Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Kershaw in Pedro Territory

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Updated on June 25, 2016 1:27PM 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 June 27 - July 4

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Cole Hamels	at NYY, at MIN	Settling in: 1.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and +1 mph (91.7 thru May; 92.8 in June)
2	Corey Kluber	at ATL, at TOR	This is where being a Klubot helps: the 6, 0, 2, 8, and 0 R totals over his L5 starts leave him unaffected; too bad it's not the same for us w/him on our teams
3	Chris Sale	at HOU
4	Matt Shoemaker	HOU, at BOS
5	Justin Verlander	at TB	Still working off those two 7 ER outings; since the 2nd of those: 2.34 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 69 Ks in 65.3 IP
6	Steven Wright	LAA
7	Danny Salazar	at ATL	He'll come off that 2.23 ERA if that .250 BABIP regresses, but watching him it's clear that he's impacting that BABIP so it won't necessarily regress to league average
8	David Price	at TB
9	Carlos Carrasco	at TOR	Keeping an eye on this HR situation, it's up at 1.7 after just 0.7 in 2014-15
10	Sonny Gray	PIT
11	CC Sabathia	TEX, at SD
12	Danny Duffy	STL, at PHI	Speaking of HRs

For the week June 27 - July 4

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Cole Hamels	at NYY, at MIN	Settling in: 1.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and +1 mph (91.7 thru May; 92.8 in June)
2	Corey Kluber	at ATL, at TOR	This is where being a Klubot helps: the 6, 0, 2, 8, and 0 R totals over his L5 starts leave him unaffected; too bad it's not the same for us w/him on our teams
3	Chris Sale	at HOU
4	Matt Shoemaker	HOU, at BOS
5	Justin Verlander	at TB	Still working off those two 7 ER outings; since the 2nd of those: 2.34 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 69 Ks in 65.3 IP
6	Steven Wright	LAA
7	Danny Salazar	at ATL	He'll come off that 2.23 ERA if that .250 BABIP regresses, but watching him it's clear that he's impacting that BABIP so it won't necessarily regress to league average
8	David Price	at TB
9	Carlos Carrasco	at TOR	Keeping an eye on this HR situation, it's up at 1.7 after just 0.7 in 2014-15
10	Sonny Gray	PIT
11	CC Sabathia	TEX, at SD
12	Danny Duffy	STL, at PHI	Speaking of HRs ... he has a 1.5 HR9 of his own that could be a side effect of his career-best 7% BB rate
13	Jose Quintana	MIN, at HOU
14	Michael Fulmer	at TB	Being pushed back to late in the week; a little wobbly in last 2 w/5 BB and 2 HBP in 10 IP
15	Marco Estrada	at COL, CLE
16	Masahiro Tanaka	TEX
17	Lance McCullers	at LAA
18	Jake Odorizzi	DET	44 Ks in his last 34.7 IP after opening with 38 in his first 49.7
19	Trevor Bauer	at ATL, at TOR
20	Chris Archer	BOS, DET	I'm not even that excited about his 2-start weeks these days, especially against two strong offenses
21	James Paxton	BAL
22	Chris Tillman	at SEA
23	Taijuan Walker	BAL
24	Josh Tomlin	at TOR	I see the 9, 7, 9, 7, 5 hit totals over his L5 and want to panic, but when it's paired w/ONE walk in the five starts combined, it's a lot less threatening
25	Aaron Sanchez	at COL	That elite GB rate could actually hold up in Coors, although a good outing there is like 6 IP w/3-4 ER
26	R.A. Dickey	CLE	Hasn't allowed more than 4 ER since May 1st (2.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP in 63.7 IP); Steven Wright not the only fantasy-relevant knuckleballer
27	Dallas Keuchel	at LAA
28	Rick Porcello	at TB
29	Jordan Zimmermann	at TB	From May 14: "He's always stranded runners at an above average clip (career 75%), but this 88% will come down; entertain selling"; since: 6.48 ERA and LOB% down to 71%
30	Michael Pineda	TEX
31	Nathan Eovaldi	at SD
32	Drew Smyly	DET	Numbers show a sharp drop in cutter usage from first 6 starts (18%; had 2.72 ERA) to last 8 (10%; 6.60); it's likely not thatsimple, but it's the biggest change
33	Collin McHugh	at LAA, CWS
34	Yordano Ventura	STL, at PHI
35	Daniel Mengden	at SF, PIT	Has been solid in all three outings so far; dearth of bankable arms in AL-only certainly heighten his profile in those leagues
36	J.A. Happ	at COL, CLE
37	Hisashi Iwakuma	PIT, BAL
38	Carlos Rodon	MIN	Don't look now, but he's got a 3.24 ERA in his L7 starts, though the 1.46 WHIP tempers the excitement some
39	Nate Karns	BAL
40	Doug Fister	CWS
41	Ian Kennedy	at PHI	Great matchup on paper, but PHI actually hits HRs v. RHP (17th) compared to their overall rank against them (29th); Kennedy toting a 2.0 HR/9
42	Blake Snell	BOS, DET	I'm open to buying if a leaguemate is uninspired by the early returns as the 2.40 ERA is a stone-cold fluke w/these skills and a 1.60 WHIP, but I see him getting better as he settles in kind of like Fulmer
43	Kevin Gausman	at SEA	He's been maddeningly inconsistent with the bottom line actually being a tick or two worse than last year
44	Marcus Stroman	CLE
45	Martin Perez	at MIN	I'm really trying to make sense of the 3.57 ERA and 1.2 K:BB ratio combo; watching him would make you think his skills are way better, but it's just SUCH a bad K:BB ratio
46	Eduardo Rodriguez	at TB, LAA
47	Matt Moore	BOS
48	Daniel Norris	MIA
49	Mike Fiers	CWS
50	A.J. Griffin	at NYY	Was looking really good prior to his injury, even curbing his homers (though the 5% is likely to regress)
51	Ervin Santana	TEX
52	Tyler Duffey	TEX
53	Clay Buchholz	LAA
54	Kyle Gibson	at CWS, TEX
55	Sean Manaea	SF
56	Jhoulys Chacin	at BOS	He left his strikeouts in May with just 7 in four June starts after a solid 8.0 thru May, including 10 in a CG gem v. DET to close the month
57	Edinson Volquez	at STL
58	Tyler Wilson	at SEA
59	Ivan Nova	TEX, at SD

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
60	Yovani Gallardo	at SD
61	James Shields	MIN	No one was expecting peak Shields, but this is just sad
62	Kendall Graveman	at SF, PIT
63	Miguel Gonzalez	at HOU
64	Ricky Nolasco	at CWS
65	Hector Santiago	at BOS
66	Tommy Milone	at CWS
67	Chris Young	at STL
68	Anibal Sanchez	at TB
69	Nick Martinez	at NYY
70	Mike Pelfrey	MIA
71	Eric Surkamp	SF
72	Tim Lincecum	HOU
73	Jered Weaver	HOU
73	Cesar Ramos	at NYY, at MIN
74	Wade LeBlanc	PIT
75	Ubaldo Jimenez	at SD, at SEA

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	COL	You can talk about the offensive environment all you want, but Kershaw is in that Pedro 1999 beat (243 ERA+ for Pedro, which adjusts for league context; 246 for Kershaw)
2	Jake Arrieta	at CIN, at NYM
3	Jon Lester	at CIN, at NYM
4	Jose Fernandez	at ATL	Remember when he had a 4.28 ERA? Me neither (oh wait yes I do, it was May 4th); he's been MLB's 3rd-best since: 1.17 ERA trails only Bumgarner (1.07) and Kershaw (1.16)
5	Noah Syndergaard	at WAS, CHC	Thor seems fine after the scare and suggests it was workload-related, which oddly calms me down
6	Madison Bumgarner	at OAK
7	Stephen Strasburg	CIN
8	Max Scherzer	NYM	Two 5 ER outings comrpise 50% of his ER over the last nine (2.80 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 92 Ks in 64.3 IP)
9	Zack Greinke	PHI	Survived Coors (5.2 IP/3 ER) giving him a 2.18 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in his L8 starts
10	Johnny Cueto	at ARI
11	Matt Harvey	at WAS, CHC
12	John Lackey	at NYM
13	Jacob deGrom	CHC
14	Drew Pomeranz	NYY	We knew he'd come off that early-season pace; skills remain strong overall
15	Julio Teheran	MIA	His 9 starts of 7+ IP have him tied for 3rd-most in MLB w/Verlander, Scherzer, Price, Kluber, and Arrieta
16	Kyle Hendricks	at CIN
17	Jason Hammel	at NYM
18	Steven Matz	at WAS	Braves got their 4th look at Matz and finally clipped him (6.3 IP/2 ER 7.7 IP/0 ER, and 6 IP/2 ER in prev. three)
19	Jeff Samardzija	OAK, at ARI
20	Kenta Maeda	at MIL	Has a 1.52 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 31 Ks in 29.7 IP after the three straight 4 ER outings in mid-May
21	Tanner Roark	NYM, CIN
22	Joe Ross	NYM, CIN
23	Adam Wainwright	at KC, MIL
24	Carlos Martinez	KC	Strikeouts are down, but it's really hard to gripe too hard w/the bottom line; the 0.20 improvement in WHIP helps offset Ks lost, too
25	Adam Conley	at DET, at ATL
26	Junior Guerra	LAD, at STL
27	Scott Kazmir	at PIT, COL	Loses some value in QS leagues having gone 6 IP in just 7-of-15 and only twice going >6 IP
28	Michael Wacha	at KC, MIL
29	Gio Gonzalez	CIN
30	Aaron Nola	KC	Three straight disasters, all fewer than 4 IP, are creating some panic, which is understandable as he's not getting any swings-and-misses (4% SwStr)
31	Julio Urias	at MIL, COL	Showing where the hype came from as he settles in a bit: 2.33 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 7.0 K:BB in last four starts
32	Matt Wisler	CLE, MIA
33	Jerad Eickhoff	at ARI
34	Zach Davies	LAD
35	Jimmy Nelson	at STL
36	Jameson Taillon	at SEA
37	Brandon Finnegan	at WAS	Could be similar to Drew Pomeranz: as the BABIP inevitably regreses, those BBs start to really sting (3+ BB in 5 of last 6 starts)
38	Bartolo Colon	CHC
39	Mike Leake	KC
40	Jaime Garcia	MIL
41	Jon Gray	TOR, at LAD	I'm skeptical of any of his home starts, let alone one against the surging Jays
42	Dan Straily	CHC, at WAS
43	Shelby Miller	SF
44	Jeremy Hellickson	KC
45	Chase Anderson	LAD
46	Tom Koehler	at ATL
47	Anthony DeSclafani	at WAS
48	Archie Bradley	PHI	Not only went 5 IP/1 ER at Coors, but did so despite 9 base runners; it's still a work in progress, but he's finally moving forward
49	Robbie Ray	PHI, SF
50	Cody Reed	CHC
51	Jon Niese	at SEA
52	Tyler Anderson	TOR	Through 3 starts he's combining Chatwood's GB capability w/Gray's strikeout prowess for a skills-supported 2.55 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
53	Jake Peavy	at OAK
54	Colin Rea	NYY

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
55	Chad Bettis	at LAD	5.23 ERA, 1.47 WHIP in 51.7 road IP makes it tough to start him anywhere
56	John Lamb	CHC, at WAS
57	Francisco Liriano	LAD, at OAK
58	Wei-Yin Chen	at DET
59	Christian Friedrich	BAL
60	Matt Garza	at STL
61	Patrick Corbin	SF
62	Bud Norris	MIA
63	John Gant	CLE, MIA
64	Zach Eflin	at ARI
65	Adam Morgan	at ARI, KC
66	Albert Suarez	OAK, at ARI
67	Jorge De La Rosa	at LAD
68	Luis Perdomo	NYY
69	Aaron Blair	CLE
70	Jeff Locke	at OAK
71	Eddie Butler	TOR
72	Erik Johnson	BAL
73	Paul Clemens	at ATL
74	Nick Tepesch	at MIL
75	Juan Nicasio Replacement	at OAK	Could be Wilfredo Gascan coming back or someone else from Triple-A; doubt it's Glasnow

MLB TOP 100

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Clayton Kershaw	COL	You can talk about the offensive environment all you want, but Kershaw is in that Pedro 1999 beat (243 ERA+ for Pedro, which adjusts for league context; 246 for Kershaw)
2	Jake Arrieta	at CIN, at NYM
3	Jon Lester	at CIN, at NYM
4	Jose Fernandez	at ATL	Remember when he had a 4.28 ERA? Me neither (oh wait yes I do, it was May 4th); he's been MLB's 3rd-best since: 1.17 ERA trails only Bumgarner (1.07) and Kershaw (1.16)
5	Noah Syndergaard	at WAS, CHC	Thor seems fine after the scare and suggests it was workload-related, which oddly calms me down
6	Madison Bumgarner	at OAK
7	Cole Hamels	at NYY, at MIN	Settling in: 1.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and +1 mph (91.7 thru May; 92.8 in June)
8	Corey Kluber	at ATL, at TOR	This is where being a Klubot helps: the 6, 0, 2, 8, and 0 R totals over his L5 starts leave him unaffected; too bad it's not the same for us w/him on our teams
9	Chris Sale	at HOU
10	Stephen Strasburg	CIN
11	Max Scherzer	NYM	Two 5 ER outings comrpise 50% of his ER over the last nine (2.80 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 92 Ks in 64.3 IP)
12	Matt Shoemaker	HOU, at BOS
13	Justin Verlander	at TB	Still working off those two 7 ER outings; since the 2nd of those: 2.34 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 69 Ks in 65.3 IP
14	Zack Greinke	PHI	Survived Coors (5.2 IP/3 ER) giving him a 2.18 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in his L8 starts
15	Johnny Cueto	at ARI
16	Matt Harvey	at WAS, CHC
17	John Lackey	at NYM
18	Steven Wright	LAA
19	Danny Salazar	at ATL	He'll come off that 2.23 ERA if that .250 BABIP regresses, but watching him it's clear that he's impacting that BABIP so it won't necessarily regress to league average
20	David Price	at TB
21	Carlos Carrasco	at TOR	Keeping an eye on this HR situation, it's up at 1.7 after just 0.7 in 2014-15
22	Jacob deGrom	CHC
23	Kyle Hendricks	at CIN
24	Drew Pomeranz	NYY	We knew he'd come off that early-season pace; skills remain strong overall
25	Jason Hammel	at NYM
26	Julio Teheran	MIA	His 9 starts of 7+ IP have him tied for 3rd-most in MLB w/Verlander, Scherzer, Price, Kluber, and Arrieta
27	Steven Matz	at WAS	Braves got their 4th look at Matz and finally clipped him (6.3 IP/2 ER 7.7 IP/0 ER, and 6 IP/2 ER in prev. three)
28	Sonny Gray	PIT
29	Jeff Samardzija	OAK, at ARI
30	CC Sabathia	TEX, at SD
31	Danny Duffy	STL, at PHI	Speaking of HRs ... he has a 1.5 HR9 of his own that could be a side effect of his career-best 7% BB rate
32	Jose Quintana	MIN, at HOU
33	Kenta Maeda	at MIL	Has a 1.52 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 31 Ks in 29.7 IP after the three straight 4 ER outings in mid-May
34	Tanner Roark	NYM, CIN
35	Joe Ross	NYM, CIN
36	Michael Fulmer	at TB	Being pushed back to late in the week; a little wobbly in last 2 w/5 BB and 2 HBP in 10 IP
37	Adam Wainwright	at KC, MIL
38	Carlos Martinez	KC	Strikeouts are down, but it's really hard to gripe too hard w/the bottom line; the 0.20 improvement in WHIP helps offset Ks lost, too
39	Adam Conley	at DET, at ATL
40	Junior Guerra	LAD, at STL
41	Marco Estrada	at COL, CLE
42	Scott Kazmir	at PIT, COL	Loses some value in QS leagues having gone 6 IP in just 7-of-15 and only twice going >6 IP
43	Masahiro Tanaka	TEX
44	Lance McCullers	at LAA
45	Jake Odorizzi	DET	44 Ks in his last 34.7 IP after opening with 38 in his first 49.7
46	Trevor Bauer	at ATL, at TOR
47	Michael Wacha	at KC, MIL
48	Chris Archer	BOS, DET	I'm not even that excited about his 2-start weeks these days, especially against two strong offenses
49	James Paxton	BAL
50	Chris Tillman	at SEA
51	Taijuan Walker	BAL
52	Gio Gonzalez	CIN
53	Aaron Nola	KC	Three straight disasters, all fewer than 4 IP, are creating some panic, which is understandable as he's not getting any swings-and-misses (4% SwStr)
54	Josh Tomlin	at TOR	I see the 9, 7, 9, 7, 5 hit totals over his L5 and want to panic, but when it's paired w/ONE walk in the five starts combined, it's a lot less threatening
55	Aaron Sanchez	at COL	That elite GB rate could actually hold up in Coors, although a good outing there is like 6 IP w/3-4 ER
56	Julio Urias	at MIL, COL	Showing where the hype came from as he settles in a bit: 2.33 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 28 Ks, and 7.0 K:BB in last four starts
57	Matt Wisler	CLE, MIA
58	Jerad Eickhoff	at ARI
59	R.A. Dickey	CLE	Hasn't allowed more than 4 ER since May 1st (2.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP in 63.7 IP); Steven Wright not the only fantasy-relevant knuckleballer
60	Dallas Keuchel	at LAA
61	Rick Porcello	at TB
62	Jordan Zimmermann	at TB	From May 14: "He's always stranded runners at an above average clip (career 75%), but this 88% will come down; entertain selling"; since: 6.48 ERA and LOB% down to 71%
63	Zach Davies	LAD
64	Michael Pineda	TEX
65	Nathan Eovaldi	at SD
66	Drew Smyly	DET	Numbers show a sharp drop in cutter usage from first 6 starts (18%; had 2.72 ERA) to last 8 (10%; 6.60); it's likely not thatsimple, but it's the biggest change
67	Jimmy Nelson	at STL
68	Collin McHugh	at LAA, CWS
69	Yordano Ventura	STL, at PHI
70	Daniel Mengden	at SF, PIT	Has been solid in all three outings so far; dearth of bankable arms in AL-only certainly heighten his profile in those leagues
71	Jameson Taillon	at SEA
72	Brandon Finnegan	at WAS	Could be similar to Drew Pomeranz: as the BABIP inevitably regreses, those BBs start to really sting (3+ BB in 5 of last 6 starts)
73	J.A. Happ	at COL, CLE
74	Hisashi Iwakuma	PIT, BAL
75	Bartolo Colon	CHC
76	Mike Leake	KC
77	Carlos Rodon	MIN	Don't look now, but he's got a 3.24 ERA in his L7 starts, though the 1.46 WHIP tempers the excitement some
78	Jaime Garcia	MIL
79	Jon Gray	TOR, at LAD	I'm skeptical of any of his home starts, let alone one against the surging Jays
80	Dan Straily	CHC, at WAS
81	Shelby Miller	SF
82	Jeremy Hellickson	KC
83	Nate Karns	BAL
84	Doug Fister	CWS
85	Chase Anderson	LAD
85	Tom Koehler	at ATL
86	Ian Kennedy	at PHI	Great matchup on paper, but PHI actually hits HRs v. RHP (17th) compared to their overall rank against them (29th); Kennedy toting a 2.0 HR/9
87	Blake Snell	BOS, DET	I'm open to buying if a leaguemate is uninspired by the early returns as the 2.40 ERA is a stone-cold fluke w/these skills and a 1.60 WHIP, but I see him getting better as he settles in kind of like Fulmer
88	Kevin Gausman	at SEA	He's been maddeningly inconsistent with the bottom line actually being a tick or two worse than last year
89	Marcus Stroman	CLE
90	Anthony DeSclafani	at WAS
91	Archie Bradley	PHI	Not only went 5 IP/1 ER at Coors, but did so despite 9 base runners; it's still a work in progress, but he's finally moving forward
92	Robbie Ray	PHI, SF
93	Martin Perez	at MIN	I'm really trying to make sense of the 3.57 ERA and 1.2 K:BB ratio combo; watching him would make you think his skills are way better, but it's just SUCH a bad K:BB ratio
94	Eduardo Rodriguez	at TB, LAA
96	Tyler Anderson	TOR	Through 3 starts he's combining Chatwood's GB capability w/Gray's strikeout prowess for a skills-supported 2.55 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
97	Matt Moore	BOS
98	Daniel Norris	MIA
99	Mike Fiers	CWS
100	A.J. Griffin	at NYY	Was looking really good prior to his injury, even curbing his homers (though the 5% is likely to regress)