Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Cole Mining for Cy Young

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Updated on August 15, 2015 3:46PM 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 Aug. 17-23

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	David Price	at LAA	Was doing a good job avoiding the raindrops (9 H & 0 ER thru 7) until the fateful 8th inning vs. NYY (Beltran PH 3-run HR)
2	Corey Kluber	at BOS	Back-to-back CGs vs. MIN and three CGs in his last four; of course a 5.7 IP/5 ER is the fourth of those starts
3	Chris Sale	at SEA
4	Felix Hernandez	CWS
5	Dallas Keuchel	TB	Unfazed by the second-best offense vs. LHP: 7 IP/1 ER with 8 Ks; has baseball's 9th-best ERA since start of '14
6	Chris Archer	at HOU
7	Sonny Gray	LAD
8	Johnny Cueto	at BOS	Ks are down a little bit as a Royal, but that's heavily influenced by a 2 K outing at DET since he only has three starts
9	Carlos Carrasco	at NYY
10	Danny Salazar	at BOS, at NYY	Since 4.7 IP/5 ER at PIT: 7 ER in six starts good for a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 43 Ks in 42.7 IP
11	Scott Kazmir	TB, LAD	Like Cueto, Ks are down with new team, but it hasn't been just one start;

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	David Price	at LAA	Was doing a good job avoiding the raindrops (9 H & 0 ER thru 7) until the fateful 8th inning vs. NYY (Beltran PH 3-run HR)
2	Corey Kluber	at BOS	Back-to-back CGs vs. MIN and three CGs in his last four; of course a 5.7 IP/5 ER is the fourth of those starts
3	Chris Sale	at SEA
4	Felix Hernandez	CWS
5	Dallas Keuchel	TB	Unfazed by the second-best offense vs. LHP: 7 IP/1 ER with 8 Ks; has baseball's 9th-best ERA since start of '14
6	Chris Archer	at HOU
7	Sonny Gray	LAD
8	Johnny Cueto	at BOS	Ks are down a little bit as a Royal, but that's heavily influenced by a 2 K outing at DET since he only has three starts
9	Carlos Carrasco	at NYY
10	Danny Salazar	at BOS, at NYY	Since 4.7 IP/5 ER at PIT: 7 ER in six starts good for a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 43 Ks in 42.7 IP
11	Scott Kazmir	TB, LAD	Like Cueto, Ks are down with new team, but it hasn't been just one start; even w/fewer Ks he's remained dominant (1.04 ERA & WHIP w/HOU)
12	Cole Hamels	SEA, at DET
13	Jake Odorizzi	at HOU, at OAK	Two bad innings (one at TOR, one vs. ATL) have left him w/two 6 ER outings since DL-return, but has 5-plus Ks in six of the seven starts
14	Erasmo Ramirez	at HOU, at OAK
15	Garrett Richards	CWS, TOR
16	Taijuan Walker	at TEX, CWS
17	Jose Quintana	at LAA	Just 5 BB in his last eight starts (3.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP in 60.7 IP)
18	Nate Karns	at HOU
19	Masahiro Tanaka	CLE	His 2.2 HR/9 since the break is fourth-highest in MLB (behind Haren, Bauer, An.Sanchez)
20	Hisashi Iwakuma	at TEX	No-hitter gets the spotlight, but he's been great in six of his last seven posting a 2.47 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 4.9 K:BB ratio in 51 IP
21	Nathan Eovaldi	MIN, CLE
22	Chris Tillman	OAK, MIN
23	Kevin Gausman	NYM, MIN
24	Eduardo Rodriguez	CLE, KC	Volatility has been scary: four starts of 6-plus ER, nine of 0-2 ER
25	Matt Shoemaker	CWS
26	Justin Verlander	TEX	Speaking of volatility, his season by ER: 2, 6, 2, 7, 1, 7, 1, 1, 5, 0
27	Drew Smyly	at OAK
28	Marco Estrada	at LAA
29	Collin McHugh	TB
30	Kyle Gibson	at NYY, at BAL	Another inconsistent arm: five starts of 5-plus ER, 14 of 0-2 ER; road ERA of 4.57 makes this two-start a little sketchy
31	Andrew Heaney	CWS, TOR	Hasn't completed 6 IP in three Aug. starts; at least he gets to face TOR at home, but they could still erase any good work from the other start
32	Jeff Samardzija	at LAA
33	Luis Severino	CLE
34	Chris Bassitt	TB	Has a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP since joining the rotation (42.7 IP); if Ks from last three starts (23 in 20.7 IP) are real, he can be an all-formats play
35	Ubaldo Jimenez	NYM
36	Aaron Brooks	at BAL, TB
37	Edinson Volquez	at CIN, at BOS
38	Hector Santiago	TOR	Averaging just over 5 IP in his last five starts w/TOR coming in results in a drop for Santiago
39	R.A. Dickey	at PHI	He's allowed more than 3 ER just once in his last 14 starts: 2.71 ERA, 1.18 WHIP in 93 IP
40	Mark Buehrle	at PHI	Offense gets a lot of credit (deservedly so), but TOR isn't where they are w/out Dickey & Buehrle dominating (2.16 ERA for MB since Jun 1)
41	Martin Perez	SEA
42	Danny Duffy	at BOS
43	Wei-Yin Chen	MIN	Has allowed more than 3 ER just twice this year
44	Yovani Gallardo	at DET
45	Mike Fiers	LAD
46	Vidal Nuno	CWS
47	Ivan Nova	MIN	Survived a back-to-back vs. TOR: one bad (5.3 IP/4 ER) and one good (7 IP/3 ER)
48	Carlos Rodon	at LAA, at SEA
49	Scott Feldman	TB, LAD	Has a 2.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 30.7 IP since returning from the DL; Ks are light with just 14 in that span

SIT

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
50	Yordano Ventura	at BOS
51	Trevor Bauer	at BOS, at NYY	Appeared to building on 2014 earlier this year, but has a 5.49 ERA in 77 IP since the start of June
52	Ervin Santana	at NYY	Had 21 Ks in his first four starts; has just seven in his last four
53	Anibal Sanchez	TEX	Todd Frazier has already reserved Sanchez as his Home Run Derby pitcher for next year to defend his crown
54	Miguel Gonzalez	MIN	Has completed 6 IP just twice in his last 10 starts
55	Wade Miley	KC
56	Henry Owens	KC
57	CC Sabathia	MIN, CLE	Back-to-back QS for CC, but I'm still not confident to trust a two-start week
58	Jesse Chavez	LAD
59	Jered Weaver	CWS
60	Drew Hutchison	at LAA
61	Mike Montgomery	at TEX	Another one young arms who has it go REALLY wrong when he's off (three 5-plus ER starts, two of which he didn't finish 3 IP)
62	Colby Lewis	at DET
63	Trevor May	at BAL	Just his second start after a month in the pen so they might still be stretching him out (went 3 IP in first start back)
64	Daniel Norris	at CHC, TEX
65	Kendall Graveman	TB
66	Matt Boyd	TEX
67	Tommy Milone	at BAL
68	Alfredo Simon	at CHC
69	John Danks	at LAA, at SEA
70	Mike Pelfrey	at NYY, at BAL
71	Steven Wright	CLE, KC
72	Jeremy Guthrie	at CIN
73	Joe Kelly	CLE
74	Josh Tomlin	at NYY
75	Chi-Chi Gonzalez	SEA, at DET

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Gerrit Cole	ARI, SF	He's allowed more than 3 ER just once all year
2	Michael Wacha	SF, at SD	25% K rate since start of June spanning 12 starts (77 Ks in 75 IP)
3	Zack Greinke	at HOU
4	Clayton Kershaw	at OAK
5	Jake Arrieta	ATL	Shutout of MIN on Jun 21 has sent him on a surge: 1.23 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 69 Ks in 73.3 IP
6	Jacob deGrom	at BAL
7	Jon Lester	DET	He's quietly having a fantastic season, including a really strong run of late: 1.92 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 63 Ks in 56.3 IP
8	Madison Bumgarner	at PIT
9	Francisco Liriano	ARI, SF	A tougher slate than you might think at first glance; 4.00 home ERA should be better based on skills (3.38 FIP, 2.49 xFIP)
10	Carlos Martinez	at SD
11	Max Scherzer	at COL	Obviously not benching any of these three super-studs, but they all get a Coors penalty
12	Stephen Strasburg	at COL	20 Ks since returning from the DL in 13 IP
13	Matt Harvey	at COL
14	Noah Syndergaard	at BAL	A couple bad starts on the road inflate his ERA (5.01), but he still has a 24% K rate and 3.61 FIP away from Citi Field
15	Gio Gonzalez	MIL
16	Joe Ross	MIL
17	John Lackey	at SD	Quietly having a monster season w/a 2.91 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 151.3 IP
18	Lance Lynn	SF
19	Mike Leake	at STL, at PIT	Slated to return from the DL and hopefully pick up where he left off (1.49 ERA in prev. six starts before injury)
20	Chris Heston	at STL, at PIT
21	Jordan Zimmermann	at COL, MIL	He's been great for two months (2.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP), but a trip to COL bumps him down a few spots
22	Jason Hammel	DET, ATL	Looking better, but still five straight starts of fewer than 6 IP
23	Jaime Garcia	SF	Increased velo and a huge GB rate have spurred a nice run for Garcia
24	Tyson Ross	ATL
25	James Shields	ATL
26	Julio Teheran	at SD	Can he finally take his quality stuff on the road? We've seen some good road starts lately, but still has a 6.75 ERA away from ATL
27	Shelby Miller	at CHC
28	Jimmy Nelson	at WAS	Last nine: 2.26 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 52 Ks in 59.7 IP
29	Wily Peralta	MIA
30	Patrick Corbin	at CIN
31	Taylor Jungmann	at WAS	Was bound to have a clunker, but I still like the skills we're seeing from him
32	Raisel Iglesias	KC, ARI	Since the ASB: 3.56 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 34 Ks in 30.3 IP; this is a tough two-step, though
33	Chase Anderson	at PIT, at CIN
34	Jake Peavy	at PIT	Really sharp since returning from the DL: 2.74 ERA, 1.03 WHIP in 42.7 IP
35	Rubby De La Rosa	at CIN	Has been better vs. LHB since the break, but still not good: .781 OPS, 14% K; can he avoid the wrath of Votto-Bruce?
36	Brett Anderson	at HOU
37	Robbie Ray	at PIT	Had a 5% BB rate in his first nine starts, but it's up to 11% in his last five
38	Andrew Cashner	STL
39	Kyle Hendricks	ATL
40	Alex Wood	at HOU	Those crazy mechanics can really hamper his command and we've seen it with a 10% BB rate in his last six starts
41	Aaron Nola	TOR, at MIA	Can't get a more divergent combo of starts; ideally you can use just the at MIA start
42	Matt Wisler	at SD, at CHC
43	Jeremy Hellickson	at PIT, at CIN
44	Tom Koehler	at MIL	Has allowed 9 ER in his last six road starts lowering his road ERA to 4.16
45	Anthony DeSclafani	ARI
46	Dan Haren	ATL	Has now allowed 9 HRs in his last five starts, he's fortunate to have just a 4.76 ERA in that time; ATL not a power team
47	Mat Latos	at OAK	At least we saw the Ks return in his last outing, but it's still been rough in LA (6.75 ERA in three starts)
48	John Lamb	ARI	Pitched better than the 5 ER suggests in his debut; former blue-chip prospect could be something useful rest of way
49	Jeff Locke	SF

SIT

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
50	Jon Gray	NYM	If can hang at home, he could be a nice asset down the stretch with big K potential
51	David Phelps	PHI
52	Mike Foltynewicz	at CHC
53	Ian Kennedy	STL	Hasn't had a HR-free start since June 8th
54	Jon Niese	at COL	Nothing like a trip to Coors to mess with a big streak (2.76 ERA in lsat 78.3 IP)
55	Keyvius Sampson	KC	I'm keeping an eye on him; he wasn't a blue-chip prospect, but he did have some prospect status
56	Charlie Morton	SF
57	Matt Garza	MIA, at WAS
58	Williams Perez	at SD, at CHC	Shows flashes but weak skills make him tough to trust, especially twice in a week
59	Adam Conley	at MIL, PHI
60	Justin Nicolino	at MIL, PHI
61	Adam Morgan	TOR
62	Colin Rea	ATL, STL
63	Jorge De La Rosa	WAS, NYM	Used to have some success in Coors; has a 6.62 ERA there this year
64	Aaron Harang	at MIA
65	Matt Cain	at STL	Just hasn't been sharp often enough to trust since returning
66	Bartolo Colon	at COL
67	J.A. Happ	ARI
68	Tyler Cravy	MIA
69	David Holmberg	ARI
70	Chris Rusin	NYM
71	Yohan Flande	WAS
72	Brad Hand	PHI
73	Jerome Williams	at MIA
74	David Hale	WAS
75	David Buchanan Replacement	at MIA

MLB TOP 100

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Gerrit Cole	ARI, SF	He's allowed more than 3 ER just once all year
2	Michael Wacha	SF, at SD	25% K rate since start of June spanning 12 starts (77 Ks in 75 IP)
3	Zack Greinke	at HOU
4	Clayton Kershaw	at OAK
5	Jake Arrieta	ATL	Shutout of MIN on Jun 21 has sent him on a surge: 1.23 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 69 Ks in 73.3 IP
6	Jacob deGrom	at BAL
7	David Price	at LAA	Was doing a good job avoiding the raindrops (9 H & 0 ER thru 7) until the fateful 8th inning vs. NYY (Beltran PH 3-run HR)
8	Corey Kluber	at BOS	Back-to-back CGs vs. MIN and three CGs in his last four; of course a 5.7 IP/5 ER is the fourth of those starts
9	Chris Sale	at SEA
10	Felix Hernandez	CWS
11	Dallas Keuchel	TB	Unfazed by the second-best offense vs. LHP: 7 IP/1 ER with 8 Ks; has baseball's 9th-best ERA since start of '14
12	Jon Lester	DET	He's quietly having a fantastic season, including a really strong run of late: 1.92 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 63 Ks in 56.3 IP
13	Madison Bumgarner	at PIT
14	Chris Archer	at HOU
15	Sonny Gray	LAD
16	Johnny Cueto	at BOS	Ks are down a little bit as a Royal, but that's heavily influenced by a 2 K outing at DET since he only has three starts
17	Carlos Carrasco	at NYY
18	Danny Salazar	at BOS, at NYY	Since 4.7 IP/5 ER at PIT: 7 ER in six starts good for a 1.48 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 43 Ks in 42.7 IP
19	Scott Kazmir	TB, LAD	Like Cueto, Ks are down with new team, but it hasn't been just one start; even w/fewer Ks he's remained dominant (1.04 ERA & WHIP w/HOU)
20	Francisco Liriano	ARI, SF	A tougher slate than you might think at first glance; 4.00 home ERA should be better based on skills (3.38 FIP, 2.49 xFIP)
21	Carlos Martinez	at SD
22	Max Scherzer	at COL	Obviously not benching any of these three super-studs, but they all get a Coors penalty
23	Stephen Strasburg	at COL	20 Ks since returning from the DL in 13 IP
24	Matt Harvey	at COL
25	Noah Syndergaard	at BAL	A couple bad starts on the road inflate his ERA (5.01), but he still has a 24% K rate and 3.61 FIP away from Citi Field
26	Gio Gonzalez	MIL
27	Joe Ross	MIL
28	John Lackey	at SD	Quietly having a monster season w/a 2.91 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 151.3 IP
29	Lance Lynn	SF
30	Mike Leake	at STL, at PIT	Slated to return from the DL and hopefully pick up where he left off (1.49 ERA in prev. six starts before injury)
31	Chris Heston	at STL, at PIT
32	Cole Hamels	SEA, at DET
33	Jake Odorizzi	at HOU, at OAK	Two bad innings (one at TOR, one vs. ATL) have left him w/two 6 ER outings since DL-return, but has 5-plus Ks in six of the seven starts
34	Erasmo Ramirez	at HOU, at OAK
35	Garrett Richards	CWS, TOR
36	Taijuan Walker	at TEX, CWS
37	Jose Quintana	at LAA	Just 5 BB in his last eight starts (3.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP in 60.7 IP)
38	Nate Karns	at HOU
39	Masahiro Tanaka	CLE	His 2.2 HR/9 since the break is fourth-highest in MLB (behind Haren, Bauer, An.Sanchez)
40	Hisashi Iwakuma	at TEX	No-hitter gets the spotlight, but he's been great in six of his last seven posting a 2.47 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 4.9 K:BB ratio in 51 IP
41	Jordan Zimmermann	at COL, MIL	He's been great for two months (2.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP), but a trip to COL bumps him down a few spots
42	Jason Hammel	DET, ATL	Looking better, but still five straight starts of fewer than 6 IP
43	Jaime Garcia	SF	Increased velo and a huge GB rate have spurred a nice run for Garcia
44	Tyson Ross	ATL
45	James Shields	ATL
46	Julio Teheran	at SD	Can he finally take his quality stuff on the road? We've seen some good road starts lately, but still has a 6.75 ERA away from ATL
47	Shelby Miller	at CHC
48	Jimmy Nelson	at WAS	Last nine: 2.26 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 52 Ks in 59.7 IP
49	Nathan Eovaldi	MIN, CLE
50	Chris Tillman	OAK, MIN
51	Kevin Gausman	NYM, MIN
52	Eduardo Rodriguez	CLE, KC	Volatility has been scary: four starts of 6-plus ER, nine of 0-2 ER
53	Wily Peralta	MIA
54	Patrick Corbin	at CIN
55	Taylor Jungmann	at WAS	Was bound to have a clunker, but I still like the skills we're seeing from him
56	Raisel Iglesias	KC, ARI	Since the ASB: 3.56 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 34 Ks in 30.3 IP; this is a tough two-step, though
57	Chase Anderson	at PIT, at CIN
58	Jake Peavy	at PIT	Really sharp since returning from the DL: 2.74 ERA, 1.03 WHIP in 42.7 IP
59	Rubby De La Rosa	at CIN	Has been better vs. LHB since the break, but still not good: .781 OPS, 14% K; can he avoid the wrath of Votto-Bruce?
60	Matt Shoemaker	CWS
61	Justin Verlander	TEX	Speaking of volatility, his season by ER: 2, 6, 2, 7, 1, 7, 1, 1, 5, 0
62	Drew Smyly	at OAK	Watch his weekend start to get a bette read, but don't overreact either way
63	Marco Estrada	at LAA
64	Collin McHugh	TB
65	Brett Anderson	at HOU
66	Robbie Ray	at PIT	Had a 5% BB rate in his first nine starts, but it's up to 11% in his last five
67	Andrew Cashner	STL
68	Kyle Hendricks	ATL
69	Alex Wood	at HOU	Those crazy mechanics can really hamper his command and we've seen it with a 10% BB rate in his last six starts
70	Kyle Gibson	at NYY, at BAL	Another inconsistent arm: five starts of 5-plus ER, 14 of 0-2 ER; road ERA of 4.57 makes this two-start a little sketchy
71	Andrew Heaney	CWS, TOR	Hasn't completed 6 IP in three Aug. starts; at least he gets to face TOR at home, but they could still erase any good work from the other start
72	Jeff Samardzija	at LAA
73	Luis Severino	CLE
74	Chris Bassitt	TB	Has a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP since joining the rotation (42.7 IP); if Ks from last three starts (23 in 20.7 IP) are real, he can be an all-formats play
75	Ubaldo Jimenez	NYM
76	Aaron Brooks	at BAL, TB
77	Edinson Volquez	at CIN, at BOS
78	Hector Santiago	TOR	Averaging just over 5 IP in his last five starts w/TOR coming in results in a drop for Santiago
79	R.A. Dickey	at PHI	He's allowed more than 3 ER just once in his last 14 starts: 2.71 ERA, 1.18 WHIP in 93 IP
80	Mark Buehrle	at PHI	Offense gets a lot of credit (deservedly so), but TOR isn't where they are w/out Dickey & Buehrle dominating (2.16 ERA for MB since Jun 1)
81	Aaron Nola	TOR, at MIA	Can't get a more divergent combo of starts; ideally you can use just the at MIA start
82	Matt Wisler	at SD, at CHC
83	Jeremy Hellickson	at PIT, at CIN
84	Martin Perez	SEA
85	Danny Duffy	at BOS
86	Wei-Yin Chen	MIN	Has allowed more than 3 ER just twice this year
87	Tom Koehler	at MIL	Has allowed 9 ER in his last six road starts lowering his road ERA to 4.16
88	Anthony DeSclafani	ARI
89	Dan Haren	ATL	Has now allowed 9 HRs in his last five starts, he's fortunate to have just a 4.76 ERA in that time; ATL not a power team
90	Mat Latos	at OAK	At least we saw the Ks return in his last outing, but it's still been rough in LA (6.75 ERA in three starts)
91	John Lamb	ARI	Pitched better than the 5 ER suggests in his debut; former blue-chip prospect could be something useful rest of way
92	Jeff Locke	SF
93	Jon Gray	NYM	If can hang at home, he could be a nice asset down the stretch with big K potential
94	Yovani Gallardo	at DET
95	Mike Fiers	LAD
96	Vidal Nuno	CWS
97	Ivan Nova	MIN	Survived a back-to-back vs. TOR: one bad (5.3 IP/4 ER) and one good (7 IP/3 ER)
98	Carlos Rodon	at LAA, at SEA
99	Scott Feldman	TB, LAD	Has a 2.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 30.7 IP since returning from the DL; Ks are light with just 14 in that span
100	Yordano Ventura	at BOS