Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Two Jakes are Better than One

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Updated on May 28, 2016 6:08PM EST

As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that looks incorrect, assume that it was a change that occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments. I'll let you know where the new arm slots.

For the week May 30 - June 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	at DET
2	David Price	TOR
3	Corey Kluber	TEX, KC	Had 6.16 ERA through 3 starts; since: 2.83 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 48 Ks in 47.7 IP
4	Justin Verlander	at LAA, CWS	Last four: 1.19 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 37 Ks in 30.3 IP
5	Jose Quintana	at NYM, at DET
6	Drew Smyly	at KC, at MIN
7	Rich Hill	at HOU	Since his shaky debut: 1.96 ERA, 62 Ks in 55 IP
8	Danny Salazar	KC
9	Cole Hamels	at CLE
10	Lance McCullers	at ARI, OAK	A few too many BBs, but 21 Ks in first 15.7 IP of his season
11	Kevin Gausman	BOS, NYY
12	Jake Odorizzi	at MIN
13	Jordan Zimmermann	at LAA	This is very much TBD as his grade 1 groin strain could put him on the DL
14	Masahiro Tanaka	at TOR
15	Felix Hernandez	at SD
16	Taijuan Walker	at TEX
17	Marco Estrada	NYY, at BOS	We all said Estrada couldn't keep up his .216 BABIP from last year… we were right, it's .213
18	Chris Tillman	NYY
19	Chris Archer	at

For the week May 30 - June 5

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	at DET
2	David Price	TOR
3	Corey Kluber	TEX, KC	Had 6.16 ERA through 3 starts; since: 2.83 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 48 Ks in 47.7 IP
4	Justin Verlander	at LAA, CWS	Last four: 1.19 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 37 Ks in 30.3 IP
5	Jose Quintana	at NYM, at DET
6	Drew Smyly	at KC, at MIN
7	Rich Hill	at HOU	Since his shaky debut: 1.96 ERA, 62 Ks in 55 IP
8	Danny Salazar	KC
9	Cole Hamels	at CLE
10	Lance McCullers	at ARI, OAK	A few too many BBs, but 21 Ks in first 15.7 IP of his season
11	Kevin Gausman	BOS, NYY
12	Jake Odorizzi	at MIN
13	Jordan Zimmermann	at LAA	This is very much TBD as his grade 1 groin strain could put him on the DL
14	Masahiro Tanaka	at TOR
15	Felix Hernandez	at SD
16	Taijuan Walker	at TEX
17	Marco Estrada	NYY, at BOS	We all said Estrada couldn't keep up his .216 BABIP from last year… we were right, it's .213
18	Chris Tillman	NYY
19	Chris Archer	at KC
20	Ian Kennedy	TB, at CLE	60% of his ER have come in two ugly starts; still too many HRs, but pitching well w/KC
21	Ervin Santana	at OAK, TB
22	Yu Darvish	SEA	Debuts on Saturday! I think there will be hiccups, but really eager to see him back in the majors
23	Steven Wright	at BAL, TOR
24	J.A. Happ	NYY	NYY has 4th-worst wRC+ v. lefties this year at 79; Happ has allowed 2 ER in 13 IP v. them
25	Aaron Sanchez	NYY
26	Hisashi Iwakuma	SD, at TEX
27	Nate Karns	SD, at TEX
28	Rick Porcello	at BAL	Has 5+ Ks in all but one start this year and in 15 of his last 18 dating back to last year
29	Nathan Eovaldi	at BAL
30	Wade Miley	at SD	Gets a jump in the ranks with a trip to SD
31	Carlos Rodon	at DET
32	CC Sabathia	at TOR, at BAL	I'll admit, I'm still nervous, but the AL thins out in a hurry and he's been pitching well
33	Dallas Keuchel	ARI
34	R.A. Dickey	at BOS
35	Josh Tomlin	TEX, KC
36	Marcus Stroman	at BOS	Has already allowed 12 ER in 10.7 IP v. BOS this year
37	Collin McHugh	at ARI, OAK
38	Trevor Bauer	TEX
39	Mike Fiers	ARI	Fiers & McHugh show the periless margin for error that high-80s fastballs live on; require such good command to succeed
40	Michael Pineda	at DET
41	Michael Fulmer	NYY	Making a case to stick in the rotation as Greene & Norris get healthy w/back-to-back gems
42	Jesse Hahn	at HOU
43	Matt Shoemaker	DET
44	Sean Manaea	MIN
45	Matt Moore	at MIN
46	Ivan Nova	at TOR, at BAL
47	Edinson Volquez	at CLE
48	Tyler Duffey	at OAK, TB
49	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, TOR	Not the softest landing to return from the DL with, but the talented lefty could be a big boost for BOS
50	Mike Clevinger	KC
51	Jhoulys Chacin	DET, at PIT	So much for those early Ks: had 5+ in first three starts; 4 or fewer in last four
52	Nicholas Tropeano	at PIT
53	Martin Perez	SEA
53	Doug Fister	OAK
54	Miguel Gonzalez	at NYM
55	Matt Andriese	at KC, at MIN
56	Pat Dean	at OAK	Has only allowed 2 ER in each outing so far with 20 Ks in 21 IP; might be worth an AL-only gamble

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
57	Ricky Nolasco	TB
58	Anibal Sanchez	at LAA, CWS
59	Hector Santiago	DET	Just can't be trusted in shallow formats; not even sure I'd want him in AL-only
60	Mike Wright	BOS
61	Mat Latos	at NYM
62	Danny Duffy	TB
63	Yordano Ventura	at CLE
64	Phil Hughes	TB
65	Joe Kelly	at BAL
66	Kendall Graveman	MIN, at HOU
67	Derek Holland	at CLE
68	Ubaldo Jimenez	BOS
69	Zach Neal	MIN
70	Colby Lewis	at CLE, SEA
71	Tyler Wilson	BOS, NYY
72	Dillon Gee	TB, at CLE
73	Jered Weaver	at PIT
74	Mike Pelfrey	CWS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Jake Arrieta	LAD, ARI	Getting knocked around at STL sent his ERA through the roof to 1.72
2	Jose Fernandez	PIT, NYM	Back-to-back 1 BB games after walking 22 in his previous 7 starts
3	Clayton Kershaw	ATL
4	Stephen Strasburg	at CIN
5	Noah Syndergaard	at MIA
6	Johnny Cueto	at STL
7	Jeff Samardzija	at ATL, at STL	Since allowing 5 v. SD (of all teams!): 1.41 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 36 Ks in 38.3 IP w/7+ Ks in 4 of the 5 starts
8	Max Scherzer	at PHI	It was one bad inning v. StL (3 H, 2 BB, 5 ER in 3rd)
9	Madison Bumgarner	at ATL
10	Gerrit Cole	at MIA, LAA	Escaping jams lately w/1.04 ERA, but a 1.15 WHIP in his last four
11	Jacob deGrom	CWS
12	Steven Matz	CWS
13	Jon Lester	LAD
14	Zack Greinke	at HOU	Since those 7 ER v. StL: 3.18 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 34 Ks in 34 IP; low-3.00s is about what I figured for him this year
15	Drew Pomeranz	COL	Walks (4.2 BB/9) hurt a lot less when you're allowing an MLB-best 5.1 H/9
16	Jason Hammel	LAD, ARI
17	Aaron Nola	WAS, MIL
18	Vince Velasquez	MIL
19	Tanner Roark	at PHI, at CIN	Carrying a mid-2.00s ERA both home and away so a double up on the road against 2 anemic offenses should go well
20	John Lackey	ARI
21	Julio Teheran	at LAD	Last 7: 1.17 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 45 Ks in 47 IP
22	Jaime Garcia	at MIL
23	Gio Gonzalez	at CIN
24	Carlos Martinez	at MIL, SF
25	Jimmy Nelson	at PHI
26	Joe Ross	at PHI
27	Matt Harvey	CWS, at MIA	The way he's going, I'm not sure I can stomach two starts… but I'm still starting him
28	James Shields	at SEA, COL
29	Kenta Maeda	at CHC
30	Kyle Hendricks	LAD
31	Wei-Yin Chen	PIT	PIT is MLB's 2nd-best team v. LHP w/a 128 wRC+
32	Francisco Liriano	LAA
33	Scott Kazmir	at CHC, ATL
34	Adam Conley	PIT	A missed opportunity against a terrible ATL team (2nd-worst v. LHP); gonna have hiccups, but an intriguing arm
35	Michael Wacha	SF	Three straight 4 IP Shellackings looks a lot like an injury unfortunately
36	Jerad Eickhoff	MIL
37	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS, MIL
38	Matt Wisler	SF, at LAD
39	Adam Wainwright	SF	Finding some success, but it's still pretty bland with a bunch of baseline QS
40	Junior Guerra	STL, at PHI	Has an 11% SwStr rate in each of his five starts so far
41	Bartolo Colon	at MIA
42	Brandon Finnegan	WAS
43	Dan Straily	at COL, WAS	Last 6: 2.72 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 35 Ks in 36.3 IP going 6+ in five of the six starts
44	Mike Leake	at MIL
45	Juan Nicasio	at MIA
46	Julio Urias	at CHC	Roughed up in his first inning, but showed some impressive poise; visibly tipped his changeup & will need to curb that to find regular success
47	Patrick Corbin	HOU, at CHC	The changeup hasn't progressed at all and further widened his platoon split
48	Jon Gray	CIN, at SD
49	Chad Bettis	CIN, at SD
50	Andrew Cashner	at SEA, COL

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
51	Alex Wood	at CHC, ATL	Just not sure if he's going to make the starts w/his triceps tightness right now
52	Tyler Chatwood	CIN
53	Eddie Butler	CIN
54	Christian Friedrich	SEA	Two good starts out of three for the former top prospect… he's on my watchlist for NL-only right now
55	Cesar Vargas	SEA
56	Chase Anderson	at PHI
57	Robbie Ray	at HOU
58	Jon Niese	at MIA
59	Tom Koehler	NYM
60	Jake Peavy	at ATL, at STL
61	Adam Morgan	WAS
62	Matt Cain replacement	at ATL	He was DL'd… it'll probably be Chris Heston, but he's fringy for even NL-only
63	Wily Peralta	STL, at PHI
64	Jon Moscot	at COL, WAS
65	Mike Foltynewicz	SF, at LAD
66	Archie Bradley	at CHC	Trips to SF, COL, and now CHC open up his season
67	Williams Perez	SF
68	Zach Davies	STL
69	Aaron Blair	SF
70	Chris Rusin	at SD
71	Jeff Locke	at MIA, LAA
72	Justin Nicolino	PIT, NYM
73	John Lamb	at COL	Hasn't looked anything like the interesting arm he was for 10 starts last year
74	Rubby De La Rosa replacement	HOU, at CHC
75	Alfredo Simon	at COL	The DFS prices for the Rockies could set records!

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Jake Arrieta	LAD, ARI	Getting knocked around at STL sent his ERA through the roof to 1.72
2	Jose Fernandez	PIT, NYM	Back-to-back 1 BB games after walking 22 in his previous 7 starts
3	Clayton Kershaw	ATL
4	Stephen Strasburg	at CIN
5	Chris Sale	at DET
6	Noah Syndergaard	at MIA
7	Johnny Cueto	at STL
8	Jeff Samardzija	at ATL, at STL	Since allowing 5 v. SD (of all teams!): 1.41 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 36 Ks in 38.3 IP w/7+ Ks in 4 of the 5 starts
9	Max Scherzer	at PHI	It was one bad inning v. StL (3 H, 2 BB, 5 ER in 3rd)
10	Madison Bumgarner	at ATL
11	David Price	TOR
12	Corey Kluber	TEX, KC	Had 6.16 ERA through 3 starts; since: 2.83 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 48 Ks in 47.7 IP
13	Justin Verlander	at LAA, CWS	Last four: 1.19 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 37 Ks in 30.3 IP
14	Gerrit Cole	at MIA, LAA	Escaping jams lately w/1.04 ERA, but a 1.15 WHIP in his last four
15	Jacob deGrom	CWS
16	Steven Matz	CWS
17	Jose Quintana	at NYM, at DET
18	Drew Smyly	at KC, at MIN
19	Rich Hill	at HOU	Since his shaky debut: 1.96 ERA, 62 Ks in 55 IP
20	Jon Lester	LAD
21	Zack Greinke	at HOU	Since those 7 ER v. StL: 3.18 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 34 Ks in 34 IP; low-3.00s is about what I figured for him this year
22	Danny Salazar	KC
23	Drew Pomeranz	COL	Walks (4.2 BB/9) hurt a lot less when you're allowing an MLB-best 5.1 H/9
24	Cole Hamels	at CLE
25	Jason Hammel	LAD, ARI
26	Aaron Nola	WAS, MIL
27	Lance McCullers	at ARI, OAK	A few too many BBs, but 21 Ks in first 15.7 IP of his season
28	Kevin Gausman	BOS, NYY
29	Vince Velasquez	MIL
30	Jake Odorizzi	at MIN
31	Tanner Roark	at PHI, at CIN	Carrying a mid-2.00s ERA both home and away so a double up on the road against 2 anemic offenses should go well
32	Jordan Zimmermann	at LAA	This is very much TBD as his grade 1 groin strain could put him on the DL
33	John Lackey	ARI
34	Julio Teheran	at LAD	Last 7: 1.17 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 45 Ks in 47 IP
35	Masahiro Tanaka	at TOR
36	Felix Hernandez	at SD
37	Jaime Garcia	at MIL
38	Gio Gonzalez	at CIN
39	Taijuan Walker	at TEX
40	Marco Estrada	NYY, at BOS	We all said Estrada couldn't keep up his .216 BABIP from last year… we were right, it's .213
41	Chris Tillman	NYY
42	Chris Archer	at KC
43	Carlos Martinez	at MIL, SF
44	Jimmy Nelson	at PHI
45	Ian Kennedy	TB, at CLE	60% of his ER have come in two ugly starts; still too many HRs, but pitching well w/KC
46	Ervin Santana	at OAK, TB
47	Yu Darvish	SEA	Debuts on Saturday! I think there will be hiccups, but really eager to see him back in the majors
48	Steven Wright	at BAL, TOR
49	Joe Ross	at PHI
50	Matt Harvey	CWS, at MIA	The way he's going, I'm not sure I can stomach two starts… but I'm still starting him
51	James Shields	at SEA, COL
52	J.A. Happ	NYY	NYY has 4th-worst wRC+ v. lefties this year at 79; Happ has allowed 2 ER in 13 IP v. them
53	Aaron Sanchez	NYY
54	Hisashi Iwakuma	SD, at TEX
55	Nate Karns	SD, at TEX
56	Kenta Maeda	at CHC
57	Kyle Hendricks	LAD
58	Wei-Yin Chen	PIT	PIT is MLB's 2nd-best team v. LHP w/a 128 wRC+
59	Rick Porcello	at BAL	Has 5+ Ks in all but one start this year and in 15 of his last 18 dating back to last year
60	Nathan Eovaldi	at BAL
61	Wade Miley	at SD	Gets a jump in the ranks with a trip to SD
62	Francisco Liriano	LAA
63	Scott Kazmir	at CHC, ATL
64	Carlos Rodon	at DET
65	Adam Conley	PIT	A missed opportunity against a terrible ATL team (2nd-worst v. LHP); gonna have hiccups, but an intriguing arm
66	CC Sabathia	at TOR, at BAL	I'll admit, I'm still nervous, but the AL thins out in a hurry and he's been pitching well
67	Dallas Keuchel	ARI
68	R.A. Dickey	at BOS
69	Josh Tomlin	TEX, KC
70	Michael Wacha	SF	Three straight 4 IP Shellackings looks a lot like an injury unfortunately
71	Marcus Stroman	at BOS	Has already allowed 12 ER in 10.7 IP v. BOS this year
72	Collin McHugh	at ARI, OAK
73	Jerad Eickhoff	MIL
74	Jeremy Hellickson	WAS, MIL
75	Matt Wisler	SF, at LAD
76	Trevor Bauer	TEX
77	Mike Fiers	ARI	Fiers & McHugh show the periless margin for error that high-80s fastballs live on; require such good command to succeed
78	Adam Wainwright	SF	Finding some success, but it's still pretty bland with a bunch of baseline QS
79	Junior Guerra	STL, at PHI	Has an 11% SwStr rate in each of his five starts so far
80	Michael Pineda	at DET
81	Bartolo Colon	at MIA
82	Brandon Finnegan	WAS
83	Dan Straily	at COL, WAS	Last 6: 2.72 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 35 Ks in 36.3 IP going 6+ in five of the six starts
84	Mike Leake	at MIL
85	Michael Fulmer	NYY	Making a case to stick in the rotation as Greene & Norris get healthy w/back-to-back gems
85	Jesse Hahn	at HOU
86	Matt Shoemaker	DET
87	Sean Manaea	MIN
88	Juan Nicasio	at MIA
89	Julio Urias	at CHC	Roughed up in his first inning, but showed some impressive poise; visibly tipped his changeup & will need to curb that to find regular success
90	Patrick Corbin	HOU, at CHC	The changeup hasn't progressed at all and further widened his platoon split
91	Matt Moore	at MIN
92	Ivan Nova	at TOR, at BAL
93	Jon Gray	CIN, at SD
94	Chad Bettis	CIN, at SD
96	Edinson Volquez	at CLE
97	Tyler Duffey	at OAK, TB
98	Eduardo Rodriguez	at BAL, TOR	Not the softest landing to return from the DL with, but the talented lefty could be a big boost for BOS
99	Andrew Cashner	at SEA, COL
100	Alex Wood	at CHC, ATL	Just not sure if he's going to make the starts w/his triceps tightness right now