Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Hug Watch Edition

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Updated on July 29, 2019 11:15AM EST

"Subject to change" will not be more applicable this season as the July 31 trade deadline falls smack dab in the middle of the week. Complicating matters is there are only full 15-game slates on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday with teams having rare off days on Wednesday and Friday. The result is a low 27 projected two-start options with a scant few checking in as useful pickups.

No doubt there will be changes announced this weekend. As is the custom, an update will be posted Sunday evening. As a reminder, the names are pulled from the Projected Starters grid, so please direct all scheduling question there. Questions regrading the rankings can be asked in the comments section below.

For the week of July 29 - Aug. 4.

UPDATED: Sunday July 28, 11:00 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	at CLE, vs. SEA	Only 2 HR allowed last 18 IP
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at BOS, vs. MIA
3	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. ATL, at ARI
4	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. HOU, vs. LAA
5	Chris Paddack	SD	vs. BAL, at LAD	Rare double dip
6	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. ARI, at TB	Getting better as the season progresses
7	David Price	BOS	vs. TB, at NYY
8	Yu Darvish	CHC	at STL, vs. MIL	54 K with just 7 BB over last 48.2 IP
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD	Strikeouts up lately
10	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at MIA,

For the week of July 29 - Aug. 4.

UPDATED: Sunday July 28, 11:00 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	at CLE, vs. SEA	Only 2 HR allowed last 18 IP
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at BOS, vs. MIA
3	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. ATL, at ARI
4	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. HOU, vs. LAA
5	Chris Paddack	SD	vs. BAL, at LAD	Rare double dip
6	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. ARI, at TB	Getting better as the season progresses
7	David Price	BOS	vs. TB, at NYY
8	Yu Darvish	CHC	at STL, vs. MIL	54 K with just 7 BB over last 48.2 IP
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD	Strikeouts up lately
10	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at MIA, vs. KC	Should get back on track vs. weak lineups
11	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. NYM, at PHI	Added 2 mph to fastball and altered pitch mix since break
12	Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY
13	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at CWS
14	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. PIT, at ATL
15	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. CWS
16	Jose Berrios	MIN	at MIA
17	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	at WAS, vs. CIN
18	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. SD	S.T.U.D.
19	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. DET
20	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. MIA
21	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. LAA
22	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at CLE
23	Julio Teheran	ATL	at WAS, vs. CIN	1.14 ERA, .89 WHIP with 23 K and 5 BB in 23.2 July IP
24	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. PIT
25	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ARI
26	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at CWS	Will he still be on the Mets?
27	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. ARI, vs. BOS
28	Michael Pineda	MIN	at MIA
29	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. LAA
30	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. NYM	Coming off worst outing of the season, should rebound fine
31	Zack Greinke	ARI	at NYY
32	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CWS	Excellent in four of last five starts
33	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. SF
34	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. CHC
35	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at STL
36	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. SEA
37	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. MIL	Expected to return early August
38	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. PIT, at ATL	Hug watch
39	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. STL
40	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. CHC
41	Mike Soroka	ATL	at WAS	Low K for season but punched out 24 last 22.1 IP
42	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at COL, vs. SD
43	Max Fried	ATL	vs. CIN
44	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. BAL
45	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	vs. TOR	Opening eyes with 2.29 ERA, .66 WHIP with 23 K and 3 BB in 19.2 IP over last 3 GS
46	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL
47	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. CWS
48	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at PHI	2.48 ERA, .89 WHIP with 30 K in 32.2 IP during July
49	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. TOR	Strikeouts up since throwing more fastballs and curves with fewer sliders and sinkers
50	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at OAK
51	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
52	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. SEA
53	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at MIA, vs. WAS
54	Brad Keller	KC	vs. TOR, at MIN
55	John Means	BAL	vs. TOR
56	Griffin Canning	LAA	vs. DET
57	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. NYM
58	Domingo German	NYY	vs. BOS
59	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY
60	German Marquez	COL	vs. LAD
61	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at LAD
62	Julio Urias	LAD	at COL, vs. SD
63	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. WAS
64	Marcus Stroman	NYM	at PIT	Unclear when he makes Mets debut
65	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAD, vs. SF
66	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at HOU
67	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. ARI
68	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. KC
69	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. MIL
70	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL
71	Ivan Nova	CWS	at PHI
72	Matthew Boyd	DET	at TEX
73	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. CIN
74	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. NYM
75	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIL
76	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
77	Mike Leake	SEA	at TEX
78	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR
79	Drew Smyly	PHI	vs. SF, vs. CWS	Encouraging first start
80	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at CIN
81	Alex Wood	CIN	at ATL
82	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. DET, at CLE
83	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at ATL
84	Chase Anderson	MIL	at OAK
85	Chad Green	NYY	vs. BOS
86	Daniel Ponce de Leon	STL	at OAK
87	James Paxton	NYY	vs. BOS
88	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. MIL
89	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. HOU
90	Jose Suarez	LAA	vs. DET
91	Zac Gallen	MIA	vs. MIN
92	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. MIL
93	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. TOR
94	Jason Vargas	NYM	at PIT
95	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. SF
96	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CIN, vs. NYM
97	Cal Quantrill	SD	at LAD
98	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at COL
99	Thomas Pannone	TOR	at KC, at BAL
100	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at HOU
101	Shaun Anderson	SF	at PHI
102	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. NYM
103	Steven Matz	NYM	at PIT
104	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. MIN
105	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	vs. MIN
106	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. CHC
107	Tyler Beede	SF	at PHI, at COL
108	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. DET
109	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. ATL
110	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. HOU
111	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at BOS
112	Danny Duffy	KC	at MIN
113	Jose Urquidy	HOU	at CLE
114	Rogelio Armenteros	HOU	vs. SEA
115	Ryan Borucki	TOR	at BAL
116	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
117	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BAL
118	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	at KC, at BAL
119	Eric Lauer	SD	at LAD
120	Matt Grace	WAS	vs. ATL
121	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TOR
122	Jimmy Yacabonis	BAL	at SD
123	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at TB
124	Aaron Wilkerson	MIL	at CHC
125	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. LAD, vs. SF
126	Drew VerHagen	DET	at LAA
127	Andrew Cashner	BOS	vs. TB
128	Felix Pena	LAA	at CLE
129	Dakota Hudson	STL	at OAK
130	Adrian Houser	MIL	at OAK, at CHC
131	Tommy Milone	SEA	at HOU
132	Dario Agrazal	PIT	at CIN
133	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at LAA, at TEX
134	Tom Eshelman	BAL	at SD
135	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at TEX
136	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. SF
137	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. STL
138	Jalen Beeks	TB	at BOS
139	Daniel Norris	DET	at LAA
140	Brian Johnson	BOS	at NYY
141	Alex Young	ARI	vs. WAS
142	Joe Ross	WAS	at ARI
143	Conner Menez	SF	at COL
144	Pedro Payano	TEX	vs. DET
145	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at KC
146	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. SEA
147	Tyler Alexander	DET	at TEX
148	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at MIN
149	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at NYY
150	Dillon Peters	LAA	at CLE
151	Ross Detwiler	CWS	at PHI

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	at CLE, vs. SEA	Only 2 HR allowed last 18 IP
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at BOS, vs. MIA
3	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. HOU, vs. LAA
4	David Price	BOS	vs. TB, at NYY
5	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at MIA, vs. KC	Should get back on track vs. weak lineups
6	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. NYM, at PHI	Added 2 mph to fastball and altered pitch mix since break
7	Chris Sale	BOS	at NYY
8	Jose Berrios	MIN	at MIA
9	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. DET
10	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. MIA
11	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. LAA
12	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at CLE
13	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. ARI, vs. BOS
14	Michael Pineda	MIN	at MIA
15	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. LAA
16	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. NYM	Coming off worst outing of the season, should rebound fine
17	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. SEA
18	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. STL
19	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	vs. TOR	Opening eyes with 2.29 ERA, .66 WHIP with 23 K and 3 BB in 19.2 IP over last 3 GS
20	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. TOR	Strikeouts up since throwing more fastballs and curves with fewer sliders and sinkers
21	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
22	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. SEA
23	Brad Keller	KC	vs. TOR, at MIN
24	John Means	BAL	vs. TOR
25	Griffin Canning	LAA	vs. DET
26	Domingo German	NYY	vs. BOS
27	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY
28	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at HOU
29	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. ARI
30	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. KC
31	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. MIL
32	Ivan Nova	CWS	at PHI
33	Matthew Boyd	DET	at TEX
34	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
35	Mike Leake	SEA	at TEX
36	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR
37	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. DET, at CLE
38	Chad Green	NYY	vs. BOS
39	James Paxton	NYY	vs. BOS
40	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. MIL
41	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. HOU
42	Jose Suarez	LAA	vs. DET
43	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. MIL
44	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. TOR
45	Thomas Pannone	TOR	at KC, at BAL
46	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at HOU
47	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. NYM
48	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. DET
49	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. HOU
50	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at BOS
51	Danny Duffy	KC	at MIN
52	Jose Urquidy	HOU	at CLE
53	Rogelio Armenteros	HOU	vs. SEA
54	Ryan Borucki	TOR	at BAL
55	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BAL
56	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	at KC, at BAL
57	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TOR
58	Jimmy Yacabonis	BAL	at SD
59	Drew VerHagen	DET	at LAA
60	Andrew Cashner	BOS	vs. TB
61	Felix Pena	LAA	at CLE
62	Tommy Milone	SEA	at HOU
63	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at LAA, at TEX
64	Tom Eshelman	BAL	at SD
65	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at TEX
66	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. STL
67	Jalen Beeks	TB	at BOS
68	Daniel Norris	DET	at LAA
69	Brian Johnson	BOS	at NYY
70	Pedro Payano	TEX	vs. DET
71	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at KC
72	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. SEA
73	Tyler Alexander	DET	at TEX
74	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at MIN
75	Dillon Peters	LAA	at CLE
76	Ross Detwiler	CWS	at PHI

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. ATL, at ARI
2	Chris Paddack	SD	vs. BAL, at LAD	Rare double dip
3	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. ARI, at TB	Getting better as the season progresses
4	Yu Darvish	CHC	at STL, vs. MIL	54 K with just 7 BB over last 48.2 IP
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD	Strikeouts up lately
6	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at CWS
7	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. PIT, at ATL
8	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. CWS
9	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	at WAS, vs. CIN
10	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. SD	S.T.U.D.
11	Julio Teheran	ATL	at WAS, vs. CIN	1.14 ERA, .89 WHIP with 23 K and 5 BB in 23.2 July IP
12	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. PIT
13	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ARI
14	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at CWS	Will he still be on the Mets?
15	Zack Greinke	ARI	at NYY
16	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CWS	Excellent in four of last five starts
17	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. SF
18	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. CHC
19	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at STL
20	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. MIL	Expected to return early August
21	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. PIT, at ATL	Hug watch
22	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. CHC
23	Mike Soroka	ATL	at WAS	Low K for season but punched out 24 last 22.1 IP
24	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at COL, vs. SD
25	Max Fried	ATL	vs. CIN
26	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. BAL
27	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL
28	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. CWS
29	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at PHI	2.48 ERA, .89 WHIP with 30 K in 32.2 IP during July
30	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at OAK
31	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at MIA, vs. WAS
32	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. NYM
33	German Marquez	COL	vs. LAD
34	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at LAD
35	Julio Urias	LAD	at COL, vs. SD
36	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. WAS
37	Marcus Stroman	NYM	at PIT	Unclear when he makes Mets debut
38	Jon Gray	COL	vs. LAD, vs. SF
39	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at COL
40	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. CIN
41	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. NYM
42	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIL
43	Drew Smyly	PHI	vs. SF, vs. CWS	Encouraging first start
44	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at CIN
45	Alex Wood	CIN	at ATL
46	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at ATL
47	Chase Anderson	MIL	at OAK
48	Daniel Ponce de Leon	STL	at OAK
49	Zac Gallen	MIA	vs. MIN
50	Jason Vargas	NYM	at PIT
51	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. SF
52	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at CIN, vs. NYM
53	Cal Quantrill	SD	at LAD
54	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at COL
55	Shaun Anderson	SF	at PHI
56	Steven Matz	NYM	at PIT
57	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. MIN
58	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	vs. MIN
59	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. CHC
60	Tyler Beede	SF	at PHI, at COL
61	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. ATL
62	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
63	Eric Lauer	SD	at LAD
64	Matt Grace	WAS	vs. ATL
65	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at TB
66	Aaron Wilkerson	MIL	at CHC
67	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. LAD, vs. SF
68	Dakota Hudson	STL	at OAK
69	Adrian Houser	MIL	at OAK, at CHC
70	Dario Agrazal	PIT	at CIN
71	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. SF
72	Alex Young	ARI	vs. WAS
73	Joe Ross	WAS	at ARI
74	Conner Menez	SF	at COL
75	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at NYY