Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Strasburg's Doing his Thing

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Updated on May 5, 2018 3:14PM EST

Sorry folks, I whiffed last week. I should have pointed out the Dodgers-Padres series was played in Mexico, in a very favorable hitting venue. Walker Buehler didn't get the memo either.

As was expected before the weather wreaked havoc with the schedule, there's a light number of two-start options compared to what we're used to. Still, there are some intriguing options in the middle of the pack, which is where the hard decisions are generally made.

Week of May 7 - May 13

UPDATED: Monday, May 7 12:00 AM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. OAK	Second best pitcher in the AL since 2017 All Star break
2	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at OAK, vs. TEX
3	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at MIL
5	Michael Fulmer	DET	at TEX, vs. SEA	Low K's, not as useful in points leagues or those with an innings cap (K/9)
6	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. KC, vs. TB
7	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at OAK
8	James Paxton	SEA	at TOR, at DET	26 K last two starts, spanning 13 innings
9	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TEX
10	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. KC	Great spot to continue dominating start to season
11	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at MIL
12	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	vs. MIN
13	Garrett Richards	LAA	vs. MIN	Once walks fall, so will ERA
14	Blake Snell	TB	vs. ATL, at BAL	Showing consistency, could this finally be the year? I

Sorry folks, I whiffed last week. I should have pointed out the Dodgers-Padres series was played in Mexico, in a very favorable hitting venue. Walker Buehler didn't get the memo either.

Week of May 7 - May 13

UPDATED: Monday, May 7 12:00 AM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. OAK	Second best pitcher in the AL since 2017 All Star break
2	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at OAK, vs. TEX
3	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at MIL
5	Michael Fulmer	DET	at TEX, vs. SEA	Low K's, not as useful in points leagues or those with an innings cap (K/9)
6	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. KC, vs. TB
7	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at OAK
8	James Paxton	SEA	at TOR, at DET	26 K last two starts, spanning 13 innings
9	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TEX
10	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. KC	Great spot to continue dominating start to season
11	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at MIL
12	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	vs. MIN
13	Garrett Richards	LAA	vs. MIN	Once walks fall, so will ERA
14	Blake Snell	TB	vs. ATL, at BAL	Showing consistency, could this finally be the year? I think so.
15	Chris Sale	BOS	at TOR	Lower innings drop rank
16	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at NYY, at TOR	Still not sharp, bit of a risk but track record is worthy of the benefit of the doubt
17	Rick Porcello	BOS	at NYY	This will be a big test, so far keeping the ball in the yard.
18	Fernando Romero	MIN	at STL, at LAA	Not official, but rookie could stick in the rotation
19	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. OAK	Fastball use increasing, but still not to previous levels
20	Chris Archer	TB	at BAL
21	Cole Hamels	TEX	at HOU
22	Jake Faria	TB	at BAL	Coming off best outing of the season
23	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. SEA, vs. BOS
24	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS
25	David Price	BOS	at NYY	Command and control have been poor since leaving game with numbness in pitching hand
26	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. KC
27	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. HOU
28	Danny Duffy	KC	at BAL, at CLE
29	Domingo German	NYY	vs. OAK	Gets first crack replacing Jordan Montgomery
30	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	at OAK
31	Jose Berrios	MIN	at LAA	In a rut, a good reminder this happens to most young pitchers, he'll be fine
32	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. SEA	Quietly gets the job done
33	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. MIN
34	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. KC
35	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at STL	SwStr% portends more strikeouts, but low first pitch strike inhibiting it
36	Ian Kennedy	KC	at BAL
37	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BOS
38	Lance Lynn	MIN	at LAA
39	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. PIT	Walks are a bad thing
40	Nick Tropeano	LAA	vs. MIN
41	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. PIT
42	Matt Andriese	TB	at BAL
43	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. SEA
44	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at DET
45	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. BOS
46	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TOR
47	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. KC
48	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. KC
49	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at LAA
50	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. TB
51	Jake Junis	KC	at CLE
52	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. HOU
53	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. BOS
54	Mike Leake	SEA	at TOR
55	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. HOU, at NYY
56	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. SEA
57	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at NYY
58	Mike Fiers	DET	at TEX
59	Francisco Liriano	DET	at TEX
60	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at TOR
61	Mike Wright	BAL	vs. TB
62	Matt Moore	TEX	vs. DET, at HOU
63	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. DET
64	Jaime Barria	LAA	at COL
65	Trevor Cahill	OAK	at NYY
66	Eric Skoglund	KC	at BAL
67	Jason Hammel	KC	at CLE
68	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. SEA
69	Bartolo Colon	TEX	vs. DET
70	Doug Fister	TEX	at HOU
71	Hector Santiago	CWS	at CHC
72	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TB
73	James Shields	CWS	at CHC
74	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at COL
75	Carson Fulmer	CWS	at CHC
76	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at DET
77	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. ATL

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at SD, at ARI	Homers high but doing his thing
2	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. MIN, at SD	Tossed at least 6 innings every start since opening day
3	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. SF, vs. NYM	Strikeouts lower than a fantasy ace
4	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. CWS	Great matchups
5	Zack Godley	ARI	at LAD, vs. WAS	Control uncharacteristically poor
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ARI
7	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. WAS, vs. STL	Generally, results after thoracic outlet surgery mixed - Ross looks fine
8	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI
9	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. MIA	Marlins the panacea for struggling hurler
10	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. NYM, at LAD	Looked better, still not here, hate wasting a two-start week, your team, your call
11	Mike Soroka	ATL	at MIA	Good draw for the rookie, assuming he stays in the rotation
12	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM	Plummeting SwStrk% a concern
13	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CWS
14	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. CIN
15	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at LAD
16	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at PHI	Mets say he's healthy, so you know, be concerned
17	Miles Mikolas	STL	at SD
18	Luke Weaver	STL	at SD
19	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at TB, at MIA	Fantastic matchups
20	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at PHI, at PIT	Skills due to improve after short spring
21	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CIN	Now a key cog if Dodgers want to return to the World Series
22	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIA	Coming off only rough outing off the season, look for a bounce back
23	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	at SD, at ARI	Pair of great pitching parks (yes, the humidor is having expected effect)
24	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAA, vs. MIL	If you believe in Gray, he starts with a double dip at home
25	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN
26	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. WAS
27	Brandon McCarthy	ATL	at MIA
28	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at SD
29	Michael Wacha	STL	at SD
30	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ARI
31	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. SF	He's really hoping Bryce Harper isn't traded to the Giants
32	Julio Teheran	ATL	at TB
33	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIA	Marlins hitting lefties well
34	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. SF
35	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ARI
36	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	vs. CWS
37	Vincent Velasquez	PHI	vs. SF
38	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. CIN
39	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at LAD	Strikeouts continue to be a pleasant surprise
40	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. SF
41	Ivan Nova	PIT	at CWS
42	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. SF, vs. NYM	Aided by a pair, risky, but playable in deeper formats
43	Nick Kingham	PIT	vs. SF
44	Trevor Williams	PIT	at CWS
45	Chase Anderson	MIL	at COL
46	Chris Stratton	SF	at PHI
47	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. WAS, vs. STL
48	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. WAS
49	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. NYM, at LAD
50	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. STL
51	P.J. Conlon	NYM	at CIN
52	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at CHC
53	Jose Urena	MIA	at CHC, vs. ATL
54	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. CLE
55	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
56	Zach Davies	MIL	at COL
57	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. LAA
58	John Gant	STL	vs. MIN
59	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. NYM
60	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. STL
61	Brandon Finnegan	CIN	at LAD
62	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CIN
63	German Marquez	COL	vs. MIL
64	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. ATL
65	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at COL
66	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CLE, at COL
67	Ty Blach	SF	at PHI
68	Jarlin Garcia	MIA	at CHC, vs. ATL
69	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. MIL
70	Derek Holland	SF	at PHI, at PIT
71	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. ATL
72	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. MIL
73	Jason Vargas	NYM	at CIN
74	Andrew Suarez	SF	at PIT
75	Braden Shipley	ARI	vs. WAS
76	Matt Koch	ARI	vs. WAS

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at SD, at ARI	Homers high but doing his thing
2	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. MIN, at SD	Tossed at least 6 innings every start since opening day
3	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. SF, vs. NYM	Strikeouts lower than a fantasy ace
4	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. OAK	Second best pitcher in the AL since 2017 All Star break
5	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. MIA, vs. CWS	Great matchups
6	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at OAK, vs. TEX
7	Zack Godley	ARI	at LAD, vs. WAS	Control uncharacteristically poor
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX
9	Corey Kluber	CLE	at MIL
10	Michael Fulmer	DET	at TEX, vs. SEA	Low K's, not as useful in points leagues or those with an innings cap (K/9)
11	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. KC, vs. TB
12	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ARI
13	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at OAK
14	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. WAS, vs. STL	Generally, results after thoracic outlet surgery mixed - Ross looks fine
15	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI
16	James Paxton	SEA	at TOR, at DET	26 K last two starts, spanning 13 innings
17	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. TEX
18	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. MIA	Marlins the panacea for struggling hurler
19	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. KC	Great spot to continue dominating start to season
20	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. NYM, at LAD	Looked better, still not here, hate wasting a two-start week, your team, your call
21	Mike Soroka	ATL	at MIA	Good draw for the rookie, assuming he stays in the rotation
22	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM	Plummeting SwStrk% a concern
23	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CWS
24	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. CIN
25	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at LAD
26	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at PHI	Mets say he's healthy, so you know, be concerned
27	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at MIL
28	Miles Mikolas	STL	at SD
29	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	vs. MIN
30	Luke Weaver	STL	at SD
31	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at TB, at MIA	Fantastic matchups
32	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at PHI, at PIT	Skills due to improve after short spring
33	Garrett Richards	LAA	vs. MIN	Once walks fall, so will ERA
34	Blake Snell	TB	vs. ATL, at BAL	Showing consistency, could this finally be the year? I think so.
35	Chris Sale	BOS	at TOR	Lower innings drop rank
36	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CIN	Now a key cog if Dodgers want to return to the World Series
37	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIA	Coming off only rough outing off the season, look for a bounce back
38	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	at SD, at ARI	Pair of great pitching parks (yes, the humidor is having expected effect)
39	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAA, vs. MIL	If you believe in Gray, he starts with a double dip at home
40	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. CIN
41	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at NYY, at TOR	Still not sharp, bit of a risk but track record is worthy of the benefit of the doubt
42	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. WAS
43	Brandon McCarthy	ATL	at MIA
44	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at SD
45	Michael Wacha	STL	at SD
46	Rick Porcello	BOS	at NYY	This will be a big test, so far keeping the ball in the yard.
47	Fernando Romero	MIN	at STL, at LAA	Not official, but rookie could stick in the rotation
48	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ARI
49	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. SF	He's really hoping Bryce Harper isn't traded to the Giants
50	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. OAK
51	Julio Teheran	ATL	at TB
52	Chris Archer	TB	at BAL
53	Cole Hamels	TEX	at HOU
54	Jake Faria	TB	at BAL	Coming off best outing of the season
55	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIA	Marlins hitting lefties well
56	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. SF
57	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. SEA, vs. BOS
58	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS
59	David Price	BOS	at NYY	Command and control have been poor since leaving game with numbness in pitching hand
60	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ARI
61	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. KC
62	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	vs. CWS
63	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. HOU
64	Danny Duffy	KC	at BAL, at CLE
65	Domingo German	NYY	vs. OAK	Gets first crack replacing Jordan Montgomery
66	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	at OAK
67	Jose Berrios	MIN	at LAA	In a rut, a good reminder this happens to most young pitchers, he'll be fine
68	Vincent Velasquez	PHI	vs. SF
69	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. CIN
70	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at LAD	Strikeouts continue to be a pleasant surprise
71	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. SF
72	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. SEA	Quietly gets the job done
73	Ivan Nova	PIT	at CWS
74	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. SF, vs. NYM	Aided by a pair, risky, but playable in deeper formats
75	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. MIN
76	Nick Kingham	PIT	vs. SF
77	Trevor Williams	PIT	at CWS
78	Chase Anderson	MIL	at COL
79	Chris Stratton	SF	at PHI
80	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. KC
81	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at STL	SwStr% portends more strikeouts, but low first pitch strike inhibiting it
82	Ian Kennedy	KC	at BAL
83	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BOS
84	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. WAS, vs. STL
85	Lance Lynn	MIN	at LAA
86	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. PIT	Walks are a bad thing
87	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. WAS
88	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. NYM, at LAD
89	Nick Tropeano	LAA	vs. MIN
90	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. PIT
91	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. STL
92	P.J. Conlon	NYM	at CIN
93	Matt Andriese	TB	at BAL
94	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. SEA
95	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at CHC
96	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at DET
97	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. BOS
98	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TOR
99	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. KC
100	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. KC
101	Jose Urena	MIA	at CHC, vs. ATL
102	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. CLE
103	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
104	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at LAA
105	Zach Davies	MIL	at COL
106	Alex Cobb	BAL	vs. TB
107	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. LAA
108	John Gant	STL	vs. MIN
109	Jake Junis	KC	at CLE
110	Sal Romano	CIN	vs. NYM
111	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. STL
112	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. HOU
113	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. BOS
114	Brandon Finnegan	CIN	at LAD
115	Mike Leake	SEA	at TOR
116	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. HOU, at NYY
117	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. SEA
118	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at NYY
119	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CIN
120	German Marquez	COL	vs. MIL
121	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. ATL
122	Mike Fiers	DET	at TEX
123	Francisco Liriano	DET	at TEX
124	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at TOR
125	Mike Wright	BAL	vs. TB
126	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at COL
127	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CLE, at COL
128	Matt Moore	TEX	vs. DET, at HOU
129	Ty Blach	SF	at PHI
130	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. DET
131	Jarlin Garcia	MIA	at CHC, vs. ATL
132	Jaime Barria	LAA	at COL
133	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. MIL
134	Trevor Cahill	OAK	at NYY
135	Derek Holland	SF	at PHI, at PIT
136	Eric Skoglund	KC	at BAL
137	Jason Hammel	KC	at CLE
138	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. SEA
139	Bartolo Colon	TEX	vs. DET
140	Doug Fister	TEX	at HOU
141	Hector Santiago	CWS	at CHC
142	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. ATL
143	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. MIL
144	Jason Vargas	NYM	at CIN
145	Andrew Suarez	SF	at PIT
146	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TB
147	James Shields	CWS	at CHC
148	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at COL
149	Carson Fulmer	CWS	at CHC
150	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at DET
151	Braden Shipley	ARI	vs. WAS
152	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. ATL
153	Matt Koch	ARI	vs. WAS