Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Rookie Mistakes

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Rookie Mistakes

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Updated on May 8, 2023 1:18AM EST

Every strategy works if you choose the right players. For example, trusting prospect pitchers. If you picked up Tanner Bibee or Bryce Miller, you're a genius. If you put your chips on Brandon Pfaadt or Gavin Stone, you're a fool.

At least for a week or two.

To be honest, it's the nature of pitching in general, but even more so for young hurlers. It's a roller coaster ride.

Hopefully these rankings help keep you grounded. A week ago, most would have ranked Pfaadt, Stone and Miller in that order. After their debuts, I guarantee some will now list them Miller, Pfaadt and Stone.

Which is right? Who knows, but my philosophy is to trust the larger samples, which in this case is minor-league track record translated into MLE (major-league equivalencies).

As a reminder, the schedule is culled from the Probable Pitcher grid, so please direct rotation questions to our fine crew managing the starters. As always, I'm happy to address rankings questions below.

UPDATED Monday May 8 1:15 AM ET

Week of May 8-14

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Zac Gallen	ARI	MIA, SF
2	Logan Webb	SF	WAS, @ARI
3	Shane McClanahan	TB	@BAL, @NYY
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	@CIN, @WAS	Ideal week for Mad Max to emerge
5	Gerrit Cole	NYY	TB
6	Corbin Burnes	MIL	KC
7	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	HOU

Every strategy works if you choose the right players. For example, trusting prospect pitchers. If you picked up Tanner Bibee or Bryce Miller, you're a genius. If you put your chips on Brandon Pfaadt or Gavin Stone, you're a fool.

At least for a week or two.

To be honest, it's the nature of pitching in general, but even more so for young hurlers. It's a roller coaster ride.

Hopefully these rankings help keep you grounded. A week ago, most would have ranked Pfaadt, Stone and Miller in that order. After their debuts, I guarantee some will now list them Miller, Pfaadt and Stone.

Which is right? Who knows, but my philosophy is to trust the larger samples, which in this case is minor-league track record translated into MLE (major-league equivalencies).

As a reminder, the schedule is culled from the Probable Pitcher grid, so please direct rotation questions to our fine crew managing the starters. As always, I'm happy to address rankings questions below.

UPDATED Monday May 8 1:15 AM ET

Week of May 8-14

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Zac Gallen	ARI	MIA, SF
2	Logan Webb	SF	WAS, @ARI
3	Shane McClanahan	TB	@BAL, @NYY
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	@CIN, @WAS	Ideal week for Mad Max to emerge
5	Gerrit Cole	NYY	TB
6	Corbin Burnes	MIL	KC
7	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	HOU
8	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@OAK
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@MIL
10	Shane Bieber	CLE	DET	Good spot to fix command and control issues
11	Joe Ryan	MIN	CHC
12	Logan Gilbert	SEA	TEX, @DET
13	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	CIN	Skills down, but also hurt ia 59.4 percent LOB mark
14	Spencer Strider	ATL	@TOR
15	Cristian Javier	HOU	@LAA
16	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@KC, HOU	Reverting to form
17	Andrew Heaney	TEX	@SEA, @OAK	Fine spot to get out of rut
18	Sonny Gray	MIN	CHC	Just stay healthy!
19	Kevin Gausman	TOR	@PHI	Just didn't have it vs. Boston, still an ace
20	Dylan Cease	CWS	@KC, HOU	19 BB in 35 IP, seems high
21	Aaron Nola	PHI	TOR
22	Zack Wheeler	PHI	TOR
23	Nestor Cortes	NYY	OAK, TB	Nestor not as nasty as last season
24	Tanner Bibee	CLE	DET, LAA
25	Jon Gray	TEX	@SEA, @OAK
26	Luis Castillo	SEA	TEX
27	Justin Verlander	NYM	@CIN
28	George Kirby	SEA	TEX
29	Charlie Morton	ATL	BOS, @TOR	Tough pair, but salty vet back on track
30	Martin Perez	TEX	@OAK
31	Yu Darvish	SD	@MIN
32	Mitch Keller	PIT	COL, @BAL	Taking the next step
33	Julio Urias	LAD	SD
34	Zach Eflin	TB	@BAL, @NYY
35	Alek Manoah	TOR	@PHI
36	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@ARI
37	Freddy Peralta	MIL	LAD
38	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@CLE	Pitching better than ever
39	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	WAS, @ARI	Strkeouts low, but so are walks
40	Domingo German	NYY	TB
41	Mason Miller	OAK	TEX
42	Lance Lynn	CWS	@KC
43	Chris Sale	BOS	STL
44	Jordan Montgomery	STL	@CHC
45	Framber Valdez	HOU	@LAA
46	Alex Cobb	SF	@ARI
47	Justin Steele	CHC	STL	Low strikeouts dragging ranking down a tad
48	Max Fried	ATL	BOS
49	Marcus Stroman	CHC	STL, @MIN
50	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@CLE		50%
51	Merrill Kelly	ARI	MIA
52	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	@MIL, SD
53	Sean Manaea	SF	WAS		29%
54	Joey Lucchesi	NYM	@WAS		27%
55	Dane Dunning	TEX	@SEA		10%
56	Pablo Lopez	MIN	SD
57	Brady Singer	KC	CWS	Beginning the season on a sour note.
58	Tyler Wells	BAL	PIT	HR an issue
59	Chris Bassitt	TOR	ATL
60	Bailey Ober	MIN	SD
61	Jhony Brito	NYY	OAK		15%
62	Reid Detmers	LAA	@CLE
63	Nick Lodolo	CIN	NYM	Don't panic, better days ahead
64	Hunter Brown	HOU	@LAA, @CWS
65	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@NYY
66	Bryce Miller	SEA	@DET		0%	0%
67	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	MIA, SF
68	Dustin May	LAD	SD
69	Mix 12 Reliever
70	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	TB
71	Blake Snell	SD	@LAD
72	Joe Musgrove	SD	@LAD
73	Hunter Greene	CIN	NYM
74	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	HOU
75	Matthew Boyd	DET	SEA		32%
76	Luis Cessa	CIN	@MIA		0%	0%
77	Jose Berrios	TOR	ATL
78	Seth Lugo	SD	@MIN
79	Edward Cabrera	MIA	@ARI
80	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@MIA
81	Noah Syndergaard	LAD	@MIL
82	Kyle Gibson	BAL	TB, PIT
83	Mix 15 Reliever
84	Drew Smyly	CHC	@MIN
85	Kodai Senga	NYM	@CIN
86	Brayan Bello	BOS	@ATL
87	Jameson Taillon	CHC	STL
88	Michael Kopech	CWS	HOU
89	Josiah Gray	WAS	@SF
90	Cal Quantrill	CLE	LAA		29%
91	Kyle Freeland	COL	@PIT, PHI		14%	34%
92	Ryan Yarbrough	KC	@MIL		1%	2%
93	Corey Kluber	BOS	STL		5%
94	Ross Stripling	SF	@ARI		5%
95	Connor Seabold	COL	@PIT		0%	0%
96	Miles Mikolas	STL	@CHC, @BOS
97	Jack Flaherty	STL	@CHC
98	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@ATL		12%
99	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	NYM
100	James Paxton	BOS	STL		4%
101	Zack Greinke	KC	CWS, @MIL		2%	11%
102	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	OAK, TB		28%
103	Hayden Wesneski	CHC	@MIN
104	Ken Waldichuk	OAK	TEX		2%	32%
105	Michael Lorenzen	DET	@CLE		0%	9%
106	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@SF		0%	0%
107	Eric Lauer	MIL	LAD
108	Tylor Megill	NYM	@WAS
109	Alex Faedo	DET	SEA		0%	0%
110	Roansy Contreras	PIT	@BAL
111	Bryce Elder	ATL	@TOR
112	Wade Miley	MIL	LAD
113	Dean Kremer	BAL	TB		2%	40%
114	Braxton Garrett	MIA	@ARI, CIN
115	Yonny Chirinos	TB	@BAL		3%
116	Luis Ortiz	PIT	COL		0%	4%
117	Joey Wentz	DET	@CLE, SEA		0%	6%
118	Michael Wacha	SD	@MIN, @LAD		31%
119	Adrian Houser	MIL	KC		0%	0%
120	Johan Oviedo	PIT	@BAL
121	Logan Allen	CLE	LAA
122	Louie Varland	MIN	SD, CHC		49%
123	Antonio Senzatela	COL	@PIT		0%	0%
124	Kyle Bradish	BAL	PIT
125	Drew Rucinski	OAK	@NYY, TEX		0%	0%
126	Rich Hill	PIT	COL		3%
127	Mike Clevinger	CWS	@KC
128	Luke Weaver	CIN	NYM, @MIA		8%
129	Josh Fleming	TB	@NYY		2%	30%
130	Austin Gomber	COL	PHI		0%	0%
131	Jake Irvin	WAS	@SF, NYM		0%	0%
132	Trevor Williams	WAS	NYM		1%	19%
133	Chase Silseth	LAA	@CLE		1%	25%
134	JP Sears	OAK	@NYY, TEX		2%
135	Peyton Battenfield	CLE	DET		2%	15%
136	Colin Rea	MIL	KC		3%	40%
137	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	ATL
138	Jordan Lyles	KC	CWS, @MIL		1%	6%
139	Ryne Nelson	ARI	SF		11%
140	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@DET		6%
141	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@COL		18%
142	Ryan Feltner	COL	PHI		0%	11%
143	Griffin Canning	LAA	HOU
144	Steven Matz	STL	@BOS
145	Adam Wainwright	STL	@BOS		6%	34%
146	Brad Keller	KC	CWS		20%
147	Bryan Hoeing	MIA	CIN		0%	2%
148	Brandon Bielak	HOU	@CWS		0%	0%
149	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@COL
150	Tommy Henry	ARI	SF		0%	6%
151	Bailey Falter	PHI	@COL		17%
152	Kyle Muller	OAK	@NYY		1%	13%
153	J.P. France	HOU	@CWS		0%	0%

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Shane McClanahan	TB	@BAL, @NYY
2	Gerrit Cole	NYY	TB
3	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	HOU
4	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@OAK
5	Shane Bieber	CLE	DET	Good spot to fix command and control issues
6	Joe Ryan	MIN	CHC
7	Logan Gilbert	SEA	TEX, @DET
8	Cristian Javier	HOU	@LAA
9	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@KC, HOU	Reverting to form
10	Andrew Heaney	TEX	@SEA, @OAK	Fine spot to get out of rut
11	Sonny Gray	MIN	CHC	Just stay healthy!
12	Kevin Gausman	TOR	@PHI	Just didn't have it vs. Boston, still an ace
13	Dylan Cease	CWS	@KC, HOU	19 BB in 35 IP, seems high
14	Nestor Cortes	NYY	OAK, TB	Nestor not as nasty as last season
15	Tanner Bibee	CLE	DET, LAA
16	Jon Gray	TEX	@SEA, @OAK
17	Luis Castillo	SEA	TEX
18	George Kirby	SEA	TEX
19	Martin Perez	TEX	@OAK
20	Zach Eflin	TB	@BAL, @NYY
21	Alek Manoah	TOR	@PHI
22	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@CLE	Pitching better than ever
23	Domingo German	NYY	TB
24	Mason Miller	OAK	TEX
25	Lance Lynn	CWS	@KC
26	Chris Sale	BOS	STL
27	Framber Valdez	HOU	@LAA
28	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@CLE
29	Dane Dunning	TEX	@SEA
30	Pablo Lopez	MIN	SD
31	Brady Singer	KC	CWS	Beginning the season on a sour note.
32	Tyler Wells	BAL	PIT	HR an issue
33	Chris Bassitt	TOR	ATL
34	Bailey Ober	MIN	SD
35	Jhony Brito	NYY	OAK
36	Reid Detmers	LAA	@CLE
37	Hunter Brown	HOU	@LAA, @CWS
38	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@NYY
39	Bryce Miller	SEA	@DET
40	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	TB
41	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	HOU
42	Matthew Boyd	DET	SEA
43	Jose Berrios	TOR	ATL
44	Kyle Gibson	BAL	TB, PIT
45	Brayan Bello	BOS	@ATL
46	Michael Kopech	CWS	HOU
47	Cal Quantrill	CLE	LAA
48	Ryan Yarbrough	KC	@MIL
49	Corey Kluber	BOS	STL
50	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@ATL
51	James Paxton	BOS	STL
52	Zack Greinke	KC	CWS, @MIL
53	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	OAK, TB
54	Ken Waldichuk	OAK	TEX
55	AL Reliever
56	Michael Lorenzen	DET	@CLE
57	Alex Faedo	DET	SEA
58	Dean Kremer	BAL	TB
59	Yonny Chirinos	TB	@BAL
60	Joey Wentz	DET	@CLE, SEA
61	Logan Allen	CLE	LAA
62	Louie Varland	MIN	SD, CHC
63	Kyle Bradish	BAL	PIT
64	Drew Rucinski	OAK	@NYY, TEX
65	Mike Clevinger	CWS	@KC
66	Josh Fleming	TB	@NYY
67	Chase Silseth	LAA	@CLE
68	JP Sears	OAK	@NYY, TEX
69	Peyton Battenfield	CLE	DET
70	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	ATL
71	Jordan Lyles	KC	CWS, @MIL
72	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@DET
73	Griffin Canning	LAA	HOU
74	Brad Keller	KC	CWS
75	Brandon Bielak	HOU	@CWS
76	Kyle Muller	OAK	@NYY
77	J.P. France	HOU	@CWS

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Zac Gallen	ARI	MIA, SF
2	Logan Webb	SF	WAS, @ARI
3	Max Scherzer	NYM	@CIN, @WAS	Ideal week for Mad Max to emerge
4	Corbin Burnes	MIL	KC
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@MIL
6	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	CIN	Skills down, but also hurt ia 59.4 percent LOB mark
7	Spencer Strider	ATL	@TOR
8	Aaron Nola	PHI	TOR
9	Zack Wheeler	PHI	TOR
10	Justin Verlander	NYM	@CIN
11	Charlie Morton	ATL	BOS, @TOR	Tough pair, but salty vet back on track
12	Yu Darvish	SD	@MIN
13	Mitch Keller	PIT	COL, @BAL	Taking the next step
14	Julio Urias	LAD	SD
15	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@ARI
16	Freddy Peralta	MIL	LAD
17	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	WAS, @ARI	Strkeouts low, but so are walks
18	Jordan Montgomery	STL	@CHC
19	Alex Cobb	SF	@ARI
20	Justin Steele	CHC	STL	Low strikeouts dragging ranking down a tad
21	Max Fried	ATL	BOS
22	Marcus Stroman	CHC	STL, @MIN
23	Merrill Kelly	ARI	MIA
24	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	@MIL, SD
25	Sean Manaea	SF	WAS
26	Joey Lucchesi	NYM	@WAS
27	Nick Lodolo	CIN	NYM	Don't panic, better days ahead
28	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	MIA, SF
29	Dustin May	LAD	SD
30	Blake Snell	SD	@LAD
31	Joe Musgrove	SD	@LAD
32	Hunter Greene	CIN	NYM
33	Luis Cessa	CIN	@MIA
34	Seth Lugo	SD	@MIN
35	Edward Cabrera	MIA	@ARI
36	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@MIA
37	Noah Syndergaard	LAD	@MIL
38	Drew Smyly	CHC	@MIN
39	Kodai Senga	NYM	@CIN
40	Jameson Taillon	CHC	STL
41	Josiah Gray	WAS	@SF
42	Kyle Freeland	COL	@PIT, PHI
43	Ross Stripling	SF	@ARI
44	Connor Seabold	COL	@PIT
45	Miles Mikolas	STL	@CHC, @BOS
46	Jack Flaherty	STL	@CHC
47	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	NYM
48	Hayden Wesneski	CHC	@MIN
49	NL Reliever
50	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@SF
51	Eric Lauer	MIL	LAD
52	Tylor Megill	NYM	@WAS
53	Roansy Contreras	PIT	@BAL
54	Bryce Elder	ATL	@TOR
55	Wade Miley	MIL	LAD
56	Braxton Garrett	MIA	@ARI, CIN
57	Luis Ortiz	PIT	COL
58	Michael Wacha	SD	@MIN, @LAD
59	Adrian Houser	MIL	KC
60	Johan Oviedo	PIT	@BAL
61	Antonio Senzatela	COL	@PIT
62	Rich Hill	PIT	COL
63	Luke Weaver	CIN	NYM, @MIA
64	Austin Gomber	COL	PHI
65	Jake Irvin	WAS	@SF, NYM
66	Trevor Williams	WAS	NYM
67	Colin Rea	MIL	KC
68	Ryne Nelson	ARI	SF
69	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@COL
70	Ryan Feltner	COL	PHI
71	Steven Matz	STL	@BOS
72	Adam Wainwright	STL	@BOS
73	Bryan Hoeing	MIA	CIN
74	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@COL
75	Tommy Henry	ARI	SF
76	Bailey Falter	PHI	@COL

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Todd Zola

@toddzola

Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.

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