Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Nationals, Astros Dominate Top-5

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Nationals, Astros Dominate Top-5

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Updated on September 15, 2019 10:55PM EST

Twenty four down, two to go. There's a certain symmetry to the baseball season being 26 weeks long while a marathon is 26 miles. It makes the analogy that much more meaningful.

Unfortunately, the number of quality two-start pitchers will continue to dwindle, with only 34 earmarked for a two-step. Keep in mind, as playoff teams clinch, their rotations could shuffle, as early as this week.

Please direct all questions germane to the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. Inquiries regarding the rankings can be posted in the comments.

Please return Sunday night for the final rankings after next week's rotation are clarified.

For the week Sep. 16-22.

UPDATED: Sunday, September 15 11:00 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX, vs. LAA
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at STL, at MIA	Next start will be a new career high, already thrown second most IP for his career
3	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. CWS, vs. KC
4	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at STL, at MIA
5	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. CIN, vs. STL	4 BB last 19 IP, clearly needs to improve his control
6	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. SF	Giving the Braves just what they wanted
7	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TEX
8	Sonny Gray	CIN	at CHC, vs. NYM
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. COL
10	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at CIN
11	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. PHI	Hasn't

Twenty four down, two to go. There's a certain symmetry to the baseball season being 26 weeks long while a marathon is 26 miles. It makes the analogy that much more meaningful.

Unfortunately, the number of quality two-start pitchers will continue to dwindle, with only 34 earmarked for a two-step. Keep in mind, as playoff teams clinch, their rotations could shuffle, as early as this week.

Please direct all questions germane to the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. Inquiries regarding the rankings can be posted in the comments.

Please return Sunday night for the final rankings after next week's rotation are clarified.

For the week Sep. 16-22.

UPDATED: Sunday, September 15 11:00 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX, vs. LAA
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at STL, at MIA	Next start will be a new career high, already thrown second most IP for his career
3	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. CWS, vs. KC
4	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at STL, at MIA
5	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. CIN, vs. STL	4 BB last 19 IP, clearly needs to improve his control
6	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. SF	Giving the Braves just what they wanted
7	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TEX
8	Sonny Gray	CIN	at CHC, vs. NYM
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. COL
10	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at CIN
11	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. PHI	Hasn't lost since June 28
12	Lance Lynn	TEX	at HOU, at OAK
13	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. PHI
14	Max Scherzer	WAS	at STL
15	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
16	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BOS
17	Zack Greinke	HOU	vs. LAA
18	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PHI	17 K last 17 IP, improvement over season-long 7.1 K/9
19	Pablo Lopez	MIA	at ARI, vs. WAS	4.24 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA suggest 4.97 ERA artificially high
20	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. STL
21	James Paxton	NYY	vs. TOR
22	John Means	BAL	at DET, vs. SEA	Outpitching peripherals but matchups boost rankings
23	Jack Flaherty	STL	at CHC
24	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SF
25	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. TEX	Coming off rare poor outing
26	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. MIA, at SD	Risk to ratios but lesser lineups and plenty of punch outs
27	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CLE, vs. CWS	Getting crushed by RH power but CLE and CWS below average in RHB HR%
28	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. CWS
29	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BOS
30	Chris Paddack	SD	at MIL
31	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. CIN, vs. STL
32	Trevor Bauer	CIN	vs. NYM
33	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TOR
34	Luis Castillo	CIN	at CHC
35	Tanner Roark	OAK	vs. KC
36	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at MIA
37	Max Fried	ATL	vs. SF
38	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. SF, at TB	Stretched out enough to qualify for the win
39	Zac Gallen	ARI	at SD	Great spot to continue second half surge
40	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. TB	14 BB last 12 IP
41	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TEX
42	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. SF
43	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL	Walks up lately
44	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at MIN
45	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. DET, vs. PHI
46	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. TEX
47	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. SD, vs. PIT	Ratios risky, but good chance for at least one win
48	Mike Minor	TEX	at OAK
49	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL
50	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at MIL
51	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
52	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at BAL
53	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. TB	Expected to be the primary pitcher
54	David Price	BOS	at TB
55	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. WAS, at CHC	3.27 ERA, .95 WHIP with 27 K in last 4 GS, spanning 22 IP
56	Aaron Civale	CLE	vs. DET
57	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. STL
58	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. KC
59	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at BOS
60	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR, vs. SEA
61	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. SD
62	Alex Young	ARI	vs. MIA
63	Tyler Glasnow	TB	vs. BOS
64	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. DET
65	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CIN
66	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. NYM
67	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at MIN, at DET	Two complete stinkers sandwiching a gem
68	Mike Leake	ARI	vs. MIA
69	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. LAA
70	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. CWS, vs. KC	Below average lineups vs. LHP
71	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PHI
72	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. LAA
73	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at COL
74	Dylan Cease	CWS	at DET	Showing signs of making strides over the second half
75	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at SD
76	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
77	Garrett Richards	#N/A	at MIL, vs. ARI
78	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CIN
79	Jordan Montgomery	#N/A	vs. TOR
80	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. SEA
81	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. SD
82	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TB
83	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. KC
84	Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. SEA, at MIL	Rough rookie campaign, don't give up in keeper/dynasty
85	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. PIT
86	Trent Thornton	TOR	at BAL, at NYY	3.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP with 30 K last 30.2 IP, but tough pair
87	Ivan Nova	CWS	at DET
88	Danny Duffy	KC	at OAK
89	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. WAS, at CHC
90	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at NYY
91	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. LAA
92	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at ARI
93	Cal Quantrill	SD	vs. ARI
94	Austin Pruitt	TB	at LAD
95	Trevor Williams	PIT	at MIL
96	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at MIL
97	Steven Brault	PIT	at MIL
98	Devin Smeltzer	MIN	vs. KC
99	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at PIT, at BAL
100	Zach Eflin	PHI	at ATL
101	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. LAA	Pitch count unclear but did toss 64 in last rehab start
102	Brendan McKay	TB	at LAD
103	Robert Dugger	MIA	vs. WAS
104	Caleb Smith	MIA	at ARI
105	Steven Matz	NYM	at COL, at CIN
106	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at CHC
107	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at BOS
108	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	vs. SEA
109	Anthony Kay	TOR	at BAL
110	Drew VerHagen	DET	vs. CWS
111	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. WAS
112	Tommy Milone	SEA	at PIT
113	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at PIT
114	Mike Shawaryn	BOS	vs. SF
115	Justus Sheffield	SEA	at BAL
116	Dario Agrazal	PIT	vs. SEA
117	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL, at CLE
118	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	vs. WAS
119	Jakob Junis	KC	at MIN
120	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at BAL
121	Johnny Cueto	SF	at ATL
122	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TOR
123	Jaime Barria	LAA	at HOU
124	Tyler Alexander	DET	vs. BAL
125	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. ARI
126	Jorge Lopez	KC	at OAK, at MIN
127	Kolby Allard	TEX	at HOU
128	Logan Webb	SF	at BOS, at ATL
129	Jose Suarez	LAA	at NYY, at HOU
130	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. TOR
131	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at CLE
132	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. NYM, at LAD
133	Edwin Jackson	DET	vs. CWS
134	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at HOU
135	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at OAK, at MIN
136	Michael Wacha	STL	at CHC
137	Mike Montgomery	KC	at MIN
138	Jason Vargas	PHI	at CLE
139	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at OAK
140	Peter Lambert	COL	at LAD
141	T.J. Zeuch	TOR	at NYY
142	Dillon Peters	LAA	at NYY
143	Drew Smyly	PHI	at CLE
144	Marcus Stroman	NYM	at COL
145	Tyler Beede	SF	at ATL
146	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at LAD
147	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
148	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at NYY
149	Tim Melville	COL	vs. NYM
150	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. NYM
151	Dylan Covey	CWS	at MIN

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at STL, at MIA
2	Yu Darvish	CHC	vs. CIN, vs. STL	4 BB last 19 IP, clearly needs to improve his control
3	Sonny Gray	CIN	at CHC, vs. NYM
4	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at CIN
5	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. PHI	Hasn't lost since June 28
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	at STL
7	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
8	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. BOS
9	Zack Greinke	HOU	vs. LAA
10	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PHI	17 K last 17 IP, improvement over season-long 7.1 K/9
11	Pablo Lopez	MIA	at ARI, vs. WAS	4.24 xFIP, 4.35 SIERA suggest 4.97 ERA artificially high
12	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. SF
13	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. TEX	Coming off rare poor outing
14	Chris Paddack	SD	at MIL
15	Trevor Bauer	CIN	vs. NYM
16	Luis Castillo	CIN	at CHC
17	Max Fried	ATL	vs. SF
18	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. SF, at TB	Stretched out enough to qualify for the win
19	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TEX
20	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. SF
21	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. DET, vs. PHI
22	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. SD, vs. PIT	Ratios risky, but good chance for at least one win
23	Mike Minor	TEX	at OAK
24	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL
25	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at MIL
26	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. TB	Expected to be the primary pitcher
27	Miles Mikolas	STL	vs. WAS, at CHC	3.27 ERA, .95 WHIP with 27 K in last 4 GS, spanning 22 IP
28	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR, vs. SEA
29	Tyler Glasnow	TB	vs. BOS
30	Adam Plutko	CLE	vs. DET
31	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at CIN
32	Mike Leake	ARI	vs. MIA
33	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. CWS, vs. KC	Below average lineups vs. LHP
34	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PHI
35	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at COL
36	Garrett Richards	#N/A	at MIL, vs. ARI
37	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. CIN
38	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TB
39	Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. SEA, at MIL	Rough rookie campaign, don't give up in keeper/dynasty
40	Trent Thornton	TOR	at BAL, at NYY	3.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP with 30 K last 30.2 IP, but tough pair
41	Danny Duffy	KC	at OAK
42	Cal Quantrill	SD	vs. ARI
43	Austin Pruitt	TB	at LAD
44	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at MIL
45	Steven Brault	PIT	at MIL
46	Devin Smeltzer	MIN	vs. KC
47	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at PIT, at BAL
48	Brendan McKay	TB	at LAD
49	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at CHC
50	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	vs. SEA
51	Anthony Kay	TOR	at BAL
52	Mike Shawaryn	BOS	vs. SF
53	Justus Sheffield	SEA	at BAL
54	Dario Agrazal	PIT	vs. SEA
55	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	vs. WAS
56	Jakob Junis	KC	at MIN
57	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at BAL
58	Johnny Cueto	SF	at ATL
59	Tyler Alexander	DET	vs. BAL
60	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. ARI
61	Kolby Allard	TEX	at HOU
62	Logan Webb	SF	at BOS, at ATL
63	Jose Suarez	LAA	at NYY, at HOU
64	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at CLE
65	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. NYM, at LAD
66	Edwin Jackson	DET	vs. CWS
67	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at HOU
68	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at OAK, at MIN
69	Mike Montgomery	KC	at MIN
70	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at OAK
71	T.J. Zeuch	TOR	at NYY
72	Dillon Peters	LAA	at NYY
73	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
74	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at NYY
75	Dylan Covey	CWS	at MIN

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TEX, vs. LAA
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at STL, at MIA	Next start will be a new career high, already thrown second most IP for his career
3	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. CWS, vs. KC
4	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. PHI, vs. SF	Giving the Braves just what they wanted
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TEX
6	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. COL
7	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. PHI
8	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. STL
9	James Paxton	NYY	vs. TOR
10	John Means	BAL	at DET, vs. SEA	Outpitching peripherals but matchups boost rankings
11	Jack Flaherty	STL	at CHC
12	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. MIA, at SD	Risk to ratios but lesser lineups and plenty of punch outs
13	Matthew Boyd	DET	at CLE, vs. CWS	Getting crushed by RH power but CLE and CWS below average in RHB HR%
14	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. CWS
15	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BOS
16	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. CIN, vs. STL
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TOR
18	Tanner Roark	OAK	vs. KC
19	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at MIA
20	Zac Gallen	ARI	at SD	Great spot to continue second half surge
21	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. TB	14 BB last 12 IP
22	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL	Walks up lately
23	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at MIN
24	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. TEX
25	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. SD, vs. PIT
26	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at BAL
27	David Price	BOS	at TB
28	Aaron Civale	CLE	vs. DET
29	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. STL
30	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. KC
31	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at BOS
32	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. SD
33	Alex Young	ARI	vs. MIA
34	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. NYM
35	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at MIN, at DET	Two complete stinkers sandwiching a gem
36	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. LAA
37	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. LAA
38	Dylan Cease	CWS	at DET	Showing signs of making strides over the second half
39	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at SD
40	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
41	Jordan Montgomery	#N/A	vs. TOR
42	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. SEA
43	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. SD
44	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. KC
45	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. PIT
46	Ivan Nova	CWS	at DET
47	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. WAS, at CHC
48	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. LAA
49	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at ARI
50	Trevor Williams	PIT	at MIL
51	Zach Eflin	PHI	at ATL
52	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. LAA	Pitch count unclear but did toss 64 in last rehab start
53	Robert Dugger	MIA	vs. WAS
54	Caleb Smith	MIA	at ARI
55	Steven Matz	NYM	at COL, at CIN
56	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at BOS
57	Drew VerHagen	DET	vs. CWS
58	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. WAS
59	Tommy Milone	SEA	at PIT
60	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at PIT
61	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL, at CLE
62	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TOR
63	Jaime Barria	LAA	at HOU
64	Jorge Lopez	KC	at OAK, at MIN
65	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. TOR
66	Michael Wacha	STL	at CHC
67	Jason Vargas	PHI	at CLE
68	Peter Lambert	COL	at LAD
69	Drew Smyly	PHI	at CLE
70	Marcus Stroman	NYM	at COL
71	Tyler Beede	SF	at ATL
72	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at LAD
73	Tim Melville	COL	vs. NYM
74	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. NYM

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Todd Zola

@toddzola

Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.

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