This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
A noteworthy aspect of this week's rankings is there's more good pitchers with poor matchups and lesser hurlers with good matchups than normal. Feeding into this is fewer two-start options than usual. There will be some tough decisions necessary at the back end of fantasy rotations this week. If a ranking looks curious, I'll be happy to discuss it in the comments section.
UPDATED: July 23, 11:00 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. BOS, vs. NYM | Four consecutive homerless outings |
2 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at CWS | Showed no ill effects of neck injury last Sunday |
3 | Chris Sale | BOS | at SEA | |
4 | Jacob Faria | TB | vs. BAL, at NYY | Coming off only non quality start of rookie campaign |
5 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at SEA, vs. KC | Ranking assumes he picks up where he left off before hurting knee |
6 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. LAA | |
7 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. CIN | Showing no signs of slowing down |
8 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. MIA | |
9 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. OAK | |
10 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. KC | |
11 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | vs. CIN, vs. TB | |
12 | Mike Fiers | HOU | at PHI | |
13 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at CWS | |
14 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. TB | |
15 | David Price | BOS | vs. KC | |
16 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at PHI | |
17 | Alex Cobb | TB | vs. BAL | |
18 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at SEA | |
19 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. TB | |
20 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | vs. OAK, vs. LAA | Nice matchups but so |
A noteworthy aspect of this week's rankings is there's more good pitchers with poor matchups and lesser hurlers with good matchups than normal. Feeding into this is fewer two-start options than usual. There will be some tough decisions necessary at the back end of fantasy rotations this week. If a ranking looks curious, I'll be happy to discuss it in the comments section.
UPDATED: July 23, 11:00 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. BOS, vs. NYM | Four consecutive homerless outings |
2 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at CWS | Showed no ill effects of neck injury last Sunday |
3 | Chris Sale | BOS | at SEA | |
4 | Jacob Faria | TB | vs. BAL, at NYY | Coming off only non quality start of rookie campaign |
5 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at SEA, vs. KC | Ranking assumes he picks up where he left off before hurting knee |
6 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. LAA | |
7 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. CIN | Showing no signs of slowing down |
8 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. MIA | |
9 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. OAK | |
10 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. KC | |
11 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | vs. CIN, vs. TB | |
12 | Mike Fiers | HOU | at PHI | |
13 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at CWS | |
14 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. TB | |
15 | David Price | BOS | vs. KC | |
16 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at PHI | |
17 | Alex Cobb | TB | vs. BAL | |
18 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at SEA | |
19 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. TB | |
20 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | vs. OAK, vs. LAA | Nice matchups but so inconsistent |
21 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at TOR | Will he still be with the Athletics? |
22 | J.A. Happ | TOR | vs. LAA | |
23 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at TEX | |
24 | Justin Verlander | DET | vs. KC, vs. HOU | In a rut, especially with walks |
25 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. BAL, at NYY | |
26 | Ervin Santana | MIN | at LAD | |
27 | Chris Smith | OAK | at TOR, vs. MIN | |
28 | Adalberto Mejia | MIN | at OAK | |
29 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. BOS | |
30 | Sean Manaea | OAK | at TOR | |
31 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at LAD | Tough go as of late, but tough run of opponents |
32 | Lance McCullers | HOU | at DET | |
33 | Chris Archer | TB | at NYY | |
34 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. LAA | |
35 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. KC | |
36 | Cole Hamels | TEX | vs. MIA | |
37 | Brad Peacock | HOU | at PHI | |
38 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. LAA | |
39 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | at CHC, vs. CLE | |
40 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | vs. CIN, at CWS | |
41 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | vs. NYM | |
42 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at DET | |
43 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | vs. MIN | |
44 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. LAA | |
45 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at TB, at TEX | |
46 | Luis Cessa | NYY | vs. TB | |
47 | Jason Hammel | KC | at DET, at BOS | |
48 | Marco Estrada | TOR | vs. OAK | |
49 | Andrew Moore | SEA | vs. BOS | |
50 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at TOR | |
51 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | at CHC, vs. CLE | |
52 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | at TOR | |
53 | Daniel Gossett | OAK | vs. MIN | |
54 | Collin McHugh | HOU | at DET | |
55 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | at CLE, at TOR | |
56 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | vs. NYM | |
57 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. MIA, vs. BAL | |
58 | Jason Vargas | KC | at BOS | |
59 | Tyson Ross | TEX | vs. BAL | |
60 | Anibal Sanchez | DET | vs. KC | |
61 | Cesar Valdez | TOR | vs. OAK | |
62 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | at OAK | |
63 | Danny Duffy | KC | at DET | |
64 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | at NYY | |
65 | Alex Meyer | LAA | at CLE | |
66 | Wade Miley | BAL | at TB | |
67 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at TEX | |
68 | JC Ramirez | LAA | at CLE | |
69 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | at TB | |
70 | Derek Holland | CWS | vs. CLE | |
71 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | vs. BAL | |
72 | Bartolo Colon | MIN | at LAD, at OAK | |
73 | James Shields | CWS | vs. CHC | |
74 | Mike Pelfrey | CWS | vs. CHC | |
75 | Parker Bridwell | LAA | at TOR | |
76 | Ian Kennedy | KC | at DET | |
77 | Travis Wood | KC | at BOS | |
78 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. HOU | |
79 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | vs. HOU |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rank | Pitcher | TEAM | Opponent(s) | Comments |
1 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at SD, at SEA | 7-0, 1.11 ERA, .82 WHIP over last seven starts |
2 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. ATL, at STL | |
3 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at SF, at SD | Facing two weak lineups |
4 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. MIL | |
5 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. MIN | |
6 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. SF | |
7 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. CWS, at MIL | Temper expectations coming off disabled list |
8 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. PIT | |
9 | Dan Straily | MIA | at TEX, vs. CIN | Could be traded, second start in jeopardy |
10 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. SF | |
11 | Steven Matz | NYM | at SD | |
12 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | vs. PIT | |
13 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. COL | Tentative, left last start after two innings with a tight arm |
14 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at SD | |
15 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. COL | |
16 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. MIL, vs. COL | Jump up a few spots if you need wins and whiffs |
17 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | vs. ATL, at STL | |
18 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at PHI | |
19 | Lance Lynn | STL | vs. COL, vs. ARI | Allowed only three homers last five games, spanning 30 2/3 innings |
20 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at PHI | |
21 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at SF | |
22 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | at CWS | |
23 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. ARI | Hit rate falling, ERA along with it |
24 | Zack Godley | ARI | at STL | |
25 | Jon Lester | CHC | at CWS | Looked sharp last time, two late homers did him in |
26 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | at ARI, at PHI | |
27 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | vs. MIN, vs. SF | |
28 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at STL | |
29 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | vs. NYM, vs. PIT | |
30 | Seth Lugo | NYM | at SD, at SEA | On the road but decent pitching venues |
31 | Dinelson Lamet | SD | vs. PIT | |
32 | John Lackey | CHC | vs. CWS, at MIL | |
33 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. MIL | |
34 | Brent Suter | MIL | vs. CHC | |
35 | Trevor Cahill | SD | vs. NYM | Touched up by Giants last time but still optmistic for solid second half |
36 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at LAD | |
37 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at NYY, at MIA | |
38 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | vs. HOU, vs. ATL | |
39 | Mike Leake | STL | vs. COL, vs. ARI | |
40 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | vs. MIN | |
41 | Jeff Hoffman | COL | at STL | |
42 | Jose Quintana | CHC | at MIL | |
43 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | vs. ATL | |
44 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at SF | |
45 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | at ARI | |
46 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | vs. ATL | |
47 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at SD | |
48 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | at WAS | |
49 | Aaron Nola | PHI | vs. HOU | Pitching great, tough draw |
50 | Jon Gray | COL | at STL | |
51 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at STL | |
52 | Tim Adleman | CIN | at CLE, at MIA | |
53 | Scott Feldman | CIN | at MIA | |
54 | Chris O'Grady | MIA | vs. CIN | |
55 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. CIN | |
56 | Zach Davies | MIL | at WAS, vs. CHC | |
57 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. CHC | |
58 | Sal Romano | CIN | at MIA | |
59 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | at SD | |
60 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. ARI | |
61 | Matt Cain | SF | vs. PIT | |
62 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at ARI | |
63 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. NYM | |
64 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. NYM, vs. PIT | |
65 | German Marquez | COL | at WAS | |
66 | Tom Koehler | MIA | vs. CIN | |
67 | Adam Conley | MIA | at TEX | |
68 | Jose Urena | MIA | at TEX | |
69 | Ty Blach | SF | at LAD | |
70 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. ATL | |
71 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at WAS | |
72 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | at WAS | |
73 | Matt Moore | SF | at LAD | |
74 | Homer Bailey | CIN | at NYY | |
75 | Matt Garza | MIL | at WAS | |
76 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | vs. HOU | |
77 | Rafael Montero | NYM | at SEA | |
78 | Edwin Jackson | WAS | vs. COL |
MLB
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at SD, at SEA | 7-0, 1.11 ERA, .82 WHIP over last seven starts |
2 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. ATL, at STL | |
3 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. BOS, vs. NYM | Four consecutive homerless outings |
4 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at SF, at SD | Facing two weak lineups |
5 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. MIL | |
6 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at CWS | Showed no ill effects of neck injury last Sunday |
7 | Chris Sale | BOS | at SEA | |
8 | Jacob Faria | TB | vs. BAL, at NYY | Coming off only non quality start of rookie campaign |
9 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. MIN | |
10 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at SEA, vs. KC | Ranking assumes he picks up where he left off before hurting knee |
11 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. SF | |
12 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. LAA | |
13 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. CIN | Showing no signs of slowing down |
14 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. CWS, at MIL | Temper expectations coming off disabled list |
15 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. PIT | |
16 | Dan Straily | MIA | at TEX, vs. CIN | Could be traded, second start in jeopardy |
17 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. SF | |
18 | Steven Matz | NYM | at SD | |
19 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | vs. PIT | |
20 | Yu Darvish | TEX | vs. MIA | |
21 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. COL | Tentative, left last start after two innings with a tight arm |
22 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at SD | |
23 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. OAK | |
24 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. COL | |
25 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. MIL, vs. COL | Jump up a few spots if you need wins and whiffs |
26 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. KC | |
27 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | vs. ATL, at STL | |
28 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | vs. CIN, vs. TB | |
29 | Mike Fiers | HOU | at PHI | |
30 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at PHI | |
31 | Lance Lynn | STL | vs. COL, vs. ARI | Allowed only three homers last five games, spanning 30 2/3 innings |
32 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at CWS | |
33 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at PHI | |
34 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. TB | |
35 | David Price | BOS | vs. KC | |
36 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at PHI | |
37 | Alex Cobb | TB | vs. BAL | |
38 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | at SEA | |
39 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. TB | |
40 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at SF | |
41 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | vs. OAK, vs. LAA | Nice matchups but so inconsistent |
42 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at TOR | Will he still be with the Athletics? |
43 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | at CWS | |
44 | J.A. Happ | TOR | vs. LAA | |
45 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. ARI | Hit rate falling, ERA along with it |
46 | Zack Godley | ARI | at STL | |
47 | Jon Lester | CHC | at CWS | Looked sharp last time, two late homers did him in |
48 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | at ARI, at PHI | |
49 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | vs. MIN, vs. SF | |
50 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at STL | |
51 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | vs. NYM, vs. PIT | |
52 | Seth Lugo | NYM | at SD, at SEA | On the road but decent pitching venues |
53 | Dinelson Lamet | SD | vs. PIT | |
54 | John Lackey | CHC | vs. CWS, at MIL | |
55 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. MIL | |
56 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at TEX | |
57 | Justin Verlander | DET | vs. KC, vs. HOU | In a rut, especially with walks |
58 | Brent Suter | MIL | vs. CHC | |
59 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. BAL, at NYY | |
60 | Ervin Santana | MIN | at LAD | |
61 | Trevor Cahill | SD | vs. NYM | Touched up by Giants last time but still optmistic for solid second half |
62 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at LAD | |
63 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at NYY, at MIA | |
64 | Chris Smith | OAK | at TOR, vs. MIN | |
65 | Adalberto Mejia | MIN | at OAK | |
66 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. BOS | |
67 | Sean Manaea | OAK | at TOR | |
68 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | vs. HOU, vs. ATL | |
69 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at LAD | Tough go as of late, but tough run of opponents |
70 | Lance McCullers | HOU | at DET | |
71 | Chris Archer | TB | at NYY | |
72 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. LAA | |
73 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. KC | |
74 | Mike Leake | STL | vs. COL, vs. ARI | |
75 | Cole Hamels | TEX | vs. MIA | |
76 | Brad Peacock | HOU | at PHI | |
77 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. LAA | |
78 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | vs. MIN | |
79 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | at CHC, vs. CLE | |
80 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | vs. CIN, at CWS | |
81 | Jeff Hoffman | COL | at STL | |
82 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | vs. NYM | |
83 | Jose Quintana | CHC | at MIL | |
84 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at DET | |
85 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | vs. MIN | |
86 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. LAA | |
87 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | vs. ATL | |
88 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at TB, at TEX | |
89 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at SF | |
90 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | at ARI | |
91 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | vs. ATL | |
92 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at SD | |
93 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | at WAS | |
94 | Aaron Nola | PHI | vs. HOU | Pitching great, tough draw |
95 | Luis Cessa | NYY | vs. TB | |
96 | Jason Hammel | KC | at DET, at BOS | |
97 | Jon Gray | COL | at STL | |
98 | Marco Estrada | TOR | vs. OAK | |
99 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at STL | |
100 | Tim Adleman | CIN | at CLE, at MIA | |
101 | Andrew Moore | SEA | vs. BOS | |
102 | Scott Feldman | CIN | at MIA | |
103 | Chris O'Grady | MIA | vs. CIN | |
104 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. CIN | |
105 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at TOR | |
106 | Zach Davies | MIL | at WAS, vs. CHC | |
107 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | at CHC, vs. CLE | |
108 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | at TOR | |
109 | Daniel Gossett | OAK | vs. MIN | |
110 | Collin McHugh | HOU | at DET | |
111 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | at CLE, at TOR | |
112 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | vs. NYM | |
113 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. MIA, vs. BAL | |
114 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. CHC | |
115 | Sal Romano | CIN | at MIA | |
116 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | at SD | |
117 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. ARI | |
118 | Matt Cain | SF | vs. PIT | |
119 | Jason Vargas | KC | at BOS | |
120 | Tyson Ross | TEX | vs. BAL | |
121 | Anibal Sanchez | DET | vs. KC | |
122 | Cesar Valdez | TOR | vs. OAK | |
123 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | at OAK | |
124 | Danny Duffy | KC | at DET | |
125 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at ARI | |
126 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. NYM | |
127 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | at NYY | |
128 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. NYM, vs. PIT | |
129 | German Marquez | COL | at WAS | |
130 | Tom Koehler | MIA | vs. CIN | |
131 | Adam Conley | MIA | at TEX | |
132 | Alex Meyer | LAA | at CLE | |
133 | Wade Miley | BAL | at TB | |
134 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at TEX | |
135 | JC Ramirez | LAA | at CLE | |
136 | Jose Urena | MIA | at TEX | |
137 | Ty Blach | SF | at LAD | |
138 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | at TB | |
139 | Derek Holland | CWS | vs. CLE | |
140 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. ATL | |
141 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | vs. BAL | |
142 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at WAS | |
143 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | at WAS | |
144 | Bartolo Colon | MIN | at LAD, at OAK | |
145 | James Shields | CWS | vs. CHC | |
146 | Matt Moore | SF | at LAD | |
147 | Homer Bailey | CIN | at NYY | |
148 | Mike Pelfrey | CWS | vs. CHC | |
149 | Parker Bridwell | LAA | at TOR | |
150 | Matt Garza | MIL | at WAS | |
151 | Ian Kennedy | KC | at DET | |
152 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | vs. HOU | |
153 | Travis Wood | KC | at BOS | |
154 | Rafael Montero | NYM | at SEA | |
155 | Edwin Jackson | WAS | vs. COL | |
156 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. HOU | |
157 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | vs. HOU |