This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
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. 15-21
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
RANK | PITCHER | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Justin Verlander | KC, BOS | Leads the AL in FanGraphs WAR over the last calendar year and is 3rd behind Kershaw, Arrieta overall |
2 | Danny Duffy | at DET, MIN | |
3 | Corey Kluber | CWS, TOR | |
4 | Jose Quintana | at CLE, OAK | Has quietly rebounded from ugly June (5.51) w/a 2.11 ERA in his L7 starts (0.96 WHIP, 3.7 K:BB in 47 IP) |
5 | Chris Sale | OAK | |
6 | Carlos Carrasco | CWS | |
7 | Cole Hamels | at TB | |
8 | Aaron Sanchez | at CLE | Ohhh noooo, he allowed 4 ER, they should've moved him to the bullpen!!!!!! (jk ... Obviously) |
9 | Masahiro Tanaka | at LAA | |
10 | Matt Shoemaker | SEA | |
11 | Yu Darvish | OAK | His 13% swinging strike rate is back up to 2013 levels; 11.6 K/9 is 3rd-best among SP (min. 50 IP) |
12 | J.A. Happ | at NYY | Looking like the PIT version of late: 1.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 55 Ks, and 4.6 K:BB in 43.3 IP |
13 | Michael Fulmer | BOS | Has allowed more than 3 ER just once in his last 14 starts (1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) |
14 | Dallas Keuchel | STL, at BAL | |
15 | James Paxton | at LAA, MIL | Brilliant in his L4: |
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.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MLB TOP 100
For the week Aug. 15-21
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
RANK | PITCHER | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Justin Verlander | KC, BOS | Leads the AL in FanGraphs WAR over the last calendar year and is 3rd behind Kershaw, Arrieta overall |
2 | Danny Duffy | at DET, MIN | |
3 | Corey Kluber | CWS, TOR | |
4 | Jose Quintana | at CLE, OAK | Has quietly rebounded from ugly June (5.51) w/a 2.11 ERA in his L7 starts (0.96 WHIP, 3.7 K:BB in 47 IP) |
5 | Chris Sale | OAK | |
6 | Carlos Carrasco | CWS | |
7 | Cole Hamels | at TB | |
8 | Aaron Sanchez | at CLE | Ohhh noooo, he allowed 4 ER, they should've moved him to the bullpen!!!!!! (jk ... Obviously) |
9 | Masahiro Tanaka | at LAA | |
10 | Matt Shoemaker | SEA | |
11 | Yu Darvish | OAK | His 13% swinging strike rate is back up to 2013 levels; 11.6 K/9 is 3rd-best among SP (min. 50 IP) |
12 | J.A. Happ | at NYY | Looking like the PIT version of late: 1.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 55 Ks, and 4.6 K:BB in 43.3 IP |
13 | Michael Fulmer | BOS | Has allowed more than 3 ER just once in his last 14 starts (1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) |
14 | Dallas Keuchel | STL, at BAL | |
15 | James Paxton | at LAA, MIL | Brilliant in his L4: 1.59 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 27 Ks, and 9.0 K:BB in 28.3 IP; finally harnessing that newfound velo |
16 | Jake Odorizzi | TEX | |
17 | Rick Porcello | at DET | Quelled early HR issue: 1.4 HR/9 through first 11, 0.7 in last 12 and 3 of the 6 allowed were in one start (8 IP/3 ER at SEA) |
18 | David Price | at BAL | |
19 | Chris Archer | SD | |
20 | Marco Estrada | at NYY | |
21 | Dylan Bundy | HOU | Fastball velo is a tick better as SP: 95.4 to 95.5; even matching would be impressive when shifting into rotation |
22 | Felix Hernandez | at LAA, MIL | |
23 | Drew Pomeranz | at CLE, at DET | |
24 | Chris Tillman | BOS | One bad inning v. COL is the only real blemish in L8 en route to a 2.96 ERA in 51.7 IP |
25 | Marcus Stroman | at CLE | Has fanned fewer than 5 just once in his last seven starts: 3.52 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 47 Ks in 46 IP |
26 | Steven Wright | at DET | |
27 | Kevin Gausman | HOU | |
28 | Sean Manaea | at TEX | |
29 | Blake Snell | SD | Has multiple walks in all but one of his 11 starts and the 1.52 WHIP says be careful w/the 3.18 ERA |
30 | Hisashi Iwakuma | at LAA | |
31 | Joe Musgrove | at BAL | Has 18.3 excellent innings under his belt v. TOR, v. TEX, and TOR; difficult opponents doesn't stop w/trip to BAL |
32 | Drew Smyly | SD, TEX | Allowed 4+ in 8 of 10 starts (7.60 ERA) before recent run of 2.52 ERA in 25 IP over four starts; super-low lows leave me nervous |
33 | Carlos Rodon | at CLE | Bad first inning in return from DL only hiccup over L3, otherwise has just 4 ER in last 17.3 IP w/17 Ks |
34 | Matt Andriese | TEX | |
35 | Doug Fister | STL | |
36 | Ervin Santana | at ATL, at KC | On a run of 2.05 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over his 61.3 IP |
37 | Trevor Bauer | TOR | |
38 | A.J. Griffin | at TB | |
39 | Edinson Volquez | MIN | |
40 | Michael Pineda | TOR | Does anyone actually still trust him? |
41 | CC Sabathia | TOR | |
42 | Mike Fiers | at BAL | |
43 | Eduardo Rodriguez | at BAL, at DET | How do you make six starts of 2.80 ERA go relatively unnoticed? With six of 8.59 ERA before it |
44 | Daniel Norris | KC, BOS | Solid in MLB return (5 IP/1 ER), but hasn't eclipsed 5 IP in his 4 MLB starts this yr |
45 | Ian Kennedy | at DET, MIN | |
46 | Josh Tomlin | BOS, TOR | Just couldn't trust him even at his best and now has a 6.88 ERA in his L6 as HRs finally come home to roost |
47 | Tyler Skaggs | SEA | Wasn't having a great start at CLE, but final inning (5 H, 4 ER) really tanked him |
48 | Collin McHugh | at BAL | |
49 | Yordano Ventura | at DET | |
50 | R.A. Dickey | at NYY | |
51 | Kyle Gibson | at KC | Struggles out of the gate w/16 of his 52 ER coming in the first inning |
52 | Jose Berrios | at ATL | |
53 | Anibal Sanchez | KC | Had allowed 9 ER in 26 ER including an 8 IP/1 ER/10 K gem v. NYM before getting trounced at TEX (4 IP/8 ER) |
54 | Tyler Duffey | at KC | |
55 | Luis Severino | at LAA | |
56 | Chad Green | TOR, at LAA | In for an injured Nathan Eovaldi |
57 | Ross Detwiler | at TEX, at CWS | |
58 | Kendall Graveman | at CWS | |
59 | Wade LeBlanc | MIL | |
60 | James Shields | OAK | |
61 | Hector Santiago | at KC | |
62 | Andrew Triggs | at TEX | |
63 | Francisco Liriano | at CLE | Huge surprise: moving from PIT to TOR hasn't really helped Liriano |
64 | Matt Boyd | BOS | |
65 | Martin Perez | OAK, at TB | |
66 | Yovani Gallardo | BOS, HOU | |
67 | Wade Miley | HOU | |
68 | Zach Neal | at CWS | A 3.4 K/9 is in line w/the 4.7 he put up in AAA this year |
69 | Michael Clevinger | CWS | |
70 | Ariel Miranda | at LAA | |
71 | Ricky Nolasco | SEA, NYY | |
72 | Dillon Gee | MIN | |
73 | Lucas Harrell | OAK | |
73 | Jered Weaver | NYY | |
74 | Anthony Ranaudo/Jacob Turner | at CLE | This is the Miguel Gonzalez replacement; not fantasy-relevant regardless of who it is |
75 | Jhoulys Chacin | SEA, NYY | Remember when he had a 3.27 ERA through April? He's posted a 6.57 in 76.7 IP since then |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
START
Rank | Pitcher | Opponent(s) | Comments |
1 | Jose Fernandez | at CIN, at PIT | Has 3.13 ERA in his L6, but 5 of the 13 ER came in one start (52 Ks and 5.2 K:BB in those 37.3 IP) |
2 | Max Scherzer | at COL, at ATL | |
3 | Madison Bumgarner | NYM | Kershaw's injury could put Brumgarner on track for the NL Cy Young |
4 | Jacob deGrom | at SF | |
5 | Johnny Cueto | NYM | |
6 | Jake Arrieta | MIL | Getting the BBs in check of late w/just 12 in his L7 starts after 12 in his 3 leading up to this run |
7 | Tanner Roark | at ATL | |
8 | Stephen Strasburg | at COL | Three ugly starts in his last five, but still 38 Ks and 4.8 K:BB ratio in the 29 IP; don't love a trip to Coors, though |
9 | Kyle Hendricks | at COL | |
10 | Gerrit Cole | MIA | I've had trouble pinning him down this year, but I'm still trusting him in all matchups |
11 | Zack Greinke | at SD | |
12 | Jason Hammel | MIL, at COL | I'm still using him even w/Coors trip after 1.50 ERA, 33 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB in his last 36 IP |
13 | Kenta Maeda | at PHI | |
14 | Noah Syndergaard | at ARI, at SF | Has lost 4 straight decisions, but the 3.78 ERA and 40 Ks over the six starts (33.3 IP) aren't killing your team |
15 | Adam Wainwright | at PHI | |
16 | Jon Lester | MIL | |
17 | Steven Matz | at SF | Rebounded from ugly trip to NYY; like Thor he's not himself, but 3.98 ERA and 42 Ks not horriblein last 43 IP |
18 | Carlos Martinez | at HOU | |
19 | Vincent Velasquez | LAD, STL | Pummeled by the Dodgers in LA last time out, but I'm still starting him |
20 | Matt Moore | PIT, NYM | Essentially repeated his SF debut w/another solid-but-crazy-walk-total start; only 4 ER in 12 IP w/14 Ks and 11 BBs |
21 | Anthony DeSclafani | MIA, LAD | |
22 | Jon Gray | WAS | |
23 | Julio Teheran | WAS | Projected to return here, but it's not guaranteed so stay tuned |
24 | Zach Davies | at CHC | |
25 | Jameson Taillon | at SF | |
26 | Adam Conley | at CIN | |
27 | John Lackey | at COL | |
28 | Jaime Garcia | HOU | Back on track w/two 8 IP gems to start off the month after a 4.86 ERA in July |
29 | Jeremy Hellickson | LAD | |
30 | Jeff Samardzija | PIT, NYM | |
31 | Gio Gonzalez | at COL, at ATL | Can you get two more diverse road starts in a two-step? Has quietly posted a 3.00 ERA in L7 starts |
32 | Brandon Finnegan | MIA, LAD | |
33 | Jerad Eickhoff | STL | |
34 | Robbie Ray | NYM, at SD | I've been suspect of him all year, but if you can't start him w/this two-step, just cut him |
35 | Tyler Anderson | CHC | Took a look at him over at FanGraphs last week |
36 | Brandon McCarthy | at CIN | 3 BB already in 1 IP v. PIT, now 13 BB in last 7.7 IP |
37 | Mike Leake | at PHI | |
38 | Dan Straily | MIA | |
39 | Bartolo Colon | at ARI, at SF | |
40 | Scott Kazmir | at PHI | |
41 | Homer Bailey | MIA | Tremendous start at MIL (6 IP/0 ER/11 K); increased velo says we could see more, too, but will be inconsistent |
42 | Tom Koehler | at PIT | |
43 | Braden Shipley | NYM, at SD | Skills don't support 2.96 ERA, but it's 4 starts and neither the HR (1.3) or BB (4.4) have been consistent issues (4, 1, 6, 1 BB by start) |
44 | Ivan Nova | at SF | |
45 | Jimmy Nelson | at CHC | |
46 | Ross Stripling | at PHI | |
47 | Rich Hill | at CIN | … |
48 | Chase Anderson | at CHC, at SEA | |
49 | Andrew Cashner | at CIN | |
50 | Jake Thompson | LAD | |
51 | Archie Bradley | at SD | |
52 | Brett Anderson | at CIN | Expected to make his season debut on Sunday; has been solid in 3 rehab starts |
53 | Mike Foltynewicz | WAS | |
54 | Luke Weaver | at PHI | Replacing Wacha; he was OK at CHC in his MLB debut (4 IP/2 ER) |
55 | Tyler Glasnow | MIA | |
56 | Edwin Jackson | at TB | |
57 | Reynaldo Lopez | at ATL | Has been knocked around in 2 MLB starts so far; I've gotta see something before trusting him |
58 | Tyler Chatwood | CHC | |
59 | Luis Perdomo | at TB, ARI | |
60 | David Phelps | at CIN, at PIT | |
61 | Christian Friedrich | at TB | |
62 | Jarred Cosart | ARI | |
63 | Adam Morgan | STL | |
64 | Jon Niese | at ARI | |
65 | Tyrell Jenkins | WAS | |
66 | Cody Reed | LAD | |
67 | Chad Bettis | WAS | |
68 | Matt Cain | PIT | |
69 | Ryan Vogelsong | at SF, MIA | |
70 | John Gant | MIN | |
71 | Paul Clemens | ARI | Has a 4.73 ERA despite a 83% LOB, what happens when that regresses? |
72 | Rob Whalen | WAS | |
73 | Matt Garza | at CHC | |
74 | Patrick Corbin | NYM | |
75 | Wily Peralta | at SEA | |
76 | Jorge De La Rosa | WAS, CHC | |
77 | Joel De La Cruz | MIN | |
78 | Cubs DH SP | MIL | They have a Tuesday doubleheader, doubt whoever they use is terribly relevant for us |
MLB TOP 100
RANK | PITCHER | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Jose Fernandez | at CIN, at PIT | Has 3.13 ERA in his L6, but 5 of the 13 ER came in one start (52 Ks and 5.2 K:BB in those 37.3 IP) |
2 | Max Scherzer | at COL, at ATL | |
3 | Justin Verlander | KC, BOS | Leads the AL in FanGraphs WAR over the last calendar year and is 3rd behind Kershaw, Arrieta overall |
4 | Danny Duffy | at DET, MIN | |
5 | Corey Kluber | CWS, TOR | |
6 | Jose Quintana | at CLE, OAK | Has quietly rebounded from ugly June (5.51) w/a 2.11 ERA in his L7 starts (0.96 WHIP, 3.7 K:BB in 47 IP) |
7 | Madison Bumgarner | NYM | Kershaw's injury could put him on track for the NL Cy Young |
8 | Jacob deGrom | at SF | |
9 | Chris Sale | OAK | |
10 | Carlos Carrasco | CWS | |
11 | Cole Hamels | at TB | |
12 | Aaron Sanchez | at CLE | Ohhh noooo, he allowed 4 ER, they should've moved him to the bullpen!!!!!! (jk ... Obviously) |
13 | Johnny Cueto | NYM | |
14 | Jake Arrieta | MIL | Getting the BBs in check of late w/just 12 in his L7 starts after 12 in his 3 leading up to this run |
15 | Tanner Roark | at ATL | |
16 | Masahiro Tanaka | at LAA | |
17 | Matt Shoemaker | SEA | |
18 | Stephen Strasburg | at COL | Three ugly starts in his last five, but still 38 Ks and 4.8 K:BB ratio in the 29 IP; don't love a trip to Coors, though |
19 | Yu Darvish | OAK | His 13% swinging strike rate is back up to 2013 levels; 11.6 K/9 is 3rd-best among SP (min. 50 IP) |
20 | Kyle Hendricks | at COL | |
21 | J.A. Happ | at NYY | Looking like the PIT version of late: 1.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 55 Ks, and 4.6 K:BB in 43.3 IP |
22 | Michael Fulmer | BOS | Has allowed more than 3 ER just once in his last 14 starts (1.57 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) |
23 | Dallas Keuchel | STL, at BAL | |
24 | Gerrit Cole | MIA | I've had trouble pinning him down this year, but I'm still trusting him in all matchups |
25 | Jason Hammel | MIL, at COL | I'm still using him even w/Coors trip after 1.50 ERA, 33 Ks, and 3.3 K:BB in his last 36 IP |
26 | Zack Greinke | at SD | |
27 | Kenta Maeda | at PHI | |
28 | Noah Syndergaard | at ARI, at SF | Has lost 4 straight decisions, but the 3.78 ERA and 40 Ks over the six starts (33.3 IP) aren't killing your team |
29 | James Paxton | at LAA, MIL | Brilliant in his L4: 1.59 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 27 Ks, and 9.0 K:BB in 28.3 IP; finally harnessing that newfound velo |
30 | Adam Wainwright | at PHI | |
31 | Jon Lester | MIL | |
32 | Steven Matz | at SF | Rebounded from ugly trip to NYY; like Thor he's not himself, but 3.98 ERA and 42 Ks not horriblein last 43 IP |
33 | Jake Odorizzi | TEX | |
34 | Rick Porcello | at DET | Quelled early HR issue: 1.4 HR/9 through first 11, 0.7 in last 12 and 3 of the 6 allowed were in one start (8 IP/3 ER at SEA) |
35 | David Price | at BAL | |
36 | Carlos Martinez | at HOU | |
37 | Vincent Velasquez | LAD, STL | Pummeled by the Dodgers in LA last time out, but I'm still starting him |
38 | Matt Moore | PIT, NYM | Essentially repeated his SF debut w/another solid-but-crazy-walk-total start; only 4 ER in 12 IP w/14 Ks and 11 BBs |
39 | Chris Archer | SD | |
40 | Marco Estrada | at NYY | |
41 | Anthony DeSclafani | MIA, LAD | |
42 | Jon Gray | WAS | |
43 | Julio Teheran | WAS | Projected to return here, but it's not guaranteed so stay tuned |
44 | Zach Davies | at CHC | |
45 | Jameson Taillon | at SF | |
46 | Dylan Bundy | HOU | Fastball velo is a tick better as SP: 95.4 to 95.5; even matching would be impressive when shifting into rotation |
47 | Felix Hernandez | at LAA, MIL | |
48 | Drew Pomeranz | at CLE, at DET | |
49 | Chris Tillman | BOS | One bad inning v. COL is the only real blemish in L8 en route to a 2.96 ERA in 51.7 IP |
50 | Adam Conley | at CIN | |
51 | Marcus Stroman | at CLE | Has fanned fewer than 5 just once in his last seven starts: 3.52 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 47 Ks in 46 IP |
52 | Steven Wright | at DET | |
53 | Kevin Gausman | HOU | |
54 | John Lackey | at COL | |
55 | Jaime Garcia | HOU | Back on track w/two 8 IP gems to start off the month after a 4.86 ERA in July |
56 | Jeremy Hellickson | LAD | |
57 | Jeff Samardzija | PIT, NYM | |
58 | Gio Gonzalez | at COL, at ATL | Can you get two more diverse road starts in a two-step? Has quietly posted a 3.00 ERA in L7 starts |
59 | Brandon Finnegan | MIA, LAD | |
60 | Jerad Eickhoff | STL | |
61 | Sean Manaea | at TEX | |
62 | Blake Snell | SD | Has multiple walks in all but one of his 11 starts and the 1.52 WHIP says be careful w/the 3.18 ERA |
63 | Hisashi Iwakuma | at LAA | |
64 | Robbie Ray | NYM, at SD | I've been suspect of him all year, but if you can't start him w/this two-step, just cut him |
65 | Joe Musgrove | at BAL | Has 18.3 excellent innings under his belt v. TOR, v. TEX, and TOR; difficult opponents doesn't stop w/trip to BAL |
66 | Tyler Anderson | CHC | Took a look at him over at FanGraphs last week |
67 | Drew Smyly | SD, TEX | Allowed 4+ in 8 of 10 starts (7.60 ERA) before recent run of 2.52 ERA in 25 IP over four starts; super-low lows leave me nervous |
68 | Carlos Rodon | at CLE | Bad first inning in return from DL only hiccup over L3, otherwise has just 4 ER in last 17.3 IP w/17 Ks |
69 | Brandon McCarthy | at CIN | 3 BB already in 1 IP v. PIT, now 13 BB in last 7.7 IP |
70 | Mike Leake | at PHI | |
71 | Dan Straily | MIA | |
72 | Bartolo Colon | at ARI, at SF | |
73 | Scott Kazmir | at PHI | |
74 | Homer Bailey | MIA | Tremendous start at MIL (6 IP/0 ER/11 K); increased velo says we could see more, too, but will be inconsistent |
75 | Matt Andriese | TEX | |
76 | Doug Fister | STL | |
77 | Ervin Santana | at ATL, at KC | On a run of 2.05 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over his 61.3 IP |
78 | Tom Koehler | at PIT | |
79 | Braden Shipley | NYM, at SD | Skills don't support 2.96 ERA, but it's 4 starts and neither the HR (1.3) or BB (4.4) have been consistent issues (4, 1, 6, 1 BB by start) |
80 | Trevor Bauer | TOR | |
81 | Ivan Nova | at SF | |
82 | A.J. Griffin | at TB | |
83 | Edinson Volquez | MIN | |
84 | Michael Pineda | TOR | Does anyone actually still trust him? |
85 | Jimmy Nelson | at CHC | |
85 | Ross Stripling | at PHI | |
86 | Rich Hill | at CIN | … |
87 | Chase Anderson | at CHC, at SEA | |
88 | CC Sabathia | TOR | |
89 | Mike Fiers | at BAL | |
90 | Eduardo Rodriguez | at BAL, at DET | How do you make six starts of 2.80 ERA go relatively unnoticed? With six of 8.59 ERA before it |
91 | Andrew Cashner | at CIN | |
92 | Jake Thompson | LAD | |
93 | Daniel Norris | KC, BOS | Solid in MLB return (5 IP/1 ER), but hasn't eclipsed 5 IP in his 4 MLB starts this yr |
94 | Ian Kennedy | at DET, MIN | |
96 | Archie Bradley | at SD | |
97 | Brett Anderson | at CIN | Expected to make his season debut on Sunday; has been solid in 3 rehab starts |
98 | Josh Tomlin | BOS, TOR | Just couldn't trust him even at his best and now has a 6.88 ERA in his L6 as HRs finally come home to roost |
99 | Tyler Skaggs | SEA | Wasn't having a great start at CLE, but final inning (5 H, 4 ER) really tanked him |
100 | Collin McHugh | at BAL |