Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Tenuous September Schedule

Written by

Updated on September 1, 2018 2:36PM EST

Well, I have good news and bad news. Let's start with the bad. It's roster expansion weekend so the scheduled starters are even more tenuous than normal. The good news is, with all 30 teams in action Monday, we'll have a clearer idea than normal with respect to early week rotations since no one will wait until Monday to announce their plans.

Note the early 1:05 p.m. EDT start time for the holiday slate, so be sure to set your lineups before heading out to celebrate the pseudo-end of summer.

UPDATED: Sunday September 2, 10:25 PM ET

For the week, Sept. 3-9.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. KC, at TOR	Stepped up while Bauer has been out
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. KC	Strikeouts inching back up
3	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. MIN, at BOS
4	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIN
5	Blake Snell	TB	vs. BAL	Injuries to others propel Snell into Cy Young talk
6	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. HOU	VERY tentative
7	Luis Severino	NYY	at OAK
8	Michael Kopech	CWS	vs. DET
9	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR	4.12 ERA at ASB, 1.90 since with 1.00 WHIP and 66 K in 52 IP
10	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. DET	Figuring things out, get ready for name on a bunch of break out lists
11	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. BAL
12	Alex Cobb	BAL	at SEA, at TB	2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP the last three weeks, despite posting peripheralls nearly

Note the early 1:05 p.m. EDT start time for the holiday slate, so be sure to set your lineups before heading out to celebrate the pseudo-end of summer.

UPDATED: Sunday September 2, 10:25 PM ET

For the week, Sept. 3-9.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. KC, at TOR	Stepped up while Bauer has been out
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. KC	Strikeouts inching back up
3	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. MIN, at BOS
4	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIN
5	Blake Snell	TB	vs. BAL	Injuries to others propel Snell into Cy Young talk
6	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. HOU	VERY tentative
7	Luis Severino	NYY	at OAK
8	Michael Kopech	CWS	vs. DET
9	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR	4.12 ERA at ASB, 1.90 since with 1.00 WHIP and 66 K in 52 IP
10	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. DET	Figuring things out, get ready for name on a bunch of break out lists
11	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. BAL
12	Alex Cobb	BAL	at SEA, at TB	2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP the last three weeks, despite posting peripheralls nearly identical to season-long levels
13	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. DET, vs. LAA
14	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. KC
15	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. LAA
16	James Paxton	SEA	vs. NYY	Hoping to return
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
18	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	at CWS	How many innings will he throw?
19	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
20	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB, vs. CLE
21	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. BAL
22	CC Sabathia	NYY	at OAK, at SEA	Three straight QS with 21 K in 18 IP
23	Lance Lynn	NYY	at SEA
24	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CWS, vs. STL	Averaging 4.1 IP for last three starts
25	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. STL
26	Rick Porcello	BOS	at ATL
27	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA	Aided by Angels struggles versus LHP
28	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at HOU
29	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB
30	Ryan Borucki	TOR	vs. TB
31	Trevor Cahill	OAK	vs. NYY, vs. TEX	Tough draws, in a rut lately
32	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at HOU
33	Shane Bieber	CLE	at TOR
34	Stephen Gonsalves	MIN	vs. KC
35	Jalen Beeks	TB	at TOR, vs. BAL
36	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at BOS
37	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL
38	J.A. Happ	NYY	at OAK
39	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. KC, at TOR
40	Josh Rogers	BAL	at SEA
41	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. NYY	In a rough patch, though pitching at home helps
42	Felix Pena	LAA	at CWS
43	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at ATL
44	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at TEX, at CWS
45	Thomas Pannone	TOR	vs. TB
46	David Price	BOS	vs. HOU
47	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. TEX
48	Hector Velazquez	BOS	at ATL
49	Danny Duffy	KC	at CLE
50	Zack Littell	MIN	vs. KC
51	Charlie Morton	HOU	at BOS
52	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. CLE
53	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CWS
54	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. CLE
55	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at SEA
56	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at OAK
57	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CLE
58	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at TEX
59	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
60	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CWS
61	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. HOU
62	Ian Kennedy	KC	at MIN
63	Jakob Junis	KC	at CLE
64	Edwin Jackson	OAK	vs. TEX
65	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. NYY
66	Yohander Mendez	TEX	at OAK
67	James Shields	CWS	vs. LAA
68	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at TOR
69	J.B. Wendelken	OAK	vs. NYY
70	Jorge Lopez	KC	at MIN
71	Kohl Stewart	MIN	at HOU
72	Jaime Barria	LAA	at TEX
73	Drew Hutchison	TEX	vs. LAA
74	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. MIN
75	David Hess	BAL	at TB
76	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at OAK
77	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at MIN
78	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. STL
79	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. LAA
80	Brad Keller	KC	at CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. STL, vs. CHC
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at LAD, vs. PHI
3	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD, vs. ATL	Pitching much better than recent ERA suggests
4	Jack Flaherty	STL	at WAS, at DET	Leading the resurgent Cardinals towards a playoff berth
5	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. NYM, at COL	Using an arm in Coors less scary than previous seasons
6	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIL, at WAS	Strong contender for NL pitcher of the month with .69 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 38 K in 39 IP
7	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL, at MIL	Not as dominant this season, tough matchups
8	Aaron Nola	PHI	at NYM	Case can be made for first pitcher taken in a startup dynasty league
9	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. SD	Call me stubborn, but basal skills still solid
10	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL
11	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. ATL
12	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. NYM
13	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC
14	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
15	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SD	Someone please remind Ray walks are a bad thing
16	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at MIA
17	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. MIA
18	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. SD
19	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. SF
20	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. CIN
21	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at MIA
22	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS
23	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. STL
24	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. SF, vs. LAD
25	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIA
26	Cody Reed	CIN	at PIT, vs. SD	1.71 ERA, .86 WHIP with 26:2 K:BB in 21 IP previous to call-up
27	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CHC, vs. SF
28	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at ARI
29	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. NYM
30	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
31	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. ATL
32	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PHI
33	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CIN
34	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at WAS
35	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. PHI
36	Kevin Gausman	ATL	at ARI
37	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at MIA, at NYM
38	Touki Toussaint	ATL	vs. BOS, at ARI
39	Julio Teheran	ATL	at ARI
40	German Marquez	COL	vs. SF
41	Jason Vargas	NYM	at LAD
42	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL
43	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. SF
44	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SF
45	Miles Mikolas	STL	at WAS
46	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
47	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. BOS
48	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. CHC
49	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at MIL, at WAS
50	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CIN, vs. MIA
51	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at LAD
52	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at ARI
53	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. BOS	I was a year too early - Everyone in the industry
54	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. PHI, at PIT
55	Clay Buchholz	ARI	vs. ATL
56	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. LAD
57	Chris Stratton	SF	at MIL
58	Matt Harvey	CIN	at PIT, vs. SD
59	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at PIT
60	Daniel Poncedeleon	STL	at DET
61	Walker Buehler	LAD	at COL
62	John Gant	STL	at WAS
63	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAD
64	Derek Holland	SF	at MIL
65	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. STL, vs. CHC
66	Austin Gomber	STL	at DET
67	Jeff Brigham	MIA	at PIT
68	Jacob Nix	SD	at CIN
69	Brett Kennedy	SD	at CIN
70	Robbie Erlin	SD	at CIN
71	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at COL
72	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CHC
73	Jefry Rodriguez	WAS	vs. CHC
74	Homer Bailey	CIN	at PIT
75	Eric Lauer	SD	at CIN
76	Andrew Suarez	SF	at COL
77	Bryan Mitchell	SD	at ARI

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. STL, vs. CHC
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at LAD, vs. PHI
3	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. KC, at TOR	Stepped up while Bauer has been out
4	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SD, vs. ATL	Pitching much better than recent ERA suggests
5	Jack Flaherty	STL	at WAS, at DET	Leading the resurgent Cardinals towards a playoff berth
6	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. KC	Strikeouts inching back up
7	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. MIN, at BOS
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIN
9	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. NYM, at COL	Using an arm in Coors less scary than previous seasons
10	Blake Snell	TB	vs. BAL	Injuries to others propel Snell into Cy Young talk
11	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIL, at WAS	Strong contender for NL pitcher of the month with .69 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 38 K in 39 IP
12	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL, at MIL	Not as dominant this season, tough matchups
13	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. HOU	VERY tentative
14	Aaron Nola	PHI	at NYM	Case can be made for first pitcher taken in a startup dynasty league
15	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. SD	Call me stubborn, but basal skills still solid
16	Luis Severino	NYY	at OAK
17	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL
18	Michael Kopech	CWS	vs. DET
19	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. ATL
20	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. NYM
21	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC
22	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
23	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SD	Someone please remind Ray walks are a bad thing
24	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR	4.12 ERA at ASB, 1.90 since with 1.00 WHIP and 66 K in 52 IP
25	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. DET	Figuring things out, get ready for name on a bunch of break out lists
26	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. BAL
27	Alex Cobb	BAL	at SEA, at TB	2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP the last three weeks, despite posting peripheralls nearly identical to season-long levels
28	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. DET, vs. LAA
29	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at MIA
30	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. KC
31	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. MIA
32	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. LAA
33	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. SD
34	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. SF
35	James Paxton	SEA	vs. NYY	Hoping to return
36	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
37	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	at CWS	How many innings will he throw?
38	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
39	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. CIN
40	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at MIA
41	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. TB, vs. CLE
42	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS
43	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. BAL
44	CC Sabathia	NYY	at OAK, at SEA	Three straight QS with 21 K in 18 IP
45	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. STL
46	Lance Lynn	NYY	at SEA
47	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CWS, vs. STL	Averaging 4.1 IP for last three starts
48	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. STL
49	Rick Porcello	BOS	at ATL
50	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA
51	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. SF, vs. LAD
52	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIA
53	Cody Reed	CIN	at PIT, vs. SD	1.71 ERA, .86 WHIP with 26:2 K:BB in 21 IP previous to call-up
54	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at HOU
55	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB
56	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CHC, vs. SF
57	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	at ARI
58	Ryan Borucki	TOR	vs. TB
59	Trevor Cahill	OAK	vs. NYY, vs. TEX	Tough draws, in a rut lately
60	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. NYM
61	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at HOU
62	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
63	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. ATL
64	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. PHI
65	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CIN
66	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at WAS
67	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. PHI
68	Shane Bieber	CLE	at TOR
69	Kevin Gausman	ATL	at ARI
70	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at MIA, at NYM
71	Touki Toussaint	ATL	vs. BOS, at ARI
72	Julio Teheran	ATL	at ARI
73	Stephen Gonsalves	MIN	vs. KC
74	German Marquez	COL	vs. SF
75	Jalen Beeks	TB	at TOR, vs. BAL
76	Jason Vargas	NYM	at LAD
77	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at BOS
78	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL
79	J.A. Happ	NYY	at OAK
80	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. KC, at TOR
81	Josh Rogers	BAL	at SEA
82	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. NYY	In a rough patch, though pitching at home helps
83	Felix Pena	LAA	at CWS
84	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL
85	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at ATL
86	Junior Guerra	MIL	vs. SF
87	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. SF
88	Miles Mikolas	STL	at WAS
89	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at TEX, at CWS
90	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
91	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. BOS
92	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. CHC
93	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at MIL, at WAS
94	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CIN, vs. MIA
95	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at LAD
96	Thomas Pannone	TOR	vs. TB
97	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at ARI
98	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. BOS	I was a year too early - Everyone in the industry
99	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. PHI, at PIT
100	David Price	BOS	vs. HOU
101	Clay Buchholz	ARI	vs. ATL
102	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. TEX
103	Hector Velazquez	BOS	at ATL
104	Danny Duffy	KC	at CLE
105	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. LAD
106	Chris Stratton	SF	at MIL
107	Zack Littell	MIN	vs. KC
108	Charlie Morton	HOU	at BOS
109	Matt Harvey	CIN	at PIT, vs. SD
110	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. CLE
111	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	at PIT
112	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CWS
113	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. CLE
114	Daniel Poncedeleon	STL	at DET
115	Walker Buehler	LAD	at COL
116	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at SEA
117	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at OAK
118	John Gant	STL	at WAS
119	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CLE
120	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at TEX
121	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
122	Francisco Liriano	DET	at CWS
123	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. HOU
124	Ian Kennedy	KC	at MIN
125	Jakob Junis	KC	at CLE
126	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAD
127	Derek Holland	SF	at MIL
128	Edwin Jackson	OAK	vs. TEX
129	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. NYY
130	Yohander Mendez	TEX	at OAK
131	Erick Fedde	WAS	vs. STL, vs. CHC
132	James Shields	CWS	vs. LAA
133	Austin Gomber	STL	at DET
134	Jeff Brigham	MIA	at PIT
135	Jacob Nix	SD	at CIN
136	Brett Kennedy	SD	at CIN
137	Robbie Erlin	SD	at CIN
138	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at TOR
139	J.B. Wendelken	OAK	vs. NYY
140	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at COL
141	Jorge Lopez	KC	at MIN
142	Kohl Stewart	MIN	at HOU
143	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CHC
144	Jaime Barria	LAA	at TEX
145	Jefry Rodriguez	WAS	vs. CHC
146	Drew Hutchison	TEX	vs. LAA
147	Homer Bailey	CIN	at PIT
148	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. MIN
149	David Hess	BAL	at TB
150	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	at OAK
151	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at MIN
152	Eric Lauer	SD	at CIN
153	Andrew Suarez	SF	at COL
154	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. STL
155	Bryan Mitchell	SD	at ARI
156	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. LAA
157	Brad Keller	KC	at CLE