Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Athletics and Pirates Hitting Upstream

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Updated on July 11, 2022 1:17AM EST

So much for an increase in run scoring. As demonstrated in the most recent Z Files, homers are stable, but runs are down due to more strikeouts and a dip in BABIP. As we've learned over the past season and a half, notes like this are strictly descriptive, not predictive. The data suggests it's still safe to stream, but streaming this season is all about picking on the weaker lineups, focusing on how the team performs against the handedness of the starting pitcher.

To that end, here are the best targets against which to stream.

Left-Handed Starters

Team	K%	BB%	HR%	WOBA
Cleveland Guardians	21.3%	7.8%	1.5%	0.269
Miami Marlins	27.7%	7.3%	2.2%	0.273
Oakland Athletics	22.5%	8.3%	1.8%	0.279
Pittsburgh Pirates	25.8%	6.9%	3.4%	0.284
Los Angeles Angels	24.9%	9.7%	2.4%	0.292
Arizona Diamondbacks	23.4%	8.5%	2.6%	0.293
Baltimore Orioles	25.4%	8.0%	2.7%	0.295

The Guardians and the Athletics sport the lowest and third-lowest wOBA against southpaws, but they make good contact, so don't expect your lefty to rack up a bunch of punch outs. As is usually the case, context drives the better options.

Right-Handed Starters

Team	K%	BB%	HR%	WOBA
Oakland Athletics	23.8%	6.5%	2.1%	0.258
Detroit Tigers	24.1%	6.8%	1.8%	0.265
Pittsburgh Pirates	25.1%	8.7%	2.8%	0.287
Chicago White Sox	20.3%	6.1%	1.8%	0.290
Texas Rangers	23.4%	7.1%	3.1%	0.291
Cincinnati Reds	24.1%	7.5%	2.3%	0.291
Tampa Bay Rays	24.8%	8.0%	2.6%	0.293

Oakland and Pittsburgh are the only teams populating both lists. The White Sox

To that end, here are the best targets against which to stream.

Left-Handed Starters

Team	K%	BB%	HR%	WOBA
Cleveland Guardians	21.3%	7.8%	1.5%	0.269
Miami Marlins	27.7%	7.3%	2.2%	0.273
Oakland Athletics	22.5%	8.3%	1.8%	0.279
Pittsburgh Pirates	25.8%	6.9%	3.4%	0.284
Los Angeles Angels	24.9%	9.7%	2.4%	0.292
Arizona Diamondbacks	23.4%	8.5%	2.6%	0.293
Baltimore Orioles	25.4%	8.0%	2.7%	0.295

Right-Handed Starters

Team	K%	BB%	HR%	WOBA
Oakland Athletics	23.8%	6.5%	2.1%	0.258
Detroit Tigers	24.1%	6.8%	1.8%	0.265
Pittsburgh Pirates	25.1%	8.7%	2.8%	0.287
Chicago White Sox	20.3%	6.1%	1.8%	0.290
Texas Rangers	23.4%	7.1%	3.1%	0.291
Cincinnati Reds	24.1%	7.5%	2.3%	0.291
Tampa Bay Rays	24.8%	8.0%	2.6%	0.293

Oakland and Pittsburgh are the only teams populating both lists. The White Sox are the only team with a low wOBA versus righties along with a low strikeout rate. The White Sox low HR clip drives the limited production, so using righties with high home run rates make sense against the Pale Hose, as well as the punchless Tigers.

For those curious, all of this is factored into the formulaic rankings.

Please keep in mind the schedule is taken from the Probable Pitchers page, so please direct rotation question to that space. As always, I'm happy to address specific ranking questions below.

UPDATED: Monday July 11 1:15 AM ET

Week of July 11-17

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	CIN, BOS
2	Aaron Nola	PHI	@STL, @MIA
3	Logan Webb	SF	ARI, MIL
4	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	PHI	A true throwback
5	Max Scherzer	NYM	@ATL, @CHC	11K in 6 IP his first game back
6	Corbin Burnes	MIL	@SF
7	Max Fried	ATL	NYM, @WAS
8	Kevin Gausman	TOR	PHI, KC
9	Shane Bieber	CLE	CWS, DET	Good pair to get back on track
10	Shane McClanahan	TB	BOS
11	Alek Manoah	TOR	KC
12	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@LAA
13	Pablo Lopez	MIA	PIT
14	Miles Mikolas	STL	PHI, CIN
15	Framber Valdez	HOU	@LAA
16	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	@SF
17	Justin Verlander	HOU	OAK
18	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	HOU	Last earned run against June 9, 30.2 IP scoreless since
19	Julio Urias	LAD	@LAA
20	Dylan Cease	CWS	@CLE, @MIN	Strikeouts galore, but ratios at risk
21	Yu Darvish	SD	ARI
22	Luis Severino	NYY	CIN
23	Carlos Rodon	SF	MIL
24	Zack Wheeler	PHI	@TOR
25	Spencer Strider	ATL	NYM, @WAS	30 K, 3 BB last 18 IP
26	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	@STL
27	Triston McKenzie	CLE	DET
28	Cristian Javier	HOU	@LAA
29	Alex Cobb	SF	ARI, MIL	2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP over last 15 IP
30	Cal Quantrill	CLE	CWS, DET
31	Zac Gallen	ARI	@SF
32	Corey Kluber	TB	BOS, BAL
33	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	BOS
34	Eric Lauer	MIL	@SF
35	Zach Plesac	CLE	DET
36	Luis Garcia	HOU	@LAA
37	Jon Gray	TEX	OAK
38	Brady Singer	KC	DET
39	Chris Sale	BOS	@TB, @NYY	Welcome back!
40	Nestor Cortes	NYY	CIN
41	Charlie Morton	ATL	NYM
42	Tyler Wells	BAL	@TB
43	Tyler Anderson	LAD	@STL
44	Shane Baz	TB	BAL
45	Jose Urquidy	HOU	OAK
46	Martin Perez	TEX	SEA
47	Frankie Montas	OAK	@HOU
48	Merrill Kelly	ARI	@SF, @SD
49	Alex Wood	SF	MIL
50	Beau Brieske	DET	@KC, @CLE	On the road, but soft pair	1%	11%
51	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@MIA
52	Luis Castillo	CIN	@NYY
53	Adam Wainwright	STL	LAD
54	Robbie Ray	SEA	@TEX
55	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@TEX
56	Drew Rasmussen	TB	BOS
57	Ross Stripling	TOR	KC
58	Kyle Wright	ATL	@WAS
59	Michael Pineda	DET	@KC, @CLE		7%
60	Lance Lynn	CWS	@CLE, @MIN
61	Devin Smeltzer	MIN	CWS		32%
62	Sonny Gray	MIN	CWS
63	Jameson Taillon	NYY	BOS
64	Josh Winder	MIN	MIL, CWS		7%	19%
65	Trevor Rogers	MIA	PIT, PHI
66	Josiah Gray	WAS	SEA, ATL
67	Joe Ryan	MIN	MIL
68	Tarik Skubal	DET	@KC
69	Kyle Gibson	PHI	@MIA
70	Braxton Garrett	MIA	PIT		5%	38%
71	Dean Kremer	BAL	@TB
72	Kutter Crawford	BOS	@TB		0%	0%
73	Keegan Thompson	CHC	BAL
74	MacKenzie Gore	SD	ARI
75	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@CLE
76	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	OAK		26%
77	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	@NYY
78	Sam Long	SF	ARI		0%	0%
79	Mix 12 Reliever
80	Taijuan Walker	NYM	@CHC
81	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	HOU
82	Brad Keller	KC	DET, @TOR		21%	40%
83	Marcus Stroman	CHC	NYM		38%
84	Aaron Civale	CLE	CWS	Showing signs of returning to form	22%
85	Zach Thompson	PIT	@MIA		1%	0%
86	Mitch White	LAD	@STL
87	Mix 15 Reliever
88	Sean Manaea	SD	@COL, ARI
89	Joe Musgrove	SD	@COL
90	Chris Bassitt	NYM	@ATL
91	Hunter Greene	CIN	@STL
92	Jose Berrios	TOR	PHI
93	Tyler Gilbert	ARI	@SD		0%	0%
94	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	LAD
95	Bailey Falter	PHI	@TOR		0%	6%
96	Konnor Pilkington	CLE	CWS		1%	0%
97	JT Brubaker	PIT	@MIA		17%
98	Dane Dunning	TEX	SEA
99	Nick Lodolo	CIN	@STL
100	Josh Winckowski	BOS	@TB		7%
101	Daniel Castano	MIA	PIT, PHI		0%	13%
102	Chris Flexen	SEA	@WAS, @TEX		25%
103	Andre Pallante	STL	CIN		13%
104	Jordan Lyles	BAL	@CHC, @TB		1%	17%
105	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	@SD
106	David Peterson	NYM	@ATL, @CHC
107	Glenn Otto	TEX	OAK, SEA		3%
108	Paul Blackburn	OAK	@TEX
109	Dylan Bundy	MIN	CWS		16%
110	Michael Kopech	CWS	@MIN
111	Justin Steele	CHC	NYM		15%
112	Cole Irvin	OAK	@HOU		19%
113	Roansy Contreras	PIT	@MIA, @COL
114	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@CHC
115	Johnny Cueto	CWS	@MIN
116	Steven Matz	STL	CIN		19%
117	Reid Detmers	LAA	HOU		20%	15%
118	Josh Fleming	TB	BOS, BAL		0%	0%
119	Max Castillo	TOR	KC		1%	4%
120	Mark Leiter Jr.	CHC	NYM		0%	0%
121	Paolo Espino	WAS	ATL		0%	2%
122	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@NYY
123	Zack Greinke	KC	@TOR		26%
124	Drew Smyly	CHC	NYM		2%	4%
125	James Kaprielian	OAK	@TEX		3%	32%
126	Adrian Sampson	CHC	BAL		1%	9%
127	Brayan Bello	BOS	@TB		0%	0%
128	Matthew Liberatore	STL	LAD		4%	45%
129	Aaron Ashby	MIL	@MIN
130	Dakota Hudson	STL	LAD		47%
131	Adrian Martinez	OAK	@TEX, @HOU		0%	0%
132	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@NYY, @STL		47%
133	Daniel Lynch	KC	@TOR, DET		4%	26%
134	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@TEX
135	German Marquez	COL	PIT		33%
136	Drew Hutchison	DET	@CLE		0%	0%
137	Mike Clevinger	SD	@COL
138	Spencer Howard	TEX	OAK, SEA		2%	38%
139	Jose Suarez	LAA	LAD		1%	15%
140	Alex Faedo	DET	@KC		8%	43%
141	Mike Minor	CIN	@NYY		0%	11%
142	Kris Bubic	KC	DET		0%	2%
143	Ian Anderson	ATL	@WAS
144	Blake Snell	SD	@COL
145	Mitch Keller	PIT	@MIA, @COL		16%
146	Erick Fedde	WAS	SEA		3%	19%
147	Dallas Keuchel	ARI	@SF		0%	0%
148	Jason Alexander	MIL	@MIN, @SF		1%	26%
149	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	ATL		0%	0%
150	Patrick Corbin	WAS	ATL		22%
151	Jose Quintana	PIT	@COL		24%
152	Elvin Rodriguez	DET	@CLE		0%	0%
153	Tommy Milone	SEA	@WAS		0%	0%
154	Spenser Watkins	BAL	@CHC		0%	6%
155	Kyle Freeland	COL	SD		7%	36%
156	Austin Gomber	COL	SD		3%	4%
157	Carlos Hernandez	KC	@TOR		1%	2%
158	Antonio Senzatela	COL	PIT		0%	0%
159	Chad Kuhl	COL	SD		20%
160	Jose Urena	COL	SD, PIT		0%	0%
161	Davis Martin	CWS	@CLE		0%	0%

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Gerrit Cole	NYY	CIN, BOS
2	Kevin Gausman	TOR	PHI, KC
3	Shane Bieber	CLE	CWS, DET	Good pair to get back on track
4	Shane McClanahan	TB	BOS
5	Alek Manoah	TOR	KC
6	Framber Valdez	HOU	@LAA
7	Justin Verlander	HOU	OAK
8	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	HOU	Last earned run against June 9, 30.2 IP scoreless since
9	Dylan Cease	CWS	@CLE, @MIN	Strikeouts galore, but ratios at risk
10	Luis Severino	NYY	CIN
11	Triston McKenzie	CLE	DET
12	Cristian Javier	HOU	@LAA
13	Cal Quantrill	CLE	CWS, DET
14	Corey Kluber	TB	BOS, BAL
15	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	BOS
16	Zach Plesac	CLE	DET
17	Luis Garcia	HOU	@LAA
18	Jon Gray	TEX	OAK
19	Brady Singer	KC	DET
20	Chris Sale	BOS	@TB, @NYY	Welcome back!
21	Nestor Cortes	NYY	CIN
22	Tyler Wells	BAL	@TB
23	Shane Baz	TB	BAL
24	Jose Urquidy	HOU	OAK
25	Martin Perez	TEX	SEA
26	Frankie Montas	OAK	@HOU
27	Beau Brieske	DET	@KC, @CLE	On the road, but soft pair
28	Robbie Ray	SEA	@TEX
29	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@TEX
30	Drew Rasmussen	TB	BOS
31	Ross Stripling	TOR	KC
32	Michael Pineda	DET	@KC, @CLE
33	Lance Lynn	CWS	@CLE, @MIN
34	Devin Smeltzer	MIN	CWS
35	Sonny Gray	MIN	CWS
36	Jameson Taillon	NYY	BOS
37	Josh Winder	MIN	MIL, CWS
38	Joe Ryan	MIN	MIL
39	Tarik Skubal	DET	@KC
40	Dean Kremer	BAL	@TB
41	Kutter Crawford	BOS	@TB
42	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@CLE
43	Jake Odorizzi	HOU	OAK
44	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	@NYY
45	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	HOU
46	Brad Keller	KC	DET, @TOR
47	Aaron Civale	CLE	CWS	Showing signs of returning to form
48	Jose Berrios	TOR	PHI
49	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	LAD
50	Konnor Pilkington	CLE	CWS
51	Dane Dunning	TEX	SEA
52	Josh Winckowski	BOS	@TB
53	Chris Flexen	SEA	@WAS, @TEX
54	Jordan Lyles	BAL	@CHC, @TB
55	Glenn Otto	TEX	OAK, SEA
56	Paul Blackburn	OAK	@TEX
57	AL Reliever
58	Dylan Bundy	MIN	CWS
59	Michael Kopech	CWS	@MIN
60	Cole Irvin	OAK	@HOU
61	Johnny Cueto	CWS	@MIN
62	Reid Detmers	LAA	HOU
63	Josh Fleming	TB	BOS, BAL
64	Max Castillo	TOR	KC
65	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@NYY
66	Zack Greinke	KC	@TOR
67	James Kaprielian	OAK	@TEX
68	Brayan Bello	BOS	@TB
69	Adrian Martinez	OAK	@TEX, @HOU
70	Daniel Lynch	KC	@TOR, DET
71	Marco Gonzales	SEA	@TEX
72	Drew Hutchison	DET	@CLE
73	Spencer Howard	TEX	OAK, SEA
74	Jose Suarez	LAA	LAD
75	Alex Faedo	DET	@KC
76	Kris Bubic	KC	DET
77	Elvin Rodriguez	DET	@CLE
78	Tommy Milone	SEA	@WAS
79	Spenser Watkins	BAL	@CHC
80	Carlos Hernandez	KC	@TOR
81	Davis Martin	CWS	@CLE

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Aaron Nola	PHI	@STL, @MIA
2	Logan Webb	SF	ARI, MIL
3	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	PHI	A true throwback
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	@ATL, @CHC	11K in 6 IP his first game back
5	Corbin Burnes	MIL	@SF
6	Max Fried	ATL	NYM, @WAS
7	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@LAA
8	Pablo Lopez	MIA	PIT
9	Miles Mikolas	STL	PHI, CIN
10	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	@SF
11	Julio Urias	LAD	@LAA
12	Yu Darvish	SD	ARI
13	Carlos Rodon	SF	MIL
14	Zack Wheeler	PHI	@TOR
15	Spencer Strider	ATL	NYM, @WAS	30 K, 3 BB last 18 IP
16	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	@STL
17	Alex Cobb	SF	ARI, MIL	2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP over last 15 IP
18	Zac Gallen	ARI	@SF
19	Eric Lauer	MIL	@SF
20	Charlie Morton	ATL	NYM
21	Tyler Anderson	LAD	@STL
22	Merrill Kelly	ARI	@SF, @SD
23	Alex Wood	SF	MIL
24	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@MIA
25	Luis Castillo	CIN	@NYY
26	Adam Wainwright	STL	LAD
27	Kyle Wright	ATL	@WAS
28	Trevor Rogers	MIA	PIT, PHI
29	Josiah Gray	WAS	SEA, ATL
30	Kyle Gibson	PHI	@MIA
31	Braxton Garrett	MIA	PIT
32	Keegan Thompson	CHC	BAL
33	MacKenzie Gore	SD	ARI
34	Sam Long	SF	ARI
35	Taijuan Walker	NYM	@CHC
36	Marcus Stroman	CHC	NYM
37	Zach Thompson	PIT	@MIA
38	Mitch White	LAD	@STL
39	Sean Manaea	SD	@COL, ARI
40	Joe Musgrove	SD	@COL
41	Chris Bassitt	NYM	@ATL
42	Hunter Greene	CIN	@STL
43	Tyler Gilbert	ARI	@SD
44	Bailey Falter	PHI	@TOR
45	JT Brubaker	PIT	@MIA
46	Nick Lodolo	CIN	@STL
47	Daniel Castano	MIA	PIT, PHI
48	Andre Pallante	STL	CIN
49	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	@SD
50	David Peterson	NYM	@ATL, @CHC
51	NL Reliever
52	Justin Steele	CHC	NYM
53	Roansy Contreras	PIT	@MIA, @COL
54	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@CHC
55	Steven Matz	STL	CIN
56	Mark Leiter Jr.	CHC	NYM
57	Paolo Espino	WAS	ATL
58	Drew Smyly	CHC	NYM
59	Adrian Sampson	CHC	BAL
60	Matthew Liberatore	STL	LAD
61	Aaron Ashby	MIL	@MIN
62	Dakota Hudson	STL	LAD
63	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@NYY, @STL
64	German Marquez	COL	PIT
65	Mike Clevinger	SD	@COL
66	Mike Minor	CIN	@NYY
67	Ian Anderson	ATL	@WAS
68	Blake Snell	SD	@COL
69	Mitch Keller	PIT	@MIA, @COL
70	Erick Fedde	WAS	SEA
71	Dallas Keuchel	ARI	@SF
72	Jason Alexander	MIL	@MIN, @SF
73	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	ATL
74	Patrick Corbin	WAS	ATL
75	Jose Quintana	PIT	@COL
76	Kyle Freeland	COL	SD
77	Austin Gomber	COL	SD
78	Antonio Senzatela	COL	PIT
79	Chad Kuhl	COL	SD
80	Jose Urena	COL	SD, PIT