This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
It's a rare busy week for two-start pitchers as over half the teams in the league have a full seven game schedule with the rest scheduled for six contests. This is the perfect week to really see how the second start affects rankings, emphasizing the good while penalizing the bad.
Even though the calendar flipped to May, Mother Nature didn't get the memo. Weather is still an issue, likely shuffling the probable pitching as the weekend fleshes out. Please remember to check out the final rankings on Sunday night.
For the week May 6-12.
UPDATED SUNDAY MAY 5, 11:00 PM ET
MLB
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | Remain calm. All is well. Underlying metrics are fine. |
2 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | vs. KC, vs. TEX | Could be a victim of the juiced ball based on his average fly ball distance |
3 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at SD, vs. MIA | Great draws to build on last outing |
4 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. CWS, at OAK | Getting extra day of rest, pushing two starts from last week to this week |
5 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | |
6 | David Price | BOS | at BAL, vs. SEA | |
7 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. ARI, vs. NYY | Failed to get out of the 4th twice last two vs. Royals |
8 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | |
9 | Cole Hamels | CHC | vs. MIA, vs. MIL | Quietly having stellar season |
10 | Walker Buehler | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | Appears ready to cut |
It's a rare busy week for two-start pitchers as over half the teams in the league have a full seven game schedule with the rest scheduled for six contests. This is the perfect week to really see how the second start affects rankings, emphasizing the good while penalizing the bad.
Even though the calendar flipped to May, Mother Nature didn't get the memo. Weather is still an issue, likely shuffling the probable pitching as the weekend fleshes out. Please remember to check out the final rankings on Sunday night.
For the week May 6-12.
UPDATED SUNDAY MAY 5, 11:00 PM ET
MLB
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | Remain calm. All is well. Underlying metrics are fine. |
2 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | vs. KC, vs. TEX | Could be a victim of the juiced ball based on his average fly ball distance |
3 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at SD, vs. MIA | Great draws to build on last outing |
4 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. CWS, at OAK | Getting extra day of rest, pushing two starts from last week to this week |
5 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | |
6 | David Price | BOS | at BAL, vs. SEA | |
7 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. ARI, vs. NYY | Failed to get out of the 4th twice last two vs. Royals |
8 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | |
9 | Cole Hamels | CHC | vs. MIA, vs. MIL | Quietly having stellar season |
10 | Walker Buehler | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | Appears ready to cut loose after the club took it slow in the spring |
11 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. MIA, vs. MIL | K% spike a mirage - SwStr same as last season, velo down a tick |
12 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. PHI, vs. PIT | Home, sweet home |
13 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. SEA, at TB | |
14 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | at COL, vs. CIN | |
15 | Justin Verlander | HOU | vs. TEX | |
16 | Tyler Glasnow | TB | vs. NYY | |
17 | Chris Sale | BOS | at BAL | 28 K, 6 BB last three outings, spanning 18 IP |
18 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. SEA, at TB | Congrats big guy, good spot to start working on next 3000 |
19 | Collin McHugh | HOU | vs. KC, vs. TEX | 7 HR in 38 IP, last season served up 6 HR in 72.1 IP |
20 | Caleb Smith | MIA | at CHC, at NYM | Tough lineups, on road, but strong start supported by skills growth |
21 | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | vs. SF, at SF | Rare home and home, top free agent target if available |
22 | Mike Minor | TEX | at HOU | Adjusted baseline expectation, hopefully won't rue it |
23 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. ATL | |
24 | Kevin Gausman | ATL | at LAD, at ARI | |
25 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at SF | |
26 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. MIA | Getting in groove |
27 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at TOR | Like Cole, latent candidate to surrender more homers |
28 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | at SD | That was great, now let's see you do it again (or something close) |
29 | Max Fried | ATL | at LAD, at ARI | Strikeouts should increase as season progresses |
30 | Patrick Corbin | WAS | at LAD | |
31 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. CWS | Indians should put him in bubble wrap between starts |
32 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. MIA | Coming off 81 pitch, complete game effort |
33 | Mike Fiers | OAK | vs. CIN, vs. CLE | |
34 | Charlie Morton | TB | vs. ARI | Walks a concern but boosted by pair at home |
35 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. ATL | |
36 | Jack Flaherty | STL | vs. PHI | Plagued by gopheritis, 8 HR in just 36.2 IP |
37 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. MIN, vs. CWS | |
38 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. WAS | |
39 | Matt Strahm | SD | vs. NYM | |
40 | Matthew Boyd | DET | vs. LAA | |
41 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. NYY | |
42 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at STL | Rounding into form |
43 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at LAD | Still shaking off the cobwebs |
44 | Mike Soroka | ATL | at ARI | Dbacks offense better than expected |
45 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. WAS | |
46 | Domingo German | NYY | at TB | |
47 | Shane Bieber | CLE | vs. CWS | |
48 | Yu Darvish | CHC | vs. MIA | |
49 | Chris Paddack | SD | vs. NYM | |
50 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | at NYM | |
51 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at TB | |
52 | Joe Musgrove | PIT | at STL | Tough spot to rebound from shellacking bu Athletics |
53 | Sonny Gray | CIN | at OAK | Back at familiar haunts |
54 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. CIN | |
55 | Jose Quintana | CHC | vs. MIL | Looking to rebound after rough outing, previous three were stellar |
56 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at STL | |
57 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. PIT | Missing bats but also walking a ton |
58 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | vs. WAS, at CHC | |
59 | Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | at NYY | |
60 | Martin Perez | MIN | at TOR, vs. DET | |
61 | J.A. Happ | NYY | vs. SEA | |
62 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at DET | Velo and SwStr% up, bodes well for K% |
63 | Brad Peacock | HOU | vs. KC | Strikeouts down even more than usual for a reliever-turned-starter |
64 | Steven Brault | PIT | vs. TEX, at STL | |
65 | Jakob Junis | KC | at HOU, vs. PHI | 5.12 ERA with 4.16 xFIP and 4.33 ERA hint at some bad luck and SwStr% up but K% down |
66 | Clay Buchholz | TOR | vs. CWS | |
67 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | vs. SEA | .356 BABIP, 59% LOB help explain 6.16 ERA with 3.91 FIP and 4.04 SIERA |
68 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at OAK | |
69 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at KC | |
70 | Michael Pineda | MIN | vs. DET | |
71 | Steven Matz | NYM | at SD | |
72 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. SEA | |
73 | Trevor Cahill | LAA | at BAL | |
74 | Danny Duffy | KC | at HOU | |
75 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | at TB, vs. ATL | |
76 | Tanner Roark | CIN | at OAK | |
77 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | vs. DET | |
78 | John Means | BAL | vs. BOS, vs. LAA | |
79 | Wade Miley | HOU | vs. TEX | |
80 | Jonathan Loaisiga | NYY | vs. SEA | |
81 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | at OAK, at SF | |
82 | Drew Pomeranz | SF | at CIN, vs. CIN | |
83 | Cal Quantrill | SD | vs. NYM | |
84 | Trent Thornton | TOR | vs. MIN | |
85 | German Marquez | COL | vs. SD | |
86 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. MIA | |
87 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | vs. WAS | |
88 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | at STL | |
89 | Chris Bassitt | OAK | vs. CIN | |
90 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at KC | |
91 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | at NYY, at BOS | |
92 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | vs. SF, vs. SD | |
93 | Frankie Montas | OAK | vs. CLE | |
94 | Gio Gonzalez | MIL | at CHC | |
95 | Brett Anderson | OAK | vs. CIN | |
96 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. MIN, vs. CWS | |
97 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | vs. LAA | |
98 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at ARI | |
99 | Daniel Norris | DET | vs. LAA, at MIN | |
100 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at STL, at KC | |
101 | Trevor Richards | MIA | at CHC | |
102 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | at TOR | |
103 | Jon Gray | COL | vs. SF | |
104 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | vs. WAS | |
105 | Erik Swanson | SEA | at BOS | |
106 | Jalen Beeks | TB | vs. ARI | |
107 | Brad Keller | KC | vs. PHI | |
108 | Luke Weaver | ARI | vs. ATL | |
109 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | at NYY, at BOS | |
110 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at CLE, at TOR | Showing signs, but switch hasn't flipped yet |
111 | Griffin Canning | LAA | at DET, at BAL | |
112 | Matt Hall | DET | at MIN | |
113 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | at MIL | |
114 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | at COL | |
115 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. PIT | |
116 | Dakota Hudson | STL | vs. PHI, vs. PIT | |
117 | Dan Straily | BAL | vs. LAA | |
118 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | at CHC, at NYM | With Zac Gallen crushing it on farm, could be pitching for rotation spot |
119 | Drew Smyly | TEX | at HOU | |
120 | Zach Davies | MIL | at CHC | |
121 | Lance Lynn | TEX | at HOU | |
122 | Kyle Freeland | COL | vs. SF | |
123 | Ivan Nova | CWS | at CLE, at TOR | |
124 | Mike Leake | SEA | at NYY | |
125 | Felix Pena | LAA | at DET | |
126 | Tyson Ross | DET | vs. LAA | |
127 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | at CLE | |
128 | Josh A. Smith | BOS | at BAL | |
129 | Aaron Brooks | OAK | vs. CLE | |
130 | Matt Harvey | LAA | at BAL | |
131 | Jose Urena | MIA | at CHC | |
132 | Jordan Lyles | PIT | at STL | |
133 | Jefry Rodriguez | CLE | vs. CWS, at OAK | |
134 | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | at COL | |
135 | Spencer Turnbull | DET | at MIN | Less optimistic than my brethren, HR uptick coming |
136 | Nick Kingham | PIT | vs. TEX | |
137 | Jorge Lopez | KC | at HOU | |
138 | Nick Margevicius | SD | at COL | |
139 | Taylor Clarke | ARI | at TB, vs. ATL | |
140 | Eric Lauer | SD | at COL | |
141 | Dylan Covey | CWS | at TOR | |
142 | Adrian Sampson | TEX | at PIT, at HOU | |
143 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | vs. BOS | |
144 | David Hess | BAL | vs. BOS | |
145 | Kohl Stewart | MIN | vs. DET | |
146 | Derek Holland | SF | at COL | |
147 | Jeff Hoffman | COL | vs. SD | |
148 | Ryan Carpenter | DET | at MIN | |
149 | Homer Bailey | KC | vs. PHI | |
150 | Shelby Miller | TEX | at PIT | |
151 | Manny Banuelos | CWS | at CLE |
American League
RANK | PITCHER | TM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | vs. KC, vs. TEX | Could be a victim of the juiced ball based on his average fly ball distance |
2 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. CWS, at OAK | Getting extra day of rest, pushing two starts from last week to this week |
3 | David Price | BOS | at BAL, vs. SEA | |
4 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. ARI, vs. NYY | Failed to get out of the 4th twice last two vs. Royals |
5 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. SEA, at TB | |
6 | Justin Verlander | HOU | vs. TEX | |
7 | Tyler Glasnow | TB | vs. NYY | |
8 | Chris Sale | BOS | at BAL | 28 K, 6 BB last three outings, spanning 18 IP |
9 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. SEA, at TB | Congrats big guy, good spot to start working on next 3000 |
10 | Collin McHugh | HOU | vs. KC, vs. TEX | 7 HR in 38 IP, last season served up 6 HR in 72.1 IP |
11 | Mike Minor | TEX | at HOU | Adjusted baseline expectation, hopefully won't rue it |
12 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at TOR | Like Cole, latent candidate to surrender more homers |
13 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. CWS | Indians should put him in bubble wrap between starts |
14 | Mike Fiers | OAK | vs. CIN, vs. CLE | |
15 | Charlie Morton | TB | vs. ARI | Walks a concern but boosted by pair at home |
16 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | vs. MIN, vs. CWS | |
17 | Matthew Boyd | DET | vs. LAA | |
18 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. NYY | |
19 | Domingo German | NYY | at TB | |
20 | Shane Bieber | CLE | vs. CWS | |
21 | Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | at NYY | |
22 | Martin Perez | MIN | at TOR, vs. DET | |
23 | J.A. Happ | NYY | vs. SEA | |
24 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at DET | Velo and SwStr% up, bodes well for K% |
25 | Brad Peacock | HOU | vs. KC | Strikeouts down even more than usual for a reliever-turned-starter |
26 | Jakob Junis | KC | at HOU, vs. PHI | 5.12 ERA with 4.16 xFIP and 4.33 ERA hint at some bad luck and SwStr% up but K% down |
27 | Clay Buchholz | TOR | vs. CWS | |
28 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | vs. SEA | .356 BABIP, 59% LOB help explain 6.16 ERA with 3.91 FIP and 4.04 SIERA |
29 | Michael Pineda | MIN | vs. DET | |
30 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. SEA | |
31 | Trevor Cahill | LAA | at BAL | |
32 | Danny Duffy | KC | at HOU | |
33 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | vs. DET | |
34 | John Means | BAL | vs. BOS, vs. LAA | |
35 | Wade Miley | HOU | vs. TEX | |
36 | Jonathan Loaisiga | NYY | vs. SEA | |
37 | Trent Thornton | TOR | vs. MIN | |
38 | Chris Bassitt | OAK | vs. CIN | |
39 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | at NYY, at BOS | |
40 | Frankie Montas | OAK | vs. CLE | |
41 | Brett Anderson | OAK | vs. CIN | |
42 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. MIN, vs. CWS | |
43 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | vs. LAA | |
44 | Daniel Norris | DET | vs. LAA, at MIN | |
45 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | at TOR | |
46 | Erik Swanson | SEA | at BOS | |
47 | Jalen Beeks | TB | vs. ARI | |
48 | Brad Keller | KC | vs. PHI | |
49 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | at NYY, at BOS | |
50 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at CLE, at TOR | Showing signs, but switch hasn't flipped yet |
51 | Griffin Canning | LAA | at DET, at BAL | |
52 | Matt Hall | DET | at MIN | |
53 | Dan Straily | BAL | vs. LAA | |
54 | Drew Smyly | TEX | at HOU | |
55 | Lance Lynn | TEX | at HOU | |
56 | Ivan Nova | CWS | at CLE, at TOR | |
57 | Mike Leake | SEA | at NYY | |
58 | Felix Pena | LAA | at DET | |
59 | Tyson Ross | DET | vs. LAA | |
60 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | at CLE | |
61 | Josh A. Smith | BOS | at BAL | |
62 | Aaron Brooks | OAK | vs. CLE | |
63 | Matt Harvey | LAA | at BAL | |
64 | Jefry Rodriguez | CLE | vs. CWS, at OAK | |
65 | Spencer Turnbull | DET | at MIN | Less optimistic than my brethren, HR uptick coming |
66 | Jorge Lopez | KC | at HOU | |
67 | Dylan Covey | CWS | at TOR | |
68 | Adrian Sampson | TEX | at PIT, at HOU | |
69 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | vs. BOS | |
70 | David Hess | BAL | vs. BOS | |
71 | Kohl Stewart | MIN | vs. DET | |
72 | Ryan Carpenter | DET | at MIN | |
73 | Homer Bailey | KC | vs. PHI | |
74 | Shelby Miller | TEX | at PIT | |
75 | Manny Banuelos | CWS | at CLE |
National League
RANK | PITCHER | TM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | Remain calm. All is well. Underlying metrics are fine. |
2 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at SD, vs. MIA | Great draws to build on last outing |
3 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at MIL, at LAD | |
4 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | |
5 | Cole Hamels | CHC | vs. MIA, vs. MIL | Quietly having stellar season |
6 | Walker Buehler | LAD | vs. ATL, vs. WAS | Appears ready to cut loose after the club took it slow in the spring |
7 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. MIA, vs. MIL | K% spike a mirage - SwStr same as last season, velo down a tick |
8 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. PHI, vs. PIT | Home, sweet home |
9 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | at COL, vs. CIN | |
10 | Caleb Smith | MIA | at CHC, at NYM | Tough lineups, on road, but strong start supported by skills growth |
11 | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | vs. SF, at SF | Rare home and home, top free agent target if available |
12 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. ATL | |
13 | Kevin Gausman | ATL | at LAD, at ARI | |
14 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at SF | |
15 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. MIA | Getting in groove |
16 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | at SD | That was great, now let's see you do it again (or something close) |
17 | Max Fried | ATL | at LAD, at ARI | Strikeouts should increase as season progresses |
18 | Patrick Corbin | WAS | at LAD | |
19 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. MIA | Coming off 81 pitch, complete game effort |
20 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. ATL | |
21 | Jack Flaherty | STL | vs. PHI | Plagued by gopheritis, 8 HR in just 36.2 IP |
22 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. WAS | |
23 | Matt Strahm | SD | vs. NYM | |
24 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at STL | Rounding into form |
25 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at LAD | Still shaking off the cobwebs |
26 | Mike Soroka | ATL | at ARI | Dbacks offense better than expected |
27 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. WAS | |
28 | Yu Darvish | CHC | vs. MIA | |
29 | Chris Paddack | SD | vs. NYM | |
30 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | at NYM | |
31 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at TB | |
32 | Joe Musgrove | PIT | at STL | Tough spot to rebound from shellacking bu Athletics |
33 | Sonny Gray | CIN | at OAK | Back at familiar haunts |
34 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. CIN | |
35 | Jose Quintana | CHC | vs. MIL | Looking to rebound after rough outing, previous three were stellar |
36 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at STL | |
37 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. PIT | Missing bats but also walking a ton |
38 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | vs. WAS, at CHC | |
39 | Steven Brault | PIT | vs. TEX, at STL | |
40 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at OAK | |
41 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at KC | |
42 | Steven Matz | NYM | at SD | |
43 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | at TB, vs. ATL | |
44 | Tanner Roark | CIN | at OAK | |
45 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | at OAK, at SF | |
46 | Drew Pomeranz | SF | at CIN, vs. CIN | |
47 | Cal Quantrill | SD | vs. NYM | |
48 | German Marquez | COL | vs. SD | |
49 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. MIA | |
50 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | vs. WAS | |
51 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | at STL | |
52 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at KC | |
53 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | vs. SF, vs. SD | |
54 | Gio Gonzalez | MIL | at CHC | |
55 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at ARI | |
56 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at STL, at KC | |
57 | Trevor Richards | MIA | at CHC | |
58 | Jon Gray | COL | vs. SF | |
59 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | vs. WAS | |
60 | Luke Weaver | ARI | vs. ATL | |
61 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | at MIL | |
62 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | at COL | |
63 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. PIT | |
64 | Dakota Hudson | STL | vs. PHI, vs. PIT | |
65 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | at CHC, at NYM | With Zac Gallen crushing it on farm, could be pitching for rotation spot |
66 | Zach Davies | MIL | at CHC | |
67 | Kyle Freeland | COL | vs. SF | |
68 | Jose Urena | MIA | at CHC | |
69 | Jordan Lyles | PIT | at STL | |
70 | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | at COL | |
71 | Nick Kingham | PIT | vs. TEX | |
72 | Nick Margevicius | SD | at COL | |
73 | Taylor Clarke | ARI | at TB, vs. ATL | |
74 | Eric Lauer | SD | at COL | |
75 | Derek Holland | SF | at COL | |
76 | Jeff Hoffman | COL | vs. SD |