Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Pocket Aces Abound

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Updated on April 10, 2023 1:57AM EST

In a few more weeks, rotations will be such that the top of rotations aren't always squaring off against each other, but we're still at the point where many teams' No. 1 and No. 2 starters have early starts this week, so the pool of two-start guys is very deep. This is more relevant in head-to-head leagues when trying to set your lineup giving you the best chance to win.

The first week-plus has been a mixed bag, with some of the leading indicators in conflict, especially homers:

Several years ago, Mike Podhorzer of Fangraphs showed a strong correlation between average fly ball distance and HR%. After just eight days, the ball is traveling close to last season's flight, but homers are up. This can be an artifact of where the games were played to open the season, or perhaps where they were hit in relation to the sweet power spot of each park.

Please check out the hitter rankings for a closer look at the BABIP delta, as the reason may not be what you intuit.

By means or reminder, the schedule is pulled from the Probable Pitchers Grid, which updated as soon as a change in plans is reported. Please address scheduling inquiries over there. I am always willing to discuss specific rankings below.

Updated: Monday April 10 2:00 AM

Week of April 10 - 16

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	@PHI, ARI
2	Julio Urias	LAD

The first week-plus has been a mixed bag, with some of the leading indicators in conflict, especially homers:

Please check out the hitter rankings for a closer look at the BABIP delta, as the reason may not be what you intuit.

Updated: Monday April 10 2:00 AM

Week of April 10 - 16

Mixed

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	@PHI, ARI
2	Julio Urias	LAD	@SF, CHC
3	Luis Castillo	SEA	@CHC, COL
4	Gerrit Cole	NYY	@CLE, MIN
5	Shane Bieber	CLE	NYY, @WAS
6	Aaron Nola	PHI	MIA, @CIN	Great pair to bring ratios down
7	Max Scherzer	NYM	SD, @OAK	Early HR issues
8	Zac Gallen	ARI	MIL, @MIA
9	Dylan Cease	CWS	@MIN, BAL
10	Alek Manoah	TOR	DET, TB
11	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	WAS
12	Framber Valdez	HOU	@PIT, TEX
13	Spencer Strider	ATL	CIN	Lost battle of staches to Matt Carpenter
14	Yu Darvish	SD	@NYM
15	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	@ARI
16	Jacob deGrom	TEX	KC
17	Kevin Gausman	TOR	DET	Velo down, worth tracking
18	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@SF
19	George Kirby	SEA	COL
20	Shane McClanahan	TB	BOS, @TOR	Tough pair, but matchup proof
21	Pablo Lopez	MIN	CWS, @NYY
22	Corbin Burnes	MIL	@ARI, @SD
23	Zack Wheeler	PHI	MIA
24	Blake Snell	SD	@NYM
25	Zach Eflin	TB	BOS
26	Alex Cobb	SF	LAD
27	David Peterson	NYM	SD
28	Luis Garcia	HOU	TEX
29	Marcus Stroman	CHC	SEA	14 K in 12 IP, history says it won't last
30	Nestor Cortes	NYY	MIN
31	Logan Webb	SF	LAD, @DET
32	Chris Sale	BOS	@TB
33	Dustin May	LAD	@SF
34	Jordan Montgomery	STL	PIT
35	Sonny Gray	MIN	CWS
36	Cristian Javier	HOU	@PIT
37	Jeffrey Springs	TB	BOS
38	Freddy Peralta	MIL	@SD
39	Joe Ryan	MIN	@NYY	Good test for new splitter and slider
40	Chris Bassitt	TOR	DET
41	Seth Lugo	SD	MIL
42	Kenta Maeda	MIN	CWS, @NYY
43	Domingo German	NYY	@CLE, MIN		39%
44	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@TOR
45	Jon Gray	TEX	@HOU
46	Merrill Kelly	ARI	MIL
47	Trevor Rogers	MIA	ARI
48	Aaron Civale	CLE	NYY
49	Mitch Keller	PIT	HOU, @STL	Dazzled Red Sox with new cutter
50	Roansy Contreras	PIT	HOU, @STL
51	Kodai Senga	NYM	@OAK
52	Mike Clevinger	CWS	BAL
53	Matt Strahm	PHI	MIA, @CIN	Matchups driving the ranking	1%	6%
54	Michael Wacha	SD	MIL		40%
55	Michael Kopech	CWS	BAL
56	Noah Syndergaard	LAD	CHC
57	Nick Lodolo	CIN	PHI
58	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	OAK, @CWS	Opportunity to cement rotation spot
59	Andrew Heaney	TEX	KC, @HOU
60	Edward Cabrera	MIA	@PHI
61	Kyle Wright	ATL	CIN	Tentative
62	Corey Kluber	BOS	@TB		29%
63	Jameson Taillon	CHC	@LAD
64	Alex Wood	SF	LAD
65	Joe Musgrove	SD	MIL	Season debut
66	Austin Gomber	COL	@SEA		0%	0%
67	Braxton Garrett	MIA	ARI		2%	11%
68	Tanner Houck	BOS	LAA		35%
69	Jalen Beeks	TB	BOS		0%	0%
70	Tyler Mahle	MIN	@NYY
71	Tyler Wells	BAL	@CWS		1%
72	Eric Lauer	MIL	@SD
73	Brady Singer	KC	ATL
74	Wade Miley	MIL	@ARI, @SD		1%	9%
75	Zack Greinke	KC	@TEX, ATL		2%	28%
76	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	KC
77	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	@DET		22%
78	Connor Overton	CIN	PHI		0%	2%
79	Cal Quantrill	CLE	@WAS
80	Cole Irvin	BAL	OAK		3%
81	Tylor Megill	NYM	SD
82	Matthew Boyd	DET	SF
83	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@PHI	Will be a fast climber if this pace is mantained
84	German Marquez	COL	STL, @SEA		18%
85	Kyle Gibson	BAL	OAK, @CWS		6%
86	Spencer Turnbull	DET	@TOR		7%
87	Mix 12 Reliever				0%	0%
88	Nick Martinez	SD	MIL
89	Justin Steele	CHC	@LAD
90	Jose Urquidy	HOU	@PIT
91	Hunter Brown	HOU	TEX
92	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@TB, LAA		16%
93	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@OAK
94	Ryan Feltner	COL	@SEA		0%	0%
95	Jose Berrios	TOR	TB	Sigh
96	Bryce Elder	ATL	CIN, @KC		2%	13%
97	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@TOR
98	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	@TB, LAA	Went 6 IP in last rehab start
99	Charlie Morton	ATL	@KC
100	Mix 15 Reliever				0%	0%
101	Ross Stripling	SF	@DET
102	Hayden Wesneski	CHC	SEA
103	Jhony Brito	NYY	MIN		26%
104	Tucker Davidson	LAA	WAS		0%	0%
105	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@BOS
106	Jose Suarez	LAA	WAS		35%
107	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@ATL, PHI
108	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@CHC
109	Michael Grove	LAD	CHC
110	Matt Manning	DET	@TOR, SF		1%	34%
111	James Kaprielian	OAK	NYM		1%	17%
112	Luis Cessa	CIN	@ATL, PHI		0%	2%
113	Steven Matz	STL	@COL, PIT
114	Bailey Falter	PHI	@CIN		13%
115	Martin Perez	TEX	@HOU
116	Shintaro Fujinami	OAK	NYM		8%	38%
117	Jake Woodford	STL	PIT		3%	34%
118	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	MIL		1%	0%
119	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@CIN
120	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	@BOS
121	Zach Plesac	CLE	@WAS		4%
122	Trevor Williams	WAS	CLE		4%	4%
123	Lance Lynn	CWS	@MIN
124	Hunter Greene	CIN	@ATL
125	Vince Velasquez	PIT	@STL		0%	0%
126	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	@LAA
127	Miles Mikolas	STL	@COL, PIT
128	Marco Gonzales	SEA	COL		1%	9%
129	Brad Keller	KC	@TEX		1%	13%
130	Dylan Dodd	ATL	@KC		31%
131	Josh Fleming	TB	@TOR		2%	49%
132	Drew Smyly	CHC	SEA, @LAD		4%
133	Ryne Nelson	ARI	@MIA		30%
134	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@MIN
135	Hunter Gaddis	CLE	NYY		2%	43%
136	Kyle Muller	OAK	@BAL		1%
137	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@LAA, CLE		0%	0%
138	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	TB
139	Joey Wentz	DET	SF		0%	8%
140	Josiah Gray	WAS	@LAA		35%
141	Dean Kremer	BAL	OAK		1%	49%
142	Chris Flexen	SEA	@CHC		2%	34%
143	Ryan Weathers	SD	@NYM		0%	4%
144	JP Sears	OAK	@BAL, NYM		0%	2%
145	Rich Hill	PIT	HOU		1%	4%
146	Chad Kuhl	WAS	CLE		1%	11%
147	Ken Waldichuk	OAK	@BAL		6%
148	Jack Flaherty	STL	@COL
149	Jordan Lyles	KC	@TEX		1%	4%
150	Drey Jameson	ARI	@MIA		21%
151	Kris Bubic	KC	ATL		0%	0%
152	Kyle Freeland	COL	STL		2%	11%
153	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	@CLE
154	Reid Detmers	LAA	@BOS
155	Johan Oviedo	PIT	@STL		5%	38%
156	Adam Oller	OAK	@BAL		0%	0%
157	Jose Urena	COL	STL		0%	0%

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Luis Castillo	SEA	@CHC, COL
2	Gerrit Cole	NYY	@CLE, MIN
3	Shane Bieber	CLE	NYY, @WAS
4	Dylan Cease	CWS	@MIN, BAL
5	Alek Manoah	TOR	DET, TB
6	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	WAS
7	Framber Valdez	HOU	@PIT, TEX
8	Jacob deGrom	TEX	KC
9	Kevin Gausman	TOR	DET	Velo down, worth tracking
10	George Kirby	SEA	COL
11	Shane McClanahan	TB	BOS, @TOR	Tough pair, but matchup proof
12	Pablo Lopez	MIN	CWS, @NYY
13	Zach Eflin	TB	BOS
14	Luis Garcia	HOU	TEX
15	Nestor Cortes	NYY	MIN
16	Chris Sale	BOS	@TB
17	Sonny Gray	MIN	CWS
18	Cristian Javier	HOU	@PIT
19	Jeffrey Springs	TB	BOS
20	Joe Ryan	MIN	@NYY	Good test for new splitter and slider
21	Chris Bassitt	TOR	DET
22	Kenta Maeda	MIN	CWS, @NYY
23	Domingo German	NYY	@CLE, MIN
24	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@TOR
25	Jon Gray	TEX	@HOU
26	Aaron Civale	CLE	NYY
27	Mike Clevinger	CWS	BAL
28	Michael Kopech	CWS	BAL
29	Grayson Rodriguez	BAL	OAK, @CWS	Opportunity to cement rotation spot
30	Andrew Heaney	TEX	KC, @HOU
31	Corey Kluber	BOS	@TB
32	Tanner Houck	BOS	LAA
33	Jalen Beeks	TB	BOS
34	Tyler Mahle	MIN	@NYY
35	Tyler Wells	BAL	@CWS
36	Brady Singer	KC	ATL
37	Zack Greinke	KC	@TEX, ATL
38	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	KC
39	Cal Quantrill	CLE	@WAS
40	Cole Irvin	BAL	OAK
41	Matthew Boyd	DET	SF
42	Kyle Gibson	BAL	OAK, @CWS
43	Spencer Turnbull	DET	@TOR
44	Jose Urquidy	HOU	@PIT
45	Hunter Brown	HOU	TEX
46	Nick Pivetta	BOS	@TB, LAA
47	Jose Berrios	TOR	TB	Sigh
48	Eduardo Rodriguez	DET	@TOR
49	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	@TB, LAA	Went 6 IP in last rehab start
50	Jhony Brito	NYY	MIN
51	Tucker Davidson	LAA	WAS
52	Tyler Anderson	LAA	@BOS
53	Jose Suarez	LAA	WAS
54	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@CHC
55	Matt Manning	DET	@TOR, SF
56	James Kaprielian	OAK	NYM
57	Martin Perez	TEX	@HOU
58	Shintaro Fujinami	OAK	NYM
59	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	@BOS
60	Zach Plesac	CLE	@WAS
61	AL Reliever
62	Lance Lynn	CWS	@MIN
63	Marco Gonzales	SEA	COL
64	Brad Keller	KC	@TEX
65	Josh Fleming	TB	@TOR
66	Lucas Giolito	CWS	@MIN
67	Hunter Gaddis	CLE	NYY
68	Kyle Muller	OAK	@BAL
69	Yusei Kikuchi	TOR	TB
70	Joey Wentz	DET	SF
71	Dean Kremer	BAL	OAK
72	Chris Flexen	SEA	@CHC
73	JP Sears	OAK	@BAL, NYM
74	Ken Waldichuk	OAK	@BAL
75	Jordan Lyles	KC	@TEX
76	Kris Bubic	KC	ATL
77	Clarke Schmidt	NYY	@CLE
78	Reid Detmers	LAA	@BOS
79	Adam Oller	OAK	@BAL

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	@PHI, ARI
2	Julio Urias	LAD	@SF, CHC
3	Aaron Nola	PHI	MIA, @CIN	Great pair to bring ratios down
4	Max Scherzer	NYM	SD, @OAK	Early HR issues
5	Zac Gallen	ARI	MIL, @MIA
6	Spencer Strider	ATL	CIN	Lost battle of staches to Matt Carpenter
7	Yu Darvish	SD	@NYM
8	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	@ARI
9	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	@SF
10	Corbin Burnes	MIL	@ARI, @SD
11	Zack Wheeler	PHI	MIA
12	Blake Snell	SD	@NYM
13	Alex Cobb	SF	LAD
14	David Peterson	NYM	SD
15	Marcus Stroman	CHC	SEA	14 K in 12 IP, history says it won't last
16	Logan Webb	SF	LAD, @DET
17	Dustin May	LAD	@SF
18	Jordan Montgomery	STL	PIT
19	Freddy Peralta	MIL	@SD
20	Seth Lugo	SD	MIL
21	Merrill Kelly	ARI	MIL
22	Trevor Rogers	MIA	ARI
23	Mitch Keller	PIT	HOU, @STL	Dazzled Red Sox with new cutter
24	Roansy Contreras	PIT	HOU, @STL
25	Kodai Senga	NYM	@OAK
26	Matt Strahm	PHI	MIA, @CIN	Matchups driving the ranking
27	Michael Wacha	SD	MIL
28	Noah Syndergaard	LAD	CHC
29	Nick Lodolo	CIN	PHI
30	Edward Cabrera	MIA	@PHI
31	Kyle Wright	ATL	CIN	Tentative
32	Jameson Taillon	CHC	@LAD
33	Alex Wood	SF	LAD
34	Joe Musgrove	SD	MIL	Season debut
35	Austin Gomber	COL	@SEA
36	Braxton Garrett	MIA	ARI
37	Eric Lauer	MIL	@SD
38	Wade Miley	MIL	@ARI, @SD
39	Anthony DeSclafani	SF	@DET
40	Connor Overton	CIN	PHI
41	Tylor Megill	NYM	SD
42	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	@PHI	Will be a fast climber if this pace is mantained
43	German Marquez	COL	STL, @SEA
44	Nick Martinez	SD	MIL
45	Justin Steele	CHC	@LAD
46	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	@OAK
47	Ryan Feltner	COL	@SEA
48	Bryce Elder	ATL	CIN, @KC
49	Charlie Morton	ATL	@KC
50	Ross Stripling	SF	@DET
51	Hayden Wesneski	CHC	SEA
52	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	@ATL, PHI
53	Michael Grove	LAD	CHC
54	Luis Cessa	CIN	@ATL, PHI
55	Steven Matz	STL	@COL, PIT
56	Bailey Falter	PHI	@CIN
57	Jake Woodford	STL	PIT
58	Madison Bumgarner	ARI	MIL
59	Taijuan Walker	PHI	@CIN
60	Trevor Williams	WAS	CLE
61	NL Reliever
62	Hunter Greene	CIN	@ATL
63	Vince Velasquez	PIT	@STL
64	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	@LAA
65	Miles Mikolas	STL	@COL, PIT
66	Dylan Dodd	ATL	@KC
67	Drew Smyly	CHC	SEA, @LAD
68	Ryne Nelson	ARI	@MIA
69	Patrick Corbin	WAS	@LAA, CLE
70	Josiah Gray	WAS	@LAA
71	Ryan Weathers	SD	@NYM
72	Rich Hill	PIT	HOU
73	Chad Kuhl	WAS	CLE
74	Jack Flaherty	STL	@COL
75	Drey Jameson	ARI	@MIA
76	Kyle Freeland	COL	STL
77	Johan Oviedo	PIT	@STL
78	Jose Urena	COL	STL