This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
Weather wreaked havoc on last week's rankings. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate and keep the probable starters on course this week. There's some serious muscle at the top of the ranks with some interesting choices in the middle. The week features the return of Sonny Gray and Chris Tillman along with the 2017 debut of top prospect Jose Berrios.
I'll update as necessary in the comments. As always, please don't hesitate to ask questions.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | Four straight with double-digit whiffs |
2 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at DET, at KC | Beginning to roll |
3 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. LAA, vs. TEX | Skills supporting sparkling ratios |
4 | Justin Verlander | DET | vs. CLE, at OAK | Mechanical adjustment seems to have helped |
5 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at NYY, at TB | |
6 | Danny Duffy | KC | vs. CWS, vs. CLE | Should rebound from tough outing on the south side of Chicago |
7 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at HOU, at SEA | |
8 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | at MIA, vs. TOR | Returning from the DL for a pair against struggling offenses in pitchers' venues |
9 | Lance McCullers | HOU | vs. TEX, at LAA | .353 BABIP candidate to regress |
10 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | at SEA, vs. HOU | |
11 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at DET | |
12 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | |
13 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. TOR, at CHC | Wrigley a concern, but the guy is dealing |
14 | Yu Darvish | TEX | at HOU | |
15 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. |
Weather wreaked havoc on last week's rankings. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate and keep the probable starters on course this week. There's some serious muscle at the top of the ranks with some interesting choices in the middle. The week features the return of Sonny Gray and Chris Tillman along with the 2017 debut of top prospect Jose Berrios.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MLB
I'll update as necessary in the comments. As always, please don't hesitate to ask questions.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | Four straight with double-digit whiffs |
2 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at DET, at KC | Beginning to roll |
3 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. LAA, vs. TEX | Skills supporting sparkling ratios |
4 | Justin Verlander | DET | vs. CLE, at OAK | Mechanical adjustment seems to have helped |
5 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at NYY, at TB | |
6 | Danny Duffy | KC | vs. CWS, vs. CLE | Should rebound from tough outing on the south side of Chicago |
7 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at HOU, at SEA | |
8 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | at MIA, vs. TOR | Returning from the DL for a pair against struggling offenses in pitchers' venues |
9 | Lance McCullers | HOU | vs. TEX, at LAA | .353 BABIP candidate to regress |
10 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | at SEA, vs. HOU | |
11 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at DET | |
12 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | |
13 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. TOR, at CHC | Wrigley a concern, but the guy is dealing |
14 | Yu Darvish | TEX | at HOU | |
15 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. TOR | |
16 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. TOR | |
17 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | vs. DET | Helped by home-field advantage |
18 | Joe Musgrove | HOU | vs. TEX | |
19 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at LAA | |
20 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. CLE | |
21 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at DET | |
22 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | at TB | |
23 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at MIN, vs. DET | Use at your own risk, we don't know who Gray is yet |
24 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at NYY | |
25 | Ian Kennedy | KC | vs. CWS | |
26 | Michael Pineda | NYY | at CHC | |
27 | Jose Quintana | CWS | at KC, at BAL | Regaining form, will be tested with road pair |
28 | Mike Fiers | HOU | vs. TEX, at LAA | Homers an issue |
29 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at BOS, vs. CWS | |
30 | Alex Cobb | TB | at MIA, vs. TOR | |
31 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | vs. LAA | |
32 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | at DET, at KC | Consider benching if ratios are a concern, rank driven by W and K potential |
33 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. TEX | Quite the find for the Astros |
34 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. BAL | |
35 | Ervin Santana | MIN | vs. BOS | |
36 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | at TB | |
37 | Matt Andriese | TB | vs. MIA | |
38 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at OAK | |
39 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | at KC | |
40 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. MIA | |
41 | Jason Hammel | KC | vs. CWS | |
42 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | vs. TEX | |
43 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at MIN | |
44 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at BOS, vs. CWS | Making his 2016 debut with a double dip |
45 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at SEA | |
46 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | vs. HOU | |
47 | Jose Berrios | MIN | vs. BOS | Crushing Triple-A, expected to get the call this week |
48 | Jesse Hahn | OAK | vs. DET | |
49 | JC Ramirez | LAA | vs. HOU | |
50 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | vs. LAA | |
51 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | at CHC | |
52 | Daniel Norris | DET | vs. CLE, at OAK | |
53 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | at MIN | |
54 | Nathan Karns | KC | vs. CWS, vs. CLE | |
55 | Jason Vargas | KC | vs. CLE | Still seeing smoke and mirrors, your team, your call |
56 | A.J. Griffin | TEX | at HOU | |
57 | Steven Wright | BOS | vs. BAL | |
58 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at SEA | |
59 | Martin Perez | TEX | at SEA | |
60 | Wade Miley | BAL | vs. CWS | |
61 | Hector Santiago | MIN | vs. OAK, vs. BOS | 4.81 xFIP suggests an ERA correction is coming |
62 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. TOR | |
63 | Phil Hughes | MIN | vs. OAK | |
64 | Dylan Covey | CWS | at KC, at BAL | |
65 | Kendall Graveman | OAK | at MIN | |
66 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | at BAL | |
67 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. CLE | Battled nicely last time out, but 5.05 xFIP says still work to do |
68 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | at HOU, at SEA | |
69 | Mat Latos | TOR | at NYY | |
70 | Derek Holland | CWS | at KC | |
71 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at BOS | Easily my biggest miss. Figures, first year I joined the bandwagon. |
72 | James Shields | CWS | at KC | |
73 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. OAK | |
74 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | at BOS |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rank | Pitcher | TEAM | Opponent(s) | Comments |
1 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. SF, at SD | Weather pushed last week's double-dip to this week |
2 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | |
3 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. MIL, at ATL | Slow start but should rack up serious whiffs this week |
4 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. ARI, at PHI | |
5 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at LAD, at CIN | |
6 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at CIN, vs. MIL | |
7 | Julio Teheran | ATL | vs. NYM, vs. STL | Walks costing some innings, home cooking should help |
8 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. ARI | |
9 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | vs. MIA | |
10 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | vs. PHI | |
11 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at PHI | |
12 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | vs. TB, at NYM | Driven by two favorable match-ups |
13 | John Lackey | CHC | vs. PHI | |
14 | Matt Harvey | NYM | at ATL, vs. MIA | |
15 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at ATL | 35 strikeouts in last three starts |
16 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. NYY | Much better last time out |
17 | Joe Ross | WAS | at PHI | |
18 | Julio Urias | LAD | vs. SF | 2017 debut, likely up for good |
19 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. SF | Another strong outing could push Rich Hill to bullpen |
20 | Lance Lynn | STL | vs. MIL | Rounding into form, 17 K with 5 BB over last 19 IP |
21 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | at SD | Homers allowed with regress |
22 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at CIN | |
23 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at CIN | |
24 | Zack Greinke | ARI | at WAS | Welcome back, Zack |
25 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | at SD, vs. ARI | |
26 | Tyler Lyons | STL | vs. MIL | Just a spot start a result of last week's doubleheader |
27 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at SD | |
28 | Aaron Nola | PHI | vs. WAS | |
29 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | vs. MIL | Protected by PNC Park and Brewers fan a ton |
30 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | at LAD | Frustratingly inconsistent |
31 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. ARI | |
32 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. TB, at NYM | High risk, medium reward |
33 | Robert Gsellman | NYM | at ATL, vs. MIA | Strikeouts there, but so are walks |
34 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. MIL | |
35 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | vs. NYM, vs. STL | |
36 | Zach Davies | MIL | at STL, at PIT | Needs to start going deeper into games |
37 | Michael Wacha | STL | at ATL | |
38 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | vs. NYM | |
39 | Tyler Glasnow | PIT | at CIN, vs. MIL | Walks obviously a big issue, needs to find consistent release point |
40 | Matt Moore | SF | at LAD | |
41 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | vs. STL | Tossed 7 frames each of last two starts, walks still a bit high |
42 | Mike Leake | STL | at ATL | |
43 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. COL | |
44 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at CHC, vs. WAS | Still needs to harness control |
45 | Bartolo Colon | ATL | vs. NYM | |
46 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | at CHC | |
47 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | at CHC | |
48 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | at SD | |
49 | Brett Anderson | CHC | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | Pedestrian peripherals but pair at home puts him in play |
50 | Dan Straily | MIA | at TB | |
51 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | at WAS, at COL | Throwing very well, pair of tough road affairs on the docket |
52 | Adam Conley | MIA | at TB | Should bounce back from last week's disaster, but still meh |
53 | Trevor Cahill | SD | vs. COL, vs. LAD | Use him if you have him, but don't spend a lot to pick him up for the pair |
54 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at SD | |
55 | Scott Feldman | CIN | vs. PIT, vs. SF | |
56 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at WAS | Walks still high, so is upside |
57 | Tim Adleman | CIN | vs. PIT | |
58 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at STL | |
59 | Jered Weaver | SD | vs. COL | |
60 | Ty Blach | SF | at CIN | |
61 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | at ATL | |
62 | Tyler Anderson | COL | vs. ARI | |
63 | Amir Garrett | CIN | vs. SF | The ups and downs of an MLB rookie hurler… |
64 | Rookie Davis | CIN | vs. PIT, vs. SF | |
65 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | at STL | |
66 | Tom Koehler | MIA | at NYM | |
67 | Bronson Arroyo | CIN | vs. PIT | |
68 | Wily Peralta | MIL | at STL, at PIT | |
69 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. LAD | |
70 | German Marquez | COL | vs. ARI | |
71 | Matt Cain | SF | at CIN | |
72 | Matt Garza | MIL | at PIT | |
73 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at CHC | |
74 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | vs. LAD | |
75 | Zack Godley | ARI | at COL | |
76 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | at COL |
MLB
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | COMMENT |
1 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. SF, at SD | Weather pushed last week's double-dip to this week |
2 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | Four straight with double-digit whiffs |
3 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | |
4 | Corey Kluber | CLE | at DET, at KC | Beginning to roll |
5 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. MIL, at ATL | Slow start but should rack up serious whiffs this week |
6 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. LAA, vs. TEX | Skills supporting sparkling ratios |
7 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. ARI, at PHI | |
8 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at LAD, at CIN | |
9 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | at CIN, vs. MIL | |
10 | Justin Verlander | DET | vs. CLE, at OAK | Mechanical adjustment seems to have helped |
11 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at NYY, at TB | |
12 | Danny Duffy | KC | vs. CWS, vs. CLE | Should rebound from tough outing on the south side of Chicago |
13 | Julio Teheran | ATL | vs. NYM, vs. STL | Walks costing some innings, home cooking should help |
14 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at HOU, at SEA | |
15 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. ARI | |
16 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | vs. MIA | |
17 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | at MIA, vs. TOR | Returning from the DL for a pair against struggling offenses in pitchers' venues |
18 | Lance McCullers | HOU | vs. TEX, at LAA | .353 BABIP candidate to regress |
19 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | vs. PHI | |
20 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA | at SEA, vs. HOU | |
21 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | at PHI | |
22 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at DET | |
23 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | vs. TB, at NYM | Driven by two favorable match-ups |
24 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. BAL, at MIN | |
25 | Luis Severino | NYY | vs. TOR, at CHC | Wrigley a concern, but the guy is dealing |
26 | Yu Darvish | TEX | at HOU | |
27 | John Lackey | CHC | vs. PHI | |
28 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. TOR | |
29 | Matt Harvey | NYM | at ATL, vs. MIA | |
30 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | at ATL | 35 strikeouts in last three starts |
31 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. NYY | Much better last time out |
32 | Joe Ross | WAS | at PHI | |
33 | Julio Urias | LAD | vs. SF | 2017 debut, likely up for good |
34 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. TOR | |
35 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | vs. DET | Helped by home-field advantage |
36 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. SF | Another strong outing could push Rich Hill to bullpen |
37 | Joe Musgrove | HOU | vs. TEX | |
38 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at LAA | |
39 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. CLE | |
40 | Lance Lynn | STL | vs. MIL | Rounding into form, 17 K with 5 BB over last 19 IP |
41 | Danny Salazar | CLE | at DET | |
42 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | at SD | Homers allowed with regress |
43 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at CIN | |
44 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at CIN | |
45 | Zack Greinke | ARI | at WAS | Welcome back, Zack |
46 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | at TB | |
47 | Tyler Chatwood | COL | at SD, vs. ARI | |
48 | Sonny Gray | OAK | at MIN, vs. DET | Use at your own risk, we don't know who Gray is yet |
49 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at NYY | |
50 | Ian Kennedy | KC | vs. CWS | |
51 | Tyler Lyons | STL | vs. MIL | Just a spot start a result of last week's doubleheader |
52 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at SD | |
53 | Michael Pineda | NYY | at CHC | |
54 | Jose Quintana | CWS | at KC, at BAL | Regaining form, will be tested with road pair |
55 | Mike Fiers | HOU | vs. TEX, at LAA | Homers an issue |
56 | Aaron Nola | PHI | vs. WAS | |
57 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | vs. MIL | Protected by PNC Park and Brewers fan a ton |
58 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | at LAD | Frustratingly inconsistent |
59 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. ARI | |
60 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at BOS, vs. CWS | |
61 | Edinson Volquez | MIA | vs. TB, at NYM | High risk, medium reward |
62 | Alex Cobb | TB | at MIA, vs. TOR | |
63 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | vs. LAA | |
64 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | at DET, at KC | Consider benching if ratios are a concern, rank driven by W and K potential |
65 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. TEX | Quite the find for the Astros |
66 | Robert Gsellman | NYM | at ATL, vs. MIA | Strikeouts there, but so are walks |
67 | Adam Wainwright | STL | vs. MIL | |
68 | R.A. Dickey | ATL | vs. NYM, vs. STL | |
69 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. BAL | |
70 | Zach Davies | MIL | at STL, at PIT | Needs to start going deeper into games |
71 | Ervin Santana | MIN | vs. BOS | |
72 | Michael Wacha | STL | at ATL | |
73 | Jaime Garcia | ATL | vs. NYM | |
74 | Tyler Glasnow | PIT | at CIN, vs. MIL | Walks obviously a big issue, needs to find consistent release point |
75 | Matt Moore | SF | at LAD | |
76 | Francisco Liriano | TOR | at TB | |
77 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | vs. STL | Tossed 7 frames each of last two starts, walks still a bit high |
78 | Matt Andriese | TB | vs. MIA | |
79 | Mike Leake | STL | at ATL | |
80 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at OAK | |
81 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | at KC | |
82 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. MIA | |
83 | Luis Perdomo | SD | vs. COL | |
84 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at CHC, vs. WAS | Still needs to harness control |
85 | Bartolo Colon | ATL | vs. NYM | |
86 | Jason Hammel | KC | vs. CWS | |
87 | Yovani Gallardo | SEA | vs. TEX | |
88 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | at MIN | |
89 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at BOS, vs. CWS | Making his 2016 debut with a double dip |
90 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at SEA | |
91 | Jesse Chavez | LAA | vs. HOU | |
92 | Jose Berrios | MIN | vs. BOS | Crushing Triple-A, expected to get the call this week |
93 | Jeremy Hellickson | PHI | at CHC | |
94 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI | at CHC | |
95 | Jesse Hahn | OAK | vs. DET | |
96 | Brandon McCarthy | LAD | at SD | |
97 | Brett Anderson | CHC | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | Pedestrian peripherals but pair at home puts him in play |
98 | JC Ramirez | LAA | vs. HOU | |
99 | Dan Straily | MIA | at TB | |
100 | Ariel Miranda | SEA | vs. LAA | |
101 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | at CHC | |
102 | Daniel Norris | DET | vs. CLE, at OAK | |
103 | Jharel Cotton | OAK | at MIN | |
104 | Nathan Karns | KC | vs. CWS, vs. CLE | |
105 | Taijuan Walker | ARI | at WAS, at COL | Throwing very well, pair of tough road affairs on the docket |
106 | Jason Vargas | KC | vs. CLE | Still seeing smoke and mirrors, your team, your call |
107 | Adam Conley | MIA | at TB | Should bounce back from last week's disaster, but still meh |
108 | A.J. Griffin | TEX | at HOU | |
109 | Steven Wright | BOS | vs. BAL | |
110 | Trevor Cahill | SD | vs. COL, vs. LAD | Use him if you have him, but don't spend a lot to pick him up for the pair |
111 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at SD | |
112 | Scott Feldman | CIN | vs. PIT, vs. SF | |
113 | Robbie Ray | ARI | at WAS | Walks still high, so is upside |
114 | Ricky Nolasco | LAA | at SEA | |
115 | Tim Adleman | CIN | vs. PIT | |
116 | Martin Perez | TEX | at SEA | |
117 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at STL | |
118 | Jered Weaver | SD | vs. COL | |
119 | Wade Miley | BAL | vs. CWS | |
120 | Hector Santiago | MIN | vs. OAK, vs. BOS | 4.81 xFIP suggests an ERA correction is coming |
121 | Ty Blach | SF | at CIN | |
122 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. TOR | |
123 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | at ATL | |
124 | Tyler Anderson | COL | vs. ARI | |
125 | Amir Garrett | CIN | vs. SF | The ups and downs of an MLB rookie hurler ... |
126 | Phil Hughes | MIN | vs. OAK | |
127 | Rookie Davis | CIN | vs. PIT, vs. SF | |
128 | Dylan Covey | CWS | at KC, at BAL | |
129 | Kendall Graveman | OAK | at MIN | |
130 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | at STL | |
131 | Tom Koehler | MIA | at NYM | |
132 | Miguel Gonzalez | CWS | at BAL | |
133 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. CLE | Battled nicely last time out, but 5.05 xFIP says still work to do |
134 | Bronson Arroyo | CIN | vs. PIT | |
135 | Wily Peralta | MIL | at STL, at PIT | |
136 | Andrew Cashner | TEX | at HOU, at SEA | |
137 | Mat Latos | TOR | at NYY | |
138 | Derek Holland | CWS | at KC | |
139 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. LAD | |
140 | German Marquez | COL | vs. ARI | |
141 | Matt Cain | SF | at CIN | |
142 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at BOS | Easily my biggest miss. Figures, first year I joined the bandwagon. |
143 | Matt Garza | MIL | at PIT | |
144 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at CHC | |
145 | Jhoulys Chacin | SD | vs. LAD | |
146 | James Shields | CWS | at KC | |
147 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. OAK | |
148 | Zack Godley | ARI | at COL | |
149 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | at COL | |
150 | Ubaldo Jimenez | BAL | at BOS |