This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
This is a unique week. There's a goodly number of two-start options with the oddity there aren't many aces, but there aren't many bottom dwellers either. When deciding on your active roster for the week, keep in mind the rankings favor strikeouts over ratios, so if you're in a tight ERA or WHIP rate, you may want to be more judicious with your selections.
For the week, July 30 - Aug. 5
UPDATED: Sunday July 29, 11:25 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at SEA, at LAD | Showing no signs of slowing down, 35 K in 23 July innings |
2 | Justin Verlander | HOU | at LAD | |
3 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. NYY | Fastest to 200K in the AL, broke his own record |
4 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. LAA | |
5 | Jose Berrios | MIN | vs. KC | |
6 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. CWS | Walks high lately, hopefully nothing to worry about |
7 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. HOU, vs. TOR | Downgraded a tad via injury risk |
8 | Danny Duffy | KC | at CWS, at MIN | Dusted off curveball, getting solid results |
9 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. BAL, at BOS | Keeping the ball in the yard lately |
10 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | at MIN | |
11 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at SEA | |
12 | David Price | BOS | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | Can Price get over his Yankee yips? |
13 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | vs. TOR | 0 |
14 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at MIN | |
15 | Sonny Gray | NYY | vs. BAL | Pitching well lately, good chance to keep |
This is a unique week. There's a goodly number of two-start options with the oddity there aren't many aces, but there aren't many bottom dwellers either. When deciding on your active roster for the week, keep in mind the rankings favor strikeouts over ratios, so if you're in a tight ERA or WHIP rate, you may want to be more judicious with your selections.
For the week, July 30 - Aug. 5
UPDATED: Sunday July 29, 11:25 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at SEA, at LAD | Showing no signs of slowing down, 35 K in 23 July innings |
2 | Justin Verlander | HOU | at LAD | |
3 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. NYY | Fastest to 200K in the AL, broke his own record |
4 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. LAA | |
5 | Jose Berrios | MIN | vs. KC | |
6 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. CWS | Walks high lately, hopefully nothing to worry about |
7 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. HOU, vs. TOR | Downgraded a tad via injury risk |
8 | Danny Duffy | KC | at CWS, at MIN | Dusted off curveball, getting solid results |
9 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. BAL, at BOS | Keeping the ball in the yard lately |
10 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | at MIN | |
11 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at SEA | |
12 | David Price | BOS | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | Can Price get over his Yankee yips? |
13 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | vs. TOR | 0 |
14 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at MIN | |
15 | Sonny Gray | NYY | vs. BAL | Pitching well lately, good chance to keep it going if thumb is OK |
16 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at TB, at CLE | Indians crush southpaws |
17 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at SEA | |
18 | Jake Faria | TB | vs. CWS | May get one start before activated, hasn't looked good in rehab |
19 | Sean Manaea | OAK | vs. TOR | Escaped Coors Field relatively unscathed |
20 | Ervin Santana | MIN | vs. CLE, vs. KC | 5K, 1 BB in 5 IP in long-awaited 2018 debut |
21 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. MIA | |
22 | Ryan Borucki | TOR | at SEA | 0 |
23 | Mike Minor | TEX | vs. BAL | |
24 | James Shields | CWS | vs. KC, at TB | |
25 | Jakob Junis | KC | at CWS | |
26 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | vs. KC | |
27 | Matthew Boyd | DET | vs. CIN, at OAK | Skidded into break but emerged with 13 K, 2 BB in 11 IP |
28 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at OAK, at SEA | Aided by pitching venues but may not matter |
29 | Luis Severino | NYY | at BOS | 7.80 ERA, 1.87 last three outings |
30 | Shane Bieber | CLE | at MIN, vs. LAA | Good pair to rebound from last start |
31 | Andrew Heaney | LAA | at TB | |
32 | Frankie Montas | OAK | vs. DET | |
33 | Lance McCullers Jr. | HOU | at LAD | Not getting along with Uncle Charlie lately |
34 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. CWS | |
35 | Mike Leake | SEA | vs. HOU, vs. TOR | |
36 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. LAA | Will he still be a Ray? |
37 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. NYY | |
38 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. LAA | |
39 | Wade LeBlanc | SEA | vs. HOU | |
40 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. TOR | |
41 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | vs. KC | |
42 | Jalen Beeks | TB | vs. LAA | |
43 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | at TB | |
44 | Dylan Covey | CWS | vs. KC | |
45 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. CLE | |
46 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at OAK | |
47 | Yefry Ramirez | BAL | at NYY, at TEX | |
48 | Trevor Cahill | OAK | vs. TOR | |
49 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at TEX | |
50 | Bartolo Colon | TEX | at ARI | |
51 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. PHI | |
52 | Edwin Jackson | OAK | vs. TOR, vs. DET | |
53 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at TEX | |
54 | Martin Perez | TEX | at ARI, vs. BAL | |
55 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | vs. NYY | |
56 | Mike Fiers | DET | vs. CIN | |
57 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at TB | |
58 | J.A. Happ | NYY | at BOS | |
59 | Nick Tropeano | LAA | at TB | |
60 | Lance Lynn | MIN | vs. CLE | |
61 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at OAK | |
62 | John Axford | TOR | at SEA | |
63 | Burch Smith | KC | at MIN | |
64 | Sam Gaviglio | TOR | at OAK, at SEA | |
65 | Alex Cobb | BAL | at NYY | |
66 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | at TEX | |
67 | Yovani Gallardo | TEX | vs. BAL | |
68 | Hunter Wood | TB | vs. LAA | |
69 | Brad Keller | KC | at CWS | |
70 | CC Sabathia | NYY | at BOS | |
71 | Francisco Liriano | DET | at OAK | |
72 | Jaime Barria | LAA | at CLE | |
73 | Felix Pena | LAA | at CLE | |
74 | Ariel Jurado | TEX | vs. BAL | |
75 | Brett Anderson | OAK | vs. DET | |
76 | Heath Fillmyer | KC | at MIN |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rank | Pitcher | TEAM | OPP | Comments |
1 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at BOS, vs. MIA | Game versus Boston will be a fun one |
2 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. CIN | |
3 | Jon Gray | COL | at STL, at MIL | Driven by huge strikeout potential |
4 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. MIL | Rounding into form |
5 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. SF | |
6 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. MIL, vs. HOU | Maintaining big strikeout totals |
7 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. ATL | |
8 | Robbie Ray | ARI | vs. TEX, vs. SF | Helped by pair at home, Texas without their DH |
9 | Julio Teheran | ATL | vs. MIA, at NYM | Weak opponents but so inconsistent |
10 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. SF | |
11 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. SD | |
12 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. COL, at PIT | Low ERA not supported by peripherals |
13 | Jon Lester | CHC | at PIT, vs. SD | Looked more like old self last time out, but not out of the woods yet |
14 | Tyler Anderson | COL | at STL, at MIL | |
15 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. MIL | |
16 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | at LAD, vs. COL | Will be interesting to see if Brewers manage Peralta's innings |
17 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | at WAS | Slated to return from hand, foot and mouth disease |
18 | Jack Flaherty | STL | vs. COL, at PIT | Needs to be more pitch efficient, high K and high BB as of late |
19 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | at ARI | |
20 | Mike Montgomery | CHC | vs. SD | |
21 | Walker Buehler | LAD | vs. MIL | |
22 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. NYM, vs. CIN | Defintion of mediocrity |
23 | Derek Holland | SF | at SD, at ARI | |
24 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. COL | Only 9 HR allowed in 130.1 IP |
25 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | vs. MIA | |
26 | Zach Eflin | PHI | vs. MIA | In a rut, facing good team to get well |
27 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at NYM | |
28 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | vs. MIA | |
29 | Ross Stripling | LAD | vs. HOU | |
30 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at NYM | Getting extra rest after near no-no |
31 | Cole Hamels | CHC | at PIT | Has chance to benefit from a HUGE park and league switch |
32 | Kolby Allard | ATL | vs. MIA | Expected to make debut |
33 | Joe Musgrove | PIT | vs. STL | |
34 | Jose Quintana | CHC | vs. SD | |
35 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. HOU | |
36 | Clay Buchholz | ARI | vs. SF | |
37 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. TEX | Finally showing form expected all season |
38 | Luke Weaver | STL | vs. COL | |
39 | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | at SD | |
40 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. SF | |
41 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at WAS | Coming off best effort of the season |
42 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at LAD | |
43 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at STL | |
44 | Ivan Nova | PIT | vs. STL | |
45 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | vs. CHC | |
46 | German Marquez | COL | at MIL | |
47 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | vs. CIN | |
48 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | at LAD | |
49 | Steven Matz | NYM | at WAS, vs. ATL | |
50 | Trevor Williams | PIT | vs. STL | |
51 | Sal Romano | CIN | at DET | |
52 | Jose Urena | MIA | at PHI | |
53 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at STL | |
54 | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | at WAS | |
55 | Eric Lauer | SD | vs. SF, at CHC | |
56 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. COL | |
57 | Dan Straily | MIA | at ATL, at PHI | |
58 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | at ATL, at PHI | |
59 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. CIN | |
60 | Trevor Richards | MIA | at PHI | |
61 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. ATL | |
62 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. ATL | |
63 | Tommy Milone | WAS | vs. NYM | |
64 | Max Fried | ATL | at NYM | |
65 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | at WAS | |
66 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | at CHC | |
67 | Homer Bailey | CIN | at DET | |
68 | Matt Harvey | CIN | at WAS | |
69 | Andrew Suarez | SF | at ARI | |
70 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at BOS | |
71 | Wade Miley | MIL | at LAD, vs. COL | |
72 | Jordan Lyles | SD | at CHC | |
73 | Nick Kingham | PIT | vs. CHC | |
74 | John Gant | STL | at PIT | |
75 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | at ATL | |
76 | Ty Blach | SF | at ARI | |
77 | Robbie Erlin | SD | at CHC |
MLB
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at SEA, at LAD | Showing no signs of slowing down, 35 K in 23 July innings |
2 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at BOS, vs. MIA | Game versus Boston will be a fun one |
3 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. CIN | |
4 | Jon Gray | COL | at STL, at MIL | Driven by huge strikeout potential |
5 | Justin Verlander | HOU | at LAD | |
6 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | vs. MIL | Rounding into form |
7 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. SF | |
8 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. NYY | Fastest to 200K in the AL, broke his own record |
9 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. LAA | |
10 | Jose Berrios | MIN | vs. KC | |
11 | Blake Snell | TB | vs. CWS | Walks high lately, hopefully nothing to worry about |
12 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | vs. MIL, vs. HOU | Maintaining big strikeout totals |
13 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. ATL | |
14 | Robbie Ray | ARI | vs. TEX, vs. SF | Helped by pair at home, Texas without their DH |
15 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. HOU, vs. TOR | Downgraded a tad via injury risk |
16 | Danny Duffy | KC | at CWS, at MIN | Dusted off curveball, getting solid results |
17 | Julio Teheran | ATL | vs. MIA, at NYM | Weak opponents but so inconsistent |
18 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | vs. BAL, at BOS | Keeping the ball in the yard lately |
19 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | at MIN | |
20 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. SF | |
21 | Charlie Morton | HOU | at SEA | |
22 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. SD | |
23 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. COL, at PIT | Low ERA not supported by peripherals |
24 | Jon Lester | CHC | at PIT, vs. SD | Looked more like old self last time out, but not out of the woods yet |
25 | Tyler Anderson | COL | at STL, at MIL | |
26 | David Price | BOS | vs. PHI, vs. NYY | Can Price get over his Yankee yips? |
27 | Rich Hill | LAD | vs. MIL | |
28 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | at LAD, vs. COL | Will be interesting to see if Brewers manage Peralta's innings |
29 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | at WAS | Slated to return from hand, foot and mouth disease |
30 | Jack Flaherty | STL | vs. COL, at PIT | Needs to be more pitch efficient, high K and high BB as of late |
31 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | vs. TOR | 0 |
32 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | at MIN | |
33 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | at ARI | |
34 | Mike Montgomery | CHC | vs. SD | |
35 | Sonny Gray | NYY | vs. BAL | Pitching well lately, good chance to keep it going if thumb is OK |
36 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at TB, at CLE | Indians crush southpaws |
37 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | at SEA | |
38 | Walker Buehler | LAD | vs. MIL | |
39 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. NYM, vs. CIN | Defintion of mediocrity |
40 | Derek Holland | SF | at SD, at ARI | |
41 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. COL | Only 9 HR allowed in 130.1 IP |
42 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | vs. MIA | |
43 | Jake Faria | TB | vs. CWS | May get one start before activated, hasn't looked good in rehab |
44 | Zach Eflin | PHI | vs. MIA | In a rut, facing good team to get well |
45 | Sean Manaea | OAK | vs. TOR | Escaped Coors Field relatively unscathed |
46 | Ervin Santana | MIN | vs. CLE, vs. KC | 5K, 1 BB in 5 IP in long-awaited 2018 debut |
47 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | vs. MIA | |
48 | Ryan Borucki | TOR | at SEA | 0 |
49 | Mike Minor | TEX | vs. BAL | |
50 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at NYM | |
51 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | vs. MIA | |
52 | Ross Stripling | LAD | vs. HOU | |
53 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at NYM | Getting extra rest after near no-no |
54 | Cole Hamels | CHC | at PIT | Has chance to benefit from a HUGE park and league switch |
55 | Kolby Allard | ATL | vs. MIA | Expected to make debut |
56 | James Shields | CWS | vs. KC, at TB | |
57 | Joe Musgrove | PIT | vs. STL | |
58 | Jose Quintana | CHC | vs. SD | |
59 | Jakob Junis | KC | at CWS | |
60 | Alex Wood | LAD | vs. HOU | |
61 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | vs. KC | |
62 | Clay Buchholz | ARI | vs. SF | |
63 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. TEX | Finally showing form expected all season |
64 | Matthew Boyd | DET | vs. CIN, at OAK | Skidded into break but emerged with 13 K, 2 BB in 11 IP |
65 | Luke Weaver | STL | vs. COL | |
66 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at OAK, at SEA | Aided by pitching venues but may not matter |
67 | Luis Severino | NYY | at BOS | 7.80 ERA, 1.87 last three outings |
68 | Dereck Rodriguez | SF | at SD | |
69 | Shane Bieber | CLE | at MIN, vs. LAA | Good pair to rebound from last start |
70 | Andrew Heaney | LAA | at TB | |
71 | Frankie Montas | OAK | vs. DET | |
72 | Lance McCullers Jr. | HOU | at LAD | Not getting along with Uncle Charlie lately |
73 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. CWS | |
74 | Mike Leake | SEA | vs. HOU, vs. TOR | |
75 | Chris Archer | TB | vs. LAA | Will he still be a Ray? |
76 | Rick Porcello | BOS | vs. NYY | |
77 | Clayton Richard | SD | vs. SF | |
78 | Luis Castillo | CIN | at WAS | Coming off best effort of the season |
79 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at LAD | |
80 | Antonio Senzatela | COL | at STL | |
81 | Ivan Nova | PIT | vs. STL | |
82 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. LAA | |
83 | Wade LeBlanc | SEA | vs. HOU | |
84 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | vs. CHC | |
85 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. TOR | |
86 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | vs. KC | |
87 | German Marquez | COL | at MIL | |
88 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | vs. CIN | |
89 | Jalen Beeks | TB | vs. LAA | |
90 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | at LAD | |
91 | Steven Matz | NYM | at WAS, vs. ATL | |
92 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | at TB | |
93 | Dylan Covey | CWS | vs. KC | |
94 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. CLE | |
95 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at OAK | |
96 | Yefry Ramirez | BAL | at NYY, at TEX | |
97 | Trevor Cahill | OAK | vs. TOR | |
98 | Trevor Williams | PIT | vs. STL | |
99 | Sal Romano | CIN | at DET | |
100 | Jose Urena | MIA | at PHI | |
101 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at STL | |
102 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at TEX | |
103 | Bartolo Colon | TEX | at ARI | |
104 | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | at WAS | |
105 | Eric Lauer | SD | vs. SF, at CHC | |
106 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. COL | |
107 | Dan Straily | MIA | at ATL, at PHI | |
108 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | at ATL, at PHI | |
109 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. PHI | |
110 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. CIN | |
111 | Trevor Richards | MIA | at PHI | |
112 | Edwin Jackson | OAK | vs. TOR, vs. DET | |
113 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. ATL | |
114 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at TEX | |
115 | Martin Perez | TEX | at ARI, vs. BAL | |
116 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | vs. NYY | |
117 | Mike Fiers | DET | vs. CIN | |
118 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at TB | |
119 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. ATL | |
120 | Tommy Milone | WAS | vs. NYM | |
121 | Max Fried | ATL | at NYM | |
122 | J.A. Happ | NYY | at BOS | |
123 | Nick Tropeano | LAA | at TB | |
124 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | at WAS | |
125 | Lance Lynn | MIN | vs. CLE | |
126 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | at CHC | |
127 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | at OAK | |
128 | Homer Bailey | CIN | at DET | |
129 | John Axford | TOR | at SEA | |
130 | Matt Harvey | CIN | at WAS | |
131 | Andrew Suarez | SF | at ARI | |
132 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at BOS | |
133 | Burch Smith | KC | at MIN | |
134 | Sam Gaviglio | TOR | at OAK, at SEA | |
135 | Alex Cobb | BAL | at NYY | |
136 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | at TEX | |
137 | Yovani Gallardo | TEX | vs. BAL | |
138 | Wade Miley | MIL | at LAD, vs. COL | |
139 | Hunter Wood | TB | vs. LAA | |
140 | Brad Keller | KC | at CWS | |
141 | Jordan Lyles | SD | at CHC | |
142 | Nick Kingham | PIT | vs. CHC | |
143 | CC Sabathia | NYY | at BOS | |
144 | John Gant | STL | at PIT | |
145 | Francisco Liriano | DET | at OAK | |
146 | Jaime Barria | LAA | at CLE | |
147 | Felix Pena | LAA | at CLE | |
148 | Ariel Jurado | TEX | vs. BAL | |
149 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | at ATL | |
150 | Brett Anderson | OAK | vs. DET | |
151 | Ty Blach | SF | at ARI | |
152 | Heath Fillmyer | KC | at MIN | |
153 | Robbie Erlin | SD | at CHC |