Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Brewers Eager for Exciting Chase

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Updated on March 31, 2018 9:23AM EST

Finally, Opening Day is upon us! Major League Baseball is opening the season earlier, extending the marathon by four days. Some leagues are wrapping opening week into the first full week, but most are keeping them separate, so we will too. Expect a new set of rankings Saturday for April 2-8.

For those new to the weekly rankings, they will post late morning, early afternoon every Saturday, then updated Sunday night as the probable pitchers crystallize. Check out this week's Z Files for a comprehensive review of the process generating the rankings.

As always, I'll be happy to address any questions on the comments.

With that, let's PLAY BALL!

For the period, March 29 - April 1.

UPDATED April 2, 12:40 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIA, vs. TB	Not assured of second start
2	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. BAL, vs. SD	Minute Maid Park was the best pitching venue last season
3	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. TB, vs. BAL	Yankee Stadium generous to homers but neutral for runs
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at LAA
5	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. SD
6	Lance Lynn	MIN	at PIT, vs. SEA	Matchups drive top-ten ranking
7	Cole Hamels	TEX	at OAK, vs. TOR	Don't know what to make of the southpaw, getting benefit of doubt
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. BAL
9	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SD
10	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
11	David Price	BOS	vs. TB	Looked great in

As always, I'll be happy to address any questions on the comments.

With that, let's PLAY BALL!

For the period, March 29 - April 1.

UPDATED April 2, 12:40 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIA, vs. TB	Not assured of second start
2	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. BAL, vs. SD	Minute Maid Park was the best pitching venue last season
3	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. TB, vs. BAL	Yankee Stadium generous to homers but neutral for runs
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	at LAA
5	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. SD
6	Lance Lynn	MIN	at PIT, vs. SEA	Matchups drive top-ten ranking
7	Cole Hamels	TEX	at OAK, vs. TOR	Don't know what to make of the southpaw, getting benefit of doubt
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. BAL
9	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SD
10	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
11	David Price	BOS	vs. TB	Looked great in opener, rematch with old team, this time at home
12	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at LAA, vs. KC	Can stick in rotation if he excels early
13	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BAL
14	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. KC
15	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. BAL
16	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. BAL
17	Andrew Triggs	OAK	vs. TEX, at LAA	Double dip elevates ranking, especially since both in good venues
18	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	vs. OAK	Stuff looked wicked in opener, just needs to settle in
19	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. CLE, vs. OAK	A pair in one of the best pitching venues in the league
20	Garrett Richards	LAA	vs. CLE
21	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CWS	Lack of whiffs temper ranking
22	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. SEA	Primed to take the next step
23	James Paxton	SEA	at MIN	Bold prediction leader for AL Cy Young
24	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CWS
25	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. OAK	Promising first effort
26	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TEX	Back on track after second half slide
27	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. DET
28	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. KC	Favorite of many, don't doubt the talent, but I need to see consistency
29	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at PIT
30	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. TOR
31	Jake Junis	KC	at DET, at CLE	20:1 strikeout to walk ratio in the Cactus League
32	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at SF
33	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
34	Chris Archer	TB	at NYY	Won't be the last very good hurler to be pushed down when facing Yankees
35	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at TOR, vs. DET
36	Martin Perez	TEX	at OAK
37	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at HOU	Tough matchups but should be able to survive
38	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at TEX
39	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. TEX, at LAA
40	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at LAA
41	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. TEX
42	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. CWS, at TEX
43	Danny Duffy	KC	at DET
44	Marco Estrada	TOR	at TEX
45	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BAL
46	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. CWS
47	Jason Hammel	KC	at DET, at CLE
48	Brian Johnson	BOS	at MIA
49	Jacob Faria	TB	at BOS
50	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at NYY
51	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. KC	Teasing mediocrity again
52	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at TOR
53	Blake Snell	TB	at BOS
54	James Shields	CWS	vs. DET
55	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at SF, at MIN
56	Francisco Liriano	DET	vs. KC, at CWS
57	Matt Moore	TEX	vs. TOR
58	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CWS
59	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. CLE
60	Mike Leake	SEA	at MIN
61	Daniel Gossett	OAK	at LAA
62	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. KC
63	Mike Wright	BAL	at HOU, at NYY
64	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. SEA
65	Austin Pruitt	TB	at NYY, at BOS
66	Ian Kennedy	KC	at CLE
67	Carson Fulmer	CWS	at TOR
68	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY
69	Doug Fister	TEX	at OAK
70	Chris Tillman	BAL	at HOU, at NYY
71	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at OAK

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at ARI
2	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ATL
3	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. LAD, at STL	Cross fingers they use the humidor balls
4	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
5	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. STL, vs. CHC	Great test for the young righty
6	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. NYM
7	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIL
8	Zack Greinke	ARI	at STL	Looked solid in opener, spring concerns assuaged
9	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIN, vs. CIN	Gret spot to get season off on right foot
10	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIL, vs. ARI	All about the curve ball
11	Luis Castillo	CIN	at PIT	Rough opener, good spot to rebound
12	Jon Gray	COL	at SD
13	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIL	Couldn't find the plate in opener after a rough spring
14	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. CHC, at PIT	Not dominant but two starts elevates ranking
15	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at MIL
16	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. NYM
17	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. MIA
18	Rich Hill	LAD	at SF
19	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. STL, vs. CHC
20	Robbie Ray	ARI	at STL	Didn't have it in opener, but still got the win
21	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ATL, vs. NYM
22	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL	Ranking pinged with tough road matchup
23	Aaron Nola	PHI	at NYM	I'll take the over on 68 pitches
24	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. LAD
25	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SF
26	Tyler Anderson	COL	at SD	Should bounce back in Petco Park
27	Alex Wood	LAD	at ARI
28	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	at CIN, at MIL	Pair of tough road venues against dangerous lineups
29	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
30	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. BOS, at PHI
31	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at ARI, at SF	Pitches decently between DL stints
32	Luke Weaver	STL	vs. ARI
33	Jon Lester	CHC	at CIN	Victimized by a couple of Kyle Schwarber misplays
34	Ben Lively	PHI	at NYM, vs. MIA
35	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
36	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. WAS, at COL	Tough pair, could be an early season buy low candidate
37	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. SEA	If he continues to throw like he did in season debut, he'll ascend rapidly
38	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. ARI	Personal favorite, but needs to justify my optimism
39	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL	Getting early season look, Rox struggle on road vs. LHP
40	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CIN
41	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. LAD
42	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. MIA
43	Caleb Smith	MIA	at PHI
44	Chad Bettis	COL	at SD, vs. ATL
45	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. PHI, at WAS	Noy buying into the spring velocity, your team, your call
46	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. CIN
47	Sal Romano	CIN	at PIT
48	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. BOS
49	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. LAD	Looked solid in the spring, keeping an eye on him early
50	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. WAS, at COL
51	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. COL, at HOU	Tough spring, but will be counted on as rotation staple
52	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIN
53	Ty Blach	SF	vs. SEA, vs. LAD	Used up his 15 minutes of fame early
54	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. WAS
55	Seth Lugo	NYM	vs. PHI
56	Kyle Freeland	COL	at SD, vs. ATL
57	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. STL
58	Homer Bailey	CIN	at PIT
59	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. CHC
60	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CIN
61	German Marquez	COL	vs. ATL
62	Steven Matz	NYM	at WAS
63	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. COL, at HOU
64	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	at PHI
65	Brandon McCarthy	ATL	at COL
66	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. COL
67	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. CHC
68	Cody Reed	CIN	vs. CHC
69	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at NYM
70	A.J. Cole	WAS	at ATL
71	Luis Perdomo	SD	at HOU
72	Derek Holland	SF	vs. LAD

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	at MIA, vs. TB	Not assured of second start
2	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. BAL, vs. SD	Minute Maid Park was the best pitching venue last season
3	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. TB, vs. BAL	Yankee Stadium generous to homers but neutral for runs
4	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at ARI
5	Corey Kluber	CLE	at LAA
6	Max Scherzer	WAS	at ATL
7	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. LAD, at STL	Cross fingers they use the humidor balls
8	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. PHI
9	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. STL, vs. CHC	Great test for the young righty
10	Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	vs. SD
11	Lance Lynn	MIN	at PIT, vs. SEA	Matchups drive top-ten ranking
12	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. NYM
13	Cole Hamels	TEX	at OAK, vs. TOR	Don't know what to make of the southpaw, getting benefit of doubt
14	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. BAL
15	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SD
16	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
17	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIL
18	Zack Greinke	ARI	at STL	Looked solid in opener, spring concerns assuaged
19	David Price	BOS	vs. TB	Looked great in opener, rematch with old team, this time at home
20	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. MIN, vs. CIN	Gret spot to get season off on right foot
21	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at LAA, vs. KC	Can stick in rotation if he excels early
22	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIL, vs. ARI	All about the curve ball
23	Luis Castillo	CIN	at PIT	Rough opener, good spot to rebound
24	Jon Gray	COL	at SD
25	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BAL
26	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIL	Couldn't find the plate in opener after a rough spring
27	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. KC
28	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. CHC, at PIT	Not dominant but two starts elevates ranking
29	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at MIL
30	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. BAL
31	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. NYM
32	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. MIA
33	Rich Hill	LAD	at SF
34	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. STL, vs. CHC
35	Robbie Ray	ARI	at STL	Didn't have it in opener, but still got the win
36	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. BAL
37	Andrew Triggs	OAK	vs. TEX, at LAA	Double dip elevates ranking, especially since both in good venues
38	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	vs. OAK	Stuff looked wicked in opener, just needs to settle in
39	Tanner Roark	WAS	at ATL, vs. NYM
40	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. CLE, vs. OAK	A pair in one of the best pitching venues in the league
41	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL	Ranking pinged with tough road matchup
42	Aaron Nola	PHI	at NYM	I'll take the over on 68 pitches
43	Garrett Richards	LAA	vs. CLE
44	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. LAD
45	Michael Fulmer	DET	at CWS	Lack of whiffs temper ranking
46	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. SEA	Primed to take the next step
47	James Paxton	SEA	at MIN	Bold prediction leader for AL Cy Young
48	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SF
49	Tyler Anderson	COL	at SD	Should bounce back in Petco Park
50	Alex Wood	LAD	at ARI
51	Tyler Chatwood	CHC	at CIN, at MIL	Pair of tough road venues against dangerous lineups
52	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
53	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CWS
54	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. BOS, at PHI
55	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. OAK	Promising first effort
56	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. TEX	Back on track after second half slide
57	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. DET
58	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at ARI, at SF	Pitches decently between DL stints
59	Luke Weaver	STL	vs. ARI
60	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. KC	Favorite of many, don't doubt the talent, but I need to see consistency
61	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at PIT
62	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. TOR
63	Jon Lester	CHC	at CIN	Victimized by a couple of Kyle Schwarber misplays
64	Ben Lively	PHI	at NYM, vs. MIA
65	Jake Junis	KC	at DET, at CLE	20:1 strikeout to walk ratio in the Cactus League
66	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL
67	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at SF
68	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
69	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. WAS, at COL	Tough pair, could be an early season buy low candidate
70	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. SEA	If he continues to throw like he did in season debut, he'll ascend rapidly
71	Chris Archer	TB	at NYY	Won't be the last very good hurler to be pushed down when facing Yankees
72	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. ARI	Personal favorite, but needs to justify my optimism
73	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at TOR, vs. DET
74	Martin Perez	TEX	at OAK
75	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL	Getting early season look, Rox struggle on road vs. LHP
76	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. CIN
77	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. LAD
78	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at HOU	Tough matchups but should be able to survive
79	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at TEX
80	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. MIA
81	Caleb Smith	MIA	at PHI
82	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. TEX, at LAA
83	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at LAA
84	Chad Bettis	COL	at SD, vs. ATL
85	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. TEX
86	Jaime Garcia	TOR	vs. CWS, at TEX
87	Matt Harvey	NYM	vs. PHI, at WAS	Noy buying into the spring velocity, your team, your call
88	Danny Duffy	KC	at DET
89	Marco Estrada	TOR	at TEX
90	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BAL
91	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. CWS
92	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. CIN
93	Sal Romano	CIN	at PIT
94	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. BOS
95	Jason Hammel	KC	at DET, at CLE
96	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. LAD	Looked solid in the spring, keeping an eye on him early
97	Brian Johnson	BOS	at MIA
98	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. WAS, at COL
99	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. COL, at HOU	Tough spring, but will be counted on as rotation staple
100	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIN
101	Jacob Faria	TB	at BOS
102	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at NYY
103	Ty Blach	SF	vs. SEA, vs. LAD	Used up his 15 minutes of fame early
104	Matt Boyd	DET	vs. KC	Teasing mediocrity again
105	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	at TOR
106	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. WAS
107	Seth Lugo	NYM	vs. PHI
108	Kyle Freeland	COL	at SD, vs. ATL
109	Blake Snell	TB	at BOS
110	James Shields	CWS	vs. DET
111	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	vs. STL
112	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at SF, at MIN
113	Francisco Liriano	DET	vs. KC, at CWS
114	Matt Moore	TEX	vs. TOR
115	Homer Bailey	CIN	at PIT
116	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. CHC
117	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. CIN
118	German Marquez	COL	vs. ATL
119	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at CWS
120	Steven Matz	NYM	at WAS
121	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. CLE
122	Mike Leake	SEA	at MIN
123	Daniel Gossett	OAK	at LAA
124	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. KC
125	Tyson Ross	SD	vs. COL, at HOU
126	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	at PHI
127	Brandon McCarthy	ATL	at COL
128	Mike Wright	BAL	at HOU, at NYY
129	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. SEA
130	Austin Pruitt	TB	at NYY, at BOS
131	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. COL
132	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. CHC
133	Ian Kennedy	KC	at CLE
134	Carson Fulmer	CWS	at TOR
135	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY
136	Doug Fister	TEX	at OAK
137	Chris Tillman	BAL	at HOU, at NYY
138	Cody Reed	CIN	vs. CHC
139	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at NYM
140	Bartolo Colon	TEX	at OAK
141	A.J. Cole	WAS	at ATL
142	Luis Perdomo	SD	at HOU
143	Derek Holland	SF	vs. LAD