; other 9 were 36.3 IP of an 11.90 ERA, though
53	Wei-Yin Chen	at TB	TB has been tough on lefties all year, including Chen: 4.94 ERA, 1.35 WHIP in five starts
54	James Paxton	at TEX
55	Drew Hutchison	at ATL	Feeling lucky? The opposition is worthy of streaming, but the downside is ever-present w/Hutch this year
56	Josh Tomlin	KC	Cody Anderson looks like the odd man out w/Kluber's return unless they go to a 6-man; not at all sold on Tomlin, btw
57	Danny Duffy	at CLE
58	Aaron Brooks	at CWS, at HOU
59	Sean Nolin	at CWS
60	Matt Moore	NYY	Did some things in the minors, but I'm still just passing until 2016
61	Mark Buehrle	BOS	You almost can't use him in leagues w/IP caps if you're nearing said cap as the 4 K/9 is just too painful to take
62	Wade Miley	at TOR	Yeah, right.
63	Nick Tropeano	at SEA, at MIN
64	Randy Wolf	KC
65	Henry Owens	at BAL
66	Jesse Chavez	at CWS
67	CC Sabathia	at TB
68	Mike Wright	BOS
69	Ubaldo Jimenez	BOS, at TB
70	Ivan Nova	at NYM
71	Jered Weaver	at SEA
72	Chris Capuano	at TB
73	Felix Doubront	at HOU
74	Tyler Duffey	DET, LAA
75	Mike Pelfrey	DET, LAA
76	Kyle Lobstein	at MIN, KC
77	Alfredo Simon	at MIN
78	Matt Boyd	KC

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Clayton Kershaw	COL, PIT	How great does it feel to get a two-start week from your ace this late in the season?
2	Stephen Strasburg	at PHI, MIA	He's been an overall disappointment, but he can close strong and lessen the pain of his underwhelming campaign
3	Zack Greinke	PIT
4	Jacob deGrom	MIA
5	Jake Arrieta	at PIT	Has a 1.00 ERA in his last 117 IP with 115 Ks
6	Gerrit Cole	CHC, at LAD
7	Jon Lester	at PIT, STL	Has allowed just 6 ER in 32.3 IP vs. PIT and STL this year
8	Michael Wacha	at CHC
9	Madison Bumgarner	ARI
10	Max Scherzer	MIA	Has gone more than 6 IP just once in his last seven starts; he isn't himself and thus has to be dropped some
11	Matt Harvey	NYY
12	Lance Lynn	at CHC
13	Jose Fernandez	at WAS	We can get a better read on him after his start on Saturday, but I'm starting him regardless (short of injury, obv)
14	Jordan Zimmermann	at PHI, MIA
15	Jaime Garcia	at MIL
16	Noah Syndergaard	NYY	The young Mets might not be the best fantasy assets down the stretch as the team has an incentive to pull them ASAP…
17	Steven Matz	NYY	…meaning they could be stuck w/5 IP at a time if the offense can build some early leads; still must-starts for the upside, though
18	Raisel Iglesias	at MIL
19	Francisco Liriano	at LAD
20	Julio Teheran	TOR, PHI	I'd roll the dice on this two-start even w/TOR coming in
21	Jimmy Nelson	STL
22	John Lackey	at MIL	Has a legitimate shot at a full season of sub-3.00 ERA and seemingly no one wants him on their fantasy team
23	Tyson Ross	at ARI
24	Carlos Martinez	at MIL, at CHC
25	Patrick Corbin	at SF	Quality start in five of his last six: 2.73 ERA with 31 Ks in 33 IP
26	Mike Leake	ARI
27	Aaron Nola	WAS	Bounced back from his nightmare in Citi w/7 scoreless vs. punchless ATL; WAS isn't easy, but not a huge threat either
28	Gio Gonzalez	at PHI
29	J.A. Happ	CHC	Has a 1.00 ERA in his last 6 starts (36 Ks and 5 BBs in 36 IP)
30	Taylor Jungmann	CIN
31	A.J. Burnett	CHC	Looked solid enough in his return to send back out there in most formats
32	Shelby Miller	TOR
33	Andrew Cashner	at ARI
34	Jason Hammel	at PIT	He's been alright lately, but it's been one bad inning sinking him; still has 25% K, 7% BB in his last 31 Ips
35	John Lamb	at SF	This could be a good time to use Lamb and Rubby as SF has been in a prolonged hitting funk
36	Rubby De La Rosa	at SF
37	Charlie Morton	CHC	He's settled in over his L9 starts: 3.33 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 49 Ks in 54 IP
38	Brett Anderson	COL	Logging 158 IP has been a huge win for Anderson; that he's done it with a 3.36 ERA is icing on the cake
39	Kyle Hendricks	at PIT
40	Anthony DeSclafani	at MIL	Has a 3.77 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 29 Ks in his last 33 IP (19% K-BB% rate, too)
41	Bartolo Colon	MIA
42	James Shields	at ARI, at COL	This is a terrible two-start setup for the HR-prone Shields (1.4 HR/9); the HR/FB rate hasn't really waned (18% 1H, 17% 2H)
43	Ian Kennedy	at COL
44	Mike Bolsinger	PIT	Probably never should've been taken out of the rotation, but it seemed like Wood & Latos would be upgrades
45	Jon Gray	at LAD, SD	Allowed 7 ER (39% of his season total) in 1.7 IP (5%), but otherwise has a 3.33 ERA in 29.7 IP w/27 Ks
46	Jeremy Hellickson	SD
47	Robbie Ray	at SF
48	Logan Verrett	MIA	Could be a sneaky spot-start, but are we making too much of the 8 IP/1 ER and 8 Ks at COL back in late-Aug?
49	Jake Peavy	CIN
50	Jerad Eickhoff	at ATL	Perfect remedy after a rough trip to Boston is a trip to ATL
51	Chris Heston	CIN	The grind of a full season seems to be catching up to him w/fewer than 6 IP in six of his last seven
52	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	Two solid starts since returning to the bigs w/ARI
53	Jorge De La Rosa	at LAD	Has a 2.90 ERA in his L8 starts and while six have been on the road, he's allowed 1 ER in 13 IP at home
54	Wily Peralta	STL	He's fanned more than 3 in just one of his last 10 starts (23 Ks in 50 IP)

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
55	Tom Koehler	at NYM, at WAS
56	Dan Haren	STL	I have a hard time seeing him double up w/gems vs. STL and he went 7 scoreless vs. them last time (Sept 7)
57	Tanner Roark	MIA
58	Chase Anderson	SD
59	Ariel Pena	STL, CIN
60	Zach Davies	CIN
61	Jarred Cosart	at WAS
62	Aaron Harang	at ATL	Had allowed 2 ER in 19 IP vs. ATL before Sept 7th's 5 IP/5 ER; could be a nice Hail Mary stream option
63	Chris Rusin	at LAD	Has 5 starts of 3 or fewer ER in his L7, but he allowed 15 ER in 5 IP over the other two
64	Jeff Locke	at LAD
65	Adam Morgan	WAS
66	Tim Hudson	CIN, ARI	The NL's (and a right-handed) Mark Buehrle… (not a compliment)
67	Alex Wood	COL
68	Michael Lorenzen	at SF
69	Justin Nicolino	at NYM, at WAS	His next 5 K game will be his first
70	Colin Rea	at COL
71	Yohan Flande	SD
72	Keyvius Sampson	at SF, at MIL
73	Brad Hand	at NYM
74	Alec Asher	at ATL
75	Chad Bettis	SD
76	Kyle Kendrick	SD
77	Williams Perez	PHI
78	Matt Wisler	TOR
79	Ryan Weber	PHI
80	David Buchanan	WAS

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Clayton Kershaw	COL, PIT	How great does it feel to get a two-start week from your ace this late in the season?
2	Stephen Strasburg	at PHI, MIA	He's been an overall disappointment, but he can close strong and lessen the pain of his underwhelming campaign
3	Zack Greinke	PIT
4	Jacob deGrom	MIA
5	Jake Arrieta	at PIT	Has a 1.00 ERA in his last 117 IP with 115 Ks
6	David Price	at ATL	This might be the best pitching of his career
7	Chris Sale	at CLE
8	Gerrit Cole	CHC, at LAD
9	Jon Lester	at PIT, STL	Has allowed just 6 ER in 32.3 IP vs. PIT and STL this year
10	Chris Archer	BAL	He has 32 Ks in only six more IP at home this year
11	Dallas Keuchel	at TEX
12	Cole Hamels	HOU, SEA
13	Michael Wacha	at CHC
14	Madison Bumgarner	ARI
15	Max Scherzer	MIA	Has gone more than 6 IP just once in his last seven starts; he isn't himself and thus has to be dropped some
16	Matt Harvey	NYY
17	Lance Lynn	at CHC
18	Jose Fernandez	at WAS	We can get a better read on him after his start on Saturday, but I'm starting him regardless (short of injury, obv)
19	Jordan Zimmermann	at PHI, MIA
20	Sonny Gray	at CWS, at HOU	Has been markedly better on the road: 1.72 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 92 Ks in 94.3 IP
21	Danny Salazar	KC, CWS
22	Collin McHugh	at TEX, OAK
23	Corey Kluber	KC, CWS	Kluber slated to return w/a 2-start week
24	Jake Odorizzi	NYY, BAL	Excellent at home: 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 63 Ks in 62 IP
25	Felix Hernandez	LAA
26	Justin Verlander	KC
27	Derek Holland	HOU	Bad start and bad finish sunk him in SEA, allowed 3 H and had 5 Ks in middle 5 IP
28	Jaime Garcia	at MIL
29	Noah Syndergaard	NYY	The young Mets might not be the best fantasy assets down the stretch as the team has an incentive to pull them ASAP…
30	Steven Matz	NYY	…meaning they could be stuck w/5 IP at a time if the offense can build some early leads; still must-starts for the upside, though
31	Raisel Iglesias	at MIL
32	Francisco Liriano	at LAD
33	Lance McCullers	at TEX
34	Johnny Cueto	at DET
35	Garrett Richards	at SEA, at MIN	Could be poised for a big finish w/6 QS in L7 w/the L3 being especially good: 3.05 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 21 Ks in 20.7 IP
36	Julio Teheran	TOR, PHI	I'd roll the dice on this two-start even w/TOR coming in
37	Hisashi Iwakuma	LAA
38	Carlos Carrasco	CWS	Not going to overreact to the rough return, he's still a must-start
39	Masahiro Tanaka	at NYM
40	Michael Pineda	at NYM
41	Jimmy Nelson	STL
42	John Lackey	at MIL	Has a legitimate shot at a full season of sub-3.00 ERA and seemingly no one wants him on their fantasy team
43	Tyson Ross	at ARI
44	Carlos Martinez	at MIL, at CHC
45	Patrick Corbin	at SF	Quality start in five of his last six: 2.73 ERA with 31 Ks in 33 IP
46	Mike Leake	ARI
47	Aaron Nola	WAS	Bounced back from his nightmare in Citi w/7 scoreless vs. punchless ATL; WAS isn't easy, but not a huge threat either
48	Gio Gonzalez	at PHI
49	J.A. Happ	CHC	Has a 1.00 ERA in his last 6 starts (36 Ks and 5 BBs in 36 IP)
50	Taylor Jungmann	CIN
51	A.J. Burnett	CHC	Looked solid enough in his return to send back out there in most formats
52	Shelby Miller	TOR
53	Andrew Cashner	at ARI
54	Jason Hammel	at PIT	He's been alright lately, but it's been one bad inning sinking him; still has 25% K, 7% BB in his last 31 Ips
55	John Lamb	at SF	This could be a good time to use Lamb and Rubby as SF has been in a prolonged hitting funk
56	Jose Quintana	at CLE	A career-high .341 BABIP has kept him from a career year, but some of that is on the defense behind him
57	Marco Estrada	at ATL	11 of his 18 HRs have been solo shots and that .225 BABIP is a big reason behind his season
58	Andrew Heaney	at MIN
59	R.A. Dickey	BOS
60	Drew Smyly	BAL
61	Mike Fiers	OAK	Even w/that 6 ER relief appearance, he still has a 2.92 ERA in 37 IP w/HOU (plus 35 Ks)
62	Scott Kazmir	at TEX, OAK
63	Taijuan Walker	LAA, at TEX	Too much inconsistency to feel great trusting him in tight ERA/WHIP battles
64	Erasmo Ramirez	NYY, BAL
65	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, at TB
66	Kevin Gausman	BOS, at TB	He can be really good, but he's like Walker in that you can't really trust him in tight ratio races
67	Yovani Gallardo	SEA
68	Yordano Ventura	at CLE	He's either excellent or awful since his recall: 6, 1, 5, 6, 0, 2, 1, 0, 1, and 4 ER
69	Ervin Santana	DET	Three straight gems suggest he's back: 1.23 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 27 Ks in 22 IP
70	Luis Severino	at TB	Can't be too surprised that TOR steamrolled him; still starting him
71	Chris Tillman	at TB
72	Marcus Stroman	BOS	Makes his 2015 debut this weekend!
73	Rubby De La Rosa	at SF
74	Charlie Morton	CHC	He's settled in over his L9 starts: 3.33 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 49 Ks in 54 IP
75	Brett Anderson	COL	Logging 158 IP has been a huge win for Anderson; that he's done it with a 3.36 ERA is icing on the cake
76	Kyle Hendricks	at PIT
77	Anthony DeSclafani	at MIL	Has a 3.77 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 29 Ks in his last 33 IP (19% K-BB% rate, too)
78	Bartolo Colon	MIA
79	James Shields	at ARI, at COL	This is a terrible two-start setup for the HR-prone Shields (1.4 HR/9); the HR/FB rate hasn't really waned (18% 1H, 17% 2H)
80	Ian Kennedy	at COL
81	Mike Bolsinger	PIT	Probably never should've been taken out of the rotation, but it seemed like Wood & Latos would be upgrades
82	Kyle Gibson	LAA
83	Carlos Rodon	OAK
84	Edinson Volquez	at CLE, at DET	Has 8 QS in 11 starts since the break, the other three are 5-6 ER each, though, so just a 3.76 ERA
85	Martin Perez	HOU, SEA
86	Kris Medlen	at CLE, at DET
87	Jon Gray	at LAD, SD	Allowed 7 ER (39% of his season total) in 1.7 IP (5%), but otherwise has a 3.33 ERA in 29.7 IP w/27 Ks
88	Jeremy Hellickson	SD
89	Robbie Ray	at SF
90	Logan Verrett	MIA	Could be a sneaky spot-start, but are we making too much of the 8 IP/1 ER and 8 Ks at COL back in late-Aug?
91	Jake Peavy	CIN
92	Jerad Eickhoff	at ATL	Perfect remedy after a rough trip to Boston is a trip to ATL
93	Chris Heston	CIN	The grind of a full season seems to be catching up to him w/fewer than 6 IP in six of his last seven
94	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	Two solid starts since returning to the bigs w/ARI
95	Jorge De La Rosa	at LAD	Has a 2.90 ERA in his L8 starts and while six have been on the road, he's allowed 1 ER in 13 IP at home
96	Joe Kelly	at BAL
97	Colby Lewis	HOU	Another boom-or-bust guy: 7 starts of 5+ ER incl. a 9 and 10; 8 starts of 0-1 ER incl. a two-hitter
98	Erik Johnson	OAK	Rebounded from his 2014 disaster w/a 2.37 ERA and 136 Ks in 132.7 IP at AAA; has 2 MLB starts - 3 HRs in one, 5 BB in the other
99	Tommy Milone	LAA	Has a 2.93 ERA in his last 30.7 IP and a 3.20 in his last 84.3
100	Hector Santiago	at MIN	First solid outing in a while with six scoreless on just one hit, but he did walk six; still nervous