Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Sonny Again in Oakland

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Updated on June 18, 2016 2:17PM EST

Editor's note: Paul was the victim of a spotty internet connection in a New York City coffee shop Saturday morning. Hit him up in the comments section with questions on pitchers he did not address in this week's rankings. No word on the quality of the coffee.

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 June 20-26

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	at BOS, TOR
2	Justin Verlander	SEA, CLE
3	Steven Wright	CWS, at TEX	FanGraphs' Eno Sarris breaks down the knuckler to dispel some myths, which may give you more confidence in Wright
4	David Price	at TEX
5	Cole Hamels	CIN
6	Corey Kluber	TB
7	Sonny Gray	MIL, at LAA	The 3 starts since returning are his highest FB velos of the season, including a season-high 94.2 last time out
8	Carlos Carrasco	at DET
9	Danny Salazar	at DET
10	Aaron Sanchez	at CWS
11	Masahiro Tanaka	MIN
12	Matt Shoemaker	at HOU	The key to his surge? Embracing his splitter at the expense of his bad fastball. First 7: 8.49 ERA, 23% splitters; last 6: 1.83, 44%
13	CC Sabathia	COL	Ditching four-seamers in favor of a cutter has really spurred his run (0.82 ERA,

For the week June 20-26

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	at BOS, TOR
2	Justin Verlander	SEA, CLE
3	Steven Wright	CWS, at TEX	FanGraphs' Eno Sarris breaks down the knuckler to dispel some myths, which may give you more confidence in Wright
4	David Price	at TEX
5	Cole Hamels	CIN
6	Corey Kluber	TB
7	Sonny Gray	MIL, at LAA	The 3 starts since returning are his highest FB velos of the season, including a season-high 94.2 last time out
8	Carlos Carrasco	at DET
9	Danny Salazar	at DET
10	Aaron Sanchez	at CWS
11	Masahiro Tanaka	MIN
12	Matt Shoemaker	at HOU	The key to his surge? Embracing his splitter at the expense of his bad fastball. First 7: 8.49 ERA, 23% splitters; last 6: 1.83, 44%
13	CC Sabathia	COL	Ditching four-seamers in favor of a cutter has really spurred his run (0.82 ERA, 41 Ks in last 44 IP)
14	Michael Fulmer	SEA	Attributes increased changeup usage as key factor in surge: 6% in first 4 starts (6.52 ERA), 17% in last 6 (0.45)
15	Marco Estrada	ARI	Has now led the AL in hit suppression for the last 268.3 IP (6.2 H/9)
16	Danny Duffy	HOU
17	Jose Quintana	at BOS
18	Chris Archer	at CLE	Slowly chiseling the ERA down (3.74 in his L5 starts), but he's allowed fewer than 3 R just once in his L8
19	Lance McCullers	LAA
20	Chris Tillman	TB
21	Jordan Zimmermann	CLE
22	Jake Odorizzi	at BAL
23	Josh Tomlin	TB, at DET
24	James Paxton	at DET, STL
25	Michael Pineda	MIN
26	Kevin Gausman	at TEX, TB
27	Nate Karns	at DET, STL
28	J.A. Happ	ARI
29	Dallas Keuchel	at KC
30	Taijuan Walker	STL
31	R.A. Dickey	at CWS
32	Hisashi Iwakuma	at DET
33	Ian Kennedy	at NYM
34	Nathan Eovaldi	MIN
35	Rick Porcello	CWS
36	Jhoulys Chacin	at HOU, OAK
37	Marcus Stroman	at CWS
38	Colby Lewis	CIN
39	Drew Smyly	at CLE, at BAL
40	Collin McHugh	LAA
41	Blake Snell	at CLE
42	Trevor Bauer	TB
43	Mike Fiers	at KC
44	Eduardo Rodriguez	CWS, at TEX
45	Martin Perez	BOS
46	Yordano Ventura	at NYM	B2B gems since the brawl (0.68 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 15 Ks in 13.3 IP); good matchup to stay hot
47	Carlos Rodon	TOR	Brutal matchup as the Jays offense is on fire, but he does have a 3.34 ERA w/26 Ks in his last 29.7 IP
48	Doug Fister	LAA, at KC
49	Daniel Mengden	MIL
50	Matt Boyd	SEA
51	Kyle Gibson	PHI
52	Tyler Duffey	PHI, at NYY

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
53	Ervin Santana	at NYY	It seems the second you quit Santana is usually when he turns it around, but I can't keep trotting out his 5.10 ERA (plus it's not like the 4.58 FIP offers that much encouragement)
54	James Shields	at BOS
55	Matt Moore	at BAL
56	Ivan Nova	COL
57	Edinson Volquez	HOU
58	Tyler Wilson	SD, TB	Dropped 8 scoreless at BOS, now has a 1.53 ERA v. them in 17.7 IP; not enough Ks for mixers, but worth an AL-only look for now
59	Yovani Gallardo	TB
60	Matt Andriese	at BAL	A doubleheader gets him back in the rotation this week, but Blake Snell has effectively taken his spot otherwise
61	Tim Lincecum	OAK
62	Kendall Graveman	at LAA
63	Hector Santiago	at HOU, OAK
64	Miguel Gonzalez	at BOS, TOR
65	Clay Buchholz	CWS
66	Ricky Nolasco	at NYY
67	Henderson Alvarez	at LAA	Supposed to make a rehab on Saturday in Triple-A, which would put him on track for this start; he's a wait-and-see for fantasy no matter what
68	Derek Holland	BAL, BOS	Even w/BAL not doing their best v. LHP, this is an ugly two-start week for Holland
69	Tommy Milone	PHI
70	Chris Young	HOU
71	Mike Pelfrey	SEA, CLE
72	Eric Surkamp	at LAA
73	Nick Martinez	BOS
73	Jered Weaver	OAK
74	Wade Miley replacement	at DET	Adrian Sampson is replacing him this weekend and could get this spot, too; longer term, this keeps Paxton in when Hernandez returns
75	Mike Wright Replacement	SD	They might have to turn back to Ubaldo Jimenez ... lucky them

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	WAS, at PIT	Given the amazingly high bar he continues to set, I can't fathom how he keeps getting BETTER
2	Jose Fernandez	ATL, CHC	What a week for 2-start guys in the NL!
3	Noah Syndergaard	KC, at ATL
4	Stephen Strasburg	at LAD, at MIL
5	Madison Bumgarner	at PIT, PHI
6	Johnny Cueto	at PIT, PHI
7	John Lackey	STL, at MIA	Has actually bested his 2014 ERA by 11 points, but his FIP is down 60 pts thanks to skills improvements
8	Jake Arrieta	STL	So many 2-start studs that he gets pushed down to 8th, his lowest slotting of the season
9	Jon Lester	at MIA
10	Max Scherzer	at MIL
11	Steven Matz	at ATL
12	Jacob deGrom	at ATL
13	Matt Harvey	at ATL	Has a 2.08 ERA w/22 Ks in his last 26 IP and it's only that high bc ATL of all teams popped him for 4 ER (only 6 ER in the whole run)
14	Aaron Nola	at MIN, at SF
15	Jason Hammel	STL, at MIA
16	Kyle Hendricks	at MIA
17	Drew Pomeranz	at CIN
18	Jeff Samardzija	at PIT
19	Julio Teheran	NYM
20	Zack Greinke	at COL	Ugh, why does he have to get a trip to Coors just as he's on a run of dominance? Still have to start him
21	Carlos Martinez	at SEA
22	Kenta Maeda	at PIT
23	Gio Gonzalez	at MIL	Strasburg & Scherzer rightfully get the hype, but the Gonzalez-Roark-Ross 3-4-5 is really strong
24	Tanner Roark	at LAD	He's traded some BBs for Ks, but otherwise looks like the beast we saw in 2014
25	Joe Ross	at LAD	Has allowed more than 3 ER just once in his L7 starts (3.68 ERA, 35 Ks in 36.7 IP)
26	Adam Wainwright	at CHC
27	Adam Conley	ATL
28	Jimmy Nelson	at OAK
29	Brandon Finnegan	SD
30	Junior Guerra	at OAK
31	Jon Gray	at NYY	Maybe they'll trade him out of Coors for us fantasy folks (they won't)
32	Jameson Taillon	LAD	He's going to have rookie bumps, but the first 2 starts show where the hype comes from
33	Scott Kazmir	WAS
34	Jeremy Hellickson	ARI, at SF
35	Jerad Eickhoff	at MIN
36	Zach Davies	WAS	Has shaved nearly 2 runs off of his ERA in June alone (0.96 ERA in 28 IP)
37	Bartolo Colon	KC
38	Matt Wisler	at MIA
39	Julio Urias	WAS	Has a 1.88 ERA and 22 Ks in his last 14.3 IP; outings are short, though: 4, 5.3, and 5
40	Chad Bettis	at MIA, ARI
41	Mike Leake	at SEA
42	Dan Straily	at TEX
43	Chase Anderson	WAS
44	Jaime Garcia	at CHC, at SEA	Hasn't fanned more than 4 in a start since May 11th
45	Tyler Chatwood	ARI
46	Wei-Yin Chen	CHC
47	Michael Wacha	at CHC
48	Francisco Liriano	SF
49	Jon Niese	SF
50	Tom Koehler	CHC	Scary matchup, but he hasn't allowed more than 3 in any of L8 starts (2.90 ERA)
51	Jake Peavy	PHI
52	Michael Bolsinger	at PIT
53	Colin Rea	at CIN

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
54	Anthony DeSclafani	at TEX, SD	Don't be confused by the 2.08 ERA, he's allowed 14 H in 8.7 IP to OAK & ATL; let's see more before starting him
55	Robbie Ray	at TOR
56	Juan Nicasio	SF, LAD
57	Tyler Anderson	ARI
58	Shelby Miller	at PHI, at COL	If you can use one, but not the other then fine, otherwise Miller remains on the bench for now
59	Archie Bradley	at COL
60	John Lamb	SD
61	Cody Reed	SD
62	Christian Friedrich	at CIN
63	Luis Perdomo	at BAL, at CIN
64	Patrick Corbin	at TOR, at COL	Oh these venues are perfect for the guy w/the highest hard contact rate in the league
65	John Gant	NYM
66	Jorge De La Rosa	at NYY, ARI
67	Zach Eflin	at SF	The Giants are never a cakewalk, but it'll feel like Triple-A compared to his season debut at TOR (9 ER)
68	Justin Nicolino	COL, CHC
69	Adam Morgan	at MIN
70	Albert Suarez	at PIT
71	Matt Garza	WAS
72	Bud Norris	at MIA, NYM
73	Aaron Blair	NYM
74	Jeff Locke	SF, LAD
75	Erik Johnson	at BAL

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Clayton Kershaw	WAS, at PIT	Given the amazingly high bar he continues to set, I can't fathom how he keeps getting BETTER
2	Jose Fernandez	ATL, CHC	What a week for 2-start guys in the NL!
3	Noah Syndergaard	KC, at ATL
4	Stephen Strasburg	at LAD, at MIL
5	Madison Bumgarner	at PIT, PHI
6	Johnny Cueto	at PIT, PHI
7	Chris Sale	at BOS, TOR
8	Justin Verlander	SEA, CLE
9	John Lackey	STL, at MIA	Has actually bested his 2014 ERA by 11 points, but his FIP is down 60 pts thanks to skills improvements
10	Steven Wright	CWS, at TEX	FanGraphs' Eno Sarris breaks down the knuckler to dispel some myths, which may give you more confidence in Wright
11	Jake Arrieta	STL	So many 2-start studs that he gets pushed down to 8th, his lowest slotting of the season
12	Jon Lester	at MIA
13	Max Scherzer	at MIL
14	Steven Matz	at ATL
15	Jacob deGrom	at ATL
16	David Price	at TEX
17	Cole Hamels	CIN
18	Matt Harvey	at ATL	Has a 2.08 ERA w/22 Ks in his last 26 IP and it's only that high bc ATL of all teams popped him for 4 ER (only 6 ER in the whole run)
19	Aaron Nola	at MIN, at SF
20	Jason Hammel	STL, at MIA
21	Corey Kluber	TB
22	Sonny Gray	MIL, at LAA	The 3 starts since returning are his highest FB velos of the season, including a season-high 94.2 last time out
23	Carlos Carrasco	at DET
24	Danny Salazar	at DET
25	Aaron Sanchez	at CWS
26	Kyle Hendricks	at MIA
27	Drew Pomeranz	at CIN
28	Jeff Samardzija	at PIT
29	Julio Teheran	NYM
30	Zack Greinke	at COL	Ugh, why does he have to get a trip to Coors just as he's on a run of dominance? Still have to start him
31	Masahiro Tanaka	MIN
32	Matt Shoemaker	at HOU	The key to his surge? Embracing his splitter at the expense of his bad fastball. First 7: 8.49 ERA, 23% splitters; last 6: 1.83, 44%
33	CC Sabathia	COL	Ditching four-seamers in favor of a cutter has really spurred his run (0.82 ERA, 41 Ks in last 44 IP)
34	Michael Fulmer	SEA	Attributes increased changeup usage as key factor in surge: 6% in first 4 starts (6.52 ERA), 17% in last 6 (0.45)
35	Marco Estrada	ARI	Has now led the AL in hit suppression for the last 268.3 IP (6.2 H/9)
36	Carlos Martinez	at SEA
37	Kenta Maeda	at PIT
38	Gio Gonzalez	at MIL	Strasburg & Scherzer rightfully get the hype, but the Gonzalez-Roark-Ross 3-4-5 is really strong
39	Tanner Roark	at LAD	He's traded some BBs for Ks, but otherwise looks like the beast we saw in 2014
40	Joe Ross	at LAD	Has allowed more than 3 ER just once in his L7 starts (3.68 ERA, 35 Ks in 36.7 IP)
41	Danny Duffy	HOU
42	Jose Quintana	at BOS
43	Adam Wainwright	at CHC
44	Chris Archer	at CLE	Slowly chiseling the ERA down (3.74 in his L5 starts), but he's allowed fewer than 3 R just once in his L8
45	Lance McCullers	LAA
46	Chris Tillman	TB
47	Adam Conley	ATL
48	Jimmy Nelson	at OAK
49	Brandon Finnegan	SD
50	Junior Guerra	at OAK
51	Jordan Zimmermann	CLE
52	Jake Odorizzi	at BAL
53	Josh Tomlin	TB, at DET
54	James Paxton	at DET, STL
55	Michael Pineda	MIN
56	Kevin Gausman	at TEX, TB
57	Jon Gray	at NYY	Maybe they'll trade him out of Coors for us fantasy folks (they won't)
58	Jameson Taillon	LAD	He's going to have rookie bumps, but the first 2 starts show where the hype comes from
59	Nate Karns	at DET, STL
60	J.A. Happ	ARI
61	Scott Kazmir	WAS
62	Jeremy Hellickson	ARI, at SF
63	Jerad Eickhoff	at MIN
64	Zach Davies	WAS	Has shaved nearly 2 runs off of his ERA in June alone (0.96 ERA in 28 IP)
65	Dallas Keuchel	at KC
66	Taijuan Walker	STL
67	R.A. Dickey	at CWS
68	Bartolo Colon	KC
69	Matt Wisler	at MIA
70	Julio Urias	WAS	Has a 1.88 ERA and 22 Ks in his last 14.3 IP; outings are short, though: 4, 5.3, and 5
71	Chad Bettis	at MIA, ARI
72	Hisashi Iwakuma	at DET
73	Ian Kennedy	at NYM
74	Nathan Eovaldi	MIN
75	Rick Porcello	CWS
76	Mike Leake	at SEA
77	Dan Straily	at TEX
78	Jhoulys Chacin	at HOU, OAK
79	Marcus Stroman	at CWS
80	Colby Lewis	CIN
81	Drew Smyly	at CLE, at BAL
82	Chase Anderson	WAS
83	Collin McHugh	LAA
84	Blake Snell	at CLE
85	Trevor Bauer	TB
85	Mike Fiers	at KC
86	Eduardo Rodriguez	CWS, at TEX
87	Martin Perez	BOS
88	Yordano Ventura	at NYM	B2B gems since the brawl (0.68 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 15 Ks in 13.3 IP); good matchup to stay hot
89	Carlos Rodon	TOR	Brutal matchup as the Jays offense is on fire, but he does have a 3.34 ERA w/26 Ks in his last 29.7 IP
90	Doug Fister	LAA, at KC
91	Jaime Garcia	at CHC, at SEA	Hasn't fanned more than 4 in a start since May 11th
92	Tyler Chatwood	ARI
93	Wei-Yin Chen	CHC
94	Daniel Mengden	MIL
96	Michael Wacha	at CHC
97	Francisco Liriano	SF
98	Jon Niese	SF
99	Tom Koehler	CHC	Scary matchup, but he hasn't allowed more than 3 in any of L8 starts (2.90 ERA)
100	Jake Peavy	PHI