Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Strikeouts on Sale in Aisle 5

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Updated on May 12, 2019 11:30PM EST

After a busy week, we're back to only 33 double-dips on the schedule, subject to change, of course. With 42 strikeouts in his last 26 innings, Chris Sale is back to dominant form, leading the pack by a wide margin this week. That said, his second start isn't guaranteed as Boston has a five-game week and skipper Alex Cora may elect to give everyone an extra day, though since the weekend outing would be against Houston, the Red Sox could opt to go with their best.

In what's become a copy and paste item, the weekend weather is problematic, perhaps leading to a shuffle of the current probable pitching. Don't worry, we'll track all the changes and post an update Sunday night.

For the week May 13-19.

UPDATED May 12, 11:30 PM ET

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. COL, vs. HOU	The American League is back on blast
2	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIL, vs. COL	3 ER allowed last 18.2 IP
3	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. LAA, at SEA	Personal research points to Berrios being affected more than others if ball is juiced
4	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS, at MIA
5	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
6	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. OAK, vs. MIN
7	Shane Bieber	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
8	Chris Paddack	SD	at LAD, vs. PIT	Pete Alonso thinks he's ranked too high
9	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at CIN, at WAS

For the week May 13-19.

UPDATED May 12, 11:30 PM ET

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. COL, vs. HOU	The American League is back on blast
2	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIL, vs. COL	3 ER allowed last 18.2 IP
3	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. LAA, at SEA	Personal research points to Berrios being affected more than others if ball is juiced
4	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS, at MIA
5	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
6	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. OAK, vs. MIN
7	Shane Bieber	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
8	Chris Paddack	SD	at LAD, vs. PIT	Pete Alonso thinks he's ranked too high
9	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at CIN, at WAS
10	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. PIT, vs. SF	May not have a better setup all season
11	Justin Verlander	HOU	at DET	Hopefully he goes to the right clubhouse
12	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. HOU, vs. OAK	Nice test this week, aided by home affairs
13	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. MIL, vs. COL	I'll take the over on zero homers after this week
14	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at MIA
15	Charlie Morton	TB	at MIA, at NYY
16	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD	Will be interesting where he goes in NFBC Second Chance Contest
17	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. CHC
18	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. BAL
19	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at ARI, at SD	Nice pair to get back on track, though neither lineup is a cakewalk
20	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. NYM
21	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. OAK, vs. MIN
22	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PIT
23	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CHC
24	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. STL, vs. MIL	Fourth start - just came off the IL no longer an excuse
25	Blake Snell	TB	at NYY
26	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC
27	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. CLE, vs. TOR	Love the whiifs. The walks, not so much.
28	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. SD
29	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. MIL
30	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at MIN, vs. KC	Perhaps leap of faith, but underlying metrics solid, still expect BABIP regression
31	Mike Minor	TEX	at KC
32	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at CIN
33	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at BOS	Like Berrios, homers project to be a problem with the juiced ball
34	Walker Buehler	LAD	at CIN
35	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. NYM
36	Martin Perez	MIN	at SEA	Cattiously optimistic, but homers will increase
37	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. TB
38	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. STL	Keeping the ball in the yard
39	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. TEX, at LAA	Needs to miss more bats
40	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. PIT	Needs to get ahead in the count, high .333 BABIP, but low hard-hit rate
41	Matt Strahm	SD	at LAD
42	David Price	BOS	vs. HOU
43	Rich Hill	LAD	at CIN
44	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. MIL
45	Domingo German	NYY	vs. BAL
46	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. NYM
47	Steven Matz	NYM	at MIA
48	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. LAA, at SEA	Increase in strikeouts supported by spike in SwStr%
49	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PHI, at ATL	Inconsistency, thy name is Peralta
50	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. MIN
51	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ATL, at TEX	Keep in mind, he's still just 23 years old
52	Cole Irvin	PHI	vs. COL
53	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BAL
54	Max Fried	ATL	vs. MIL
55	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
56	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS	Wheelering and dealering again
57	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. MIL
58	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. TOR	Definite signs of a break out, but needs to be more pitch efficient
59	Mike Fiers	OAK	at SEA, at DET	Johnny Vander Meer's friends and family are getting antsy
60	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TB
61	Trevor Williams	PIT	at SD
62	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. LAA	Twins doing a good job of limiting third time exposure
63	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. BAL, vs. TB	Pick up if available
64	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. TB
65	Cole Hamels	CHC	at WAS
66	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CIN
67	Michael Pineda	MIN	at SEA
68	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. TB
69	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS
70	Brad Peacock	HOU	at DET, at BOS	Drop in strikeouts a concern, even more than expectedmoving from 'pen to rotation
71	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. LAD
72	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. STL
73	Jon Gray	COL	at PHI
74	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. COL	Already tossed at least 6 IP four times in 2019 after doing it only nine times all of 2018.
75	Yu Darvish	CHC	at CIN	Needs to stop getting tips from Tyler Chatwood
76	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at CWS
77	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at PHI, at ATL	Pitching well but draws a duo of potent lineups on the road
78	Trent Thornton	TOR	at SF, at CWS
79	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at ATL
80	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at NYY
81	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at ARI
82	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at PHI
83	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. TOR
84	Miles Mikolas	STL	at TEX
85	Jakob Junis	KC	at LAA
86	Kyle Freeland	COL	at BOS, at PHI	Tough road pair for a guy you prefer to use on the road
87	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at ARI
88	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. CHC	Home for a pair, but two tough lineups
89	Zach Davies	MIL	at PHI
90	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. PIT
91	Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. PIT
92	Ryne Stanek	TB	at MIA
93	Nick Margevicius	SD	vs. PIT
94	Wade Miley	HOU	at DET
95	German Marquez	COL	at BOS	Start for all road starts - except maybe this one as Red Sox lead league in scoring in May
96	Brad Keller	KC	at LAA
97	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. NYM
98	Erik Swanson	SEA	vs. MIN	Appears overmatched, could give up spot if struggles persist
99	Chris Archer	PIT	at ARI
100	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. CHC
101	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at PHI
102	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. LAD
103	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SF
104	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SF
105	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. HOU
106	Griffin Canning	LAA	vs. KC
107	Frankie Montas	OAK	at DET
108	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at CWS
109	Michael Wacha	STL	at ATL
110	Trevor Cahill	LAA	at MIN
111	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. OAK
112	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at DET
113	Thomas Pannone	TOR	at SF
114	Matt Harvey	LAA	vs. KC
115	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. NYM
116	Jefry Rodriguez	CLE	vs. BAL
117	Lance Lynn	TEX	at KC
118	Ty Blach	SF	vs. TOR
119	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at SD
120	John Means	BAL	at CLE
121	Nick Kingham	PIT	at ARI, at SD
122	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. TOR, at ARI
123	Aaron Brooks	OAK	at DET
124	Adam Wainwright	STL	at ATL
125	Brett Anderson	OAK	at SEA
126	Shelby Miller	TEX	at KC, vs. STL
127	Chris Martin	TEX	at BOS
128	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at CLE
129	Edwin Jackson	TOR	at CWS
130	Dan Straily	BAL	at NYY
131	Felix Pena	LAA	at MIN
132	Ryan Carpenter	DET	vs. HOU, vs. OAK
133	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. OAK
134	Jorge Lopez	KC	vs. TEX
135	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. TOR
136	Wilmer Font	NYM	at WAS
137	David Hess	BAL	at NYY, at CLE
138	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. STL
139	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY, at CLE
140	Tyson Ross	DET	vs. HOU
141	Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. CLE
142	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. TEX
143	Dakota Hudson	STL	at TEX
144	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. STL

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. COL, vs. HOU	The American League is back on blast
2	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. LAA, at SEA	Personal research points to Berrios being affected more than others if ball is juiced
3	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
4	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. OAK, vs. MIN
5	Shane Bieber	CLE	at CWS, vs. BAL
6	Justin Verlander	HOU	at DET	Hopefully he goes to the right clubhouse
7	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. HOU, vs. OAK	Nice test this week, aided by home affairs
8	Charlie Morton	TB	at MIA, at NYY
9	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. BAL
10	Mike Leake	SEA	vs. OAK, vs. MIN
11	Blake Snell	TB	at NYY
12	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. CLE, vs. TOR	Love the whiifs. The walks, not so much.
13	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at MIN, vs. KC	Perhaps leap of faith, but underlying metrics solid, still expect BABIP regression
14	Mike Minor	TEX	at KC
15	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at BOS	Like Berrios, homers project to be a problem with the juiced ball
16	Martin Perez	MIN	at SEA	Cattiously optimistic, but homers will increase
17	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. TEX, at LAA	Needs to miss more bats
18	David Price	BOS	vs. HOU
19	Domingo German	NYY	vs. BAL
20	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. LAA, at SEA	Increase in strikeouts supported by spike in SwStr%
21	Marco Gonzales	SEA	vs. MIN
22	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BAL
23	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. TOR	Definite signs of a break out, but needs to be more pitch efficient
24	Mike Fiers	OAK	at SEA, at DET	Johnny Vander Meer's friends and family are getting antsy
25	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TB
26	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. LAA	Twins doing a good job of limiting third time exposure
27	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. BAL, vs. TB	Pick up if available
28	Michael Pineda	MIN	at SEA
29	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. TB
30	Brad Peacock	HOU	at DET, at BOS	Drop in strikeouts a concern, even more than expectedmoving from 'pen to rotation
31	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. COL	Already tossed at least 6 IP four times in 2019 after doing it only nine times all of 2018.
32	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at CWS
33	Trent Thornton	TOR	at SF, at CWS
34	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at NYY
35	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. TOR
36	Jakob Junis	KC	at LAA
37	Ryne Stanek	TB	at MIA
38	Wade Miley	HOU	at DET
39	Brad Keller	KC	at LAA
40	Erik Swanson	SEA	vs. MIN	Appears overmatched, could give up spot if struggles persist
41	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. HOU
42	Griffin Canning	LAA	vs. KC
43	Frankie Montas	OAK	at DET
44	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at CWS
45	Trevor Cahill	LAA	at MIN
46	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. OAK
47	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at DET
48	Thomas Pannone	TOR	at SF
49	Matt Harvey	LAA	vs. KC
50	Jefry Rodriguez	CLE	vs. BAL
51	Lance Lynn	TEX	at KC
52	John Means	BAL	at CLE
53	Aaron Brooks	OAK	at DET
54	Brett Anderson	OAK	at SEA
55	Shelby Miller	TEX	at KC, vs. STL
56	Chris Martin	TEX	at BOS
57	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at CLE
58	Edwin Jackson	TOR	at CWS
59	Dan Straily	BAL	at NYY
60	Felix Pena	LAA	at MIN
61	Ryan Carpenter	DET	vs. HOU, vs. OAK
62	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. OAK
63	Jorge Lopez	KC	vs. TEX
64	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. TOR
65	David Hess	BAL	at NYY, at CLE
66	Drew Smyly	TEX	vs. STL
67	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY, at CLE
68	Tyson Ross	DET	vs. HOU
69	Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. CLE
70	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. TEX
71	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. STL

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. MIL, vs. COL	3 ER allowed last 18.2 IP
2	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS, at MIA
3	Chris Paddack	SD	at LAD, vs. PIT	Pete Alonso thinks he's ranked too high
4	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at CIN, at WAS
5	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. PIT, vs. SF	May not have a better setup all season
6	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. MIL, vs. COL	I'll take the over on zero homers after this week
7	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at MIA
8	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SD	Will be interesting where he goes in NFBC Second Chance Contest
9	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. CHC
10	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at ARI, at SD	Nice pair to get back on track, though neither lineup is a cakewalk
11	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. NYM
12	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PIT
13	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. CHC
14	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. STL, vs. MIL	Fourth start - just came off the IL no longer an excuse
15	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC
16	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. SD
17	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. MIL
18	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at CIN
19	Walker Buehler	LAD	at CIN
20	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. NYM
21	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. TB
22	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. STL	Keeping the ball in the yard
23	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. PIT	Needs to get ahead in the count, high .333 BABIP, but low hard-hit rate
24	Matt Strahm	SD	at LAD
25	Rich Hill	LAD	at CIN
26	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. MIL
27	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. NYM
28	Steven Matz	NYM	at MIA
29	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at PHI, at ATL	Inconsistency, thy name is Peralta
30	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ATL, at TEX	Keep in mind, he's still just 23 years old
31	Cole Irvin	PHI	vs. COL
32	Max Fried	ATL	vs. MIL
33	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
34	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS	Wheelering and dealering again
35	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. MIL
36	Trevor Williams	PIT	at SD
37	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. TB
38	Cole Hamels	CHC	at WAS
39	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CIN
40	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS
41	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. LAD
42	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. STL
43	Jon Gray	COL	at PHI
44	Yu Darvish	CHC	at CIN	Needs to stop getting tips from Tyler Chatwood
45	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at PHI, at ATL	Pitching well but draws a duo of potent lineups on the road
46	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at ATL
47	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at ARI
48	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	at PHI
49	Miles Mikolas	STL	at TEX
50	Kyle Freeland	COL	at BOS, at PHI	Tough road pair for a guy you prefer to use on the road
51	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at ARI
52	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. CHC	Home for a pair, but two tough lineups
53	Zach Davies	MIL	at PHI
54	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. PIT
55	Luke Weaver	ARI	vs. PIT
56	Nick Margevicius	SD	vs. PIT
57	German Marquez	COL	at BOS	Start for all road starts - except maybe this one as Red Sox lead league in scoring in May
58	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. NYM
59	Chris Archer	PIT	at ARI
60	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. CHC
61	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at PHI
62	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. LAD
63	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SF
64	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SF
65	Michael Wacha	STL	at ATL
66	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. NYM
67	Ty Blach	SF	vs. TOR
68	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at SD
69	Nick Kingham	PIT	at ARI, at SD
70	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. TOR, at ARI
71	Adam Wainwright	STL	at ATL
72	Wilmer Font	NYM	at WAS
73	Dakota Hudson	STL	at TEX