Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Yu the Man This Week

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Updated on August 20, 2016 7:54PM 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 Aug. 22-28

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Yu Darvish	at CIN, CLE	HRs are slightly annoying, but 8 of the 9 are solo shots; 57 Ks and 7.1 K:BB ratio in 43.3 IP since DL return
2	Carlos Carrasco	at OAK, at TEX	Don't get too hung up on the 4.35 ERA over his last three starts, it comes with 28 Ks and just 2 BBs over 20.7 IP; he's fine
3	Justin Verlander	LAA
4	Corey Kluber	at TEX	A 1.65 ERA over his last seven starts has thrust him into the Cy Young convo
5	Chris Sale	SEA
6	Jose Quintana	SEA
7	Aaron Sanchez	MIN	Has finished 7 IP in four of his five starts since the break without once eclipsing 100 pitches
8	Cole Hamels	at CIN
9	Danny Duffy	at BOS	Hate the matchup, but he's one of a small group I'd still start against them
10	Masahiro Tanaka	at SEA	He'll hit ya w/a clunker every 5-6 starts, but he's been really good this yr overall (0-2 ER in 64% of his 25 starts)
11	J.A. Happ	LAA
12	Michael Fulmer	at MIN
13	Matt Shoemaker	at TOR	It's

For the week Aug. 22-28

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Yu Darvish	at CIN, CLE	HRs are slightly annoying, but 8 of the 9 are solo shots; 57 Ks and 7.1 K:BB ratio in 43.3 IP since DL return
2	Carlos Carrasco	at OAK, at TEX	Don't get too hung up on the 4.35 ERA over his last three starts, it comes with 28 Ks and just 2 BBs over 20.7 IP; he's fine
3	Justin Verlander	LAA
4	Corey Kluber	at TEX	A 1.65 ERA over his last seven starts has thrust him into the Cy Young convo
5	Chris Sale	SEA
6	Jose Quintana	SEA
7	Aaron Sanchez	MIN	Has finished 7 IP in four of his five starts since the break without once eclipsing 100 pitches
8	Cole Hamels	at CIN
9	Danny Duffy	at BOS	Hate the matchup, but he's one of a small group I'd still start against them
10	Masahiro Tanaka	at SEA	He'll hit ya w/a clunker every 5-6 starts, but he's been really good this yr overall (0-2 ER in 64% of his 25 starts)
11	J.A. Happ	LAA
12	Michael Fulmer	at MIN
13	Matt Shoemaker	at TOR	It's time for Paul's Weekly Cross-Promotion: wrote about Shoe twice at FG this week (first piece linked in second)
14	David Price	at TB, KC
15	Chris Archer	BOS, at HOU
16	Danny Salazar	at OAK, at TEX	Didn't look any healhtier in his return from the DL, but threw a pen right after so maybe he's just working out kinks; cautious rank
17	Marco Estrada	LAA
18	Rick Porcello	at TB
19	Dallas Keuchel	TB	8 QS in his last 10, but the two off starts were really bad (13 ER in 10 IP) so it's still just a 3.72 ERA in the 65.3 IP
20	Chris Tillman	at WAS
21	Jake Odorizzi	BOS
22	Felix Hernandez	at CWS
23	Kevin Gausman	WAS, at NYY	Finally seeing the consistent strikeout ability his raw stuff deserves: 67 in his last 59 IP; career-high 24% K this yr
24	Dylan Bundy	WAS, at NYY
25	Marcus Stroman	MIN
26	Drew Smyly	at HOU	Good Smyly is back, but for how long? (2.25 ERA, 0.94 WHIP in 32 IP over last 5)
27	Sean Manaea	CLE
28	Drew Pomeranz	at TB
29	Carlos Rodon	PHI	Just 4 ER in 18 IP during August (16 Ks too)
30	Blake Snell	BOS, at HOU	Getting knicked at TOR is hardly a crime and only 2 of the 5 were earned; 2.50 ERA, 46 Ks in L7, but also 20 BB in the 36 IP
31	Hisashi Iwakuma	NYY, at CWS
32	Eduardo Rodriguez	KC
33	Michael Pineda	at SEA, BAL
34	CC Sabathia	at SEA
35	Trevor Bauer	at OAK
36	Chad Green	BAL	Showing flashes of Shane Greene's breakout w/NYY, including a very similar arsenal
37	Joe Musgrove	at PIT	Being thrashed at BAL is a rite of passage, I'm kinda impressed he still made it into the 6th after 5 ER thru 2 IP
38	Yordano Ventura	at MIA, at BOS
39	Kyle Gibson	DET, at TOR
40	Doug Fister	at PIT, TB	He's really subject to his BABIP: .374 in L5 en route to a 5.20 ERA; .254 in previous 15 (2.92 ERA)
41	Tyler Skaggs	at TOR, at DET
42	Anibal Sanchez	at MIN, LAA
43	Matt Boyd	at MIN	He's quietly put up a 2.06 ERA in 39.3 IP since his return on July 9th
44	Mike Fiers	TB
45	Edinson Volquez	at MIA
46	R.A. Dickey	LAA
47	Josh Tomlin	at TEX
48	Collin McHugh	at PIT
49	Daniel Norris	LAA	Basically a 5-and-dive pitcher right now, but continues to flash very appealing stuff
50	Ian Kennedy	at BOS
51	A.J. Griffin	CLE	Kind of a poor man's Josh Tomlin as the worse WHIP and higher HR/9 casues a lot more damage
52	Ervin Santana	at TOR
53	Francisco Liriano	MIN	Two quality starts w/TOR out of three; not sure I'm trusting him in anything but desperate deep-leagues, but I'm watching
54	Matt Andriese	BOS	7 HR in his last three starts is not what you want to see before a start v. BOS
55	Tyler Duffey	DET
56	Ross Detwiler	at STL
57	Kendall Graveman	CLE
58	Derek Holland	CLE
59	Hector Santiago	at TOR
60	Martin Perez	CLE
61	Yovani Gallardo	at NYY
62	Jesse Hahn	at STL
63	Ricky Nolasco	at DET
64	James Shields	SEA	July was quite the mirage (1.78 ERA) and he has outright punishedanyone who believed in it (17.36 ERA in August)
65	Dillon Gee	at MIA
66	Cody Martin	NYY, at CWS
67	Jose Berrios	DET
68	Clay Buchholz	at TB
69	Luis Cessa	BAL
70	Wade LeBlanc	NYY
71	Andrew Triggs	CLE, at STL
72	Wade Miley	at WAS
73	Ariel Miranda	at CWS
73	Jered Weaver	at TOR
74	Anthony Ranaudo	PHI, SEA
75	Jhoulys Chacin	at DET

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Madison Bumgarner	at LAD	A Justin Ruggiano - yeah, he still plays - grand slam was his only blemish v. NYM
2	Jose Fernandez	KC	He's still obscene at home: 2.07 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 119 Ks, and 5.2 K:BB in 82.7 IP
3	Jacob deGrom	at STL	Had allowed 7 ER in 6 starts before SF roughed him up for 8
4	Max Scherzer	BAL
5	Johnny Cueto	at LAD
6	Jon Lester	at SD, at LAD
7	Stephen Strasburg	at BAL, COL	Three straight duds worthy of concern or just a tough stretch that included a trip to Coors? Not sure yet, but leaning toward former
8	Kenta Maeda	SF, CHC	Ya, he's only thishigh because of two starts, but he's having a really solid debut in the MLB
9	Jake Arrieta	at SD
10	Kyle Hendricks	at SD
11	Zack Greinke	ATL	Schedule gods gave him SD, ATL back-to-back to clean up the Boston Massacre (1.7 IP/9 ER)
12	Jason Hammel	at LAD
13	Noah Syndergaard	PHI
14	Adam Wainwright	NYM	August has been bumpy (8.53 ERA), but the bulk of the damage is 2 IP/7 ER at CHC as opposed to consistent thrashings
15	Carlos Martinez	NYM
16	Steven Matz	at STL	We know about the bone spurs, but now he was scratched Friday for his shoulder; talent is there, health remains suspect
17	Jon Gray	at MIL
18	Gerrit Cole	HOU	He's just offright now, not exactly sure why
19	Vince Velasquez	at NYM	Four scoreless fell apart in the final two innings… the travails of a young SP
20	Matt Moore	ATL
21	Tanner Roark	BAL	He's been great this season, but BAL is always tough so his ranking took a hit this week
22	Julio Teheran	at ARI
23	Jameson Taillon	HOU, at MIL	Seven straight quality starts: 2.25 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 37 Ks, and 9.3 K:BB ratio in 44 IP
24	Jaime Garcia	NYM, OAK
25	Zach Davies	COL, PIT
26	Anthony DeSclafani	at ARI	Quality starts in 10 of his last 11: 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65 Ks, 5.4 K:BB in 69.7 IP
27	Jerad Eickhoff	at CWS
28	Jeff Samardzija	ATL	When you really look at it, he's not much better than '15: 6.9 (2015)/6.6 (2016) K, 2.1/2.4 BB, 1.2/1.2 HR, 9.6/8.7 H
29	Gio Gonzalez	COL
30	Jeremy Hellickson	at NYM
31	Tyler Anderson	at MIL
32	Ivan Nova	HOU, at MIL	Was putting it together a bit w/NYY, too: 4.06 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 39 Ks, 4.3 K:BB in 44.3 IP since July 1st
33	Scott Kazmir	at CIN, CHC
34	Homer Bailey	LAD, at ARI	You're always gambling with a TJ returner, but velo is up and he's getting whiffs
35	Jimmy Nelson	COL, PIT
36	Mike Leake	OAK
37	Brandon Finnegan	at ARI	A trip to ARI is a little much for his volatility, be careful
38	Dan Straily	TEX	He's 2/3rds of an inning shy of nine straight quality starts: 2.68 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 44 Ks, 4.0 K:BB in 57 IP
39	Bartolo Colon	PHI
40	Robbie Ray	ATL
41	Tom Koehler	KC
42	Braden Shipley	CIN
43	Andrew Cashner	KC, SD	Two starts at home against less-than-excellent offenses could be a solid play… or he'll bury us, but I'm take the plunge in a deepmixer
44	Brett Anderson	CHC
45	Bud Norris	SF
46	Reynaldo Lopez	at BAL, COL
47	Rich Hill	SF	Still hasn't pitched with LA ...
48	Jeff Hoffman	at WAS	Profile not too far off of Jon Gray's, but it took Gray some time to adjust so temper expectations w/the Hoff
49	David Phelps	SD	He's looked sharp in three starts so far, but he's probably a five inning max kind of guy
50	Mike Montgomery	at LAD	Pitching coach Chris Bosio has done more w/less so if Montgomery shows some flashes here, I wouldn't be surprised at all
51	Zack Godley	ATL, CIN	He's not great, but a two-step at home that includes ATL is intriguing to me
52	Mike Foltynewicz	at ARI, at SF
53	Luke Weaver	OAK	Keeping a close eye on him, probably would take a shot in NL-only this week, too
54	Jake Thompson	at CWS
55	Archie Bradley	ATL, CIN
56	Edwin Jackson	CHC
57	Luis Perdomo	at MIA
58	Christian Friedrich	CHC
59	Ryan Vogelsong	at MIL
60	Wily Peralta	PIT
61	Chad Kuhl	at MIL
62	Jon Niese	at STL, PHI
63	Brent Suter	COL
64	Jake Peavy	at LAD, ATL
65	Jarred Cosart	at MIA
66	Adam Morgan	at NYM
67	Tyrell Jenkins	at ARI
68	Chad Bettis	at MIL, at WAS
69	Paul Clemens	CHC
70	Rob Whalen	at ARI, at SF
71	Matt Garza	PIT
72	Jorge De La Rosa	at WAS
73	Joel De La Cruz	at SF
74	Tim Adleman	TEX
75	Jose Urena	SD
76	Clayton Richard	at MIA

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Yu Darvish	at CIN, CLE	HRs are slightly annoying, but 8 of the 9 are solo shots; 57 Ks and 7.1 K:BB ratio in 43.3 IP since DL return
2	Carlos Carrasco	at OAK, at TEX	Don't get too hung up on the 4.35 ERA over his last three starts, it comes with 28 Ks and just 2 BBs over 20.7 IP; he's fine
3	Madison Bumgarner	at LAD	A Justin Ruggiano - yeah, he still plays - grand slam was his only blemish v. NYM
4	Jose Fernandez	KC	He's still obscene at home: 2.07 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 119 Ks, and 5.2 K:BB in 82.7 IP
5	Jacob deGrom	at STL	Had allowed 7 ER in 6 starts before SF roughed him up for 8
6	Justin Verlander	LAA
7	Max Scherzer	BAL
8	Corey Kluber	at TEX	A 1.65 ERA over his last seven starts has thrust him into the Cy Young convo
9	Johnny Cueto	at LAD
10	Jon Lester	at SD, at LAD
11	Stephen Strasburg	at BAL, COL	Three straight duds worthy of concern or just a tough stretch that included a trip to Coors? Not sure yet, but leaning toward former
12	Kenta Maeda	SF, CHC	Ya, he's only thishigh because of two starts, but he's having a really solid debut in the MLB
13	Chris Sale	SEA
14	Jose Quintana	SEA
15	Jake Arrieta	at SD
16	Kyle Hendricks	at SD
17	Zack Greinke	ATL	Schedule gods gave him SD, ATL back-to-back to clean up the Boston Massacre (1.7 IP/9 ER)
18	Aaron Sanchez	MIN	Has finished 7 IP in four of his five starts since the break without once eclipsing 100 pitches
19	Cole Hamels	at CIN
20	Jason Hammel	at LAD
21	Noah Syndergaard	PHI
22	Adam Wainwright	NYM	August has been bumpy (8.53 ERA), but the bulk of the damage is 2 IP/7 ER at CHC as opposed to consistent thrashings
23	Danny Duffy	at BOS	Hate the matchup, but he's one of a small group I'd still start against them
24	Masahiro Tanaka	at SEA	He'll hit ya w/a clunker every 5-6 starts, but he's been really good this yr overall (0-2 ER in 64% of his 25 starts)
25	J.A. Happ	LAA
26	Michael Fulmer	at MIN
27	Carlos Martinez	NYM
28	Steven Matz	at STL	We know about the bone spurs, but now he was scratched Friday for his shoulder; talent is there, health remains suspect
29	Matt Shoemaker	at TOR	It's time for Paul's Weekly Cross-Promotion: wrote about Shoe twice at FG this week (first piece linked in second)
30	David Price	at TB, KC
31	Chris Archer	BOS, at HOU
32	Jon Gray	at MIL
33	Gerrit Cole	HOU	He's just offright now, not exactly sure why
34	Danny Salazar	at OAK, at TEX	Didn't look any healhtier in his return from the DL, but threw a pen right after so maybe he's just working out kinks; cautious rank
35	Marco Estrada	LAA
36	Rick Porcello	at TB
37	Vince Velasquez	at NYM	Four scoreless fell apart in the final two innings… the travails of a young SP
38	Matt Moore	ATL
39	Tanner Roark	BAL	He's been great this season, but BAL is always tough so his ranking took a hit this week
40	Julio Teheran	at ARI
41	Dallas Keuchel	TB	8 QS in his last 10, but the two off starts were really bad (13 ER in 10 IP) so it's still just a 3.72 ERA in the 65.3 IP
42	Chris Tillman	at WAS
43	Jameson Taillon	HOU, at MIL	Seven straight quality starts: 2.25 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 37 Ks, and 9.3 K:BB ratio in 44 IP
44	Jaime Garcia	NYM, OAK
45	Zach Davies	COL, PIT
46	Anthony DeSclafani	at ARI	Quality starts in 10 of his last 11: 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65 Ks, 5.4 K:BB in 69.7 IP
47	Jake Odorizzi	BOS
48	Felix Hernandez	at CWS
49	Kevin Gausman	WAS, at NYY	Finally seeing the consistent strikeout ability his raw stuff deserves: 67 in his last 59 IP; career-high 24% K this yr
50	Dylan Bundy	WAS, at NYY
51	Marcus Stroman	MIN
52	Drew Smyly	at HOU	Good Smyly is back, but for how long? (2.25 ERA, 0.94 WHIP in 32 IP over last 5)
53	Jerad Eickhoff	at CWS
54	Jeff Samardzija	ATL	When you really look at it, he's not much better than '15: 6.9 (2015)/6.6 (2016) K, 2.1/2.4 BB, 1.2/1.2 HR, 9.6/8.7 H
55	Sean Manaea	CLE
56	Drew Pomeranz	at TB
57	Gio Gonzalez	COL
58	Jeremy Hellickson	at NYM
59	Carlos Rodon	PHI	Just 4 ER in 18 IP during August (16 Ks too)
60	Blake Snell	BOS, at HOU	Getting knicked at TOR is hardly a crime and only 2 of the 5 were earned; 2.50 ERA, 46 Ks in L7, but also 20 BB in the 36 IP
61	Tyler Anderson	at MIL
62	Ivan Nova	HOU, at MIL	Was putting it together a bit w/NYY, too: 4.06 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 39 Ks, 4.3 K:BB in 44.3 IP since July 1st
63	Scott Kazmir	at CIN, CHC
64	Homer Bailey	LAD, at ARI	You're always gambling with a TJ returner, but velo is up and he's getting whiffs
65	Hisashi Iwakuma	NYY, at CWS
66	Jimmy Nelson	COL, PIT
67	Eduardo Rodriguez	KC
68	Michael Pineda	at SEA, BAL
69	CC Sabathia	at SEA
70	Trevor Bauer	at OAK
71	Chad Green	BAL	Showing flashes of Shane Greene's breakout w/NYY, including a very similar arsenal
72	Joe Musgrove	at PIT	Being thrashed at BAL is a rite of passage, I'm kinda impressed he still made it into the 6th after 5 ER thru 2 IP
73	Mike Leake	OAK
74	Brandon Finnegan	at ARI	A trip to ARI is a little much for his volatility, be careful
75	Yordano Ventura	at MIA, at BOS
76	Dan Straily	TEX	He's 2/3rds of an inning shy of nine straight quality starts: 2.68 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 44 Ks, 4.0 K:BB in 57 IP
77	Bartolo Colon	PHI
78	Robbie Ray	ATL
79	Kyle Gibson	DET, at TOR
80	Doug Fister	at PIT, TB	He's really subject to his BABIP: .374 in L5 en route to a 5.20 ERA; .254 in previous 15 (2.92 ERA)
81	Anibal Sanchez	at MIN, LAA
82	Tom Koehler	KC
83	Braden Shipley	CIN
84	Andrew Cashner	KC, SD	Two starts at home against less-than-excellent offenses could be a solid play… or he'll bury us, but I'm take the plunge in a deepmixer
85	Matt Boyd	at MIN	He's quietly put up a 2.06 ERA in 39.3 IP since his return on July 9th
85	Mike Fiers	TB
86	Edinson Volquez	at MIA
87	Brett Anderson	CHC
88	Bud Norris	SF
89	R.A. Dickey	LAA
90	Josh Tomlin	at TEX
91	Collin McHugh	at PIT
92	Daniel Norris	LAA	Basically a 5-and-dive pitcher right now, but continues to flash very appealing stuff
93	Ian Kennedy	at BOS
94	Reynaldo Lopez	at BAL, COL
96	Rich Hill	SF	Still hasn't pitched with LA ...
97	Jeff Hoffman	at WAS	Profile not too far off of Jon Gray's, but it took Gray some time to adjust so temper expectations w/the Hoff
98	David Phelps	SD	He's looked sharp in three starts so far, but he's probably a five inning max kind of guy
99	Mike Montgomery	at LAD	Pitching coach Chris Bosio has done more w/less so if Montgomery shows some flashes here, I wouldn't be surprised at all
100	Zack Godley	ATL, CIN	He's not great, but a two-step at home that includes ATL is intriguing to me