This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.
As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that isn't correct, assume that it was a change that has occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments, and I'll let you know where the new arm slots.
For the week Sept. 22-28
AMERICAN LEAGUE
For the week Sept. 22-28
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
| 1. Felix Hernandez - at TOR, LAA Note: Could easily see 18 IP from him this week with SEA's playoff hopes on the line |
| 2. David Price - CWS, MIN Note: Well, his recent work says you'll get one gem and one dud - 0, 8, 1, 5, 1, 5 ER in his last six starts |
| 3. Chris Sale - at DET, KC |
| 4. Corey Kluber - TB |
| 5. Jon Lester - LAA |
| 6. Alex Cobb - at BOS Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 15 (2.01 ERA, 3.5 K:BB) |
| 7. Hisashi Iwakuma - LAA |
| 8. Phil Hughes - ARI Note: He's gone at least 7 IP in each of his last eight (2.64 ERA) |
| 9. Max Scherzer - MIN Note: You have to start him, but he hasn't been great against MIN (5.00 ERA in 3 starts) and they've raked righties in the 2H (.773 OPS, 2nd in MLB) |
| 10. Carlos Carrasco - KC, TB Note: A 2-start treat who could win some H2H leagues (1.17 ERA with 59 Ks in 54 IP since returning to rotation) |
| 11. Collin McHugh - at NYM Note: |
As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that isn't correct, assume that it was a change that has occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments, and I'll let you know where the new arm slots.
For the week Sept. 22-28
AMERICAN LEAGUE
SIT
NATIONAL LEAGUE
SIT
MLB TOP 100
For the week Sept. 22-28
AMERICAN LEAGUE
START
| 1. Felix Hernandez - at TOR, LAA Note: Could easily see 18 IP from him this week with SEA's playoff hopes on the line |
| 2. David Price - CWS, MIN Note: Well, his recent work says you'll get one gem and one dud - 0, 8, 1, 5, 1, 5 ER in his last six starts |
| 3. Chris Sale - at DET, KC |
| 4. Corey Kluber - TB |
| 5. Jon Lester - LAA |
| 6. Alex Cobb - at BOS Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 15 (2.01 ERA, 3.5 K:BB) |
| 7. Hisashi Iwakuma - LAA |
| 8. Phil Hughes - ARI Note: He's gone at least 7 IP in each of his last eight (2.64 ERA) |
| 9. Max Scherzer - MIN Note: You have to start him, but he hasn't been great against MIN (5.00 ERA in 3 starts) and they've raked righties in the 2H (.773 OPS, 2nd in MLB) |
| 10. Carlos Carrasco - KC, TB Note: A 2-start treat who could win some H2H leagues (1.17 ERA with 59 Ks in 54 IP since returning to rotation) |
| 11. Collin McHugh - at NYM Note: Just 10 ER in his last nine starts (1.50 ERA, 8.2 K:BB ratio in 60 IP) |
| 12. James Shields - at CWS |
| 13. Dallas Keuchel - at NYM |
| 14. Yordano Ventura - at CLE, at CWS Note: He's gone 6-plus IP in each of his last five with 6+ Ks in all but one |
| 15. Derek Holland - HOU, OAK |
| 16. Jake Odorizzi - at BOS, at CLE Note: Where have the Ks gone? 18 in his last five after 14 in previous two |
| 17. Jeff Samardzija - LAA, at TEX |
| 18. James Paxton - at TOR, LAA Note: Tough pair of outings, but love what he's doing this year (plus he has 8 Ks in each of his last two) |
| 19. Masahiro Tanaka - at BOS Note: How long will this start be? Monitor him Sunday to see how it looks and go from there |
| 20. Michael Pineda - BAL, at BOS |
| 21. Sonny Gray - LAA, at TEX |
| 22. Brandon McCarthy - BAL Note: He has allowed just 7 HRs with NYY (3 in one gm), cutting his HR/9 from 1.2 to 0.7 |
| 23. Chris Archer - at CLE |
| 24. Jose Quintana - at DET |
| 25. Marcus Stroman - SEA Note: In just about any other year his 3.77 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 11-6 rec. in 126.7 IP would be a frontrunner for ROY |
| 26. Shane Greene - BAL |
| 27. Danny Salazar - KC Note: HR issues unlikely to factor in with league's worst power team |
| 28. Justin Verlander - CWS |
| 29. C.J. Wilson - at OAK, at SEA Note: There's a chance Shoemaker could get the second of these starts, it's just in flux right now so stay tuned |
| 30. Wei-Yin Chen - at NYY, at TOR |
| 31. Bud Norris - at NYY, at TOR |
| 32. Chris Tillman - at NYY Note: His 1.70 ERA since Aug. 1 is MLB's eighth-best |
| 33. Drew Hutchison - BAL |
| 34. Miguel Gonzalez - at TOR |
| 35. Rick Porcello - MIN Note: Had a big effort against MIN his last time out (8 IP, 2 ER) |
| 36. Jason Vargas - at CWS |
| 37. Jason Hammel - at TEX Note: Seems to have finally evened out with OAK (2.12 ERA, 28 Ks, 7.0 K:BB ratio in 29.7 IP) |
| 38. Hiroki Kuroda - BAL Note: He's dominated BAL this year, albeit in just four starts (2.39 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 18 K:BB) |
| 39. Jered Weaver - at SEA |
| 40. Scott Kazmir - at TEX |
| 41. Kevin Gausman - at NYY |
| 42. Trevor Bauer - KC Note: A worthy dice roll for the final week (2.97 ERA and 36 Ks in last 36.3 IP) |
| 43. R.A. Dickey - SEA, BAL Note: Has a 3.20 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his last eight starts |
| 44. Clay Buchholz - TB |
| 45. T.J. House - TB Note: Closing strong - 0.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 20 Ks in last three (21 IP) |
| 46. Nick Tropeano - at TEX |
| 47. Danny Duffy - at CLE, at CWS Note: It's hard to know what to expect |
SIT
| 48. Brett Oberholtzer - at TEX |
| 49. Taijuan Walker - at TOR Note: Love the talent, hate the matchup, but if you're really desperate ... |
| 50. Rubby De La Rosa - NYY |
| 51. Jeremy Hellickson - at BOS Note: Imploded in his last five after looking great for seven, but that's how small samples work |
| 52. Nate Karns - at CLE |
| 53. Chris Young - at TOR |
| 54. Anthony Ranaudo - TB |
| 55. Chris Capuano - at BOS |
| 56. Brandon Workman - TB |
| 57. Scott Feldman - at TEX |
| 58. Joe Kelly - NYY |
| 59. Kyle Lobstein - CWS, MIN |
| 60. J.A. Happ - SEA, BAL |
| 61. Kyle Gibson - ARI, at DET |
| 62. Colby Lewis - OAK |
| 63. John Danks - KC |
| 64. Brad Peacock - at NYM |
| 65. Jeremy Guthrie - at CLE |
| 66. Mark Buehrle - SEA |
| 67. Nick Tepesch - OAK |
| 68. Ricky Nolasco - ARI, at DET |
| 69. Nick Martinez - HOU, OAK |
| 70. Lisalverto Bonilla - HOU Note: Could be Scott Baker, doesn't matter either way |
| 71. Allen Webster - NYY |
| 72. Tommy Milone - at DET Note: Dealing with a neck issue, this could be Swarzak ... you want neither |
| 73. Hector Noesi - KC |
| 74. Cory Rasmus - at SEA Note: Either of these LAA starts could be given to Shoemaker if he's ready, but they're playing it cautiously with good reason |
| 75. Wade LeBlanc - at OAK |
| 76. Chris Bassitt - at DET, KC Note: It says undecided for Sunday so it might not be Bassitt, but it wouldn't be anyone worthwhile either way |
| 77. Trevor May - at DET |
| 78. Hector Santiago - at OAK Note: That last start might've been the nail in the coffin for some AL-only squads |
NATIONAL LEAGUE
START
| 1. Cole Hamels - at MIA, ATL Note: His 1.86 ERA is the third in baseball since June 1 (Kershaw 1.39, Hernandez 1.77) |
| 2. Johnny Cueto - MIL, PIT |
| 3. Adam Wainwright - at CHC, at ARI Note: The old Waino seems to have returned (0.69 ERA, 18 Ks, 6.0 K:BB in his last three totaling 26 IP) |
| 4. Madison Bumgarner - at LAD, SD |
| 5. Zack Greinke - SF, COL |
| 6. Clayton Kershaw - SF Note: Even his bad starts are good-ish |
| 7. Julio Teheran - PIT |
| 8. Jordan Zimmermann - MIA |
| 9. Stephen Strasburg - MIA Note: Since SF popped him for 5 ER - 1.69 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 0 BB in 26.7 IP |
| 10. Jacob deGrom - HOU Note: Loves to pick on the weak - 1.93 ERA, 11.2 K/9 v. sub-.500 clubs |
| 11. Jake Arrieta - STL |
| 12. Mike Fiers - at CIN, CHC Note: His 1.68 ERA in the second half is baseball's second-best |
| 13. Alex Wood - PIT, at PHI |
| 14. Gerrit Cole - at ATL, at CHC Note: He's pitching better than his 3.99 ERA since returning from inj. (40 Ks, 4.4 K:BB ratio in 38.3 IP) |
| 15. Tyson Ross - COL, at SF Note: This is actually a bit unlikely which is unfortunate given how great he's been this year |
| 16. Tanner Roark - NYM, MIA Note: He's held a sub-3.00 ERA since June 6th |
| 17. Lance Lynn - at ARI |
| 18. Gio Gonzalez - NYM |
| 19. Andrew Cashner - at SF |
| 20. Zack Wheeler - at WAS Note: Skills don't quite back his 2.88 ERA in the second half, but he's been very good |
| 21. Francisco Liriano - at ATL, at CIN |
| 22. Jake Peavy - at LAD, SD Note: He has a 1.13 ERA and 4.9 K:BB ratio in his last seven starts |
| 23. Bartolo Colon - at WAS, HOU |
| 24. Shelby Miller - at CHC Note: That curveball is back and he's been great lately |
| 25. Ian Kennedy - at SF |
| 26. Doug Fister - NYM Note: The Nats should still be going all out to ensure the No. 1 seed so don't worry about pitch caps this week for Fister or his teammates |
| 27. John Lackey - at CHC |
| 28. Ervin Santana - at PHI |
| 29. Mike Minor - PIT |
| 30. Wily Peralta - CHC Note: A great final matchup for Peralta to cap a solid season |
| 31. Yovani Gallardo - at CIN |
| 32. Wade Miley - STL |
| 33. Yusmeiro Petit - SD Note: He's great in neutral-to-pitcher favorable situations |
| 34. Tim Hudson - at LAD |
| 35. Tom Koehler - PHI |
| 36. Ryan Vogelsong - SD |
| 37. Matt Garza - CHC Note: His former team crushed him on Sept. 3rd, but he had two 7 IP gems against them earlier |
| 38. Dillon Gee - at WAS |
| 39. Jon Niese - HOU Note: Strong chance he sets his season-high strikeout total (currently eight) in this outing |
| 40. Kyle Lohse - at CIN |
| 41. Tyler Matzek - at SD Note: He hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last six |
| 42. Odrisamer Despaigne - COL Note: Home/road splits - 1.83/5.31 ERA |
| 43. Dan Haren - SF, COL |
| 44. Aaron Harang - PIT, at PHI |
| 45. Henderson Alvarez - PHI, at WAS |
| 46. Josh Collmenter - at MIN, STL |
| 47. David Buchanan - at MIA |
| 48. Jarred Cosart - at WAS |
| 49. Edinson Volquez - at ATL Note: His ERA hit a season-peak of 4.67 on June 18, since: 2.12 ERA in 97.7 IP |
| 50. Jorge De La Rosa - at SD |
| 51. Kyle Hendricks - STL Note: Light on strikeouts, but he's delivered excellent ratios this year |
| 52. Daniel Corcino - MIL Note: He's allowed just 5 H in 11.7 IP in two starts |
| 53. Jeff Locke - at ATL Note: He has a 2.83 ERA in his last seven starts, though just a 1.6 K:BB ratio |
| 54. Michael Wacha - at ARI Note: Only last 78 pitches and 4.7 IP on Saturday, so I'm not sure you should expect much |
SIT
| 55. Mike Leake - PIT |
| 56. David Holmberg - MIL |
| 57. Vance Worley - at CIN |
| 58. Vidal Nuno - at MIN |
| 59. Nathan Eovaldi - at WAS Note: It's really hard to trust him right now |
| 60. Roberto Hernandez - COL |
| 61. Jordan Lyles - at LAD |
| 62. Eddie Butler - at LAD |
| 63. Andrew Chafin - at MIN |
| 64. Alfredo Simon - PIT |
| 65. A.J. Burnett - ATL |
| 66. Tsuyoshi Wada - STL |
| 67. Trevor Cahill - STL |
| 68. Yohan Flande - at SD |
| 69. Jerome Williams - ATL |
| 70. Kyle Kendrick - at MIA |
| 71. Travis Wood - STL |
| 72. Eric Stults - COL, at SF |
| 73. Brad Hand - PHI |
| 74. Christian Bergman - at LAD |
| 75. Edwin Jackson - at MIL |
MLB TOP 100
| 1. Felix Hernandez - at TOR, LAA Note: I could easily see 18 IP from him this week with SEA's playoff hopes on the line |
| 2. Cole Hamels - at MIA, ATL Note: His 1.86 ERA is the third in baseball since June 1 (Kershaw 1.39, Hernandez 1.77) |
| 3. Johnny Cueto - MIL, PIT |
| 4. Adam Wainwright - at CHC, at ARI Note: The old Waino seems to have returned (0.69 ERA, 18 Ks, 6.0 K:BB in his last three totaling 26 IP) |
| 5. Madison Bumgarner - at LAD, SD |
| 6. David Price - CWS, MIN Note: Well, his recent work says you'll get one gem and one dud - 0, 8, 1, 5, 1, 5 ER in his last six starts |
| 7. Zack Greinke - SF, COL |
| 8. Chris Sale - at DET, KC |
| 9. Clayton Kershaw - SF Note: Even his bad starts are good-ish |
| 10. Corey Kluber - TB |
| 11. Jon Lester - LAA |
| 12. Alex Cobb - at BOS Note: Hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last 15 (2.01 ERA, 3.5 K:BB) |
| 13. Hisashi Iwakuma - LAA |
| 14. Phil Hughes - ARI Note: He's gone at least 7 IP in each of his last eight (2.64 ERA) |
| 15. Max Scherzer - MIN Note: You have to start him, but he hasn't been great against MIN (5.00 ERA in 3 starts) and they've raked righties in the 2H (.773 OPS, 2nd in MLB) |
| 16. Carlos Carrasco - KC, TB Note: A 2-start treat who could win some H2H leagues (1.17 ERA with 59 Ks in 54 IP since returning to rotation) |
| 17. Julio Teheran - PIT |
| 18. Jordan Zimmermann - MIA |
| 19. Stephen Strasburg - MIA Note: Since SF popped him for 5 ER - 1.69 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 0 BB in 26.7 IP |
| 20. Jacob deGrom - HOU Note: Loves to pick on the weak - 1.93 ERA, 11.2 K/9 v. sub-.500 clubs |
| 21. Jake Arrieta - STL |
| 22. Mike Fiers - at CIN, CHC Note: His 1.68 ERA in the second half is baseball's second-best |
| 23. Alex Wood - PIT, at PHI |
| 24. Gerrit Cole - at ATL, at CHC Note: He's pitching better than his 3.99 ERA since returning from inj. (40 Ks, 4.4 K:BB ratio in 38.3 IP) |
| 25. Tyson Ross - COL, at SF Note: This is actually a bit unlikely which is unfortunate given how great he's been this year |
| 26. Tanner Roark - NYM, MIA Note: He's held a sub-3.00 ERA since June 6th |
| 27. Collin McHugh - at NYM Note: Just 10 ER in his last nine starts (1.50 ERA, 8.2 K:BB ratio in 60 IP) |
| 28. James Shields - at CWS |
| 29. Dallas Keuchel - at NYM |
| 30. Yordano Ventura - at CLE, at CWS Note: He's gone 6-plus IP in each of his last five with 6+ Ks in all but one |
| 31. Derek Holland - HOU, OAK |
| 32. Jake Odorizzi - at BOS, at CLE Note: Where have the Ks gone? 18 in his last five after 14 in previous two |
| 33. Jeff Samardzija - LAA, at TEX |
| 34. James Paxton - at TOR, LAA Note: Tough pair of outings, but love what he's doing this year (plus he has 8 Ks in each of his last two) |
| 35. Masahiro Tanaka - at BOS Note: How long will this start be? Monitor him Sunday to see how it looks and go from there |
| 36. Michael Pineda - BAL, at BOS |
| 37. Sonny Gray - LAA, at TEX |
| 38. Lance Lynn - at ARI |
| 39. Gio Gonzalez - NYM |
| 40. Andrew Cashner - at SF |
| 41. Zack Wheeler - at WAS Note: Skills don't quite back his 2.88 ERA in the second half, but he's been very good |
| 42. Francisco Liriano - at ATL, at CIN |
| 43. Jake Peavy - at LAD, SD Note: He has a 1.13 ERA and 4.9 K:BB ratio in his last seven starts |
| 44. Bartolo Colon - at WAS, HOU |
| 45. Shelby Miller - at CHC Note: That curveball is back and he's been great lately |
| 46. Ian Kennedy - at SF |
| 47. Brandon McCarthy - BAL Note: He has allowed just 7 HRs with NYY (3 in one gm), cutting his HR/9 from 1.2 to 0.7 |
| 48. Chris Archer - at CLE |
| 49. Jose Quintana - at DET |
| 50. Marcus Stroman - SEA Note: In just about any other year his 3.77 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 11-6 rec. in 126.7 IP would be a frontrunner for ROY |
| 51. Shane Greene - BAL |
| 52. Danny Salazar - KC Note: HR issues unlikely to factor in with league's worst power team |
| 53. Justin Verlander - CWS |
| 54. C.J. Wilson - at OAK, at SEA Note: There's a chance Shoemaker could get the second of these starts, it's just in flux right now so stay tuned |
| 55. Wei-Yin Chen - at NYY, at TOR |
| 56. Bud Norris - at NYY, at TOR |
| 57. Chris Tillman - at NYY Note: His 1.70 ERA since Aug. 1 is MLB's eighth-best |
| 58. Drew Hutchison - BAL |
| 59. Doug Fister - NYM Note: The Nats should still be going all out to ensure the No. 1 seed so don't worry about pitch caps this week for Fister or his teammates |
| 60. John Lackey - at CHC |
| 61. Ervin Santana - at PHI |
| 62. Mike Minor - PIT |
| 63. Wily Peralta - CHC Note: A great final matchup for Peralta to cap a solid season |
| 64. Yovani Gallardo - at CIN |
| 65. Wade Miley - STL |
| 66. Yusmeiro Petit - SD Note: He's great in neutral-to-pitcher favorable situations |
| 67. Miguel Gonzalez - at TOR |
| 68. Rick Porcello - MIN Note: Had a big effort against MIN his last time out (8 IP, 2 ER) |
| 69. Jason Vargas - at CWS |
| 70. Jason Hammel - at TEX Note: Seems to have finally evened out with OAK (2.12 ERA, 28 Ks, 7.0 K:BB ratio in 29.7 IP) |
| 71. Hiroki Kuroda - BAL Note: He's dominated BAL this year, albeit in just four starts (2.39 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 18 K:BB) |
| 72. Jered Weaver - at SEA |
| 73. Scott Kazmir - at TEX |
| 74. Kevin Gausman - at NYY |
| 75. Trevor Bauer - KC Note: A worthy dice roll for the final week (2.97 ERA and 36 Ks in last 36.3 IP) |
| 76. R.A. Dickey - SEA, BAL Note: Has a 3.20 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his last eight starts |
| 77. Clay Buchholz - TB |
| 78. T.J. House - TB Note: Closing strong - 0.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 20 Ks in last three (21 IP) |
| 79. Tim Hudson - at LAD |
| 80. Tom Koehler - PHI |
| 81. Ryan Vogelsong - SD |
| 82. Matt Garza - CHC Note: His former team crushed him on Sept. 3rd, but he had two 7 IP gems against them earlier |
| 83. Dillon Gee - at WAS |
| 84. Jon Niese - HOU Note: Strong chance he sets his season-high strikeout total (currently eight) in this outing |
| 85. Kyle Lohse - at CIN |
| 86. Tyler Matzek - at SD Note: He hasn't allowed more than 3 ER in any of his last six |
| 87. Odrisamer Despaigne - COL Note: Home/road splits - 1.83/5.31 ERA |
| 88. Dan Haren - SF, COL |
| 89. Aaron Harang - PIT, at PHI |
| 90. Henderson Alvarez - PHI, at WAS |
| 91. Josh Collmenter - at MIN, STL |
| 92. Nick Tropeano - at TEX |
| 93. Danny Duffy - at CLE, at CWS Note: It's hard to know what to expect |
| 94. David Buchanan - at MIA |
| 95. Jarred Cosart - at WAS |
| 96. Edinson Volquez - at ATL Note: His ERA hit a season-peak of 4.67 on June 18, since: 2.12 ERA in 97.7 IP |
| 97. Jorge De La Rosa - at SD |
| 98. Kyle Hendricks - STL Note: Light on strikeouts, but he's delivered excellent ratios this year |
| 99. Daniel Corcino - MIL Note: He's allowed just 5 H in 11.7 IP in two starts |
| 100. Jeff Locke - at ATL Note: He has a 2.83 ERA in his last seven starts, though just a 1.6 K:BB ratio |
