This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
Aces dominate the rankings, with a possible changing on the guard up top. In part due to several makeup games on this week's schedule, there's a good inventory of two-start options aided by matchups.
For the week, April 30 - May 6.
UPDATED: Sunday, April 29, 11:00 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Sale's innings continue to be somewhat tempered |
2 | Justin Verlander | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | |
3 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. TEX, at NYY | Averaging over 7 IP spanning last four outings |
4 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | Expect big rebound from only poor start of the season |
5 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. TEX | |
6 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at CWS | Good opponent for a bounce back effort |
7 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | at HOU, vs. CLE | Protected by great bullpen |
8 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Knee looks healthy, tossed at least 6 innings last three starts |
9 | Chris Archer | TB | at DET, vs. TOR | Skills down but facing lesser offenses |
10 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | at MIN, at TB | Still shaking the rust off |
11 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at ARI | Strong candidate for April Pitcher of the Month |
12 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | at SEA, vs. BAL | Good venues, pitching well |
13 | Sean Manaea | OAK | at SEA | |
14 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. OAK | |
15 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. TOR | Last last start withback spams, monitor status |
16 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at CLE, vs. BOS | Strikeouts |
Aces dominate the rankings, with a possible changing on the guard up top. In part due to several makeup games on this week's schedule, there's a good inventory of two-start options aided by matchups.
For the week, April 30 - May 6.
UPDATED: Sunday, April 29, 11:00 PM ET
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT |
1 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Sale's innings continue to be somewhat tempered |
2 | Justin Verlander | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | |
3 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. TEX, at NYY | Averaging over 7 IP spanning last four outings |
4 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | Expect big rebound from only poor start of the season |
5 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. TEX | |
6 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at CWS | Good opponent for a bounce back effort |
7 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | at HOU, vs. CLE | Protected by great bullpen |
8 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Knee looks healthy, tossed at least 6 innings last three starts |
9 | Chris Archer | TB | at DET, vs. TOR | Skills down but facing lesser offenses |
10 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | at MIN, at TB | Still shaking the rust off |
11 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at ARI | Strong candidate for April Pitcher of the Month |
12 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | at SEA, vs. BAL | Good venues, pitching well |
13 | Sean Manaea | OAK | at SEA | |
14 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. OAK | |
15 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. TOR | Last last start withback spams, monitor status |
16 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at CLE, vs. BOS | Strikeouts back after disappearing last season |
17 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | vs. NYY | |
18 | Lance Lynn | MIN | vs. TOR, at CWS | Gets benefit of doubt, crazy schedule hurts rhythm |
19 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | vs. BAL | Tweaked ankle, start pushed up a day |
20 | Luis Severino | NYY | at HOU | |
21 | J.A. Happ | TOR | at TB | |
22 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. TEX, at NYY | |
23 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. OAK, vs. LAA | Home field advantage, if Hernandez struggles this week, cause for concern |
24 | Rick Porcello | BOS | at TEX | |
25 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. TOR, at CWS | |
26 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. TB | |
27 | Garrett Richards | LAA | at SEA | |
28 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | at HOU | |
29 | Jake Faria | TB | at DET, vs. TOR | Walks out of control |
30 | Sonny Gray | NYY | at HOU, vs. CLE | Making Faria's control look like Greg Maddux, still cautiously optimistic of a turnaround |
31 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | at CWS | |
32 | David Price | BOS | at TEX | |
33 | Blake Snell | TB | at DET | |
34 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at LAA | Coming off only poor outing of the season |
35 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. KC | |
36 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at MIN, at TB | |
37 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. TB, at KC | Lesser opponents put Boyd in play in deeper leagues |
38 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at SEA | |
39 | Mike Minor | TEX | vs. BOS | |
40 | Lance McCullers Jr. | HOU | vs. NYY | |
41 | Jakob Junis | KC | at BOS, vs. DET | |
42 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. CLE | |
43 | Danny Duffy | KC | at BOS | |
44 | Daniel Mengden | OAK | vs. BAL | |
45 | Erasmo Ramirez | SEA | vs. OAK | |
46 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. TOR | |
47 | Mike Leake | SEA | vs. LAA | |
48 | Andrew Heaney | LAA | vs. BAL | |
49 | Ian Kennedy | KC | vs. DET | |
50 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | vs. LAA | |
51 | Trevor Cahill | OAK | vs. BAL | |
52 | Jason Hammel | KC | at BOS, vs. DET | |
53 | Francisco Liriano | DET | at KC | |
54 | Nick Tropeano | LAA | vs. BAL | |
55 | Alex Cobb | BAL | at LAA, at OAK | 13.1/2.8 excellent K/9 and BB/9, unfortunately, those are his ERA and WHIP |
56 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at OAK | |
57 | Jaime Barria | LAA | at SEA | |
58 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | at NYY | |
59 | Brett Anderson | OAK | at SEA | |
60 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | vs. TB, at KC | |
61 | Hector Santiago | CWS | vs. MIN | |
62 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at STL | |
63 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | vs. MIN | |
64 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at MIN | |
65 | Mike Fiers | DET | at KC | |
66 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | at OAK | |
67 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. BOS | |
68 | James Shields | CWS | at STL, vs. MIN | |
69 | Jaime Garcia | TOR | at CLE | |
70 | Phil Hughes | MIN | vs. TOR | |
71 | Joe Biagini | TOR | at CLE | |
72 | Eric Skoglund | KC | vs. DET | |
73 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at LAA | |
74 | Carson Fulmer | CWS | vs. MIN | |
75 | Bartolo Colon | TEX | vs. BOS | |
76 | Matt Moore | TEX | at CLE | |
77 | Doug Fister | TEX | at CLE | |
78 | Adam Plutko | CLE | vs. TOR |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rank | Pitcher | TEAM | OPP | Comments |
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. PIT, vs. PHI | Could be top pitcher off the board if drafting today |
2 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | at ARI, at SD | Best 1-4 pitcher in the history of baseball |
3 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | vs. ATL, vs. COL | 7.1 IP last outing first time working more than 6 IP this season |
4 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. LAD, vs. HOU | Expect homers to regress |
5 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at MIA, at WAS | Looking more like 2016 than 2017 version |
6 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at CIN, vs. PIT | Solid pitcher + great matchups = high ranking |
7 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. COL, at STL | |
8 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. CWS | |
9 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. PIT | |
10 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at NYM, vs. SF | Great matchups, both struggle vs. southpaws |
11 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. PIT, vs. PHI | Low strikeouts enhanced with double-duty |
12 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. CWS, vs. CHC | |
13 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. ATL | |
14 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. LAD | |
15 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at MIA | |
16 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | at SD | |
17 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. SD | |
18 | Yu Darvish | CHC | vs. COL | |
19 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at WAS, at MIL | Catching Nationals at a good time plus Brewers fan a ton |
20 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. COL | |
21 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. LAD | |
22 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. PHI | |
23 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at ATL | Certainly looks like 2017 was due to injuries |
24 | Alex Wood | LAD | at ARI | |
25 | Jose Quintana | CHC | at STL | |
26 | Brandon McCarthy | ATL | vs. SF | |
27 | Walker Buehler | LAD | at SD | May be recalled for weekend start |
28 | Luis Castillo | CIN | vs. MIL | Understandable if you're benching, but strikeout potential high this week |
29 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | vs. MIA | Strikeouts higher than expected, but so are homers |
30 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | vs. LAD | Had first rough effort after three strong outings |
31 | Tyler Anderson | COL | at CHC | |
32 | Jarlin Garcia | MIA | vs. PHI | .121 BABIP, 6.4 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, correction coming |
33 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at CHC, at NYM | In play with pair on the road, especially since Mets anemic vs. LHP |
34 | Zach Davies | MIL | vs. PIT | |
35 | Steven Brault | PIT | at MIL | |
36 | Brandon Finnegan | CIN | vs. MIL, vs. MIA | |
37 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | at CIN | |
38 | German Marquez | COL | at NYM | |
39 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at NYM | |
40 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | at WAS | |
41 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at WAS, at MIL | |
42 | Clayton Richard | SD | at SF | |
43 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at NYM | |
44 | Andrew Suarez | SF | vs. SD | |
45 | Ross Stripling | LAD | at ARI | Taking Rich Hill's start |
46 | Dan Straily | MIA | vs. PHI, at CIN | |
47 | Chad Bettis | COL | at NYM | |
48 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. CHC | |
49 | Caleb Smith | MIA | at CIN | |
50 | Tyson Ross | SD | at SF | |
51 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | vs. PIT | |
52 | Derek Holland | SF | vs. SD | |
53 | Luke Weaver | STL | vs. CHC | |
54 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. PIT | |
55 | Tyler Chatwood | CHC | at STL | |
56 | Chris Stratton | SF | at ATL | |
57 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at WAS | |
58 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | at ARI | |
59 | Eric Lauer | SD | at SF, vs. LAD | |
60 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at MIA | |
61 | Jose Urena | MIA | vs. PHI | |
62 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. ATL | |
63 | Sal Romano | CIN | vs. MIA | |
64 | Steven Matz | NYM | vs. COL | |
65 | Homer Bailey | CIN | vs. MIL | |
66 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at WAS | |
67 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. COL | |
68 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at WAS | |
69 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | at CIN | |
70 | Jon Gray | COL | at CHC | |
71 | Bryan Mitchell | SD | vs. LAD | |
72 | Wade Miley | MIL | at CIN | Brent Suter headed to bullpen |
73 | Matt Koch | ARI | vs. LAD, vs. HOU | |
74 | Ty Blach | SF | at ATL | |
75 | Braden Shipley | ARI | vs. HOU | Taking Robbie Ray's spot |
MLB
RANK | PITCHER | TEAM | OPP | COMMENT | |
1 | Max Scherzer | WAS | vs. PIT, vs. PHI | Could be top pitcher off the board if drafting today | |
2 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | at ARI, at SD | Best 1-4 pitcher in the history of baseball | |
3 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | vs. ATL, vs. COL | 7.1 IP last outing first time working more than 6 IP this season | |
4 | Chris Sale | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Sale's innings continue to be somewhat tempered | |
5 | Justin Verlander | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | ||
6 | Zack Greinke | ARI | vs. LAD, vs. HOU | Expect homers to regress | |
7 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | at MIA, at WAS | Looking more like 2016 than 2017 version | |
8 | Trevor Bauer | CLE | vs. TEX, at NYY | Averaging over 7 IP spanning last four outings | |
9 | Charlie Morton | HOU | vs. NYY, at ARI | Expect big rebound from only poor start of the season | |
10 | Corey Kluber | CLE | vs. TEX | ||
11 | Chase Anderson | MIL | at CIN, vs. PIT | Solid pitcher + great matchups = high ranking | |
12 | Jose Berrios | MIN | at CWS | Good opponent for a bounce back effort | |
13 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | at HOU, vs. CLE | Protected by great bullpen | |
14 | Jon Lester | CHC | vs. COL, at STL | ||
15 | Carlos Martinez | STL | vs. CWS | ||
16 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | vs. KC, at TEX | Knee looks healthy, tossed at least 6 innings last three starts | |
17 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | vs. PIT | ||
18 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | at NYM, vs. SF | Great matchups, both struggle vs. southpaws | |
19 | Chris Archer | TB | at DET, vs. TOR | Skills down but facing lesser offenses | |
20 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | at MIN, at TB | Still shaking the rust off | |
21 | Tanner Roark | WAS | vs. PIT, vs. PHI | Low strikeouts enhanced with double-duty | |
22 | Gerrit Cole | HOU | at ARI | Strong candidate for April Pitcher of the Month | |
23 | Michael Wacha | STL | vs. CWS, vs. CHC | ||
24 | Andrew Triggs | OAK | at SEA, vs. BAL | Good venues, pitching well | |
25 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | vs. ATL | ||
26 | Sean Manaea | OAK | at SEA | ||
27 | James Paxton | SEA | vs. OAK | ||
28 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | vs. LAD | ||
29 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | vs. TOR | Last last start withback spams, monitor status | |
30 | Aaron Nola | PHI | at MIA | ||
31 | Cole Hamels | TEX | at CLE, vs. BOS | Strikeouts back after disappearing last season | |
32 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | vs. NYY | ||
33 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | at SD | ||
34 | Lance Lynn | MIN | vs. TOR, at CWS | Gets benefit of doubt, crazy schedule hurts rhythm | |
35 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | vs. BAL | Tweaked ankle, start pushed up a day | |
36 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | vs. SD | ||
37 | Yu Darvish | CHC | vs. COL | ||
38 | Luis Severino | NYY | at HOU | ||
39 | Jameson Taillon | PIT | at WAS, at MIL | Catching Nationals at a good time plus Brewers fan a ton | |
40 | J.A. Happ | TOR | at TB | ||
41 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | vs. TEX, at NYY | ||
42 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | vs. OAK, vs. LAA | Home field advantage, if Hernandez struggles this week, cause for concern | |
43 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | vs. COL | ||
44 | Zack Godley | ARI | vs. LAD | ||
45 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS | vs. PHI | ||
46 | Rick Porcello | BOS | at TEX | ||
47 | Kyle Gibson | MIN | vs. TOR, at CWS | ||
48 | Michael Fulmer | DET | vs. TB | ||
49 | Garrett Richards | LAA | at SEA | ||
50 | Johnny Cueto | SF | at ATL | ||
51 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | at HOU | ||
52 | Alex Wood | LAD | at ARI | ||
53 | Jake Faria | TB | at DET, vs. TOR | Walks out of control | |
54 | Sonny Gray | NYY | at HOU, vs. CLE | Making Faria's control look like Greg Maddux, still cautiously optimistic of a turnaround | |
55 | Jose Quintana | CHC | at STL | ||
56 | Brandon McCarthy | ATL | vs. SF | ||
57 | Walker Buehler | LAD | at SD | May be recalled for weekend start | |
58 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | at CWS | ||
59 | David Price | BOS | at TEX | ||
60 | Blake Snell | TB | at DET | ||
61 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | at LAA | Coming off only poor outing of the season | |
62 | Luis Castillo | CIN | vs. MIL | Understandable if you're benching, but strikeout potential high this week | |
63 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS | vs. KC | ||
64 | Marco Estrada | TOR | at MIN, at TB | ||
65 | Matt Boyd | DET | vs. TB, at KC | Lesser opponents put Boyd in play in deeper leagues | |
66 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | vs. MIA | Strikeouts higher than expected, but so are homers | |
67 | Tyler Skaggs | LAA | at SEA | ||
68 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | vs. LAD | Had first rough effort after three strong outings | |
69 | Mike Minor | TEX | vs. BOS | ||
70 | Tyler Anderson | COL | at CHC | ||
71 | Lance McCullers Jr. | HOU | vs. NYY | ||
72 | Jarlin Garcia | MIA | vs. PHI | .121 BABIP, 6.4 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, correction coming | |
73 | Jakob Junis | KC | at BOS, vs. DET | ||
74 | Kyle Freeland | COL | at CHC, at NYM | In play with pair on the road, especially since Mets anemic vs. LHP | |
75 | Zach Davies | MIL | vs. PIT | ||
76 | CC Sabathia | NYY | vs. CLE | ||
77 | Steven Brault | PIT | at MIL | ||
78 | Brandon Finnegan | CIN | vs. MIL, vs. MIA | ||
79 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | at CIN | ||
80 | German Marquez | COL | at NYM | ||
81 | Danny Duffy | KC | at BOS | ||
82 | Daniel Mengden | OAK | vs. BAL | ||
83 | Julio Teheran | ATL | at NYM | ||
84 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | at WAS | ||
85 | Chad Kuhl | PIT | at WAS, at MIL | ||
86 | Clayton Richard | SD | at SF | ||
87 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | at NYM | ||
88 | Andrew Suarez | SF | ARI | vs. SD | |
89 | Ross Stripling | LAD | at ARI | Taking Rich Hill's start | |
90 | Dan Straily | MIA | vs. PHI, at CIN | ||
91 | Erasmo Ramirez | SEA | vs. OAK | ||
92 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | vs. TOR | ||
93 | Mike Leake | SEA | vs. LAA | ||
94 | Chad Bettis | COL | at NYM | ||
95 | Miles Mikolas | STL | vs. CHC | ||
96 | Caleb Smith | MIA | at CIN | ||
97 | Tyson Ross | SD | at SF | ||
98 | Jeremy Hellickson | WAS | vs. PIT | ||
99 | Andrew Heaney | LAA | vs. BAL | ||
100 | Ian Kennedy | KC | vs. DET | ||
101 | Derek Holland | SF | vs. SD | ||
102 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | vs. LAA | ||
103 | Luke Weaver | STL | vs. CHC | ||
104 | Junior Guerra | MIL | vs. PIT | ||
105 | Trevor Cahill | OAK | vs. BAL | ||
106 | Jason Hammel | KC | at BOS, vs. DET | ||
107 | Tyler Chatwood | CHC | at STL | ||
108 | Chris Stratton | SF | at ATL | ||
109 | Francisco Liriano | DET | at KC | ||
110 | Ivan Nova | PIT | at WAS | ||
111 | Nick Tropeano | LAA | vs. BAL | ||
112 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | LAD | at ARI | ||
113 | Alex Cobb | BAL | at LAA, at OAK | 13.1/2.8 excellent K/9 and BB/9, unfortunately, those are his ERA and WHIP | |
114 | Eric Lauer | SD | at SF, vs. LAD | ||
115 | Zach Eflin | PHI | at MIA | ||
116 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | at OAK | ||
117 | Jose Urena | MIA | vs. PHI | ||
118 | Jason Vargas | NYM | vs. ATL | ||
119 | Jaime Barria | LAA | at SEA | ||
120 | Josh Tomlin | CLE | at NYY | ||
121 | Brett Anderson | OAK | at SEA | ||
122 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | vs. TB, at KC | ||
123 | Sal Romano | CIN | vs. MIA | ||
124 | Steven Matz | NYM | vs. COL | ||
125 | Hector Santiago | CWS | vs. MIN | ||
126 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | at STL | ||
127 | Homer Bailey | CIN | vs. MIL | ||
128 | Trevor Williams | PIT | at WAS | ||
129 | Reynaldo Lopez | CWS | vs. MIN | ||
130 | Zack Wheeler | NYM | vs. COL | ||
131 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | at WAS | ||
132 | Jhoulys Chacin | MIL | at CIN | ||
133 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | at MIN | ||
134 | Jon Gray | COL | at CHC | ||
135 | Mike Fiers | DET | at KC | ||
136 | Bryan Mitchell | SD | vs. LAD | ||
137 | Andrew Cashner | BAL | at OAK | ||
138 | Martin Perez | TEX | vs. BOS | ||
139 | James Shields | CWS | at STL, vs. MIN | ||
140 | Jaime Garcia | TOR | at CLE | ||
141 | Wade Miley | MIL | at CIN | Brent Suter headed to bullpen | |
142 | Phil Hughes | MIN | vs. TOR | ||
143 | Joe Biagini | TOR | at CLE | ||
144 | Eric Skoglund | KC | vs. DET | ||
145 | Chris Tillman | BAL | at LAA | ||
146 | Carson Fulmer | CWS | vs. MIN | ||
147 | Matt Koch | ARI | vs. LAD, vs. HOU | ||
148 | Ty Blach | SF | at ATL | ||
149 | Bartolo Colon | TEX | vs. BOS | ||
150 | Matt Moore | TEX | at CLE | ||
151 | Braden Shipley | ARI | vs. HOU | Taking Robbie Ray's spot | |
152 | Doug Fister | TEX | at CLE | ||
153 | Adam Plutko | CLE | vs. TOR |