Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Bauer Best Bet

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Updated on June 30, 2019 11:20PM EST

A couple things stand out this week. At the forefront is the highest average projected runs per game since I've been doing the site weekly pitching rankings. Part of this is the run-scoring landscape, some is bullpens are posting a higher ERA than starters for the first time in years. There's also some cruddy arms on the docket.

Another interesting observation is the plethora of disappointing pitchers with a two-step. This will cause agita for this in weekly leagues. Keep in minds these rankings favor strikeouts and wins potential, so if you're more concerned with ratios, adjust accordingly.

You know the drill by now. These rankings are based on info currently available. The usual Sunday night update will be posted, reflecting official announcements.

For the week July 1-7.

UPDATED: June 30, 11:20 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC, at CIN	Walks back under control
2	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
3	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. MIA, vs. KC	Soft schedule to continue recent uptick
4	David Price	BOS	at TOR, at DET	Expecting Price to start working deeper into games
5	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA, at MIN	Continues to defy Texas heat
6	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CWS, vs. BOS	Red Sox still have issues with LHP
7	James Paxton	NYY	at NYM, at TB
8	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. KC
9	Jack Flaherty	STL	at SEA, at SF	18 HR in 85.1 IP after allowing

You know the drill by now. These rankings are based on info currently available. The usual Sunday night update will be posted, reflecting official announcements.

For the week July 1-7.

UPDATED: June 30, 11:20 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC, at CIN	Walks back under control
2	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
3	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. MIA, vs. KC	Soft schedule to continue recent uptick
4	David Price	BOS	at TOR, at DET	Expecting Price to start working deeper into games
5	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA, at MIN	Continues to defy Texas heat
6	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CWS, vs. BOS	Red Sox still have issues with LHP
7	James Paxton	NYY	at NYM, at TB
8	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. KC
9	Jack Flaherty	STL	at SEA, at SF	18 HR in 85.1 IP after allowing just 20 HR in 151 IP last season
10	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at PIT, at CWS
11	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at OAK, vs. TEX
12	Chris Sale	BOS	at TOR
13	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. LAA
14	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. SD	Should be ready to go deeper into games
15	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. PHI
16	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. SD	Another ace happy to be out of Coors and back home
17	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. LAA
18	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD
19	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. MIA
20	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. ARI	Last week's visit to Coors emphasizes how hard it is to pitch at altitude
21	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Back in a groove
22	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
23	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
24	Jose Berrios	MIN	at OAK
25	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PHI
26	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. COL
27	Logan Allen	SD	vs. SF, at LAD	Good news: Giants. Bad news: Dodgers.
28	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. CHC	11 BB, 5 HR last 3 GS, albeit facing NYY, CHC and BOS
29	Blake Snell	TB	vs. NYY	Tough draw to right ship
30	Matt Strahm	SD	vs. SF
31	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. MIA
32	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. SD
33	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. STL	Every start could be his last for SF, top of the hug list
34	Shane Bieber	CLE	at CIN
35	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIL
36	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. NYY
37	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at SD, vs. STL	Risky, but matchups say go for it
38	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. MIL, vs. CLE	3.81 xFIP regresses high 19.7% HR/FB
39	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. BAL
40	Chris Paddack	SD	at LAD
41	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at TB
42	Domingo German	NYY	at NYM	Expected to return from IL
43	Max Fried	ATL	vs. MIA
44	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CIN, at PIT	Quietly carrying a 24.3% K%
45	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL
46	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at DET
47	Griffin Canning	LAA	at TEX, at HOU	Good test for rookie
48	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at CIN	.323 BABIP a bit unlucky
49	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. MIN, at SEA
50	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at LAD
51	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. MIA
52	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
53	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at KC	Coming off shellacking courtesy of BAL
54	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CHC, vs. MIL
55	J.A. Happ	NYY	at TB	Hasn't been sharp, but matchups favorable
56	Jon Lester	CHC	at CWS
57	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. STL, vs. OAK	Working as primary pitcher
58	Miles Mikolas	STL	at SF
59	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. BOS, vs. BAL
60	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at NYM
61	CC Sabathia	NYY	at TB
62	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TOR	0
63	John Means	BAL	at TB
64	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB, at TOR
65	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. STL
66	Brendan McKay	TB	vs. NYY
67	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at OAK
68	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. CLE, at WAS
69	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
70	Jason Vargas	NYM	vs. NYY
71	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL, at NYM	The ultimate Jekyll and Hyde starter
72	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at HOU
73	Zach Plesac	CLE	at KC	Low strikeouts temper rankings
74	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. MIA
75	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. COL
76	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. SF
77	Jose Quintana	CHC	at PIT
78	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. DET, vs. CHC
79	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. OAK
80	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. MIN
81	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CLE
82	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. MIL
83	Jordan Lyles	PIT	vs. CHC
84	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. DET
85	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. DET
86	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. OAK
87	Caleb Smith	MIA	at ATL
88	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. MIL
89	Michael Wacha	STL	at SEA
90	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. TEX
91	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. LAA
92	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. CLE
93	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at LAD
94	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
95	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. CHC
96	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. TEX
97	Hector Velazquez	BOS	at DET
98	Jon Gray	COL	at ARI
99	German Marquez	COL	vs. HOU
100	Trevor Richards	MIA	at ATL
101	Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. STL	Pitching well as primary pitcher
102	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. STL
103	Brett Anderson	OAK	at SEA
104	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at LAD	Slated to return from TJS
105	Yu Darvish	CHC	at PIT	Should be a top option but control and command are sketchy
106	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at SEA
107	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. BOS
108	Tanner Anderson	OAK	vs. MIN
109	Shaun Anderson	SF	at SD
110	Bryse Wilson	ATL	vs. PHI
111	Brad Keller	KC	at WAS
112	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at TEX
113	Adam Wainwright	STL	at SEA
114	Dakota Hudson	STL	at SF
115	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. BAL
116	Adrian Houser	MIL	at CIN, at PIT
117	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at TOR, at WAS
118	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at TOR
119	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at CIN
120	Gregory Soto	DET	at CWS
121	Daniel Norris	DET	at CWS
122	Steven Brault	PIT	vs. MIL
123	Jesse Chavez	TEX	at MIN
124	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at ARI
125	Adbert Alzolay	CHC	at PIT
126	Clayton Richard	TOR	vs. KC, vs. BAL
127	Zac Gallen	MIA	at WAS	Rookie pitching well but couple of tough road starts
128	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. LAA, at MIN
129	Jose Suarez	LAA	at TEX, at HOU
130	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at WAS
131	Wade Miley	HOU	at COL
132	Jose Urquidy	HOU	at COL, vs. LAA
133	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	at ATL
134	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL
135	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at WAS
136	Tim Adleman	DET	vs. BOS
137	Tom Eshelman	BAL	at TB
138	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at LAD, vs. COL
139	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. BOS
140	Felix Pena	LAA	at TEX
141	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. LAA
142	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. BOS
143	Tyler Beede	SF	at SD
144	Austin Voth	WAS	vs. KC
145	Ross Detwiler	CWS	vs. DET
146	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. HOU
147	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at TOR
148	Ryan Carpenter	DET	at CWS
149	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. CLE
150	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at ARI

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at KC, at CIN	Walks back under control
2	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
3	David Price	BOS	at TOR, at DET	Expecting Price to start working deeper into games
4	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. LAA, at MIN	Continues to defy Texas heat
5	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CWS, vs. BOS	Red Sox still have issues with LHP
6	James Paxton	NYY	at NYM, at TB
7	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at OAK, vs. TEX
8	Chris Sale	BOS	at TOR
9	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. LAA
10	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. LAA
11	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL, vs. NYY
12	Jose Berrios	MIN	at OAK
13	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. CHC	11 BB, 5 HR last 3 GS, albeit facing NYY, CHC and BOS
14	Blake Snell	TB	vs. NYY	Tough draw to right ship
15	Shane Bieber	CLE	at CIN
16	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. BAL
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at TB
18	Domingo German	NYY	at NYM	Expected to return from IL
19	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at DET
20	Griffin Canning	LAA	at TEX, at HOU	Good test for rookie
21	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. MIN, at SEA
22	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at KC	Coming off shellacking courtesy of BAL
23	J.A. Happ	NYY	at TB	Hasn't been sharp, but matchups favorable
24	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. STL, vs. OAK	Working as primary pitcher
25	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. BOS, vs. BAL
26	CC Sabathia	NYY	at TB
27	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TOR	0
28	John Means	BAL	at TB
29	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at TB, at TOR
30	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. STL
31	Brendan McKay	TB	vs. NYY
32	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at OAK
33	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. CLE, at WAS
34	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at HOU
35	Zach Plesac	CLE	at KC	Low strikeouts temper rankings
36	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. DET, vs. CHC
37	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. OAK
38	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. MIN
39	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. DET
40	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. DET
41	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. OAK
42	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. TEX
43	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. LAA
44	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. CLE
45	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. TEX
46	Hector Velazquez	BOS	at DET
47	Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. STL	Pitching well as primary pitcher
48	Brett Anderson	OAK	at SEA
49	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at SEA
50	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. BOS
51	Tanner Anderson	OAK	vs. MIN
52	Brad Keller	KC	at WAS
53	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at TEX
54	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. BAL
55	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at TOR, at WAS
56	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at TOR
57	Gregory Soto	DET	at CWS
58	Daniel Norris	DET	at CWS
59	Jesse Chavez	TEX	at MIN
60	Clayton Richard	TOR	vs. KC, vs. BAL
61	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. LAA, at MIN
62	Jose Suarez	LAA	at TEX, at HOU
63	Wade Miley	HOU	at COL
64	Jose Urquidy	HOU	at COL, vs. LAA
65	Tim Adleman	DET	vs. BOS
66	Tom Eshelman	BAL	at TB
67	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. BOS
68	Felix Pena	LAA	at TEX
69	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. LAA
70	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. BOS
71	Ross Detwiler	CWS	vs. DET
72	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at TOR
73	Ryan Carpenter	DET	at CWS
74	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. CLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. MIA, vs. KC	Soft schedule to continue recent uptick
2	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. KC
3	Jack Flaherty	STL	at SEA, at SF	18 HR in 85.1 IP after allowing just 20 HR in 151 IP last season
4	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at PIT, at CWS
5	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. SD	Should be ready to go deeper into games
6	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. PHI
7	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. SD	Another ace happy to be out of Coors and back home
8	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD
9	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. MIA
10	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. ARI	Last week's visit to Coors emphasizes how hard it is to pitch at altitude
11	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Back in a groove
12	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
13	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PHI
14	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. COL
15	Logan Allen	SD	vs. SF, at LAD	Good news: Giants. Bad news: Dodgers.
16	Matt Strahm	SD	vs. SF
17	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. MIA
18	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. SD
19	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. STL	Every start could be his last for SF, top of the hug list
20	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIL
21	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. NYY
22	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at SD, vs. STL	Risky, but matchups say go for it
23	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. MIL, vs. CLE	3.81 xFIP regresses high 19.7% HR/FB
24	Chris Paddack	SD	at LAD
25	Max Fried	ATL	vs. MIA
26	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CIN, at PIT	Quietly carrying a 24.3% K%
27	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL
28	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at CIN	.323 BABIP a bit unlucky
29	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at LAD
30	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. MIA
31	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
32	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CHC, vs. MIL
33	Jon Lester	CHC	at CWS
34	Miles Mikolas	STL	at SF
35	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at NYM
36	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
37	Jason Vargas	NYM	vs. NYY
38	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL, at NYM	The ultimate Jekyll and Hyde starter
39	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. MIA
40	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. COL
41	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. SF
42	Jose Quintana	CHC	at PIT
43	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. CLE
44	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. MIL
45	Jordan Lyles	PIT	vs. CHC
46	Caleb Smith	MIA	at ATL
47	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. MIL
48	Michael Wacha	STL	at SEA
49	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at LAD
50	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
51	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. CHC
52	Jon Gray	COL	at ARI
53	German Marquez	COL	vs. HOU
54	Trevor Richards	MIA	at ATL
55	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. STL
56	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at LAD	Slated to return from TJS
57	Yu Darvish	CHC	at PIT	Should be a top option but control and command are sketchy
58	Shaun Anderson	SF	at SD
59	Bryse Wilson	ATL	vs. PHI
60	Adam Wainwright	STL	at SEA
61	Dakota Hudson	STL	at SF
62	Adrian Houser	MIL	at CIN, at PIT
63	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at CIN
64	Steven Brault	PIT	vs. MIL
65	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at ARI
66	Adbert Alzolay	CHC	at PIT
67	Zac Gallen	MIA	at WAS	Rookie pitching well but couple of tough road starts
68	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at WAS
69	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	at ATL
70	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL
71	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at WAS
72	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at LAD, vs. COL
73	Tyler Beede	SF	at SD
74	Austin Voth	WAS	vs. KC
75	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. HOU
76	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at ARI