Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Cease of Mind

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Updated on June 10, 2024 1:14AM EST

Spreadsheets with cool algorithms coding geeky formulas have their purpose, including driving these rankings. Admittedly, I don't have a column quantifying the mindset of a pitcher leaving a poor environment for a better one. Sure, I can adjust for league and venue, but the rest is speculation.

A perfect example is Dylan Cease. On a Tuesday in mid-March, Cease went to sleep as a member of the White Sox, thinking about spending another season with a bad team while working half of his games in a power-enhancing hitter's park. The following Wednesday, Cease was headed to the Padres and the warm and cozy confines of Petco Park. Cease would no longer have to nibble. He didn't have to either strike everyone out or induce a grounder. Cease could let his stuff do the work.

I didn't have to follow the formulaic translations... and didn't. But the positive effect of the change in scenery wasn't measurable. What can be quantified is a career-low 7.2 percent walk rate. He's generating few ground balls, but his home run rate has dropped. Kudos to those using some logic to bump Cease up their spring draft sheets after the trade.

UPDATED: Monday June 10, 1:00 AM ET

Week of June 10 - 16

Mixed League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Dylan Cease	SD	OAK, @NYM	Pitching better than 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA over last three GS suggests
2	Corbin Burnes	BAL	@TB, PHI	Strikeouts a tick down, but

UPDATED: Monday June 10, 1:00 AM ET

Week of June 10 - 16

Mixed League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Dylan Cease	SD	OAK, @NYM	Pitching better than 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA over last three GS suggests
2	Corbin Burnes	BAL	@TB, PHI	Strikeouts a tick down, but still one of the best
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI	@BOS, @BAL
4	Logan Gilbert	SEA	CWS, TEX
5	Garrett Crochet	CWS	@SEA	First SP to be on hug watch?
6	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	KC
7	Bryan Woo	SEA	CWS, TEX
8	Chris Sale	ATL	TB
9	Tarik Skubal	DET	@HOU
10	Sonny Gray	STL	PIT
11	Freddy Peralta	MIL	CIN
12	Joe Ryan	MIN	OAK
13	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	TEX
14	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@NYM, @WAS
15	Max Fried	ATL	@BAL	Should benefit from extra rest, but a tough pair
16	Zach Eflin	TB	CHC, @ATL
17	Justin Steele	CHC	@TB
18	Carlos Rodon	NYY	@KC, @BOS
19	Kevin Gausman	TOR	CLE
20	George Kirby	SEA	TEX
21	Luis Castillo	SEA	CWS
22	Bryce Miller	SEA	CWS
23	Michael King	SD	OAK
24	Tanner Houck	BOS	PHI	Great heat check to see if he's for real (he is)
25	Jose Berrios	TOR	@MIL, CLE	4.28 xFIP indicates 2.80 ERA is high, only fanning 6.7 K/9
26	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@SEA
27	Erick Fedde	CWS	@SEA, @ARI	Should continue to increase trade stock
28	Luis Gil	NYY	@BOS
29	Aaron Nola	PHI	@BOS
30	Drew Thorpe	CWS	@SEA, @ARI		0%	2%
31	Framber Valdez	HOU	@SF
32	Ryan Pepiot	TB	BAL, @ATL
33	Seth Lugo	KC	NYY, @LAD
34	Tanner Bibee	CLE	@CIN
35	Kyle Bradish	BAL	PHI
36	Logan Webb	SF	HOU
37	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL	@BAL
38	JP Sears	OAK	@SD, @MIN		34%
39	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@BAL
40	Bailey Ober	MIN	OAK	Beginning a run of five soft starts
41	Paul Skenes	PIT	@STL, @COL	Coors, Schmoors. Now I want a S'more.
42	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	PHI
43	Cole Ragans	KC	@LAD
44	Jake Irvin	WAS	@DET	Quietly effective, 26 K in 24.1 IP over last three starts	35%
45	Shota Imanaga	CHC	STL	Only 4.1 IP in each of last two starts
46	David Peterson	NYM	MIA		12%
47	Luis Severino	NYM	MIA
48	Nick Lodolo	CIN	CLE
49	Braxton Garrett	MIA	@NYM
50	Dane Dunning	TEX	@LAD, @SEA
51	Mitch Keller	PIT	@STL	2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP with 66K and 18 BB in 68.2 IP since rough first two outings
52	Marcus Stroman	NYY	@KC, @BOS
53	Mitchell Parker	WAS	@DET, MIA
54	Nick Pivetta	BOS	PHI
55	Jack Flaherty	DET	@HOU	Appears to have escaped injury scare with his back
56	Chris Paddack	MIN	COL, OAK	In a rut, but this pair could be the panacea
57	Hunter Greene	CIN	@MIL
58	Andrew Heaney	TEX	@SEA		14%
59	Bobby Miller	LAD	KC
60	Pablo Lopez	MIN	COL	Perfect pair to right the ship
61	Justin Verlander	HOU	DET
62	Simeon Woods Richardson	MIN	OAK		44%
63	Ronel Blanco	HOU	@SF
64	Hunter Brown	HOU	DET
65	Javier Assad	CHC	@TB
66	Bailey Falter	PIT	@STL		10%
67	Matt Waldron	SD	@NYM
68	Andrew Abbott	CIN	@MIL
69	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	LAA
70	Ben Brown	CHC	STL
71	Ben Lively	CLE	@TOR
72	Spencer Howard	SF	LAA		0%	9%
73	Kutter Crawford	BOS	PHI, NYY
74	Reese Olson	DET	WAS
75	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	@DET
76	Miles Mikolas	STL	PIT, @CHC		5%	39%
77	Charlie Morton	ATL	TB
78	Nick Martinez	CIN	CLE		1%	9%
79	Mix 12 Reliever
80	Keaton Winn	SF	LAA		3%	46%
81	Max Meyer	MIA	@WAS		14%
82	Cal Quantrill	COL	@MIN		10%
83	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	@SF, DET		28%
84	Jordan Hicks	SF	HOU
85	Nestor Cortes	NYY	@KC
86	Taj Bradley	TB	CHC
87	Aaron Civale	TB	CHC
88	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	@BOS
89	Chris Bassitt	TOR	@MIL
90	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	@MIL
91	Triston McKenzie	CLE	@CIN
92	Mix 15 Reliever
93	Lance Lynn	STL	PIT
94	Tylor Megill	NYM	MIA, SD
95	Kenta Maeda	DET	WAS, @HOU		16%
96	Jon Gray	TEX	@LAD
97	Jose Soriano	LAA	@ARI
98	Jameson Taillon	CHC	@TB, STL
99	Griffin Canning	LAA	@ARI		7%
100	Walker Buehler	LAD	TEX
101	Jared Jones	PIT	@COL
102	Brady Singer	KC	NYY, @LAD
103	DJ Herz	WAS	MIA		0%	0%
104	Mitch Spence	OAK	@MIN		0%	18%
105	Gavin Stone	LAD	KC
106	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@SF
107	Sean Manaea	NYM	SD
108	Chase Silseth	LAA	@SF		4%	14%
109	Jordan Montgomery	ARI	LAA, CWS
110	Kyle Gibson	STL	@CHC		40%
111	Bowden Francis	TOR	CLE		0%	19%
112	Michael Lorenzen	TEX	@LAD		50%
113	Bryse Wilson	MIL	CIN		9%
114	Trevor Rogers	MIA	@WAS		5%	23%
115	Austin Gomber	COL	@MIN		8%	28%
116	Cody Poteet	NYY	@KC		3%	40%
117	Hogan Harris	OAK	@SD		0%	7%
118	Colin Rea	MIL	TOR, CIN		5%
119	Frankie Montas	CIN	@MIL		45%
120	Jose Quintana	NYM	SD		9%	26%
121	Randy Vasquez	SD	OAK		0%	7%
122	Cole Irvin	BAL	ATL
123	Joey Estes	OAK	@SD, @MIN		3%
124	Kyle Harrison	SF	HOU, LAA
125	Albert Suarez	BAL	ATL		33%
126	Zack Littell	TB	@ATL
127	Andre Pallante	STL	@CHC		0%	9%
128	Luis Medina	OAK	@MIN		0%	0%
129	Hurston Waldrep	ATL	TB		0%	0%
130	Dakota Hudson	COL	@MIN, PIT		0%	0%
131	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@BAL		3%
132	Chris Flexen	CWS	@ARI		0%	0%
133	Adam Mazur	SD	@NYM		0%	0%
134	Carlos Rodriguez	MIL	TOR		0%	0%
135	Casey Mize	DET	WAS		30%
136	Cade Povich	BAL	ATL		0%	0%
137	James Paxton	LAD	TEX
138	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	@SF		21%
139	Brayan Bello	BOS	NYY
140	Luis Ortiz	PIT	@COL		0%	2%
141	Caleb Boushley	MIN	COL		0%	0%
142	Logan Allen	CLE	@TOR		0%	0%
143	Jonathan Cannon	CWS	@SEA		0%	0%
144	Slade Cecconi	ARI	LAA		0%	19%
145	Roddery Munoz	MIA	@NYM		0%	0%
146	Alec Marsh	KC	NYY
147	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	@TOR		0%	5%
148	Ryan Feltner	COL	PIT		2%	7%
149	Tobias Myers	MIL	TOR		0%	9%
150	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	@BAL		34%
151	Tommy Henry	ARI	CWS		0%	0%
152	Daniel Lynch	KC	NYY		0%	2%
153	Patrick Corbin	WAS	MIA		0%	0%
154	Jose Suarez	LAA	@ARI		0%	0%
155	Ryne Nelson	ARI	CWS		2%	46%
156	Cooper Criswell	BOS	NYY		50%
157	Ty Blach	COL	PIT		0%	4%

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Corbin Burnes	BAL	@TB, PHI	Strikeouts a tick down, but still one of the best
2	Logan Gilbert	SEA	CWS, TEX
3	Garrett Crochet	CWS	@SEA	First SP to be on hug watch?
4	Bryan Woo	SEA	CWS, TEX
5	Tarik Skubal	DET	@HOU
6	Joe Ryan	MIN	OAK
7	Zach Eflin	TB	CHC, @ATL
8	Carlos Rodon	NYY	@KC, @BOS
9	Kevin Gausman	TOR	CLE
10	George Kirby	SEA	TEX
11	Luis Castillo	SEA	CWS
12	Bryce Miller	SEA	CWS
13	Tanner Houck	BOS	PHI	Great heat check to see if he's for real (he is)
14	Jose Berrios	TOR	@MIL, CLE	4.28 xFIP indicates 2.80 ERA is high, only fanning 6.7 K/9
15	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@SEA
16	Erick Fedde	CWS	@SEA, @ARI	Should continue to increase trade stock
17	Luis Gil	NYY	@BOS
18	Drew Thorpe	CWS	@SEA, @ARI
19	Framber Valdez	HOU	@SF
20	Ryan Pepiot	TB	BAL, @ATL
21	Seth Lugo	KC	NYY, @LAD
22	Tanner Bibee	CLE	@CIN
23	Kyle Bradish	BAL	PHI
24	JP Sears	OAK	@SD, @MIN
25	Bailey Ober	MIN	OAK	Beginning a run of five soft starts
26	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	PHI
27	Cole Ragans	KC	@LAD
28	Dane Dunning	TEX	@LAD, @SEA
29	Marcus Stroman	NYY	@KC, @BOS
30	Nick Pivetta	BOS	PHI
31	Jack Flaherty	DET	@HOU	Appears to have escaped injury scare with his back
32	Chris Paddack	MIN	COL, OAK	In a rut, but this pair could be the panacea
33	Andrew Heaney	TEX	@SEA
34	Pablo Lopez	MIN	COL	Perfect pair to right the ship
35	Justin Verlander	HOU	DET
36	Simeon Woods Richardson	MIN	OAK
37	Ronel Blanco	HOU	@SF
38	Hunter Brown	HOU	DET
39	Ben Lively	CLE	@TOR
40	Kutter Crawford	BOS	PHI, NYY
41	Reese Olson	DET	WAS
42	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	@SF, DET
43	Nestor Cortes	NYY	@KC
44	Taj Bradley	TB	CHC
45	Aaron Civale	TB	CHC
46	Chris Bassitt	TOR	@MIL
47	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	@MIL
48	Triston McKenzie	CLE	@CIN
49	Kenta Maeda	DET	WAS, @HOU
50	Jon Gray	TEX	@LAD
51	Jose Soriano	LAA	@ARI
52	Griffin Canning	LAA	@ARI
53	Brady Singer	KC	NYY, @LAD
54	Mitch Spence	OAK	@MIN
55	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@SF
56	Chase Silseth	LAA	@SF
57	Bowden Francis	TOR	CLE
58	AL Reliever
59	Michael Lorenzen	TEX	@LAD
60	Cody Poteet	NYY	@KC
61	Hogan Harris	OAK	@SD
62	Cole Irvin	BAL	ATL
63	Joey Estes	OAK	@SD, @MIN
64	Albert Suarez	BAL	ATL
65	Zack Littell	TB	@ATL
66	Luis Medina	OAK	@MIN
67	Chris Flexen	CWS	@ARI
68	Casey Mize	DET	WAS
69	Cade Povich	BAL	ATL
70	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	@SF
71	Brayan Bello	BOS	NYY
72	Caleb Boushley	MIN	COL
73	Logan Allen	CLE	@TOR
74	Jonathan Cannon	CWS	@SEA
75	Alec Marsh	KC	NYY
76	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	@TOR
77	Daniel Lynch	KC	NYY
78	Jose Suarez	LAA	@ARI
79	Cooper Criswell	BOS	NYY

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Dylan Cease	SD	OAK, @NYM	Pitching better than 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA over last three GS suggests
2	Zack Wheeler	PHI	@BOS, @BAL
3	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	KC
4	Chris Sale	ATL	TB
5	Sonny Gray	STL	PIT
6	Freddy Peralta	MIL	CIN
7	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	TEX
8	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@NYM, @WAS
9	Max Fried	ATL	@BAL	Should benefit from extra rest, but a tough pair
10	Justin Steele	CHC	@TB
11	Michael King	SD	OAK
12	Aaron Nola	PHI	@BOS
13	Logan Webb	SF	HOU
14	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL	@BAL
15	Ranger Suarez	PHI	@BAL
16	Paul Skenes	PIT	@STL, @COL	Coors, Schmoors. Now I want a S'more.
17	Jake Irvin	WAS	@DET	Quietly effective, 26 K in 24.1 IP over last three starts
18	Shota Imanaga	CHC	STL	Only 4.1 IP in each of last two starts
19	David Peterson	NYM	MIA
20	Luis Severino	NYM	MIA
21	Nick Lodolo	CIN	CLE
22	Braxton Garrett	MIA	@NYM
23	Mitch Keller	PIT	@STL	2.62 ERA, 1.17 WHIP with 66K and 18 BB in 68.2 IP since rough first two outings
24	Mitchell Parker	WAS	@DET, MIA
25	Hunter Greene	CIN	@MIL
26	Bobby Miller	LAD	KC
27	Javier Assad	CHC	@TB
28	Bailey Falter	PIT	@STL
29	Matt Waldron	SD	@NYM
30	Andrew Abbott	CIN	@MIL
31	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	LAA
32	Ben Brown	CHC	STL
33	Spencer Howard	SF	LAA
34	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	@DET
35	Miles Mikolas	STL	PIT, @CHC
36	Charlie Morton	ATL	TB
37	Nick Martinez	CIN	CLE
38	Keaton Winn	SF	LAA
39	Max Meyer	MIA	@WAS
40	Cal Quantrill	COL	@MIN
41	Jordan Hicks	SF	HOU
42	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	@BOS
43	Lance Lynn	STL	PIT
44	Tylor Megill	NYM	MIA, SD
45	Jameson Taillon	CHC	@TB, STL
46	Walker Buehler	LAD	TEX
47	Jared Jones	PIT	@COL
48	DJ Herz	WAS	MIA
49	Gavin Stone	LAD	KC
50	Sean Manaea	NYM	SD
51	Jordan Montgomery	ARI	LAA, CWS
52	Kyle Gibson	STL	@CHC
53	NL Reliever
54	Bryse Wilson	MIL	CIN
55	Trevor Rogers	MIA	@WAS
56	Austin Gomber	COL	@MIN
57	Colin Rea	MIL	TOR, CIN
58	Frankie Montas	CIN	@MIL
59	Jose Quintana	NYM	SD
60	Randy Vasquez	SD	OAK
61	Kyle Harrison	SF	HOU, LAA
62	Andre Pallante	STL	@CHC
63	Hurston Waldrep	ATL	TB
64	Dakota Hudson	COL	@MIN, PIT
65	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@BAL
66	Adam Mazur	SD	@NYM
67	Carlos Rodriguez	MIL	TOR
68	James Paxton	LAD	TEX
69	Luis Ortiz	PIT	@COL
70	Slade Cecconi	ARI	LAA
71	Roddery Munoz	MIA	@NYM
72	Ryan Feltner	COL	PIT
73	Tobias Myers	MIL	TOR
74	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	@BAL
75	Tommy Henry	ARI	CWS
76	Patrick Corbin	WAS	MIA
77	Ryne Nelson	ARI	CWS
78	Ty Blach	COL	PIT