The List 6/18: Ranking The Top 100 Starting Pitchers Every Monday

[pitcher_list list_id=”22029″ season=”2018″ include_stats=”1″]

Welcome to The List – The weekly top 100 rankings of starting pitchers in fantasy baseball for the rest of the season. Use this list to help make choices on the waiver wire and as a tool to gauge trade value in your fantasy leagues. These rankings are made with 5×5 H2H standard 12-team leagues in mind.

Let’s talk about how the SP landscape has changed since last week:

• Small drops for Patrick Corbin (lower velocity catching up to him), Carlos Martinez (may need some more time to stabilize his command), Nick Pivetta (very small, though he legit struggled for the first time against the Rockies last week, other disruptions were not as serious), and Garrett Richards (I don’t know what the timetable of his hamstring injury is. Sorry.)
• Despite my skepticism of Mike Foltynewicz’s and Tyler Skaggs‘ excellent start to 2018, I have no choice but to award them Top 40 spots as many players previously donning the title deserved to fall. Guys like Dallas Keuchel, Kyle Hendricks, and Jake Arrieta are having bumpy seasons without the strikeout production to keep them afloat.
• Gio Gonzalez has been struggling to get his strikeouts in order, while losing a bit of his command – the same goes for Alex Wood (IPS is a big issue as well) – causing a large drop.
• I was surprised to find myself granting Jack Flaherty a Top 40 spot, but given his stellar performance thus far and lock on the rotation spot, his Slider/Four-Seamer mix should make him very 12-team relevant through the year.
• Luis Castillo was as shaky as we’ve seen in his last one, as he couldn’t find the feel for the one pitch that has kept him relevant – his changeup. I have to drop him if his very best asset is failing him.
• Teammates Michael Wacha and Luke Weaver each took some hits this week. I’m willing to give Wacha a little buffer as it’s just one major clunker, while Weaver has been lost on the hill plenty this year.
• Speaking of Lost, Sonny Gray just can’t figure it out, making me want to chance upside plays instead.
• Joining The List this week are Jonathan Loaisiga (excellent upside), Shane Bieber (not as high of a ceiling, but better floor. Rotation spot is in question), Wade LeBlanc (it’s a major Vargas Rule), Chad Kuhl (30%+ Sliders in three of the last four games!), Steven Wright (I can’t deny his recent success despite Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer), and Freddy Peralta (As much of a Cherry Bomb as you’ll find).
• Near misses include Steven Matz despite his clear regression ahead, Clayton Richard for his decent floor for those that need it, Jose Urena as a somewhat stable ERA guy, Clay Buchholz for chasing his new Cutter, and Danny Duffy as his terrible schedule prevents him from being an option for a bit despite a promising increase in Changeups.
• Leaving The List along with Matz, Duffy, and Buchholz are Luiz Gohara (sent to the minors), Daniel Mengden (it was a Vargas Rule situation) and Jake Odorizzi (stop being bad).

UPDATE: I meant to include Rich Hill as he returns this week. He’d slot in around Joe Musgrove.