The List 5/1: Ranking The Top 100 Starting Pitchers Every Monday

Every Monday during the season, I will be releasing “The List” where I rank the current value of the Top 100 pitchers in fantasy baseball for the rest of the season. Use these rankings to help understand what to expect from pitchers for 2017 and as a tool to gauge trade value in your fantasy leagues. Note: These rankings have been made with H2H 5×5 12-teamers in mind.

Let’s see how the SP landscape has changed:

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Notes

• With the start of May, we have the biggest update for The List thus far as I feel it’s enough of a data set to start believing and doubting. For example, Chris Sale has done nothing but been his ceiling, while Max Scherzer has had some struggles, causing a shuffle in the first two spots.
• The news of Noah Syndergaard is unfortunate to say the least and he, with David Price who has questions of health as well, mark the end of a tier in the 40s.
• I surprised myself by having Dallas Keuchel jump so far to #15, but there weren’t any other pitchers in his way to stop him. I tackled with Zack Greinke vs Keuchel for a while, ultimately believing that Greinke’s floor is slightly lower as the main variable.
• Sean Manaea, Aaron Sanchez, and Aaron Nola all dropped due to their recent injuries. The resurgence of injuries from Nola and Sanchez are both incredibly frustrating and Manaea is expected back this weekend but I don’t expect a full return until a start or two later.
• Meanwhile, it’s time to recognize Ivan Nova and Luis Severino, who both make major jumps. Nova is pitching with incredible confidence and consistency, while Severino’s strikeout ability is elite with an improving Changeup and better Fastball command.
• After the stashes of Felix Hernandez and Steven Matz, it’s a new tier where it’s all about hot upside, allowing JC Ramirez, Andrew Triggs, Sonny Gray, and Mike Leake to take big jumps. Ramirez brings legitimate strikeout upside with an overpowering Fastball and wipeout Slider, Triggs is getting excellent movement with his side-arm delivery while maintaining good command, Gray is returning from the DL and could be a serviceable #5 for your team, and Leake has performed to the highest of his ability lately – the shortest leash here goes to Leake though you should be starting him as he performs well.
• Kevin Gausman, Zack Wheeler, Joe Ross and Robert Gsellman all take big hits this week. The Fastball command of both Gausman and Wheeler are poor, while Gsellman may be far away from showcasing the polish he needs, leaving me to rather own hot hands and stream in his spot. Ross, like Gsellman, lacks precision with his pitches to make me trust him moving forward, let alone doesn’t have a solid third pitch yet in his Changeup.
• Jose Berrios is a decent SP stash if you’re gunning for upside, though I would be cautious starting him in his first start – whenever that is even if he is suspected to join the team this weekend.