Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Strength vs. Strength

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Updated on July 4, 2015 4:33PM 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 JULY 6-12

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Chris Sale	TOR, at CHC	The ultimate strength vs. strength as a top-3 arm in baseball faces that lefty-smashing TOR offense
2	Corey Kluber	HOU, OAK	If you're reading Rotowire you already know Ws are a bad measure of quality, but Kluber's 3-9 rec. just drives it home
3	Dallas Keuchel	at CLE, at TB	Of course sometimes a W-L rec. simply accentuates how well a pitcher is throwing as is the case w/Keuche's 10-3 rec.
4	Carlos Carrasco	HOU, OAK
5	Felix Hernandez	LAA
6	David Price	at MIN
7	Chris Archer	at KC	You don't go around projecting a 2.18 ERA for pitchers, but this breakout is legit and he's a frontliner now
8	Masahiro Tanaka	OAK
9	Anibal Sanchez	at SEA	Took a no-no into the 8th and then the bullpen crapped all over it and made it look like a basic outing (7.3 IP/4 ER)
10	Michael Pineda	at BOS	55% of his ER have come in four awful starts; has a 2.18 ERA in his other 11 starts; ace if he avoids the implosion
11	Jesse Chavez	at NYY
12	Jeff Samardzija	at

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Chris Sale	TOR, at CHC	The ultimate strength vs. strength as a top-3 arm in baseball faces that lefty-smashing TOR offense
2	Corey Kluber	HOU, OAK	If you're reading Rotowire you already know Ws are a bad measure of quality, but Kluber's 3-9 rec. just drives it home
3	Dallas Keuchel	at CLE, at TB	Of course sometimes a W-L rec. simply accentuates how well a pitcher is throwing as is the case w/Keuche's 10-3 rec.
4	Carlos Carrasco	HOU, OAK
5	Felix Hernandez	LAA
6	David Price	at MIN
7	Chris Archer	at KC	You don't go around projecting a 2.18 ERA for pitchers, but this breakout is legit and he's a frontliner now
8	Masahiro Tanaka	OAK
9	Anibal Sanchez	at SEA	Took a no-no into the 8th and then the bullpen crapped all over it and made it look like a basic outing (7.3 IP/4 ER)
10	Michael Pineda	at BOS	55% of his ER have come in four awful starts; has a 2.18 ERA in his other 11 starts; ace if he avoids the implosion
11	Jesse Chavez	at NYY
12	Jeff Samardzija	at CHC
13	Danny Salazar	OAK	At his best, he's among the best, but his lows continue to hamper his ERA upside; he's need to trim the implosion starts
14	Jose Quintana	TOR, at CHC	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 7 (2.78 ERA); TOR will put that streak to that test
15	Taijuan Walker	DET, LAA	Normally an 11-start run of 2.88 ERA would give you a sub-4.00 ERA, but an 8.74 ERA in first 5 left Walker a big hole
16	Eduardo Rodriguez	NYY	Very impressive outing in TOR after they ripped him for 9 ER a couple weeks ago; pitching tipping was an issue
17	Lance McCullers Jr.	at TB
18	Garrett Richards	at SEA
19	Sonny Gray	at CLE?	This food poisoning has turned somewhat serious and could result in a DL-stint that might just end his first half; stay tuned for news
20	Trevor May	BAL, DET	Solid bounce-back at 0.3 IP nightmare; DET matchup loses some sting w/Miggy injury, too
21	Trevor Bauer	HOU
22	Edinson Volquez	TB, TOR	ERA is up a half-run over his last six starts, but we knew he wasn't a 2.95 ERA SP anyway
23	Jesse Hahn	at NYY, at CLE	There's a still measure of inconsistency, but his highs are strong: 2.05 ERA, 1.10 WHIP in his last four starts (26.3 IP)
24	Yovani Gallardo	ARI
25	Scott Kazmir	at NYY	HRs have been a problem on the road (1.6 HR/9) and this is the last venue you want a lefty to have HR issues in
26	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	Was slated to return for a 2-start week, but TB is giving him one more rehab so he'll return later in the week
27	Hector Santiago	at SEA
28	Ubaldo Jimenez	at MIN	Had one 0 BB outing last year: a 1 IP relief app.; has three 0 BB starts this year, and four others w/just 1 BB
29	Wei-Yin Chen	at MIN	He's definitely inducing tons of weak contact, but skills still haven't changed much and HRs are at a career-worst
30	Clay Buchholz	NYY	Avoiding the implosion start (5+ ER) has been tough for Buchholz historically, but just 2 this year after 8 in 2014
31	Ivan Nova	OAK, at BOS
32	Erasmo Ramirez	HOU
33	Kendall Graveman	at CLE	A tremendous June (1.93 ERA in 42 IP) scraped over two runs off of his ERA from 5.79 to 3.47
34	Roenis Elias	DET, LAA
35	Miguel Gonzalez	at MIN, WAS	HR suppression is always the key: 2.93 ERA in first 7 w/just 4 HR allowed; 5.26 ERA in last 7 w/11 HR allowed
36	Phil Hughes	BAL, DET	A 3.67 ERA in his last 9 says he's pitching better, but his K/BB (5.3) is higher than his K/9 (4.7)
37	C.J. Wilson	at SEA
38	Nate Karns	at KC
39	Justin Verlander	at MIN	Still willing to wait a couple more starts to see if he gets on track, but not optimistic of stud JV returning; maybe a 3.50 at best
40	Mike Montgomery	TBD	Schedule isn't currently listing him w/the return of Iwakuma, but I can't see him being pushed out entirely ahead of Elias
41	Alfredo Simon	at SEA, at MIN	I mean, we knew he wasn't a 2.58 ERA, but he's allowed 18 ER in his last three starts (they account for 45% of his season ER)
42	Chris Young	TB, TOR
43	Carlos Rodon	at CHC
44	Wandy Rodriguez	SD
45	R.A. Dickey	at CWS
46	Andrew Heaney	at COL, at SEA	The trip to COL makes this essentially a one-start week, but so far he's showing why he is such a highly touted prospect
47	Vincent Velasquez	at CLE, at TB
48	Ervin Santana	DET	I'd prefer to sit the first one out, but the AL pitching isn't good enough to let a quality arm sit for a start, even vs. a legit offense
49	Collin McHugh	at CLE
50	Kyle Gibson	BAL	Ks thru first 6: 0, 3, 0, 3, 5, 1; has 54 Ks in 64.3 IP since with a 3.08 ERA and 1.18 WHIP; I think we're seeing real growth
51	Colby Lewis	SD	Even w/a 4.13 ERA, he's a plus asset in AL-only leagues bc of how thin pitching has been; SD offense has been brutal for a while now
52	Nathan Eovaldi	OAK	The downside is so severe, but I remain intrigued by the upside; has a 3.72 ERA in 87 IP outside of the 0.7 IP/8 ER nightmare at MIA

SIT

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
53	Marco Estrada	at KC	I think we know what we're getting here, just be careful in mixed leagues
54	Dan Straily	at CLE
55	Joe Blanton	TB	Two great, one awful in his three starts so far; HRs are the key, if he keeps the ball in the yard, he can be a solid-avg option
56	CC Sabathia	at BOS
57	Drew Hutchison	at CWS
58	Cody Anderson	HOU	Two great outings vs. TB to start his career, but just 6 Ks in 15 IP
59	J.A. Happ	DET
60	Matt Moore	at KC, HOU	Command and control were already major issues before the TJ; they're usually the last components to return after the surgery, too
61	Chris Tillman	WAS	Wildly inconsistent and not enough upside on the good to even worry about those starts
62	Chi Chi Gonzalez	SD
63	Justin Masterson	NYY
64	Matt Harrison	ARI	Harrison has made just 6 starts since the start of 2013, gotta wait & see here before even considering as AL-only
65	Alex Colome	at KC	Schedule originally had a two-start for Odorizzi, but now he's headed back on July 11th
66	Wade Miley	MIA
67	Rick Porcello	MIA
68	Mark Buehrle	at CWS, at KC
69	Matt Shoemaker	at COL	No way. No chance. LAA put him in the pen for a trip to NYY so this could switch to Wednesday at SEA in which case he's late-40s
70	Bud Norris	WAS
71	Mike Pelfrey	DET
72	Kyle Ryan	at SEA, at MIN
73	Jeremy Guthrie	TB
74	Danny Duffy	TOR
75	John Danks	TOR
76	Felix Doubront	at CWS, at KC

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	CIN	What more can really be said about his excellence this year?
2	Clayton Kershaw	PHI	It's kinda hilarious that his 3.08 ERA is over a half run higher than his career mark of 2.53, it's also ridiculous
3	Gerrit Cole	STL
4	Zack Greinke	PHI	Kershaw and Greinke enter the break w/a nice little NYM-PHI combo
5	Matt Harvey	ARI
6	Jake Arrieta	STL, CWS	Almost all of last year's breakout has carried over; Arrieta is a stud
7	Johnny Cueto	at WAS, at MIA	Pretty much every start until July 31st could be his last with Cincy
8	Cole Hamels	at SF	Pretty much every start until July 31st could be his last with Philly
9	Jacob deGrom	at SF
10	Michael Wacha	at CHC	His 25% K rate since mid-May is 25th-best in baseball, maybe parlay the misleading 7.1 K/9 into a discount?
11	Madison Bumgarner	PHI
12	Carlos Martinez	at PIT	As hard as it is to move such a stud, trading him in redraft leagues right now is the play; even if he stays great, how many more IP?
13	Jason Hammel	STL
14	Jose Fernandez	at BOS	Opened w/a 96 MPH pitch to show everyone the velo was there; breaking stuff (and his hitting) was there, too
15	Stephen Strasburg	at BAL
16	Lance Lynn	at PIT
17	A.J. Burnett	SD, STL	His 2.05 ERA likely will regress, but some seem to believe it's destined to soar by two runs; his 2.57 FIP says that's unlikely
18	Francisco Liriano	SD, STL
19	John Lackey	at CHC, at PIT	Just another solid, under-the-radar season for Lackey; doesn't get enough credit for his reliability
20	Jaime Garcia	at CHC, at PIT
21	Noah Syndergaard	ARI	Skills say stud and the results are catching up w/the ERA at 3.38 now; love everything he's doing
22	James Shields	at PIT, at TEX
23	Jordan Zimmermann	at BAL
24	Gio Gonzalez	CIN
25	Jon Lester	STL, CWS
26	Tyson Ross	at PIT
27	Chris Heston	NYM, PHI
28	Mat Latos	CIN
29	Brett Anderson	PHI, MIL
30	Andrew Cashner	at PIT	I'm at a loss with him anymore; 4.06 ERA isn't the end of the world, but raw stuff is befitting of a low-3.00s ERA, not low-4.00s
31	Anthony DeSclafani	at WAS, at MIA
32	Bartolo Colon	at SF
33	Shelby Miller	at COL	Both Miller and Wood get a bump down for going to COL, but I think you still start both, but especially Miller
34	Ian Kennedy	at TEX	HR troubles are back lately (5 in his last 4 starts), but thankfully he's avoided big damage (1.50 ERA); tread carefully
35	Chase Anderson	at NYM
36	Patrick Corbin	at NYM	One of the softer landings you can get these days given how the Mets are hitting… or aren't, as it were
37	Julio Teheran	at MIL	Until he shows us something on the road, he's going to take a big rankings hit in single-start road weeks
38	Mike Fiers	ATL
39	Mike Leake	at MIA
40	Mike Bolsinger	MIL
41	Kyle Hendricks	CWS
42	Jimmy Nelson	at LAD
43	Steven Matz	ARI
44	Jake Peavy	NYM
45	Charlie Morton	SD
46	Robbie Ray	at TEX
47	Alex Wood	at COL
48	Rubby De La Rosa	at NYM
49	Matt Cain	NYM
50	Dan Haren	at BOS, CIN
51	Doug Fister	CIN, at BAL

SIT

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
52	Kyle Lohse	ATL, at LAD
53	Taylor Jungmann	at LAD
54	Jon Niese	at SF
55	Jeremy Hellickson	at TEX
56	Jorge De La Rosa	ATL
57	Matt Wisler	at MIL, at COL
58	Manny Banuelos	at MIL, at COL
59	Jarred Cosart	CIN
60	Chad Bettis	LAA, ATL
61	David Hale	ATL
62	Tim Cooney	at CHC
63	Jeff Locke	STL
64	Ryan Vogelsong	PHI
65	Tom Koehler	CIN
66	Carlos Frias	PHI, MIL
67	Adam Morgan	at LAD
68	Chad Billingsley	at LAD, at SF
69	Michael Lorenzen	at WAS
70	Chris Rusin	LAA
71	Odrisamer Despaigne	at TEX
72	Kevin Correia	at LAD
73	Josh Smith	at MIA
74	Matt Garza	ATL
75	Kyle Kendrick	ATL
76	Sean O'Sullivan	at LAD, at SF

MLB TOP 100

Rank	Pitcher	Opp	Comments
1	Chris Sale	TOR, at CHC	The ultimate strength vs. strength as a top-3 arm in baseball faces that lefty-smashing TOR offense
2	Corey Kluber	HOU, OAK	If you're reading Rotowire you already know Ws are a bad measure of quality, but Kluber's 3-9 rec. just drives it home
3	Dallas Keuchel	at CLE, at TB	Of course sometimes a W-L rec. simply accentuates how well a pitcher is throwing as is the case w/Keuche's 10-3 rec.
4	Carlos Carrasco	HOU, OAK
5	Max Scherzer	CIN	What more can really be said about his excellence this year?
6	Clayton Kershaw	PHI	It's kinda hilarious that his 3.08 ERA is over a half run higher than his career mark of 2.53, it's also ridiculous
7	Gerrit Cole	STL
8	Zack Greinke	PHI	Kershaw and Greinke enter the break w/a nice little NYM-PHI combo
9	Felix Hernandez	LAA
10	David Price	at MIN
11	Chris Archer	at KC	You don't go around projecting a 2.18 ERA for pitchers, but this breakout is legit and he's a frontliner now
12	Matt Harvey	ARI
13	Jake Arrieta	STL, CWS	Almost all of last year's breakout has carried over; Arrieta is a stud
14	Johnny Cueto	at WAS, at MIA	Pretty much every start until July 31st could be his last with Cincy
15	Cole Hamels	at SF	Pretty much every start until July 31st could be his last with Philly
16	Jacob deGrom	at SF
17	Michael Wacha	at CHC	His 25% K rate since mid-May is 25th-best in baseball, maybe parlay the misleading 7.1 K/9 into a discount?
18	Madison Bumgarner	PHI
19	Carlos Martinez	at PIT	As hard as it is to move such a stud, trading him in redraft leagues right now is the play; even if he stays great, how many more IP?
20	Jason Hammel	STL
21	Jose Fernandez	at BOS	Opened w/a 96 MPH pitch to show everyone the velo was there; breaking stuff (and his hitting) was there, too
22	Stephen Strasburg	at BAL
23	Lance Lynn	at PIT
24	A.J. Burnett	SD, STL	His 2.05 ERA likely will regress, but some seem to believe it's destined to soar by two runs; his 2.57 FIP says that's unlikely
25	Francisco Liriano	SD, STL
26	Masahiro Tanaka	OAK
27	Anibal Sanchez	at SEA	Took a no-no into the 8th and then the bullpen crapped all over it and made it look like a basic outing (7.3 IP/4 ER)
28	John Lackey	at CHC, at PIT	Just another solid, under-the-radar season for Lackey; doesn't get enough credit for his reliability
29	Jaime Garcia	at CHC, at PIT
30	Michael Pineda	at BOS	55% of his ER have come in four awful starts; has a 2.18 ERA in his other 11 starts; ace if he avoids the implosion
31	Noah Syndergaard	ARI	Skills say stud and the results are catching up w/the ERA at 3.38 now; love everything he's doing
32	James Shields	at PIT, at TEX
33	Jesse Chavez	at NYY
34	Jeff Samardzija	at CHC
35	Danny Salazar	OAK	At his best, he's among the best, but his lows continue to hamper his ERA upside; he's need to trim the implosion starts
36	Jose Quintana	TOR, at CHC	Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 7 (2.78 ERA); TOR will put that streak to that test
37	Taijuan Walker	DET, LAA	Normally an 11-start run of 2.88 ERA would give you a sub-4.00 ERA, but an 8.74 ERA in first 5 left Walker a big hole
38	Eduardo Rodriguez	NYY	Very impressive outing in TOR after they ripped him for 9 ER a couple weeks ago; pitching tipping was an issue
39	Lance McCullers Jr.	at TB
40	Garrett Richards	at SEA
41	Sonny Gray	at CLE?	This food poisoning has turned somewhat serious and could result in a DL-stint that might just end his first half; stay tuned for news
42	Trevor May	BAL, DET	Solid bounce-back at 0.3 IP nightmare; DET matchup loses some sting w/Miggy injury, too
43	Jordan Zimmermann	at BAL
44	Gio Gonzalez	CIN
45	Jon Lester	STL, CWS
46	Tyson Ross	at PIT
47	Chris Heston	NYM, PHI
48	Mat Latos	CIN
49	Brett Anderson	PHI, MIL
50	Trevor Bauer	HOU
51	Edinson Volquez	TB, TOR	ERA is up a half-run over his last six starts, but we knew he wasn't a 2.95 ERA SP anyway
52	Jesse Hahn	at NYY, at CLE	There's a still measure of inconsistency, but his highs are strong: 2.05 ERA, 1.10 WHIP in his last four starts (26.3 IP)
53	Yovani Gallardo	ARI
54	Scott Kazmir	at NYY	HRs have been a problem on the road (1.6 HR/9) and this is the last venue you want a lefty to have HR issues in
55	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	Was slated to return for a 2-start week, but TB is giving him one more rehab so he'll return later in the week
56	Hector Santiago	at SEA
57	Ubaldo Jimenez	at MIN	Had one 0 BB outing last year: a 1 IP relief app.; has three 0 BB starts this year, and four others w/just 1 BB
58	Wei-Yin Chen	at MIN	He's definitely inducing tons of weak contact, but skills still haven't changed much and HRs are at a career-worst
59	Clay Buchholz	NYY	Avoiding the implosion start (5+ ER) has been tough for Buchholz historically, but just 2 this year after 8 in 2014
60	Ivan Nova	OAK, at BOS
61	Erasmo Ramirez	HOU
62	Kendall Graveman	at CLE	A tremendous June (1.93 ERA in 42 IP) scraped over two runs off of his ERA from 5.79 to 3.47
63	Andrew Cashner	at PIT	I'm at a loss with him anymore; 4.06 ERA isn't the end of the world, but raw stuff is befitting of a low-3.00s ERA, not low-4.00s
64	Anthony DeSclafani	at WAS, at MIA
65	Bartolo Colon	at SF
66	Shelby Miller	at COL	Both Miller and Wood get a bump down for going to COL, but I think you still start both, but especially Miller
67	Ian Kennedy	at TEX	HR troubles are back lately (5 in his last 4 starts), but thankfully he's avoided big damage (1.50 ERA); tread carefully
68	Chase Anderson	at NYM
69	Patrick Corbin	at NYM	One of the softer landings you can get these days given how the Mets are hitting… or aren't, as it were
70	Julio Teheran	at MIL	Until he shows us something on the road, he's going to take a big rankings hit in single-start road weeks
71	Mike Fiers	ATL
72	Mike Leake	at MIA
73	Mike Bolsinger	MIL
74	Kyle Hendricks	CWS
75	Jimmy Nelson	at LAD
76	Steven Matz	ARI
77	Jake Peavy	NYM
78	Charlie Morton	SD
79	Robbie Ray	at TEX
80	Alex Wood	at COL
81	Rubby De La Rosa	at NYM
82	Matt Cain	NYM
83	Dan Haren	at BOS, CIN
84	Roenis Elias	DET, LAA
85	Miguel Gonzalez	at MIN, WAS	HR suppression is always the key: 2.93 ERA in first 7 w/just 4 HR allowed; 5.26 ERA in last 7 w/11 HR allowed
86	Phil Hughes	BAL, DET	A 3.67 ERA in his last 9 says he's pitching better, but his K/BB (5.3) is higher than his K/9 (4.7)
87	C.J. Wilson	at SEA
88	Nate Karns	at KC
89	Justin Verlander	at MIN	Still willing to wait a couple more starts to see if he gets on track, but not optimistic of stud JV returning; maybe a 3.50 at best
90	Mike Montgomery	TBD	Schedule isn't currently listing him w/the return of Iwakuma, but I can't see him being pushed out entirely ahead of Elias
91	Alfredo Simon	at SEA, at MIN	I mean, we knew he wasn't a 2.58 ERA, but he's allowed 18 ER in his last three starts (they account for 45% of his season ER)
92	Chris Young	TB, TOR
93	Carlos Rodon	at CHC
94	Wandy Rodriguez	SD
95	R.A. Dickey	at CWS
96	Andrew Heaney	at COL, at SEA	The trip to COL makes this essentially a one-start week, but so far he's showing why he is such a highly touted prospect
97	Vincent Velasquez	at CLE, at TB
98	Ervin Santana	DET	I'd prefer to sit the first one out, but the AL pitching isn't good enough to let a quality arm sit for a start, even vs. a legit offense
99	Collin McHugh	at CLE
100	Kyle Gibson	BAL	Ks thru first 6: 0, 3, 0, 3, 5, 1; has 54 Ks in 64.3 IP since with a 3.08 ERA and 1.18 WHIP; I think we're seeing real growth