Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Mercury Rising

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Updated on May 16, 2022 1:13AM EST

Weather is warming and the ball is traveling farther. The quality of pitching is also declining as the schedule has forced teams to call up less-skilled hurlers to fill rotation spots. Has the time to liberally stream pitching passed? Probably not yet, but beware, scoring is on the upswing. The ball is still incurring more drag, but higher temperatures and humidity are helping to soften the effect.

Speaking of the schedule, here is your weekly reminder I pull starters from the Probable Starters page, so please direct any rotation questions over there. However, I'm always willing to address any rankings questions in the discussion below.

UPDATED: Monday May 16 1:15 AM ET

Week of May 16-22

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Freddy Peralta	MIL	ATL, WAS	Rounding into form
2	Corbin Burnes	MIL	ATL
3	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	WAS, ATL	9 BB, 3 HR over last 17.1 IP
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	STL
5	Shane McClanahan	TB	DET	Sugar has been sweet
6	Justin Verlander	HOU	TEX	Only 36 K in 40 IP
7	Alek Manoah	TOR	CIN
8	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SEA
9	Joe Musgrove	SD	@SF
10	Gerrit Cole	NYY	@BAL
11	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	WAS	4 HR over last 10 IP
12	Pablo Lopez	MIA	WAS
13	Walker Buehler	LAD	ARI
14	Carlos Rodon	SF	SD
15	Chris Bassitt	NYM	STL
16	Shane Bieber	CLE	DET
17	Miles Mikolas	STL	@NYM, @PIT
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UPDATED: Monday May 16 1:15 AM ET

Week of May 16-22

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Freddy Peralta	MIL	ATL, WAS	Rounding into form
2	Corbin Burnes	MIL	ATL
3	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	WAS, ATL	9 BB, 3 HR over last 17.1 IP
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	STL
5	Shane McClanahan	TB	DET	Sugar has been sweet
6	Justin Verlander	HOU	TEX	Only 36 K in 40 IP
7	Alek Manoah	TOR	CIN
8	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SEA
9	Joe Musgrove	SD	@SF
10	Gerrit Cole	NYY	@BAL
11	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	WAS	4 HR over last 10 IP
12	Pablo Lopez	MIA	WAS
13	Walker Buehler	LAD	ARI
14	Carlos Rodon	SF	SD
15	Chris Bassitt	NYM	STL
16	Shane Bieber	CLE	DET
17	Miles Mikolas	STL	@NYM, @PIT
18	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@TB
19	Dylan Cease	CWS	@KC, @NYY
20	Sean Manaea	SD	@SF
21	Nestor Cortes Jr.	NYY	CWS
22	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	@TEX
23	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SD
24	Sonny Gray	MIN	@OAK
25	Max Fried	ATL	@MIL
26	Triston McKenzie	CLE	DET
27	Josh Winder	MIN	@OAK
28	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	HOU, SEA
29	Michael Lorenzen	LAA	OAK
30	Aaron Nola	PHI	LAD
31	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	ARI, @PHI	Outpitching peripherals, but nice matchups
32	Frankie Montas	OAK	@LAA
33	Zac Gallen	ARI	@CHC
34	Framber Valdez	HOU	TEX
35	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	HOU
36	Jameson Taillon	NYY	@BAL, CWS
37	Drew Rasmussen	TB	DET
38	Cristian Javier	HOU	TEX
39	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	OAK
40	Julio Urias	LAD	@PHI
41	Ian Anderson	ATL	@MIL, @MIA	Patient teams can beat him
42	Kyle Wright	ATL	@MIA
43	Adam Wainwright	STL	@PIT
44	Charlie Morton	ATL	@MIA
45	Tarik Skubal	DET	@CLE
46	Luis Garcia	HOU	@BOS
47	Joe Ryan	MIN	@KC	Will deception continue as he sees opponents more?
48	Eric Lauer	MIL	WAS
49	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	SEA, CIN	New pitch mix seemingly effective
50	Zach Logue	OAK	MIN, @LAA
51	Brad Keller	KC	CWS, MIN
52	Merrill Kelly	ARI	@LAD, @CHC
53	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@NYY
54	Luis Severino	NYY	@BAL, CWS
55	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	@TEX
56	Yu Darvish	SD	@PHI
57	Josiah Gray	WAS	@MIA
58	Bailey Ober	MIN	@KC
59	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@TOR, @BOS	Good litmus test this week
60	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	ARI
61	Chase Silseth	LAA	OAK
62	Hyun Jin Ryu	TOR	CIN
63	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	SD
64	Michael Kopech	CWS	@NYY
65	MacKenzie Gore	SD	@SF
66	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	@BAL
67	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	@BOS, TEX
68	Marcus Stroman	CHC	ARI
69	Cal Quantrill	CLE	CIN
70	Tyler Wells	BAL	TB
71	Mix 12 Reliever
72	Paul Blackburn	OAK	@LAA
73	Trevor Rogers	MIA	ATL
74	Zach Eflin	PHI	SD, LAD
75	Zach Plesac	CLE	CIN
76	Dakota Hudson	STL	@NYM
77	Robbie Ray	SEA	@BOS
78	Mike Clevinger	SD	@PHI
79	Michael Wacha	BOS	SEA
80	Steven Matz	STL	@NYM, @PIT	Pitching better than ratios suggest
81	Jose Quintana	PIT	STL
82	Jordan Hicks	STL	@NYM
83	Mix 15 Reliever
84	Chris Archer	MIN	@OAK
85	Zack Greinke	KC	CWS
86	Jose Berrios	TOR	SEA	Cause for concern, but still optmistic water finds its level
87	Alex Wood	SF	@COL, SD
88	Jon Gray	TEX	LAA, @HOU
89	Luis Castillo	CIN	@TOR
90	Beau Brieske	DET	@TB
91	Dane Dunning	TEX	LAA
92	Tanner Houck	BOS	SEA
93	Rich Hill	BOS	SEA
94	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@TOR
95	Connor Overton	CIN	@CLE, @TOR
96	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	ATL
97	Blake Snell	SD	@PHI
98	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	@LAD, @CHC
99	Alex Faedo	DET	@TB, @CLE
100	Trevor Williams	NYM	STL
101	Nick Pivetta	BOS	HOU
102	Corey Kluber	TB	DET, @BAL
103	Ranger Suarez	PHI	LAD
104	Adrian Houser	MIL	ATL
105	Keegan Thompson	CHC	PIT
106	James Kaprielian	OAK	MIN
107	Kyle Bradish	BAL	NYY, TB
108	Wade Miley	CHC	PIT, ARI
109	Aaron Civale	CLE	DET
110	George Kirby	SEA	@BOS
111	Tyler Mahle	CIN	@CLE
112	Cody Poteet	MIA	WAS
113	Spencer Strider	ATL	@MIL
114	Tyler Anderson	LAD	ARI, @PHI
115	Tyler Gilbert	ARI	@LAD
116	Daulton Jefferies	OAK	MIN
117	Brady Singer	KC	CWS
118	Zach Thompson	PIT	STL
119	Kyle Gibson	PHI	SD
120	Jeffrey Springs	TB	@BAL
121	Dylan Bundy	MIN	@KC
122	Taylor Hearn	TEX	LAA, @HOU
123	Taijuan Walker	NYM	STL, @COL
124	Chris Flexen	SEA	@TOR, @BOS
125	Glenn Otto	TEX	@HOU
126	Jose Urquidy	HOU	@BOS
127	Erick Fedde	WAS	@MIL
128	Ryan Pepiot	LAD	ARI
129	Drew Smyly	CHC	PIT
130	Reid Detmers	LAA	@TEX
131	JT Brubaker	PIT	@CHC
132	Logan Webb	SF	@COL	Only 28 K In 41 IP
133	Zach Davies	ARI	@LAD
134	Austin Gomber	COL	NYM
135	Bruce Zimmermann	BAL	NYY
136	Daniel Lynch	KC	MIN
137	Dillon Peters	PIT	@CHC
138	Joan Adon	WAS	@MIA
139	Martin Perez	TEX	@HOU
140	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@MIL
141	Hunter Greene	CIN	@TOR
142	Justin Steele	CHC	ARI
143	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	@BAL
144	Bryse Wilson	PIT	STL
145	Jon Heasley	KC	MIN, CWS
146	Jordan Lyles	BAL	NYY
147	Mitch Keller	PIT	@CHC
148	Aaron Sanchez	WAS	@MIA, @MIL
149	Humberto Castellanos	ARI	@CHC
150	Antonio Senzatela	COL	SF, NYM
151	Vince Velasquez	CWS	@KC
152	Johnny Cueto	CWS	@KC
153	Carlos Hernandez	KC	CWS
154	Chad Kuhl	COL	SF
155	Jimmy Lambert	CWS	@KC
156	German Marquez	COL	NYM
157	David Peterson	NYM	@COL
158	Alex Cobb	SF	@COL
159	Dallas Keuchel	CWS	@KC
160	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@COL
161	Joey Wentz	DET	@CLE
162	Kyle Freeland	COL	SF
163	Spenser Watkins	BAL	NYY, TB

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Shane McClanahan	TB	DET	Sugar has been sweet
2	Justin Verlander	HOU	TEX	Only 36 K in 40 IP
3	Alek Manoah	TOR	CIN
4	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SEA
5	Gerrit Cole	NYY	@BAL
6	Shane Bieber	CLE	DET
7	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@TB
8	Dylan Cease	CWS	@KC, @NYY
9	Nestor Cortes Jr.	NYY	CWS
10	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	@TEX
11	Sonny Gray	MIN	@OAK
12	Triston McKenzie	CLE	DET
13	Josh Winder	MIN	@OAK
14	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	HOU, SEA
15	Michael Lorenzen	LAA	OAK
16	Frankie Montas	OAK	@LAA
17	Framber Valdez	HOU	TEX
18	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	HOU
19	Jameson Taillon	NYY	@BAL, CWS
20	Drew Rasmussen	TB	DET
21	Cristian Javier	HOU	TEX
22	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	OAK
23	Tarik Skubal	DET	@CLE
24	Luis Garcia	HOU	@BOS
25	Joe Ryan	MIN	@KC	Will deception continue as he sees opponents more?
26	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	SEA, CIN	New pitch mix seemingly effective
27	Zach Logue	OAK	MIN, @LAA
28	Brad Keller	KC	CWS, MIN
29	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@NYY
30	Luis Severino	NYY	@BAL, CWS
31	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	@TEX
32	Bailey Ober	MIN	@KC
33	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@TOR, @BOS	Good litmus test this week
34	Chase Silseth	LAA	OAK
35	Hyun Jin Ryu	TOR	CIN
36	Michael Kopech	CWS	@NYY
37	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	@BAL
38	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	@BOS, TEX
39	Cal Quantrill	CLE	CIN
40	Tyler Wells	BAL	TB
41	Paul Blackburn	OAK	@LAA
42	Zach Plesac	CLE	CIN
43	Robbie Ray	SEA	@BOS
44	Michael Wacha	BOS	SEA
45	Chris Archer	MIN	@OAK
46	Zack Greinke	KC	CWS
47	Jose Berrios	TOR	SEA	Cause for concern, but still optimistic water finds its level
48	Jon Gray	TEX	LAA, @HOU
49	Beau Brieske	DET	@TB
50	Dane Dunning	TEX	LAA
51	Tanner Houck	BOS	SEA
52	Rich Hill	BOS	SEA
53	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@TOR
54	Alex Faedo	DET	@TB, @CLE
55	Nick Pivetta	BOS	HOU
56	Corey Kluber	TB	DET, @BAL
57	AL Reliever
58	James Kaprielian	OAK	MIN
59	Kyle Bradish	BAL	NYY, TB
60	Aaron Civale	CLE	DET
61	George Kirby	SEA	@BOS
62	Daulton Jefferies	OAK	MIN
63	Brady Singer	KC	CWS
64	Jeffrey Springs	TB	@BAL
65	Dylan Bundy	MIN	@KC
66	Taylor Hearn	TEX	LAA, @HOU
67	Chris Flexen	SEA	@TOR, @BOS
68	Glenn Otto	TEX	@HOU
69	Jose Urquidy	HOU	@BOS
70	Reid Detmers	LAA	@TEX
71	Bruce Zimmermann	BAL	NYY
72	Daniel Lynch	KC	MIN
73	Martin Perez	TEX	@HOU
74	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	@BAL
75	Jon Heasley	KC	MIN, CWS
76	Jordan Lyles	BAL	NYY
77	Vince Velasquez	CWS	@KC
78	Johnny Cueto	CWS	@KC
79	Carlos Hernandez	KC	CWS
80	Jimmy Lambert	CWS	@KC
81	Dallas Keuchel	CWS	@KC
82	Joey Wentz	DET	@CLE
83	Spenser Watkins	BAL	NYY, TB

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Freddy Peralta	MIL	ATL, WAS	Rounding into form
2	Corbin Burnes	MIL	ATL
3	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	WAS, ATL	9 BB, 3 HR over last 17.1 IP
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	STL
5	Joe Musgrove	SD	@SF
6	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	WAS	4 HR over last 10 IP
7	Pablo Lopez	MIA	WAS
8	Walker Buehler	LAD	ARI
9	Carlos Rodon	SF	SD
10	Chris Bassitt	NYM	STL
11	Miles Mikolas	STL	@NYM, @PIT
12	Sean Manaea	SD	@SF
13	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SD
14	Max Fried	ATL	@MIL
15	Aaron Nola	PHI	LAD
16	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	ARI, @PHI	Outpitching peripherals, but nice matchups
17	Zac Gallen	ARI	@CHC
18	Julio Urias	LAD	@PHI
19	Ian Anderson	ATL	@MIL, @MIA	Patient teams can beat him
20	Kyle Wright	ATL	@MIA
21	Adam Wainwright	STL	@PIT
22	Charlie Morton	ATL	@MIA
23	Eric Lauer	MIL	WAS
24	Merrill Kelly	ARI	@LAD, @CHC
25	Yu Darvish	SD	@PHI
26	Josiah Gray	WAS	@MIA
27	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	ARI
28	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	SD
29	MacKenzie Gore	SD	@SF
30	Marcus Stroman	CHC	ARI
31	Trevor Rogers	MIA	ATL
32	Zach Eflin	PHI	SD, LAD
33	Dakota Hudson	STL	@NYM
34	Mike Clevinger	SD	@PHI
35	Steven Matz	STL	@NYM, @PIT	Pitching better than ratios suggest
36	Jose Quintana	PIT	STL
37	Jordan Hicks	STL	@NYM
38	Alex Wood	SF	@COL, SD
39	Luis Castillo	CIN	@TOR
40	Connor Overton	CIN	@CLE, @TOR
41	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	ATL
42	Blake Snell	SD	@PHI
43	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	@LAD, @CHC
44	Trevor Williams	NYM	STL
45	Ranger Suarez	PHI	LAD
46	NL Reliever
47	Adrian Houser	MIL	ATL
48	Keegan Thompson	CHC	PIT
49	Wade Miley	CHC	PIT, ARI
50	Tyler Mahle	CIN	@CLE
51	Cody Poteet	MIA	WAS
52	Spencer Strider	ATL	@MIL
53	Tyler Anderson	LAD	ARI, @PHI
54	Tyler Gilbert	ARI	@LAD
55	Zach Thompson	PIT	STL
56	Kyle Gibson	PHI	SD
57	Taijuan Walker	NYM	STL, @COL
58	Erick Fedde	WAS	@MIL
59	Ryan Pepiot	LAD	ARI
60	Drew Smyly	CHC	PIT
61	JT Brubaker	PIT	@CHC
62	Logan Webb	SF	@COL	Only 28 K In 41 IP
63	Zach Davies	ARI	@LAD
64	Austin Gomber	COL	NYM
65	Dillon Peters	PIT	@CHC
66	Joan Adon	WAS	@MIA
67	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@MIL
68	Hunter Greene	CIN	@TOR
69	Justin Steele	CHC	ARI
70	Bryse Wilson	PIT	STL
71	Mitch Keller	PIT	@CHC
72	Aaron Sanchez	WAS	@MIA, @MIL
73	Humberto Castellanos	ARI	@CHC
74	Antonio Senzatela	COL	SF, NYM
75	Chad Kuhl	COL	SF
76	German Marquez	COL	NYM
77	David Peterson	NYM	@COL
78	Alex Cobb	SF	@COL
79	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@COL
80	Kyle Freeland	COL	SF