Every Monday, 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 the rest of 2016, and as a tool to gauge trade value in your fantasy leagues.
Note: We’re working on fixing the “Prev/Best/Worst” columns. Please ignore them for now.
Let’s see how the SP landscape has changed since last week:
| Rank | Player | Prev | Best | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jake Arrieta | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Noah Syndergaard | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 | Madison Bumgarner | 11 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 | Jose Fernandez | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 6 | Stephen Strasburg | 7 | 7 | 12 |
| 7 | Max Scherzer | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | Chris Sale | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Jacob DeGrom | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | Johnny Cueto | 26 | 26 | 30 |
| 11 | Jon Lester | 17 | 17 | 19 |
| 12 | David Price | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| 13 | Zack Greinke | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| 14 | Aaron Nola | 36 | 36 | 48 |
| 15 | Danny Salazar | 21 | 21 | 23 |
| 16 | Carlos Carrasco | 19 | 9 | 19 |
| 17 | Steven Matz | 23 | 23 | 27 |
| 18 | Corey Kluber | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| 19 | Matt Harvey | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 20 | Jose Quintana | 28 | 28 | 39 |
| 21 | Justin Verlander | 30 | 28 | 31 |
| 22 | John Lackey | 65 | 54 | 67 |
| 23 | Rich Hill | 56 | 48 | 105 |
| 24 | Masahiro Tanaka | 39 | 37 | 39 |
| 25 | Jeff Samardzija | 63 | 55 | 78 |
| 26 | Cole Hamels | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 27 | Carlos Martinez | 27 | 23 | 27 |
| 28 | Steven Wright | 73 | 73 | 222 |
| 29 | Yu Darvish | 32 | 32 | 44 |
| 30 | Gerrit Cole | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| 31 | Kyle Hendricks | 61 | 47 | 61 |
| 32 | Drew Pomeranz | 57 | 52 | 172 |
| 33 | Matt Shoemaker | 81 | 81 | 124 |
| 34 | Michael Fulmer | 59 | 59 | 254 |
| 35 | James Paxton | 121 | 81 | 121 |
| 36 | Danny Duffy | 142 | 127 | 142 |
| 37 | Jameson Taillon | 64 | 64 | 188 |
| 38 | Julio Teheran | 57 | 57 | 116 |
| 39 | Joe Ross | 31 | 31 | 35 |
| 40 | Lance McCullers | 43 | 36 | 43 |
| 41 | Chris Tillman | 107 | 100 | 129 |
| 42 | Chris Archer | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| 43 | Aaron Sanchez | 69 | 51 | 236 |
| 44 | Sonny Gray | 25 | 25 | 29 |
| 45 | Blake Snell | 65 | 62 | 85 |
| 46 | Jake Odorizzi | 34 | 34 | 43 |
| 47 | Kevin Gausman | 68 | 53 | 72 |
| 48 | Taijuan Walker | 29 | 29 | 50 |
| 49 | Tanner Roark | 53 | 53 | 142 |
| 50 | Dallas Keuchel | 18 | 15 | 18 |
| 51 | Jason Hammel | 60 | 50 | 68 |
| 52 | Felix Hernandez | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 53 | Marco Estrada | 67 | 67 | 91 |
| 54 | CC Sabathia | 237 | 230 | 237 |
| 55 | Drew Smyly | 22 | 22 | 33 |
| 56 | Jerad Eickhoff | 60 | 45 | 70 |
| 57 | Kenta Maeda | 54 | 35 | 63 |
| 58 | Jordan Zimmermann | 40 | 40 | 53 |
| 59 | Adam Wainwright | 64 | 22 | 84 |
| 60 | Rick Porcello | 62 | 51 | 70 |
| 61 | Jon Gray | 77 | 77 | 144 |
| 62 | Gio Gonzalez | 58 | 55 | 58 |
| 63 | Vincent Velasquez | 37 | 37 | 72 |
| 64 | Cody Reed | 335 | 335 | 335 |
| 65 | Carlos Rodon | 63 | 39 | 63 |
| 66 | Mike Leake | 68 | 68 | 127 |
| 67 | Josh Tomlin | 75 | 72 | 87 |
| 68 | Marcus Stroman | 25 | 20 | 26 |
| 69 | Trevor Bauer | 97 | 97 | 136 |
| 70 | Anthony DeSclafani | 110 | 80 | 110 |
| 71 | Michael Wacha | 61 | 45 | 61 |
| 72 | Julio Urias | 101 | 77 | 117 |
| 73 | Jaime Garcia | 38 | 31 | 38 |
| 74 | Michael Pineda | 78 | 24 | 82 |
| 75 | Nate Karns | 77 | 63 | 93 |
| 76 | Doug Fister | 147 | 133 | 147 |
| 77 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 55 | 37 | 68 |
| 78 | Hisashi Iwakuma | 79 | 40 | 79 |
| 79 | J.A. Happ | 84 | 72 | 90 |
| 80 | Archie Bradley | 82 | 82 | 135 |
| 81 | Nathan Eovaldi | 87 | 67 | 94 |
| 82 | Josh Hader | 331 | 331 | 331 |
| 83 | Alex Reyes | 330 | 330 | 330 |
| 84 | Tyler Glasnow | 66 | 66 | 86 |
| 85 | Wei-Yin Chen | 80 | 53 | 80 |
| 86 | Ian Kennedy | 81 | 56 | 81 |
| 87 | Collin McHugh | 83 | 59 | 88 |
| 88 | Bartolo Colon | 89 | 89 | 143 |
| 89 | Adam Conley | 85 | 72 | 120 |
| 90 | Yordano Ventura | 91 | 50 | 91 |
| 91 | Alex Cobb | 93 | 92 | 101 |
| 92 | Zack Wheeler | 94 | 93 | 103 |
| 93 | Colby Lewis | 302 | 297 | 302 |
| 94 | Zach Eflin | 333 | 333 | 333 |
| 95 | Jimmy Nelson | 87 | 85 | 111 |
| 96 | Scott Kazmir | 80 | 66 | 80 |
| 97 | Edinson Volquez | 90 | 56 | 95 |
| 98 | Tyson Ross | 95 | 44 | 95 |
| 99 | Daniel Mengden | 334 | 334 | 334 |
| 100 | Matt Moore | 96 | 56 | 113 |
Notes
– The pair of Indian studs Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber both fell deeper inside the Top 20 as they haven’t been the consistent producers they are supposed to be. Meanwhile, Zack Greinke has been his old self after a rough few outings to start the year and deserves more recognition.
– Steven Wright makes a huge jump despite my lack of love for him (and knuckleballers in general). He’s been giving owners plenty of great outings with a knuckleball that is driving FIP/xFIP crazy. Keep rolling with him until the brakes seriously come off.
– Kevin Gausman falls behind his veteran teammate Chris Tillman, while a few other names fall behind the “sea of upside” ranging from Drew Pomeranz to Jameson Taillon – Due to his inevitable shift to the bullpen, Aaron Sanchez is forced to fall despite performing at a higher level. Chris Archer is showing us that he simply had a great three months to start 2015, and we should not believe it to be his standard. Lance McCullers‘ walk rate is damaging owners more than you’d like to believe, forcing him to take a dive.
– Julio Teheran has been a welcome surprise this season, and kept the momentum going this week. I don’t see it sticking the entire season and he doesn’t hold the same upside as other guys directly ahead of him, but it’s hard not to be on board.
– Despite pitching incredibly well, Julio Urias has to take a dip given that the Dodgers could shut him down as soon as next week.
– In the past month, Jerad Eickhoff has improved from a string of underwhelming performances. He has decent first half matchups ahead, but a great schedule to begin the 2nd half that should have owners salivating.
– Another major jump came from Trevor Bauer who has been surprisingly consistent through the season. He is volatile by nature, so don’t be surprised if the party ends soon, yet should be picked up where you SP help in the short term.
– Three prospect pitchers join The List this week: Cody Reed, Daniel Mengden, and Zach Eflin. Reed flexed his Fastball/Slider combination with better command than the comparable Sean Manaea, and could rise as he gets a few more starts under his belt. Eflin has better stuff than his horrid debut against the Jays would suggest, and he could become a solid stream as the Phils feature an easy schedule inside the NL Easy. Mengden has displayed decent ability to get through innings, and while I don’t expect it to last long, he’s a decent flier at this point.
– Colby Lewis finally gets his day in the spotlight as his low ERA is getting too difficult to ignore. It’s a product of immense luck, and I would not invest in it outside of a streaming situation in a 12 teamer. Keep him on the shortest leash you have.