Weekly Pitcher Rankings: No Sign of Slowing for Cole

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: No Sign of Slowing for Cole

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

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Todd Zola
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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