Weekly Pitcher Rankings: How's Kershaw Not No. 1?

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Updated on September 5, 2015 7:29PM 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 Sept. 7-13

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Chris Sale	CLE, MIN	Ks have helped him be MLB's 11th-best SP despite 3.29 ERA, which is kind of high these days for aces
2	David Price	at NYY	He "only" had a 23% K rate with DET, but at 29%, he's been 10th best in MLB since joining TOR
3	Chris Archer	BOS
4	Dallas Keuchel	at LAA
5	Cole Hamels	at SEA, OAK	Finding his groove with TEX: after 9 ER in his first two starts, he's allowed 9 in his L4 starts
6	Felix Hernandez	TEX
7	Sonny Gray	HOU	A hit per inning in his L4 has left him with a 4.32 ERA, but it doesn't seem like anything other than a modest run
8	Justin Verlander	at CLE
9	Danny Salazar	DET	Remarkably impressive outing TOR last week: 7 IP/2 ER with 10 Ks
10	Derek Holland	at SEA	Remember, he closed big last year, too (1.46 ERA in 6 Sept. starts)
11	Collin McHugh	at OAK	Has a 2.29 ERA in nine starts since the ASB
12	Scott Kazmir	at OAK
13	Corey Kluber	DET	Now a nagging hamstring thrown into the

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Chris Sale	CLE, MIN	Ks have helped him be MLB's 11th-best SP despite 3.29 ERA, which is kind of high these days for aces
2	David Price	at NYY	He "only" had a 23% K rate with DET, but at 29%, he's been 10th best in MLB since joining TOR
3	Chris Archer	BOS
4	Dallas Keuchel	at LAA
5	Cole Hamels	at SEA, OAK	Finding his groove with TEX: after 9 ER in his first two starts, he's allowed 9 in his L4 starts
6	Felix Hernandez	TEX
7	Sonny Gray	HOU	A hit per inning in his L4 has left him with a 4.32 ERA, but it doesn't seem like anything other than a modest run
8	Justin Verlander	at CLE
9	Danny Salazar	DET	Remarkably impressive outing TOR last week: 7 IP/2 ER with 10 Ks
10	Derek Holland	at SEA	Remember, he closed big last year, too (1.46 ERA in 6 Sept. starts)
11	Collin McHugh	at OAK	Has a 2.29 ERA in nine starts since the ASB
12	Scott Kazmir	at OAK
13	Corey Kluber	DET	Now a nagging hamstring thrown into the mix for the oft-inconsistent ace (yes, he's still an ace)
14	Lance McCullers	at LAA
15	Johnny Cueto	at BAL	Has allowed 4-plus ER in each of his last three (8.47 ERA), the concern with Cueto is always injury
16	Hisashi Iwakuma	COL
17	Masahiro Tanaka	BAL	Has allowed 3-plus ER in 9 of his L11, but no more than 4 ER in any of them (3.62 ERA); we knew he'd be a lesser version this year
18	Garrett Richards	LAD
19	Carlos Carrasco	at CWS, DET	Slated to return from the DL on Tuesday and hopefully picks right up where he left off (1.36 ERA in his L5 before the injury)
20	Taijuan Walker	TEX, COL
21	Jake Odorizzi	at DET
22	Michael Pineda	BAL, TOR	Returned with a gem (6 IP/1 ER), but I'm not giddy about a two-start that includes TOR for anyone
23	R.A. Dickey	at BOS, at NYY	Even with a pair of 5 ER outings mixed in, Dickey has a 2.76 ERA in his last 11 starts
24	Drew Smyly	at DET, BOS
25	Mike Fiers	at OAK, at LAA
26	Jose Quintana	MIN
27	Erasmo Ramirez	at DET
28	Marco Estrada	at NYY	He's allowed 2 HRs in three of his last four; he somehow emerged HR-free his last time in NYY, doubt he's as fortuante this time
29	Andrew Heaney	LAD
30	Eduardo Rodriguez	at TB
31	Luis Severino	TOR	He's been excellent and threw a baseline QS in TOR with 9 Ks, but I still had to bump him down with another TOR start on the docket
32	Yovani Gallardo	at SEA, OAK
33	Yordano Ventura	MIN, at BAL	Last five: 1.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 43 Ks in 32 IP all against offense with legit hitters up and down: DET x2, LAA, BAL, and at BOS
34	Kevin Gausman	at NYY
35	Chris Tillman	KC
36	Kyle Gibson	at KC
37	Nathan Eovaldi	TOR	He'll probably allow 8 ER and get a win somehow
38	Carlos Rodon	CLE
39	Hector Santiago	HOU	The grind of six months seems to be catching up to him: 6.46 ERA in his L8, going 6-plus IP just twice
40	Edinson Volquez	MIN
41	Matt Shoemaker	LAD, HOU	It's been two nice starts in a row (1 ER in 14.3 IP), but he allowed 13 ER in 7.3 IP the two starts before that so let's be careful
42	Martin Perez	at SEA
43	Kris Medlen	MIN	I definitely got a little aggressive on Meds at 37th in the AL last week; he'll have some solid starts, but a 7 ER outing didn't surprise me
44	Ervin Santana	at CWS
45	Rick Porcello	TOR, at TB	Two brilliant outings since returning: 1 ER in 15 IP with 18 Ks and just 11 base runners
46	Roenis Elias	TEX, COL
47	Wade Miley	at TB
48	Scott Feldman	at LAA
49	Mark Buehrle	at NYY
50	Matt Moore	BOS	Only one bad start in five at Triple-A with 43 Ks in 30 IP, but I'm not diving in head-first
51	Joe Kelly	TOR	He's won five straight with a 2.72 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 43, but do you trust it vs. TOR? Be careful.
52	Jesse Chavez	at TEX
53	Wei-Yin Chen	at NYY, KC

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
54	Colby Lewis	OAK
55	Aaron Brooks	HOU
56	John Danks	MIN	The problem is that his bad is still REALLY bad: has 7 starts of 0-2 ER in his L12, but also 3 starts of 6-plus ER so just a 3.75 ERA in the run
57	Drew Hutchison	at BOS	Same kind of situation with Hutch, he can be great, but he's a nightmare when he's off
58	Danny Duffy	at BAL
59	Sean Nolin	at TEX	Could be next in the line of OAK starters who leverage that park into some very useful fantasy numbers
60	Jeff Samardzija	CLE	Most hits and earned runs allowed in MLB
61	Randy Wolf	TB, at CLE
62	Trevor Bauer	at CWS, DET
63	Henry Owens	TOR
64	CC Sabathia	BAL
65	Mike Wright	KC
66	Ubaldo Jimenez	at NYY	Oh noooo, who could've seen this coming besides anyone ever? (6.88 ERA in L10 with 86 base runners in 53.7 IP)
67	Ivan Nova	TOR
68	Jered Weaver	HOU
69	Felix Doubront	HOU, at TEX
70	Edgar Olmos	TEX
71	Tyler Duffey	at CWS
72	Mike Pelfrey	at KC
73	Kyle Lobstein	TB
74	Tommy Milone	at KC, at CWS
75	Alfredo Simon	at CLE
76	Cody Anderson	DET
77	Matt Boyd	TB, at CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Zack Greinke	at LAA, at ARI	Usually having a 0.40 worse ERA could be an issue, but for Grienke it just means a 1.81 away from home
2	Clayton Kershaw	at LAA	Back to being the unquestioned best fantasy pitcher in the game, only some two-start studs rank ahead and even then it's close
3	Max Scherzer	NYM, at MIA	It was a better start last time out, but still allowed 11 hits and a home run (which have been his big issue lately)
4	Jacob deGrom	at WAS
5	Jake Arrieta	at PHI
6	Gerrit Cole	MIL
7	Michael Wacha	CHC, at CIN	Skipped purely for innings concerns given that StL is a near-certainty for the playoffs
8	Madison Bumgarner	SD
9	Matt Harvey	at WAS	The innings talk will continue from here on out and make him a maddening fantasy player
10	Jon Lester	at STL
11	Lance Lynn	CHC
12	Noah Syndergaard	at ATL	A consideration down the stretch with the baby Mets arms vs. weak tms: they could be done after 5 IP if the O builds a solid lead
13	Raisel Iglesias	PIT, STL	Not only is he an IP limit concern guy, but it's also very nebulous as CIN isn't sharing anything
14	Francisco Liriano	at CIN, MIL
15	Mike Leake	at ARI, SD
16	Jason Hammel	at STL, at PHI
17	Ian Kennedy	COL, at SF
18	Taylor Jungmann	at MIA, at PIT
19	Patrick Corbin	SF, LAD
20	John Lackey	at CIN
21	Tyson Ross	COL
22	Stephen Strasburg	NYM
23	Shelby Miller	NYM
24	Julio Teheran	at PHI
25	Jaime Garcia	at CIN
26	Steven Matz	at ATL
27	James Shields	COL
28	Jordan Zimmermann	NYM
29	Joe Ross	at MIA
30	Andrew Cashner	at SF
31	Jimmy Nelson	at PIT
32	Carlos Martinez	at CIN
33	Aaron Nola	ATL, CHC
34	Gio Gonzalez	at MIA
35	J.A. Happ	at CIN
36	John Lamb	STL
37	Rubby De La Rosa	LAD
38	Chris Heston	at ARI
39	Brett Anderson	at ARI
40	Charlie Morton	MIL
41	Kyle Hendricks	at PHI
42	Jon Niese	at WAS, at ATL
43	Tom Koehler	MIL
44	Anthony DeSclafani	PIT, STL
45	Bartolo Colon	at ATL
46	Wily Peralta	at PIT
47	Zack Godley	SF
48	Robbie Ray	LAD
49	Colin Rea	COL, at SF
50	Jake Peavy	SD
51	Jeff Locke	at CIN, MIL
52	Dan Haren	at STL, at PHI
53	Jerad Eickhoff	CHC

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
54	Jorge De La Rosa	at SD	2.60 ERA in his last six, but went more than 6 IP only twice and totaled 10 walks in consecutive starts in that span
55	Jarred Cosart	WAS
56	Chase Anderson	SF
57	Ryan Vogelsong	at ARI
58	Alex Wood	at ARI
59	Mat Latos	at LAA
60	Zach Davies	at MIA, at PIT
61	Michael Lorenzen	STL
62	Jon Gray	at SD
63	Manny Banuelos	NYM
64	Matt Garza	at MIA
65	Adam Conley	MIL
66	Justin Nicolino	MIL, WAS
67	Adam Morgan	ATL
68	Aaron Harang	ATL, CHC
69	Chris Rusin	at SD
70	Yohan Flande	at SEA
71	Keyvius Sampson	PIT
72	Brad Hand	WAS
73	Alec Asher	CHC
74	Chad Bettis	at SEA
75	Kyle Kendrick	at SD, at SEA
76	Williams Perez	at PHI, NYM
77	Matt Wisler	at PHI, NYM

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPP	COMMENTS
1	Zack Greinke	at LAA, at ARI	Usually having a 0.40 worse ERA could be an issue, but for Grienke it just means a 1.81 away from home
2	Clayton Kershaw	at LAA	Back to being the unquestioned best fantasy pitcher in the game, only a two-start stud ranks ahead and even then it's close
3	Chris Sale	CLE, MIN	Ks have helped him be MLB's 11th-best SP despite 3.29 ERA, which is kind of high these days for aces
4	Max Scherzer	NYM, at MIA	It was a better start last time out, but still allowed 11 hits and a home run (which have been his big issue lately)
5	Jacob deGrom	at WAS
6	Jake Arrieta	at PHI
7	David Price	at NYY	He "only" had a 23% K rate with DET, but at 29%, he's been 10th best in MLB since joining TOR
8	Chris Archer	BOS
9	Dallas Keuchel	at LAA
10	Gerrit Cole	MIL
11	Michael Wacha	CHC, at CIN	Skipped purely for innings concerns given that StL is a near-certainty for the playoffs
12	Madison Bumgarner	SD
13	Matt Harvey	at WAS	The innings talk will continue from here on out and make him a maddening fantasy player
14	Jon Lester	at STL
15	Cole Hamels	at SEA, OAK	Finding his groove with TEX: after 9 ER in his first two starts, he's allowed 9 in his L4 starts
16	Felix Hernandez	TEX
17	Sonny Gray	HOU	A hit per inning in his L4 has left him with a 4.32 ERA, but it doesn't seem like anything other than a modest run
18	Justin Verlander	at CLE
19	Danny Salazar	DET	Remarkably impressive outing TOR last week: 7 IP/2 ER with 10 Ks
20	Derek Holland	at SEA	Remember, he closed big last year, too (1.46 ERA in 6 Sept. starts)
21	Lance Lynn	CHC
22	Noah Syndergaard	at ATL	A consideration down the stretch with the baby Mets arms vs. weak tms: they could be done after 5 IP if the O builds a solid lead
23	Raisel Iglesias	PIT, STL	Not only is he an IP limit concern guy, but it's also very nebulous as CIN isn't sharing anything
24	Francisco Liriano	at CIN, MIL
25	Mike Leake	at ARI, SD
26	Jason Hammel	at STL, at PHI
27	Ian Kennedy	COL, at SF
28	Taylor Jungmann	at MIA, at PIT
29	Patrick Corbin	SF, LAD
30	John Lackey	at CIN
31	Tyson Ross	COL
32	Stephen Strasburg	NYM
33	Shelby Miller	NYM
34	Julio Teheran	at PHI
35	Jaime Garcia	at CIN
36	Steven Matz	at ATL
37	Collin McHugh	at OAK	Has a 2.29 ERA in nine starts since the ASB
38	Scott Kazmir	at OAK
39	Corey Kluber	DET	Now a nagging hamstring thrown into the mix for the oft-inconsistent ace (yes, he's still an ace)
40	Lance McCullers	at LAA
41	Johnny Cueto	at BAL	Has allowed 4-plus ER in each of his last three (8.47 ERA), the concern with Cueto is always injury
42	Hisashi Iwakuma	COL
43	James Shields	COL
44	Jordan Zimmermann	NYM
45	Joe Ross	at MIA
46	Andrew Cashner	at SF
47	Masahiro Tanaka	BAL	Has allowed 3-plus ER in 9 of his L11, but no more than 4 ER in any of them (3.62 ERA); we knew he'd be a lesser version this year
48	Garrett Richards	LAD
49	Carlos Carrasco	at CWS, DET	Slated to return from the DL on Tuesday and hopefully picks right up where he left off (1.36 ERA in his L5 before the injury)
50	Taijuan Walker	TEX, COL
51	Jake Odorizzi	at DET
52	Michael Pineda	BAL, TOR	Returned with a gem (6 IP/1 ER), but I'm not giddy about a two-start that includes TOR for anyone
53	R.A. Dickey	at BOS, at NYY	Even with a pair of 5 ER outings mixed in, Dickey has a 2.76 ERA in his last 11 starts
54	Drew Smyly	at DET, BOS
55	Mike Fiers	at OAK, at LAA
56	Jimmy Nelson	at PIT
57	Carlos Martinez	at CIN
58	Aaron Nola	ATL, CHC
59	Gio Gonzalez	at MIA
60	J.A. Happ	at CIN
61	John Lamb	STL
62	Jose Quintana	MIN
63	Erasmo Ramirez	at DET
64	Marco Estrada	at NYY	He's allowed 2 HRs in three of his last four; he somehow emerged HR-free his last time in NYY, doubt he's as fortuante this time
65	Andrew Heaney	LAD
66	Eduardo Rodriguez	at TB
67	Rubby De La Rosa	LAD
68	Chris Heston	at ARI
69	Brett Anderson	at ARI
70	Charlie Morton	MIL
71	Kyle Hendricks	at PHI
72	Jon Niese	at WAS, at ATL
73	Tom Koehler	MIL
74	Anthony DeSclafani	PIT, STL
75	Bartolo Colon	at ATL
76	Luis Severino	TOR	He's been excellent and threw a baseline QS in TOR with 9 Ks, but I still had to bump him down with another TOR start on the docket
77	Yovani Gallardo	at SEA, OAK
78	Yordano Ventura	MIN, at BAL	Last five: 1.13 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 43 Ks in 32 IP all against offense with legit hitters up and down: DET x2, LAA, BAL, and at BOS
79	Kevin Gausman	at NYY
80	Chris Tillman	KC
81	Kyle Gibson	at KC
82	Nathan Eovaldi	TOR	He'll probably allow 8 ER and get a win somehow
83	Carlos Rodon	CLE
84	Hector Santiago	HOU	The grind of six months seems to be catching up to him: 6.46 ERA in his L8, going 6-plus IP just twice
85	Edinson Volquez	MIN
86	Matt Shoemaker	LAD, HOU	It's been two nice starts in a row (1 ER in 14.3 IP), but he allowed 13 ER in 7.3 IP the two starts before that so let's be careful
87	Martin Perez	at SEA
88	Kris Medlen	MIN	I definitely got a little aggressive on Meds at 37th in the AL last week; he'll have some solid starts, but a 7 ER outing didn't surprise me
89	Ervin Santana	at CWS
90	Rick Porcello	TOR, at TB	Two brilliant outings since returning: 1 ER in 15 IP with 18 Ks and just 11 base runners
91	Roenis Elias	TEX, COL
92	Wade Miley	at TB
93	Wily Peralta	at PIT
94	Zack Godley	SF
95	Robbie Ray	LAD
96	Colin Rea	COL, at SF
97	Jake Peavy	SD
98	Jeff Locke	at CIN, MIL
99	Dan Haren	at STL, at PHI
100	Jerad Eickhoff	CHC