Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Grody to the Max

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Updated on May 26, 2019 11:27PM EST

This could be the widest top-to-bottom disparity for probable pitchers in recent memory. The preponderance of injuries forced many clubs to send inferior arms to the mound, not to mention deploy bullpen games with sub-par relievers. There's plenty to like at the top, so hopefully you don't have to rely on the free-agent pool this week to find two-start options. If you do, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I'm just the messenger.

Overall, the busy Memorial Day schedule helps boost the double-dippers to a generous 44 options, at least that's the preliminary count.

There's more speculative starters than normal. Hopefully, the clubs will clarify their plans over the weekend. As such, it behooves you to take a few minutes out of your Memorial Day weekend and check the updated rankings, posted Sunday night.

For the week May 27 - June 2.

UPDATED: Sunday May 26, 11:30 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. MIA, at CIN	Best two win pitcher in baseball
2	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CHC, at OAK	Homers continue to haunt
3	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI
4	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. PIT, vs. WAS	Walks up lately
5	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at LAD, at ARI
6	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI	Not the old Kershaw, but still pretty good
7	Matthew Boyd	DET	at BAL, at ATL	Braves good road test
8	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. SD, vs. BOS
9

Overall, the busy Memorial Day schedule helps boost the double-dippers to a generous 44 options, at least that's the preliminary count.

For the week May 27 - June 2.

UPDATED: Sunday May 26, 11:30 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. MIA, at CIN	Best two win pitcher in baseball
2	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CHC, at OAK	Homers continue to haunt
3	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI
4	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. PIT, vs. WAS	Walks up lately
5	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at LAD, at ARI
6	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI	Not the old Kershaw, but still pretty good
7	Matthew Boyd	DET	at BAL, at ATL	Braves good road test
8	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. SD, vs. BOS
9	Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY
10	Justin Verlander	HOU	at OAK
11	Cole Hamels	CHC	at HOU, at STL
12	Blake Snell	TB	vs. TOR
13	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. KC, vs. CLE	Nothing flukey about break-out
14	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. SF, at SD	Soft pair, pick up if available
15	Zack Greinke	ARI	at COL, vs. NYM	Survive Coors early and the Mets await at the end of the week
16	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. LAA	Big boost from home venue
17	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at MIA
18	Trevor Bauer	CLE	at CWS	Downturn in control out of nowhere
19	Matt Strahm	SD	at NYY, vs. MIA	Catching Yankees at a good time
20	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. NYM
21	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at CIN
22	Jose Berrios	MIN	at TB
23	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CWS	Setting up to repeat last seasons surge after sluggish start to campaign
24	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. NYM	Back in the groove
25	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. CLE, at NYY	Walks fixed, but whiffs down and homers big concern
26	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. DET	ERA correction forthcoming, but peripherals still solid
27	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. TOR, vs. MIN	Worth even is he doesn't start
28	James Paxton	NYY	vs. SD	Expected back, despite some residual pain in his knee
29	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ATL	Quietly having solid season
30	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. STL	One step forward, two steps back
31	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. MIA	Piling up the punch outs
32	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at MIA, at BAL	On the road, but facing lesser lineups
33	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. KC
34	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at HOU
35	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. TOR, vs. MIN	Leap of faith he's back on track
36	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at SEA
37	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CIN, vs. MIL	Staff savior
38	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. LAA
39	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. SF
40	Caleb Smith	MIA	at SD	Time to take the reins off and let him pitch deeper
41	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. MIN
42	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at TB
43	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. PHI
44	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at LAD	ERA estimators a run lower than actual, but not getting the big out when needed
45	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. LAA
46	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at MIN, at PIT	Low whiffs leaves Gio vulnerable to a blow-up
47	Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. MIL, at CIN	May not stay up, but Bucs need someone for Monday twin bill
48	David Price	BOS	vs. CLE
49	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. CHC
50	Lance Lynn	TEX	at SEA, vs. KC	One of the better two-start options of those possible available for pick-up
51	Brad Peacock	HOU	at OAK
52	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. CHC	Needs to shake gopheritis
53	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. DET
54	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. DET
55	Max Fried	ATL	vs. WAS
56	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. LAA, vs. HOU	Strikeouts great, but walks and homers need to come down
57	Chris Paddack	SD	at NYY
58	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. WAS
59	Jose Quintana	CHC	at STL
60	Jon Gray	COL	vs. ARI, vs. TOR
61	Corbin Martin	HOU	vs. CHC	Needs to pick it up to stay in the Show
62	Zach Eflin	PHI	at LAD
63	Domingo German	NYY	vs. BOS
64	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at ARI
65	Trevor Cahill	LAA	at OAK, at SEA
66	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at SEA
67	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. KC, vs. CLE
68	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY
69	Jake Arrieta	PHI	at LAD
70	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. TEX
71	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. STL, at LAD	Not definite, but coiuld return to majors
72	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. MIL
73	Jon Lester	CHC	at HOU
74	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. PIT
75	Drew Pomeranz	SF	at MIA
76	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. MIL, at TB
77	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. PIT
78	Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. NYM	Rebound not surprising, but no one expected to this extent
79	German Marquez	COL	vs. TOR
80	John Means	BAL	vs. DET
81	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. SF
82	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. LAA
83	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. STL
84	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. WAS
85	Chase Anderson	MIL	at PIT
86	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. CHC
87	Steven Matz	NYM	at LAD, at ARI
88	Jose Urena	MIA	at WAS, at SD
89	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at TB
90	Trent Thornton	TOR	at TB	Another example of high-K guy with excessive walks and homers
91	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. KC
92	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. WAS
93	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. MIL	Giving back some of his early-season gains
94	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at TB, at COL
95	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. LAA
96	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. DET
97	Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. LAA
98	Jefry Rodriguez	CLE	at BOS, at CWS
99	Griffin Canning	LAA	at OAK
100	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at PIT
101	Brad Keller	KC	at CWS
102	Yu Darvish	CHC	at STL
103	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS
104	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. MIL
105	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. HOU
106	Daniel Norris	DET	at BAL, at ATL
107	Shane Bieber	CLE	at BOS
108	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT
109	Felix Pena	LAA	at SEA
110	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at BAL
111	Adam Wainwright	STL	at PHI, vs. CHC
112	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at COL, vs. NYM
113	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. ARI, vs. TOR
114	Luis Cessa	NYY	vs. SD
115	Danny Duffy	KC	at TEX
116	Zach Plesac	CLE	at BOS, at CWS
117	Clayton Richard	TOR	at TB
118	Ryne Stanek	TB	vs. MIN
119	Homer Bailey	KC	at CWS, at TEX
120	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. SF
121	Nick Tropeano	LAA	at OAK
122	Robbie Ray	ARI	at COL
123	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at ATL
124	Nick Ramirez	DET	at BAL
125	Ryan Weber	BOS	vs. CLE, at NYY
126	Drew Smyly	TEX	at SEA
127	Shaun Anderson	SF	at BAL
128	Zach Davies	MIL	at MIN
129	Jakob Junis	KC	at TEX
130	Eric Lauer	SD	at NYY
131	Dakota Hudson	STL	at PHI
132	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. ARI
133	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at CWS
134	Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. MIA
135	Chance Adams	NYY	vs. BOS
136	Jason Vargas	NYM	at LAD
137	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. HOU
138	David Hess	BAL	vs. SF
139	Lucas Sims	CIN	vs. PIT
140	Steven Brault	PIT	at CIN
141	Jorge Lopez	KC	at TEX
142	Adrian Sampson	TEX	at SEA, vs. KC
143	Nick Kingham	PIT	at CIN
144	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. CLE
145	Erick Fedde	WAS	at CIN
146	Genesis Cabrera	STL	at PHI
147	Kyle McGowin	WAS	at ATL
148	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. DET, vs. SF
149	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. ARI
150	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at COL
151	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. KC
152	Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. CLE
153	Edwin Jackson	TOR	at COL
154	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at COL

American League

PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. CHC, at OAK	Homers continue to haunt
Matthew Boyd	DET	at BAL, at ATL	Braves good road test
Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. SD, vs. BOS
Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY
Justin Verlander	HOU	at OAK
Blake Snell	TB	vs. TOR
Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. KC, vs. CLE	Nothing flukey about break-out
Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. LAA	Big boost from home venue
Trevor Bauer	CLE	at CWS	Downturn in control out of nowhere
Jose Berrios	MIN	at TB
Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CWS	Setting up to repeat last seasons surge after sluggish start to campaign
Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. CLE, at NYY	Walks fixed, but whiffs down and homers big concern
Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. TOR, vs. MIN	Worth even is he doesn't start
James Paxton	NYY	vs. SD	Expected back, despite some residual pain in his knee
Mike Minor	TEX	vs. KC
Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. TOR, vs. MIN	Leap of faith he's back on track
Andrew Heaney	LAA	at SEA
Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. LAA
Charlie Morton	TB	vs. MIN
Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at TB
Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. LAA
David Price	BOS	vs. CLE
Lance Lynn	TEX	at SEA, vs. KC	One of the better two-start options of those possible available for pick-up
Brad Peacock	HOU	at OAK
Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. LAA, vs. HOU	Strikeouts great, but walks and homers need to come down
Corbin Martin	HOU	vs. CHC	Needs to pick it up to stay in the Show
Domingo German	NYY	vs. BOS
Trevor Cahill	LAA	at OAK, at SEA
Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at SEA
Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. KC, vs. CLE
Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY
Wade LeBlanc	SEA	vs. TEX
Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. MIL, at TB
John Means	BAL	vs. DET
Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. LAA
Wade Miley	HOU	vs. CHC
Kyle Gibson	MIN	at TB
Trent Thornton	TOR	at TB	Another example of high-K guy with excessive walks and homers
Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. KC
Martin Perez	MIN	vs. MIL	Giving back some of his early-season gains
Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at TB, at COL
Mike Leake	SEA	vs. LAA
Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. DET
Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. TEX, vs. LAA
Jefry Rodriguez	CLE	at BOS, at CWS
Griffin Canning	LAA	at OAK
Brad Keller	KC	at CWS
J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS
Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. HOU
Daniel Norris	DET	at BAL, at ATL
Shane Bieber	CLE	at BOS
Felix Pena	LAA	at SEA
Luis Cessa	NYY	vs. SD
Danny Duffy	KC	at TEX
Zach Plesac	CLE	at BOS, at CWS
Clayton Richard	TOR	at TB
Ryne Stanek	TB	vs. MIN
Homer Bailey	KC	at CWS, at TEX
Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. SF
Nick Tropeano	LAA	at OAK
Spencer Turnbull	DET	at ATL
Nick Ramirez	DET	at BAL
Ryan Weber	BOS	vs. CLE, at NYY
Drew Smyly	TEX	at SEA
Jakob Junis	KC	at TEX
Glenn Sparkman	KC	at CWS
Chance Adams	NYY	vs. BOS
Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. HOU
David Hess	BAL	vs. SF
Jorge Lopez	KC	at TEX
Adrian Sampson	TEX	at SEA, vs. KC
Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. CLE
Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. DET, vs. SF
Marcus Stroman	TOR	at COL
Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. KC
Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. CLE
Edwin Jackson	TOR	at COL

National League

PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. MIA, at CIN	Best two win pitcher in baseball
Rich Hill	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI
Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. PIT, vs. WAS	Walks up lately
Jacob deGrom	NYM	at LAD, at ARI
Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. NYM, vs. PHI	Not the old Kershaw, but still pretty good
Cole Hamels	CHC	at HOU, at STL
Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. SF, at SD	Soft pair, pick up if available
Zack Greinke	ARI	at COL, vs. NYM	Survive Coors early and the Mets await at the end of the week
Madison Bumgarner	SF	at MIA
Matt Strahm	SD	at NYY, vs. MIA	Catching Yankees at a good time
Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. NYM
Patrick Corbin	WAS	at CIN
Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. NYM	Back in the groove
Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. DET	ERA correction forthcoming, but peripherals still solid
Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ATL	Quietly having solid season
Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. STL	One step forward, two steps back
Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. MIA	Piling up the punch outs
Jeff Samardzija	SF	at MIA, at BAL	On the road, but facing lesser lineups
Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at HOU
Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CIN, vs. MIL	Staff savior
Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. SF
Caleb Smith	MIA	at SD	Time to take the reins off and let him pitch deeper
Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. PHI
Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at LAD	ERA estimators a run lower than actual, but not getting the big out when needed
Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at MIN, at PIT	Low whiffs leaves Gio vulnerable to a blow-up
Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. MIL, at CIN	May not stay up, but Bucs need someone for Monday twin bill
Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. CHC
Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. CHC	Needs to shake gopheritis
Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. DET
Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. DET
Max Fried	ATL	vs. WAS
Chris Paddack	SD	at NYY
Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. WAS
Jose Quintana	CHC	at STL
Jon Gray	COL	vs. ARI, vs. TOR
Zach Eflin	PHI	at LAD
Zack Wheeler	NYM	at ARI
Jake Arrieta	PHI	at LAD
Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. STL, at LAD	Not definite, but coiuld return to majors
Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. MIL
Jon Lester	CHC	at HOU
Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. PIT
Drew Pomeranz	SF	at MIA
Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. PIT
Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. NYM	Rebound not surprising, but no one expected to this extent
German Marquez	COL	vs. TOR
Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. SF
Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. STL
Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. WAS
Chase Anderson	MIL	at PIT
Steven Matz	NYM	at LAD, at ARI
Jose Urena	MIA	at WAS, at SD
Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. WAS
Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at PIT
Yu Darvish	CHC	at STL
Chris Archer	PIT	vs. MIL
Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT
Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at BAL
Adam Wainwright	STL	at PHI, vs. CHC
Merrill Kelly	ARI	at COL, vs. NYM
Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. ARI, vs. TOR
Robbie Ray	ARI	at COL
Shaun Anderson	SF	at BAL
Zach Davies	MIL	at MIN
Eric Lauer	SD	at NYY
Dakota Hudson	STL	at PHI
Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. ARI
Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. MIA
Jason Vargas	NYM	at LAD
Lucas Sims	CIN	vs. PIT
Steven Brault	PIT	at CIN
Nick Kingham	PIT	at CIN
Erick Fedde	WAS	at CIN
Genesis Cabrera	STL	at PHI
Kyle McGowin	WAS	at ATL
Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. ARI
Taylor Clarke	ARI	at COL