Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Strasburg Hopes to Back Up Last Start

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Updated on July 1, 2017 1:04PM EST

Keep in mind this is the final week before the All-Star break, so there's more late-week maneuvering with rotations than usual. Also, there are several struggling pitchers with two starts. If you're concerned about ratios, consider dropping them in the ranks since the added strikeouts and win potential may not be enough to warrant the risk. The fact is, on a micro basis, the extra wins and whiffs are more beneficial on a week-to-week basis than the damage of poor ratios.

UPDATED Sunday, July 2, 8:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. SD, vs. DET	Joy to watch, but not in the ASG with Sunday start
2	Chris Sale	BOS	at TB	Strikeout over/under 12.5 - I'll take the over
3	Chris Archer	TB	at CHC, vs. BOS	Only 9 whiffs in last 12 innings
4	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Boosted by pair at home facing lesser lineups
5	Jason Vargas	KC	at SEA, at LAD	Continuing to avoid the long ball
6	James Paxton	SEA	vs. OAK	Coming off solid effort, velocity seem back
7	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. SF, at CLE	No sophomore slump though punch outs down
8	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. DET	Homers a little high
9	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at TB	Good matchup, should rack up whiffs
10	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. MIL	Next time he pitches after this should be in the All Star game
11	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TB	May not

UPDATED Sunday, July 2, 8:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. SD, vs. DET	Joy to watch, but not in the ASG with Sunday start
2	Chris Sale	BOS	at TB	Strikeout over/under 12.5 - I'll take the over
3	Chris Archer	TB	at CHC, vs. BOS	Only 9 whiffs in last 12 innings
4	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Boosted by pair at home facing lesser lineups
5	Jason Vargas	KC	at SEA, at LAD	Continuing to avoid the long ball
6	James Paxton	SEA	vs. OAK	Coming off solid effort, velocity seem back
7	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. SF, at CLE	No sophomore slump though punch outs down
8	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. DET	Homers a little high
9	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at TB	Good matchup, should rack up whiffs
10	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. MIL	Next time he pitches after this should be in the All Star game
11	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TB	May not go, Price with double dip if he doesn't
12	David Price	BOS	at TEX	Texas fan at 27 percent clip versus LHP
13	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TOR, vs. MIL	Fingers crossed, no homers allowed in last two games
14	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TEX, at TB	Still not sharp, says sinker isn't sinking as much as usual
15	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. TOR	Strikeouts disappearing, only 6.7 K/9 in June
16	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. CWS, at SEA	Helped with good pitching venues
17	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. CWS	4.09 ERA due correction, see 3.48 FIP and 3.36 xFIP
18	Andrew Moore	SEA	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Propped up by two at home versus weaker offenses
19	J.A. Happ	TOR	at NYY, vs. HOU	Mostly back on track, homers still high
20	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. BAL	Four-game win streak snapped last time vs. BOS but still pitched well
21	Danny Duffy	KC	at SEA	Tentatively slated for Tuesday, limited to 85-90 pitches
22	Ervin Santana	MIN	vs. LAA	6.03 ERA, 1.63 WHIP last 6 outings
23	Jacob Faria	TB	vs. BOS
24	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. SD	Tilt with Padres elevates ranking
25	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. LAA	Regression setting in after DL stint
26	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. BOS	Quietly excellent, if there is such a thing, but tough draw
27	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. SF
28	Sean Manaea	OAK	at SEA
29	Lance McCullers	HOU	at ATL	Failed to throw at least 6 innings in 3 of last 4 starts
30	Ariel Miranda	SEA	vs. KC
31	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. SD
32	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. MIL
33	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at MIN
34	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. CWS, at SEA
35	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. BOS
36	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at OAK, at COL
37	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. TOR
38	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. LAA, vs. BAL
39	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at NYY, vs. HOU
40	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. BOS
41	Charlie Morton	HOU	at TOR
42	Francis Martes	HOU	at TOR
43	Tyson Ross	TEX	vs. LAA
44	Mike Fiers	HOU	at TOR
45	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. OAK
46	Ian Kennedy	KC	at SEA, at LAD	At least 1 HR allowed in 11 straight games, 13 of 15 on the season
47	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. BOS, vs. LAA
48	JC Ramirez	LAA	at MIN
49	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. DET
50	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at SEA
51	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at MIL, at MIN
52	James Shields	CWS	at OAK
53	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. SF
54	Jason Hammel	KC	at LAD
55	Brad Peacock	HOU	at ATL, at TOR
56	Alex Meyer	LAA	at MIN, at TEX
57	Marco Estrada	TOR	at NYY
58	Justin Verlander	DET	at CLE	Strikeouts still fine, walks surprisingly through the roof
59	Hector Santiago	MIN	vs. BAL
60	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at OAK
61	Wade Miley	BAL	at MIL, at MIN
62	Blake Snell	TB	at CHC
63	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at MIN
64	Doug Fister	BOS	at TEX
65	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at TEX
66	Chris Tillman	BAL	at MIL
67	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at TEX
68	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. LAA, vs. BAL
69	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. HOU
70	Jose Quintana	CWS	at COL
71	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. HOU
72	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. BOS
73	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
74	Parker Bridwell	LAA	at MIN
75	Derek Holland	CWS	at COL

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. KC	You know bar is high when 2.32 ERA is disappointing
2	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. ATL	Worked through back spasms last time but club not worried
3	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT	Rays don't hit lefties well
4	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. ATL	Braves could have their stud first…err…third baseman back
5	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at PHI, at CHC	Keeping the ball in the yard
6	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. PIT, vs. SD	Silly good matchups
7	Ivan Nova	PIT	at PHI, at CHC	Neither lineup hitting righties well
8	Steven Matz	NYM	at WAS, at STL	Performances fine, still an injury risk
9	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. BAL, at NYY	I'm a believer, your mileage may vary
10	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. NYM	Deserves more than six wins
11	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ARI	Ace stuff, but likely to have innings monitored
12	Zack Greinke	ARI	at LAD	Looks like humidor on hold until next season
13	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at PHI	Surprisingly inconsistent
14	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. CIN	Walks up, whiffs down
15	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. MIA	Home against lesser lineup
16	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. KC	Back in the rotation
17	Trevor Cahill	SD	at CLE, at PHI	Tentative, could have one more rehab start then return over the weekend
18	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. MIA, vs. NYM	Seven HR last three games, spanning just 16 1/3 innings
19	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. PIT	Three of last four starts fewer than 5 frames, but weak foe
20	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. CIN, vs. CWS	Lesser offenses, but Coors is Coors
21	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at PHI
22	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ARI	Getting there, 26 whiffs last three games, covering 19 innings
23	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. SD	Aided by offensively-challenged opponent
24	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. HOU, at WAS	Huge challenge facing two prolific lineups
25	Johnny Cueto	SF	at DET	No longer Mr. Reliable
26	Mike Leake	STL	vs. MIA
27	Ben Lively	PHI	vs. PIT
28	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. ATL
29	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. MIL
30	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. MIA
31	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. MIA, vs. NYM
32	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS	Pitching well, Nationals crushing righties
33	Dan Straily	MIA	at SF
34	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. SD	Facing terrible offenses versus RHP
35	Trevor Williams	PIT	at CHC
36	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. PIT
37	Mark Leiter	PHI	vs. PIT
38	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at PHI
39	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. NYM
40	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. KC
41	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
42	Jose Urena	MIA	at STL, at SF
43	Clayton Richard	SD	at PHI
44	Zack Godley	ARI	at LAD	Continues to impress, 23 K in last 19 2/3 innings
45	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. ATL
46	Jeff Locke	MIA	at STL, at SF
47	John Lackey	CHC	vs. TB	At least 1 HR allowed in 9 straight games, 14 of 16 on the season
48	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. BAL
49	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. CIN
50	Eddie Butler	CHC	vs. PIT
51	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at LAD, vs. CIN
52	Luis Castillo	CIN	at COL, at ARI
53	German Marquez	COL	vs. CWS
54	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at STL
55	Seth Lugo	NYM	at WAS
56	Julio Teheran	ATL	at WAS
57	Jon Gray	COL	vs. CIN
58	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. BAL, at NYY
59	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at WAS
60	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at CLE
61	Jaime Garcia	ATL	vs. HOU
62	Matt Cain	SF	at DET, vs. MIA
63	Homer Bailey	CIN	at COL, at ARI
64	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. CIN
65	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CIN, vs. CWS
66	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at STL
67	Matt Moore	SF	vs. MIA
68	Junior Guerra	MIL	at NYY
69	Ty Blach	SF	at DET
70	Tim Adleman	CIN	at ARI
71	Tom Koehler	MIA	at STL
72	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at WAS
73	Luis Perdomo	SD	at CLE
74	Scott Feldman	CIN	at COL
75	Rafael Montero	NYM	at STL
75	Asher Wojciechowski	CIN	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. ARI, vs. KC	You know bar is high when 2.32 ERA is disappointing
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. SD, vs. DET	Joy to watch, but not in the ASG with Sunday start
3	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. ATL	Worked through back spasms last time but club not worried
4	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. TB, vs. PIT	Rays don't hit lefties well
5	Chris Sale	BOS	at TB	Strikeout over/under 12.5 - I'll take the over
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. ATL	Braves could have their stud first…err…third baseman back
7	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at PHI, at CHC	Keeping the ball in the yard
8	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. PIT, vs. SD	Silly good matchups
9	Ivan Nova	PIT	at PHI, at CHC	Neither lineup hitting righties well
10	Chris Archer	TB	at CHC, vs. BOS	Only 9 whiffs in last 12 innings
11	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Boosted by pair at home facing lesser lineups
12	Steven Matz	NYM	at WAS, at STL	Performances fine, still an injury risk
13	Jason Vargas	KC	at SEA, at LAD	Continuing to avoid the long ball
14	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. BAL, at NYY	I'm a believer, your mileage may vary
15	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. NYM	Deserves more than six wins
16	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. ARI	Ace stuff, but likely to have innings monitored
17	James Paxton	SEA	vs. OAK	Coming off solid effort, velocity seem back
18	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. SF, at CLE	No sophomore slump though punch outs down
19	Zack Greinke	ARI	at LAD	Looks like humidor on hold until next season
20	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. DET	Homers a little high
21	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at TB	Good matchup, should rack up whiffs
22	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. MIL	Next time he pitches after this should be in the All Star game
23	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at PHI	Surprisingly inconsistent
24	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. CIN	Walks up, whiffs down
25	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. MIA	Home against lesser lineup
26	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at TB	May not go, Price with double dip if he doesn't
27	David Price	BOS	at TEX	Texas fan at 27 percent clip versus LHP
28	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. KC	Back in the rotation
29	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TOR, vs. MIL	Fingers crossed, no homers allowed in last two games
30	Rick Porcello	BOS	at TEX, at TB	Still not sharp, says sinker isn't sinking as much as usual
31	Trevor Cahill	SD	at CLE, at PHI	Tentative, could have one more rehab start then return over the weekend
32	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. TOR	Strikeouts disappearing, only 6.7 K/9 in June
33	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. CWS, at SEA	Helped with good pitching venues
34	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. CWS	4.09 ERA due correction, see 3.48 FIP and 3.36 xFIP
35	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. MIA, vs. NYM	Seven HR last three games, spanning just 16 1/3 innings
36	Andrew Moore	SEA	vs. KC, vs. OAK	Propped up by two at home versus weaker offenses
37	Jake Arrieta	CHC	vs. PIT	Three of last four starts fewer than 5 frames, but weak foe
38	J.A. Happ	TOR	at NYY, vs. HOU	Mostly back on track, homers still high
39	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. BAL	Four-game win streak snapped last time vs. BOS but still pitched well
40	Danny Duffy	KC	at SEA	Tentatively slated for Tuesday, limited to 85-90 pitches
41	Ervin Santana	MIN	vs. LAA	6.03 ERA, 1.63 WHIP last 6 outings
42	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. CIN, vs. CWS	Lesser offenses, but Coors is Coors
43	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at PHI
44	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. ARI	Getting there, 26 whiffs last three games, covering 19 innings
45	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. SD	Aided by offensively-challenged opponent
46	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. HOU, at WAS	Huge challenge facing two prolific lineups
47	Jacob Faria	TB	vs. BOS
48	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. SD	Tilt with Padres elevates ranking
49	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. LAA	Regression setting in after DL stint
50	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. BOS	Quietly excellent, if there is such a thing, but tough draw
51	Johnny Cueto	SF	at DET	No longer Mr. Reliable
52	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. SF
53	Mike Leake	STL	vs. MIA
54	Sean Manaea	OAK	at SEA
55	Ben Lively	PHI	vs. PIT
56	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM, vs. ATL
57	Mike Montgomery	CHC	vs. MIL
58	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. MIA
59	Lance McCullers	HOU	at ATL	Failed to throw at least 6 innings in 3 of last 4 starts
60	Ariel Miranda	SEA	vs. KC
61	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. SD
62	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. MIA, vs. NYM
63	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. MIL
64	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS	Pitching well, Nationals crushing righties
65	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at MIN
66	Dan Straily	MIA	at SF
67	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. SD	Facing terrible offenses versus RHP
68	Trevor Williams	PIT	at CHC
69	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. CWS, at SEA
70	Alex Cobb	TB	vs. BOS
71	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at OAK, at COL
72	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	vs. PIT
73	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. TOR
74	Mark Leiter	PHI	vs. PIT
75	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	vs. LAA, vs. BAL
76	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at NYY, vs. HOU
77	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at PHI
78	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. BOS
79	Charlie Morton	HOU	at TOR
80	Francis Martes	HOU	at TOR
81	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. NYM
82	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. KC
83	Tyson Ross	TEX	vs. LAA
84	Mike Fiers	HOU	at TOR
85	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
86	Jose Urena	MIA	at STL, at SF
87	Clayton Richard	SD	at PHI
88	Zack Godley	ARI	at LAD	Continues to impress, 23 K in last 19 2/3 innings
89	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. OAK
90	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. ATL
91	Ian Kennedy	KC	at SEA, at LAD	At least 1 HR allowed in 11 straight games, 13 of 15 on the season
92	Jeff Locke	MIA	at STL, at SF
93	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. BOS, vs. LAA
94	John Lackey	CHC	vs. TB	At least 1 HR allowed in 9 straight games, 14 of 16 on the season
95	JC Ramirez	LAA	at MIN
96	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. DET
97	Paul Blackburn	OAK	at SEA
98	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. BAL
99	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at MIL, at MIN
100	James Shields	CWS	at OAK
101	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. CIN
102	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. SF
103	Jason Hammel	KC	at LAD
104	Brad Peacock	HOU	at ATL, at TOR
105	Eddie Butler	CHC	vs. PIT
106	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at LAD, vs. CIN
107	Alex Meyer	LAA	at MIN, at TEX
108	Luis Castillo	CIN	at COL, at ARI
109	German Marquez	COL	vs. CWS
110	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at STL
111	Marco Estrada	TOR	at NYY
112	Seth Lugo	NYM	at WAS
113	Julio Teheran	ATL	at WAS
114	Justin Verlander	DET	at CLE	Strikeouts still fine, walks surprisingly through the roof
115	Jon Gray	COL	vs. CIN
116	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. BAL, at NYY
117	Hector Santiago	MIN	vs. BAL
118	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at WAS
119	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at CLE
120	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	at OAK
121	Jaime Garcia	ATL	vs. HOU
122	Matt Cain	SF	at DET, vs. MIA
123	Wade Miley	BAL	at MIL, at MIN
124	Homer Bailey	CIN	at COL, at ARI
125	Blake Snell	TB	at CHC
126	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at MIN
127	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. CIN
128	Doug Fister	BOS	at TEX
129	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CIN, vs. CWS
130	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at TEX
131	Chris Tillman	BAL	at MIL
132	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at STL
133	Matt Moore	SF	vs. MIA
134	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at TEX
135	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. LAA, vs. BAL
136	Junior Guerra	MIL	at NYY
137	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. HOU
138	Jose Quintana	CWS	at COL
139	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. HOU
140	Ty Blach	SF	at DET
141	Tim Adleman	CIN	at ARI
142	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. BOS
143	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CLE
144	Tom Koehler	MIA	at STL
145	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at WAS
146	Luis Perdomo	SD	at CLE
147	Scott Feldman	CIN	at COL
148	Parker Bridwell	LAA	at MIN
149	Derek Holland	CWS	at COL
150	Rafael Montero	NYM	at STL
151	Asher Wojciechowski	CIN	at COL