Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Double the Fun

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Updated on April 14, 2019 10:52PM EST

The good news is there are a bevy of solid two-start options this week. The not-so-good news is the supply of double-dippers likely available in moderate-size leagues is thin.

Many starters have had three outings, which isn't enough to diverge too much from initial expectations, but sufficient to look for tangible reasons to add some subjectivity to a normally strict objective process. As discussed in this week's Z Files, Luis Castillo and Matthew Boyd are two primary beneficiaries of early season success.

Compared to last season, weather has largely cooperated with the early schedule, though there were some issues this week that could carry over to the weekend, causing some changes in rotation plans. As always, there adjustments will be accounted for in Sunday night's update.

For the week April 15-21.

UPDATED: Sunday April 14, 10:50 PM ET

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. SF, at MIA	Facing two of the weakest lineups in the league
3	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI, at STL
4	Luis Castillo	CIN	at LAD, at SD	More whiffs, more grounders, a nice combo
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CIN, at MIL	Welcome back
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	at MIA
7	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL, vs. CIN	Rox struggle vs. LHP and Reds… just…struggling
8	Shane Bieber	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL	Proving worthy of March helium
9	Tyler Glasnow	TB	vs. BAL, vs. BOS	So much

The good news is there are a bevy of solid two-start options this week. The not-so-good news is the supply of double-dippers likely available in moderate-size leagues is thin.

For the week April 15-21.

UPDATED: Sunday April 14, 10:50 PM ET

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. SF, at MIA	Facing two of the weakest lineups in the league
3	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI, at STL
4	Luis Castillo	CIN	at LAD, at SD	More whiffs, more grounders, a nice combo
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CIN, at MIL	Welcome back
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	at MIA
7	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL, vs. CIN	Rox struggle vs. LHP and Reds… just…struggling
8	Shane Bieber	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL	Proving worthy of March helium
9	Tyler Glasnow	TB	vs. BAL, vs. BOS	So much for needing to find a consistent release point
10	Collin McHugh	HOU	at OAK, at TEX
11	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM, at COL	Coors not the best venue to get untracked
12	James Paxton	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. KC	Homers could be an issue all season
13	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN, at MIL
14	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. CHC, vs. WAS	Escaped with 10 walks in 18 innings
15	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. CLE, at LAA	Could have a one-inning outing, dropping about 40 spots
16	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. PIT, vs. CWS	recorded 52 outs, 29 by K plus 4 infield pops
17	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at STL	I guess he's human after all
18	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIA, vs. ARI	7 IP with 11 K over first two games, matched that in Game 3
19	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIA, vs. ARI	Could be his best setup all season
20	Robbie Ray	ARI	at ATL, at CHC	Typical Ray, 22K in 15.1 IP, but also 11 BB
21	Blake Snell	TB	vs. BOS
22	Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY	May pick up second start
23	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BAL
24	Freddy Peralta	MIL	vs. STL, vs. LAD	Needs to shake early inning woes
25	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CIN	Slow out of the gate, look for Buehler to pick up the pace
26	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. SF
27	David Price	BOS	at TB
28	Chris Paddack	SD	vs. CIN
29	Justin Verlander	HOU	at TEX	Not sharp early, numbers will be there, don't fret
30	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. ATL	Back on track
31	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. SF
32	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BOS
33	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. BAL
34	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. NYM
35	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. CLE, at LAA	Nice duo for double dip
36	Erik Swanson	SEA	vs. CLE
37	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at TEX
38	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIA
39	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. KC
40	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. ARI
41	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at PIT
42	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM	Marlins were the ideal panacea for the veteran
43	Jon Gray	COL	at SD, vs. PHI
44	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at SEA	Shelled last time out, but has 17 K in 10 IP
45	Trevor Cahill	LAA	at TEX, vs. SEA
46	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
47	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. ARI
48	Zack Greinke	ARI	at CHC
49	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA	Hurt by home park
50	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. WAS
51	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TB
52	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. SF	A good spot to keep early season roll going
53	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at LAD, at SD	New pitch mix working well
54	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at WAS, at PIT	Low strikeouts cost fantasy points
55	Domingo German	NYY	vs. KC
56	Matt Strahm	SD	vs. CIN
57	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at MIA
58	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at LAA
59	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TB	7 BB in first 7.1 IP, last season 8 BB in first 57.2 IP
60	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. NYM, at COL	Disappointing start, but still believe the underlying skills will surface
61	Ross Stripling	LAD	at MIL
62	Trevor Williams	PIT	at DET
63	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at DET
64	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. KC
65	Matt Shoemaker	TOR	at MIN, at OAK	Off to a great start, hopefully remains healthy
66	Ervin Santana	CWS	vs. KC, at DET
67	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. TOR
68	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at CLE
69	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. KC, at DET	Looks to take advantage of weak division, could be worth a pick up
70	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI
71	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. ARI
72	Brad Keller	KC	at CWS	Regression coming, but maybe not this week
73	Nick Margevicius	SD	vs. COL
74	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. CHC
75	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at MIN, at OAK	Walks high, not the lineups to give free base runners
76	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at DET
77	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at MIN
78	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. TOR, at BAL
79	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. SF
80	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at OAK
81	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS
82	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. TOR
83	Touki Toussaint	ATL	at CLE
84	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. SEA
85	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. TOR
86	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. LAD
87	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL
88	Marco Estrada	OAK	vs. TOR
89	Zack Godley	ARI	at ATL
90	Dakota Hudson	STL	at MIL, vs. NYM
91	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB, vs. MIN
92	Tanner Roark	CIN	at SD
93	German Marquez	COL	vs. PHI
94	Max Fried	ATL	vs. ARI	Needs to miss more bats, but encouraging start
95	Sonny Gray	CIN	at LAD
96	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at NYY
97	Jorge Lopez	KC	at CWS, at NYY
98	Corbin Burnes	MIL	vs. STL
99	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at SD
100	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. CIN
101	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
102	Jakob Junis	KC	at NYY
103	Aaron Brooks	OAK	vs. HOU
104	Derek Holland	SF	at PIT
105	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at WAS
106	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. STL, vs. LAD
107	Julio Teheran	ATL	at CLE
108	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. LAD
109	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. PHI
110	Hector Velazquez	BOS	vs. BAL
111	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at SD
112	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. WAS
113	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. TOR
114	Julio Urias	LAD	at MIL
115	Tyson Ross	DET	vs. CWS
116	Luke Weaver	ARI	at ATL
117	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. CHC
118	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CWS
119	Ivan Nova	CWS	at DET
120	Shelby Miller	TEX	vs. LAA, vs. HOU
121	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. KC
122	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at CHC
123	Dan Straily	BAL	at BOS, vs. MIN
124	Wade Miley	HOU	at OAK
125	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. LAA
126	Jordan Lyles	PIT	vs. SF
127	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. NYM
128	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. MIN
129	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. TOR, at BAL
130	Jason Vargas	NYM	at STL
131	Michael Wacha	STL	at MIL
132	Drew Pomeranz	SF	at WAS
133	Zach Eflin	PHI	at COL
134	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at TB
135	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. HOU
136	Chris Stratton	LAA	vs. SEA
137	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. PIT
138	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at LAA
139	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. HOU
140	Matt Harvey	LAA	at TEX, vs. SEA
141	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. PHI
142	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at CWS, at NYY
143	David Hess	BAL	at TB
144	Trent Thornton	TOR	at MIN	Earth, this is Trent. Trent, say hello to Earth.
145	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. CWS
146	Felix Pena	LAA	at TEX
147	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at COL
148	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. HOU
149	Homer Bailey	KC	at NYY

American League

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL
2	Shane Bieber	CLE	at SEA, vs. ATL	Proving worthy of March helium
3	Tyler Glasnow	TB	vs. BAL, vs. BOS	So much for needing to find a consistent release point
4	Collin McHugh	HOU	at OAK, at TEX
5	James Paxton	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. KC	Homers could be an issue all season
6	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. CLE, at LAA	Could have a one-inning outing, dropping about 40 spots
7	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. PIT, vs. CWS	recorded 52 outs, 29 by K plus 4 infield pops
8	Blake Snell	TB	vs. BOS
9	Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY	May pick up second start
10	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BAL
11	David Price	BOS	at TB
12	Justin Verlander	HOU	at TEX	Not sharp early, numbers will be there, don't fret
13	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. ATL	Back on track
14	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BOS
15	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. BAL
16	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. CLE, at LAA	Nice duo for double dip
17	Erik Swanson	SEA	vs. CLE
18	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at TEX
19	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. KC
20	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at SEA	Shelled last time out, but has 17 K in 10 IP
21	Trevor Cahill	LAA	at TEX, vs. SEA
22	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA	Hurt by home park
23	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TB
24	Domingo German	NYY	vs. KC
25	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at LAA
26	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TB	7 BB in first 7.1 IP, last season 8 BB in first 57.2 IP
27	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. KC
28	Matt Shoemaker	TOR	at MIN, at OAK	Off to a great start, hopefully remains healthy
29	Ervin Santana	CWS	vs. KC, at DET
30	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. TOR
31	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. KC, at DET	Looks to take advantage of weak division, could be worth a pick up
32	Brad Keller	KC	at CWS	Regression coming, but maybe not this week
33	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at MIN, at OAK	Walks high, not the lineups to give free base runners
34	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at DET
35	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at MIN
36	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. TOR, at BAL
37	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at OAK
38	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS
39	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. TOR
40	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. SEA
41	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. TOR
42	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL
43	Marco Estrada	OAK	vs. TOR
44	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB, vs. MIN
45	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at NYY
46	Jorge Lopez	KC	at CWS, at NYY
47	Jakob Junis	KC	at NYY
48	Aaron Brooks	OAK	vs. HOU
49	Hector Velazquez	BOS	vs. BAL
50	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. TOR
51	Tyson Ross	DET	vs. CWS
52	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CWS
53	Ivan Nova	CWS	at DET
54	Shelby Miller	TEX	vs. LAA, vs. HOU
55	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. KC
56	Dan Straily	BAL	at BOS, vs. MIN
57	Wade Miley	HOU	at OAK
58	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. LAA
59	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. MIN
60	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. TOR, at BAL
61	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at TB
62	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. HOU
63	Chris Stratton	LAA	vs. SEA
64	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. PIT
65	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at LAA
66	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. HOU
67	Matt Harvey	LAA	at TEX, vs. SEA
68	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at CWS, at NYY
69	David Hess	BAL	at TB
70	Trent Thornton	TOR	at MIN	Earth, this is Trent. Trent, say hello to Earth.
71	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. CWS
72	Felix Pena	LAA	at TEX
73	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. HOU
74	Homer Bailey	KC	at NYY

National League

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. SF, at MIA	Facing two of the weakest lineups in the league
2	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI, at STL
3	Luis Castillo	CIN	at LAD, at SD	More whiffs, more grounders, a nice combo
4	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CIN, at MIL	Welcome back
5	Max Scherzer	WAS	at MIA
6	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL, vs. CIN	Rox struggle vs. LHP and Reds… just…struggling
7	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM, at COL	Coors not the best venue to get untracked
8	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN, at MIL
9	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. CHC, vs. WAS	Escaped with 10 walks in 18 innings
10	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at STL	I guess he's human after all
11	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIA, vs. ARI	7 IP with 11 K over first two games, matched that in Game 3
12	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIA, vs. ARI	Could be his best setup all season
13	Robbie Ray	ARI	at ATL, at CHC	Typical Ray, 22K in 15.1 IP, but also 11 BB
14	Freddy Peralta	MIL	vs. STL, vs. LAD	Needs to shake early inning woes
15	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CIN	Slow out of the gate, look for Buehler to pick up the pace
16	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. SF
17	Chris Paddack	SD	vs. CIN
18	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. SF
19	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. NYM
20	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIA
21	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. ARI
22	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at PIT
23	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM	Marlins were the ideal panacea for the veteran
24	Jon Gray	COL	at SD, vs. PHI
25	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
26	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. ARI
27	Zack Greinke	ARI	at CHC
28	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. WAS
29	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. SF	A good spot to keep early season roll going
30	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at LAD, at SD	New pitch mix working well
31	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at WAS, at PIT	Low strikeouts cost fantasy points
32	Matt Strahm	SD	vs. CIN
33	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at MIA
34	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. NYM, at COL	Disappointing start, but still believe the underlying skills will surface
35	Ross Stripling	LAD	at MIL
36	Trevor Williams	PIT	at DET
37	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at DET
38	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at CLE
39	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI
40	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. ARI
41	Nick Margevicius	SD	vs. COL
42	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. CHC
43	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. SF
44	Touki Toussaint	ATL	at CLE
45	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. LAD
46	Zack Godley	ARI	at ATL
47	Dakota Hudson	STL	at MIL, vs. NYM
48	Tanner Roark	CIN	at SD
49	German Marquez	COL	vs. PHI
50	Max Fried	ATL	vs. ARI	Needs to miss more bats, but encouraging start
51	Sonny Gray	CIN	at LAD
52	Corbin Burnes	MIL	vs. STL
53	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at SD
54	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. CIN
55	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
56	Derek Holland	SF	at PIT
57	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at WAS
58	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. STL, vs. LAD
59	Julio Teheran	ATL	at CLE
60	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. LAD
61	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. PHI
62	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at SD
63	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. WAS
64	Julio Urias	LAD	at MIL
65	Luke Weaver	ARI	at ATL
66	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. CHC
67	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at CHC
68	Jordan Lyles	PIT	vs. SF
69	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. NYM
70	Jason Vargas	NYM	at STL
71	Michael Wacha	STL	at MIL
72	Drew Pomeranz	SF	at WAS
73	Zach Eflin	PHI	at COL
74	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. PHI
75	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at COL