The List 7/24: Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Week 17 Fantasy Baseball 2023

Welcome to The List, where I rank the Top 100 SP for Fantasy Baseball every Monday of the year.

Want an earlier update to The List? Join me on Mondays at 2:00 pm ET as I live-stream its creation each week!

Have questions? My “office hours” are on Playback.tv 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET Monday – Friday + the aforementioned stream of The List.

For each edition of The List, I have a set of rules to outline my thought process and how to best use these rankings. Please take note:

1. This is 5×5, 12-teamer, H2H format focused. It generally is the same as roto as well, but make sure you adjust accordingly.
2. We have two tables to review before the notes and rankings. First is an injury table that outlines where players would be relatively ranked if fully healthy. It’s the best way to tackle how to value players on the IL.
3. If a player is on the IL or not confirmed inside the rotation, they aren’t on the List. That includes injuries and guys in the minors, but there are exceptions for players who are expected to be in the rotation but are being skipped this week.
4. Updated 6/6 – I am now adding an “Honorable Mentions” at the end of The List to cover all the other SP who are off The List. It replaces the “Others I Considered” table.
5. Since this is a 12-teamer, I heavily weigh upside in the back-half of the rankings. Tier 10 is likely going to underperform those in Tier 11 across a full season, but it’s in your best interest to chase Tier 10’s ceiling vs. settling for Tier 11’s floor.
6. I’ve made a decision to limit labels to just one label per player, with few exceptions for a second. It streamlines the process much better and hopefully gives you a more targeted understanding of the player.
7. The notes outline oh-so-much to help your team. Please read the notes if you can instead of just scrolling to the bottom.

 

Let’s get to the tables. First are all of our injured compatriots:

I made a decision last year: I removed the “Preseason tiers” and changed “tiers” to “Relative Rank” as it’ll be more consistent week-to-week — Tiers change while their relative rank does not.

Please understand that “70-80” does not guarantee the player will be exactly in that range when they return. Rankings are 100% relative to the landscape and while this table reflects where they would sit in a vacuum, it’s a fluid creature. Sometimes there are oh-so-many options, sometimes I want to see them healthy and stretched out again, and others we’re starving for pitchers and they jump higher than “70-80”. It’s a loose reference point and why it’s called “relative ranking.” It’s difficult to update this week-to-week and I apologize if the ranking is different when the player actually returns from the IL. I hope it helps!

One last point about that – oftentimes pitchers need an extra week or two to ramp up once they do return to the majors. It’s why Still ILL exists and the “relative rank” you see is when those guys have shaken off their rust. Will they be back to normal in their first start or will they need a few? I have no idea! Those ranks are to show what I’d expect once they are fully back to normal.

I added something new to The List this season. It’s a small table of the prospects I’m personally excited about who would jump up The List quickly if they were confirmed in the rotation. Please don’t read too much into these, there are far better prospect analysts out there than me. Still, I think this table will help you quickly stay on top of who should be on your radar.

They are ordered by my general preference/focus on those guys right now. If any of these are called up, they should be added to your 12-teamers ASAP. Some guys aren’t here and that’s due to my own belief they aren’t as pressing as the ones below. I could be very wrong there.

Colors: Green = Most excited about. Yellow = Solid but not as urgent. Orange = Will likely take some time.

 

Lastly, I heavily recommend you follow my daily SP Roundup that outlines all pitcher performances through the season, as each week’s update will reflect the comments and findings from those daily articles. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the players listed, I highly recommend that you read my 45,000+ Top 300 Starting Pitchers from February. Many things will have changed, but the root of my perception of these players is outlined there.

Let’s get to it.

 

Ranking Notes

 

• This is your reminder to please read these notes as they’ll tell you plenty about why “someone moved up” or “why is he at #X?!”
• Seriously. Read the notes.

 

• I know there are going to be a ton of comments about I hate how much these rankings change each week and I’m going to get out ahead of them here.
• These rankings mostly change in the back half of The List as that’s your waiver wire. Those aren’t the players you hold onto throughout the year like your SPs 1-4, which means we’re going to be a bit more chaotic and roll with the waves more aggressively. If I see elements that suggest a pitcher could be a Top 40 arm, I’m going to move up a ton from the 80s to the 60s. Shazam, there we go.

 

• As is tradition, I need to tell you about the guys who were removed and added from the Top 60, so you have context for the ranking shifts.
• Highest Added: Merrill Kelly (62)
• Highest Removed: Michael Soroka (69)
• Net Change Inside Top 60:  (+0)
• Please understand how this affects movement across The List.

 

I’ve changed the notes this year to have a small blurb on everyone. Much easier to write and follow along in my view and it matches the formatting of the streamers. Please leave your feedback on this change – is it better or worse?

 

Tier 1 – The True Aces

 

1. Spencer Strider – Aces gonna ace. I can’t believe he’s already at 189 strikeouts, that’s bonkers.

2. Gerrit Cole – Cole is coming through as the ace you drafted and it’s wonderful to watch.

3. Shane McClanahan – He got blasted by the Orioles out of nowhere and I wouldn’t stress about it.

4. Luis Castillo – The four-seamer is still incredible.

5. Kevin Gausman – He got his splitter back and allowed four solo shots over the weekend, leaving the game with a potential Win. Don’t worry about the velocity dip, he does that sometimes.

 

Tier 2 – AGA We Hope Don’t Fall Off

 

6. Zac Gallen – Gallen leaves the top tier as I haven’t seen consistency with his repertoire over the last month. It doesn’t mean he’s destined for turbulence, it just means I have a bit more concern about the weeks ahead.

7. Tyler Glasnow – It’s hard to deny how overwhelming his performances have been, even if they come with the occasional nightmare.

8. Max Scherzer – I know, 4 HRs allowed. And yet, you know we start him every time.

9. Joe Musgrove – His cutter wasn’t as good last time out, it happens.

10. Blake Snell – Those seven walks were flat-out dumb and yet his stuff is still so hard to hit. I highly doubt it’s a start that brings him into an extended valley.

11. Shohei Ohtani – He’s been dealing with a blister the last three starts and allowed a few too many longballs in his last one, removing him from the stable arm of the top tier. Still an ace. For now.

12. Framber Valdez – It’s been a bit rough lately as he’s had an ankle injury and a calf injury. He should be fine in time.

 

Tier 3 – Potential AGA

 

13. Corbin Burnes – He’s on the verge of his AGA returning after another phenomenal outing, though I worry if it was too reliant on a curveball that has been in-and-out throughout the season. I want to see better cutter command down-and-gloveside, like the old days.

14. Jesús Luzardo – There’s a large temptation to give Luzardo the AGA tag as he’s allowed just seven runs across his last seven starts, though he has had an easier schedule and is slated to get the Tigers next. Still, if he’s just as dominant there, it’ll be hard to deny.

15. Joe Ryan – The last two months have been a rude awakening for Ryan, with an ERA inflating over 5.00 as his splitter and slider haven’t done enough to support his elite four-seamer. I still love him, but he can’t be considered an ace until he showcases better secondaries.

16. Zack Wheeler – His four-seamer is too dang good and Wheeler has been one of – if not the unluckiest pitcher in baseball given the defense played behind him. You have to believe that luck swings a bit more in his favor.

17. Logan Webb – The drop of rank has little to do with Webb, who got pummeled over the weekend as he featured too many sinkers and changeups well over the plate.

18. Pablo López – Pablo’s velocity has held while the sweeper and curve have progressed throughout the season. He’s the real deal, it’s just about the changeup looking like its former self and he’s a legit ace.

19. James Paxton – It’s now 65 frames of a 3.46 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 29% strikeout across twelve starts for Paxton – the only question is how long it’ll continue. You could argue he’s an AGA based on the skills and that may force me to raise him in future weeks. After all, there’s only so much time left to miss.

20. George Kirby – I saw the ten-strikeout game too, and sadly I don’t buy it as a sustainable trend for the second half. It won’t be real to me until he has a secondary pitch he can actually get whiffs with.

21. Aaron Nola – He’s going more two-pitch with curves/four-seamers lately and I’m all here for it. Would be cool if the change was legit again, though.

22. Yu Darvish – I LOVE his new approach and if you want to watch a super fun breakdown of his last outing, I highly recommend watching his start against the Blue Jays with me. It’s long, but trust me, it’s worth it.

23. Carlos Rodón – I had high hopes entering the start against the Angels and we all know how that went. I’m still a major believer in Rodón and I needed to lower him until he showcases that ceiling I feel is there.

24. Julio Urías – His drop isn’t to say he’s bad in the slightest, I just recognize there are others who deserve more praise than Urías at the moment.

 

Tier 4 – They Feel Like Aces But Aren’t

 

25. Sandy Alcantara – I hate making excuses for Sandy and yet, I see someone who goes six shutout frames and one terrible inning that gets away from him. Normally, those poor frames get reduced instead of leaking into other innings.

26. Zach Eflin – He’s been as stable as it gets, just without the overwhelming ace upside. Most of the time.

27. Justin Verlander – After calling Verlander “not a pitcher with ace potential” he goes off and acts like an ace. Great, do it again.

28. Dylan Cease – Cease just had a great outing and yet, he did so without his slider working. That’s great! It means he has more ways to succeed! Nah, to me that translates as “it should have been a lot worse but he got lucky to have his four-seamer and curve when the slider was out.” I hate seeing Cease without his slider on point.

29. Justin Steele – He got trounced in one game, solid in the other, and honestly looked the same in both. That’s baseball, Suzyn.

30. Bailey Ober – The Bailey Special is expected each outing with six frames, 1-3 ER, 5-7 baserunners, and about a strikeout per inning. Hard not to love that.

31. Freddy Peralta – Why is it that every week I feel like Peralta should be an ace and yet he finds a way to…not? Because you’re too high on him. But the four-seamer is elite again and the breakers generally land for strikes! THIS SHOULD WORK.

32. Lucas Giolito – Giolito’s skills shift from start to start and it’s all kinds of weird…and yet he still produces consistently. Just plug him in and let it loose. His value shouldn’t change a whole lot when he’s traded at the deadline, maybe slightly for potential Win chance.

33. Logan Gilbert – It’s been frustrating watching Gilbert fail to reclaim his old skills of elite elevated fastballs and splitters for whiffs, especially when the new skills of sliders and curves for strikes have suddenly vanished. The idea that this is Gilbert for the next 10 weeks is preposterous to me, though, and we hold expecting better.

 

Tier 5 – Legit Potential

 

34. Bryce Miller – The four-seamer is still elite and heavily relied upon while the secondaries are getting worked on. He took down the Jays and should be started regularly.

35. Bobby Miller – After the 4.2 IP scare with his knee, he picked up where he left off against the Rangers with his slider and curve finding a ton of strikes. It’s what we want.

36. Andrew Abbott – I don’t see Abbott as a double-digit strikeout arm, but I also don’t see him as someone you drop, especially if he carries the same sweeper he showcased in his last outing. We may see something different in his next start simply because it’s the same Milwaukee offense for the second straight start, but if the command sticks, he may be rising up in future weeks. I hope he does.

37. Reid Detmers – After enduring the Dodgers and Astros, Detmers fanned nine Pirates but still struggled a bit as his four-seamer command wasn’t there. We’ve seen each of his three pitches look off separately across each of his last three outings. Surely it means he’s good to go now, right?

38. Kenta Maeda – The splitter was fantastic while the slider did its job earning tons of strikes. I want to see slider whiffs on the menu in the future, but if the splitter is this good, it doesn’t matter.

39. Tarik Skubal – This is including today’s dominance against the Giants, which is an important note given the horrible start prior. His previous outing was a strange one as it came with 95/96 mph velocity and well-spotted heaters, and to see the same thing today but far different results is plenty encouraging. There’s a lot to like here with that four-seamer foundation.

 

Tier 6 – The Hollys and the HIPSTER

 

40. Brayan Bello – I would feel better about Bello if I believed his slider or four-seamer was taking a step forward, but for now he’s a solid play with his sinker/change approach.

41. José Berríos – Berríos got away with one where the four-seamers were highly susceptible and I’m not going to react strongly to one start of it, especially when the results were still fantastic.

42. Tyler Wells – It’s two straight disappointments from Wells, though we’re going to hold steady for one more as he gets a solid matchup. The command should be better.

43. Kodai Senga – The strikeouts have been too dang good to sit, even if I hate the volatility of his forkball and the mediocrity of the rest of his repertoire.

44. Charlie Morton – The man is the ultimate HIPSTER and you have no choice but to keep starting him, hoping for the best.

45. Chris Bassitt – Just plug in Bassitt and don’t think about it. Sorry I don’t have more analysis, but it’s really that simple.

46. Eduardo Rodriguez – His command is better since his Still ILL and let’s hope he keeps the same groove as we saw in the spring.

47. Jordan Montgomery – He just struggled over the weekend as he returned 0/16 changeup whiffs. Y’all know that’s going to change.

 

Tier 7 – The Potential You Can’t Resist

 

48. Tanner Bibee – He just exploded for the best start of the season, flaunting all of his weapons beautifully. I don’t believe it’s here to stay for the entire second half given it’s just one start, but if it shows up more times than not, it makes for a legit second half incoming.

49. Sonny Gray – We just don’t know what we’re going to get from Gray each outing and yet, we can’t bench him as the floor isn’t so bad.

50. Cristian Javier – The four-seamer is doing its part again, now it’s just about the slider landing in the zone more frequently. Come on Javier, you’re so close…

51. Grayson Rodriguez – Grayson’s last outing is everything you wanted, with changeups and breaking balls actually landing low and under the zone. I so badly want to believe he can repeat that skill.

52. Bryan Woo – This may be too high for Woo considering we expect him to be demoted in the near future as the Mariners will likely impose some innings restriction for the season. That said, I see him start-to-start as more reliable than the pitchers below him in this tier, meaning we hold on until he gets the call to the office.

53. Hunter Brown – I dig Brown’s repertoire, I hate his execution (PEAS) and wonder when we’ll see it all click in the near future. The upside is too great to move on, but you may need to stash a start or two.

54. Gavin Williams – I love his high heater, I hate his secondaries failing to land low. If he nails it, Williams can soar.

55. Kyle Bradish – I haven’t been giving Bradish enough credit for his elite slider and I’m happy we saw more curveballs in his last outing. That said, I still have concerns about his four-seamer and sinker and I worry they will allow more balls in play in future outings than we’ve seen as of late.

56. Taj Bradley – The strikeout upside is clear as day, the only question is if the curve and change can find enough strikes to prevent an early exit.

57. Edward Cabrera – Please, oh please feature more than 50% strikes on your fastballs. The change and curve are so good, but the inefficiency is making him so volatile.

58. Logan Allen – We just saw an eight-strikeout start and I sadly don’t believe it be representative of Logan’s second half as it came with a 1.5 tick dip in velocity. Still, he’s a solid potential Holly and I hope to have more faith in him across more outings.

Tier 8 – Innings And Confusion

 

59. Marcus Stroman – Stroman is struggling a bit more frequently than ideal as of late, though he’s still a solid arm to hold with his sinker and slurve earning a ton of grounders with a strong defense behind him. That said, if he’s traded to a poor defensive team, it may be a tough second half.

60. Mitch Keller – Speaking of trades, the Pirates are apparently looking to deal Keller, which is hilarious because I was just saying the same thing about Keller on my fantasy team. Jokes aside, Keller’s success this year has been rooted in a high called strike rate paired with a cutter/sinker/four-seamer mix that has deftly avoided hard contact. As of late, the latter part has risen, while whiffs have not returned to compensate. I’m worried his early season run is masking the reality of his recent struggles.

61. Nathan Eovaldi – He’s been incredible this season, but even the Rangers know something is wrong after sitting just 93.1 mph on his four-seamer in his last start. Eovaldi is getting skipped this week and I wouldn’t be shocked if an IL stint is next.

62. Merrill Kelly – And look at that segue as Kelly is returning from the IL this week. I originally had him higher, though I wanted to be conservative with the opening ranking as his success could be linked to stellar changeup and four-seamer command. That may take a moment to return.

63. Seth Lugo – He’s proven himself a solid play in front of a strong defense. I see him as a dependable arm a slight step above Tier 9.

64. Jack Flaherty – Flaherty has been good, just not believably great for the second half.

65. Alex Cobb – He hasn’t had his splitter for a bit now and the new slider disappeared last time out. I imagine the splitter will come back, but without it, he’s gonna hurt if that slider isn’t working.

66. Griffin Canning – The strikeouts have been piling up and yet I feel a little hesitant to believe Canning is able to keep his ratios digestible.

67. JP Sears – The whiffs are either there or not and while closing your eyes and simply starting Sears can work, it would be wise to at least bench him for the top-tier offenses.

 

Tier 9 – The Tobys You’re Rostering

 

68. Yusei Kikuchi – The curve changed in the last start and I wonder if that makes it more dependable moving forward

69. Kyle Hendricks – The sinker and changeup are working and we roll with Hendricks against all but the best offenses.

70. Cristopher Sánchez – I like the run Sánchez is on and I think it can keep up for much of the second half.

71. Domingo Germán – The curve is still fantastic, I just worry about the fastball and change.

72. Taijuan Walker – It’s Taijuan magic and I’m not sure how long this lasts.

73. Clarke Schmidt – His sweeper and cutter were worse over the weekend and I have less faith in Schmidt than others that he carries enough upside to be worthwhile. He’s not a six-inning machine.

 

Here is where prospect pitchers would appear if they are called up as I feel those in Tier 9 and below could be off your teams next week (or now?) in 12-teamers.

 

Tier 10 – The Actual Cherry Bombs

 

74. Lance Lynn – It’s clear the sixteen-strikeout game was a Dennis in retrospect and I imagine we’ll be playing the dance with him for the rest of the year.

75. Steven Matz – I dig the 95 mph fastball upstairs, though the change and curve need to be a little more consistent.

76. Dean Kremer – His command was off last time, but it was a wonderful run beforehand. It’s possible he gets it back.

77. Jon Gray – Gray has these months of dominance before getting interrupted and falling into the valley. He’s had some time figuring things out that I imagine he’ll climb back up in a few starts. There are signs in each outing that it’s back, with slider whiffs or precise heaters.

78. Chase Silseth – He’s staying in the rotation after all and gets the Tigers this week. Go ahead and pick him up for the stream, I’m super curious what he does after looking like a new man in his first start back.

79. Johnny Cueto – The dude just went 14 whiffs on his four-seamer upstairs and it blew my mind. Absolute precision. HE WASN’T EVEN SUPPOSED TO RETURN TO THE ROTATION. Now he gets another good matchup and it’s hard to resist. For now.

80. Luis Severino – It’s incredibly strange to see Severino spot high heaters and low breakers and not get the expected results. There’s a sense his secondaries are getting tipped and if he’s able to smooth out the issue, he’ll suddenly click into place as a legit SP again. Or maybe his secondaries just aren’t good anymore.

81. MacKenzie Gore – You just saw the sweet side of being a Cherry Bomb, and with Gore, those rarely stick around for long.

 

Tier 11 – The Deep League Tobys

 

82. Tony Gonsolin – He’s awfully boring and even with the Dodgers as his crew, I see him more as a matchups arm than a legit rostered arm. Take him over the guys in Tier 10 if you want – these two tiers back-to-back are more about your situation than a proper ranking. Want upside? Tier 10. Want some decent innings? Tier 11.

83. J.P. France – He has decent stuff and pitches for the Astros. That’s the Toby life.

84. Bryce Elder – He had his moment in the sun as a heavily rostered arm, but I think we should all consider Elder a guy to stream, not one to hold onto dearly. Be searching for better.

85. Braxton Garrett – It’s a massive drop and one I think is heavily warranted as his cutter and sinker have been poorly commanded for four starts now. I understand how the overall season numbers look under the hood, but the story of the year has been: no cutter –> blowup –> new cutter with great command that masks the sinker –> lose the command –> four terrible outings. It’s a simple story to me.

86. Michael Lorenzen – Lorenzen is so good against poor teams and so not against anyone else.

87. Johan Oviedo – I can see him being held onto by some as his slider has returned a fair number of punchouts, but I really don’t like taking the chance on Oviedo each night.

88. José Quintana – His command was better than I expected in his Still ILL start and there could be more rust to be shaken off.

Tier 12 – Stream Considerations

 

89. Nick Pivetta – His last “start” came with a boatload of strikeouts as his slider was impeccable on the corner. I sure hope that sticks around, despite my immense lack of faith.

90. Luis Medina – Medina has earned plenty of whiffs with breakers across his last three starts, mostly with the slider’s new emphasis. Sadly he gets Coors next or he’d be higher up The List this week, likely in Tier 10.

91. Emmet Sheehan – Just wait until Sheehan has a firm grasp on his slider and changeup and we can dive back in here.

92. Andrew Heaney – Who knows where his slider and fastball will land on a given night. At least you have a chance for a bucketload of strikeouts.

93. Kyle Gibson – We’ve seen a few overwhelming whiff and CSW nights from Gibson lately and yet, I’m still not convinced enough to actually roster him.

94. Alek Manoah – Naaaaaah. The slider did earn 10 whiffs, but it came with a near 45% strike rate as he can’t find consistency. Stay away until we see better.

95. Matt Manning – Not much new to report here after his start was shortened by rain. I still heavily question that he can become a reliable Toby without a pitch to latch onto in his arsenal.

96. Aaron Civale – The man just sat 4.4 ticks down on his fastball in his last outing. I would be shocked if an IL stint doesn’t come next, but if the velocity somehow returns overnight, then he’s back into Tier 11.

97. Dane Dunning – Dunning got the Dodgers and of course it didn’t go well. He’s only a decent choice against the right matchups.

98. Reese Olson – I want to see more from his changeup before pushing him further up the last and even considered taking him off this week. There’s potential, but I want to see more of it first.

99. Kutter Crawford – Give me slider and sweepers, not that dang kutter.

100. Brandon Pfaadt – He returned and had to deal with Cincy, which meant back-to-back-to-back HRs to end his fantastic return. How does he keep finding these HRs?

 

Honorable Mentions

 

You’re getting little blurbs on everyone else I can think of. I can’t help myself. This is not in ranking order.

 

Yonny Chirinos – Believe it or not, Chirinos is now with Atlanta and will likely get a start against the Brewers this week. I don’t love his arsenal in the slightest, but there’s a weird chance it works.

Jameson Taillon – The sweeper was much better last time out and I want to wait another outing before latching on.

Alec Marsh – The four-seamer isn’t as good as we want it to be, even if I kinda dig the slider. It’s really hard to suggest rostering him after that atrocious start against the Yankees.

Hyun Jin Ryu – Whoa! He could be back from TJS as soon as this weekend. If he does, I’d put him around Tier 9 or so as a fun upside play without a whole lot of belief that he’ll have the old changeup he used to carry. But hey, that could be cool.

Michael Soroka – Demoted to Triple-A. Pretty disappointing to see and I hope they give him another shot soon. Once he gets the command back in order, he’s a stable 12-teamer arm.

Cole Ragans – I wanted to make Ragans #100, but he’s not expected to stick in the rotation right now AND THAT’S DUMB. The man was sitting 97/98 mph across 81 pitches from the left side. Let the dude cook, YOU’RE THE ROYALS.

Michael Kopech – He returned from the IL and looked horrific against Atlanta. I don’t see a good reason to roster him at the moment, but if he can string a start or two, then we’re golden.

Eury Pérez – He was demoted to the minors as the Marlins are limiting his workload for the year. I imagine he’ll return around the first or second week of August and it’s a tough call to determine if you should hold on. For roto leagues, that’s about 25-30% of the remaining season, but for H2H leagues, you have to hold for your potential playoff run.

Ryne Nelson – The changeup is supposed to be the #2 pitch now (I guess) and it’s not reliable. The cutter showed up recently and I’m not buying that yet.

Brady Singer – He’s a Cherry Bomb that just isn’t sweet enough to consider. It’s about time we move on.

Graham Ashcraft – He hasn’t had cutter command before and it doesn’t look like now is the time.

Brandon Bielak – The Astros brought back Bielak and we’re not in until the matchups get better and even then…we’ll see.

Josiah Gray – The risk simply isn’t worth the reward and even if you pick him up after a good start, there’s no basis for him replicating success.

Keaton Winn – I was a little curious, but I’m not seeing enough of a leash to consider this, especially without the splitter or heater getting whiffs last time out.

Drew Smyly – He’s still considerable as a streamer but is so middling that you don’t need to roster him until his curve becomes a legit pitch again. Gotta get that dang thing down.

Julio Teheran – The Vargas Rule has run its course. After yet another bad start he’s a very clear drop.

Patrick Sandoval – It brings me no joy to remove The Irish Panda. He’s too inconsistent with his change and slider failing to take over games.

Paul Blackburn – He could return if he’s able to string together a few starts and give us confidence again starting him when he faces weak teams.

AJ Smith-Shawver – Demoted to the minor leagues. I’m not the biggest fan of what he brought to the table, but I’m curious how he develops over the years.

Louie Varland – Demoted to the minor leagues. It’s unfair as he was given one of the worst schedules you’ll ever see. He’ll be back and become a solid pickup when he does.

Rich Hill – He didn’t come through against poor teams and now he has tougher teams.

Joey Wentz – Welp, the nine strikeout game wasn’t real. We move on.

Miles Mikolas – What are you chasing? This is not worth it.

Tanner Houck – He’s hurt and on the cusp of the Top 100 right when he returns. Would likely take a few weeks before he gets stretched out + hints at the same command.

Zach Davies – The changeup was good against the Guardians and yet disaster arrived. It’s hard to pick your spots well.

Osvaldo Bido – You’re looking for something stable and Bido is far from it. There will be brief moments, but he’s not the arm you need.

Hogan Harris – Was a fun moment, but the craft lefty was shaky against the Marlins and even with a dazzling Astros start on paper, the skills were awfully shaky.

Dakota Hudson – He’s now in the rotation for the Cards. That’s a desperate quality start play, but maybe he shows us something new?

Cole Irvin – No longer in the rotation with Grayson’s return.

Ronel Blanco – Blanco may be a 50% slider guy and I wonder if he’ll get more chances in the future, especially if Valdez’s ankle injury persists.

Daniel Lynch – If the new slider is legit, then I’ll add him to The List. Time will tell. He’s going fastball/change now and it’s all kinds of weird.

Trevor Rogers – He’s expected back soon(ish) and I’m excited to see what he does.

Anthony DeSclafani – His command has been wonky and the schedule is far worse now.

Michael Grove – There’s potential and it’s best to wait until he showcases it. He just needs to elevate the four-seamer!

Carlos Carrasco – The schedule is blegh and Carrasco doesn’t do enough. For example, eight innings of shutout ball returned just four strikeouts. I’m not interested.

Martín Pérez – He’s a Toby at best and I have to think you can find better streams most of the time.

Marco Gonzales – He’s hurt and I’ll need to see the same command when he comes back before returning to The List.

Jake Irvin – There was some intrigue here, but the velocity came down and the curve isn’t developing enough.

Ranger Suárez – He hit the wall and just isn’t worth it now. Maybe in a few weeks.

Alex Wood – He’ll hopefully go five productive frames at the risk of destroying your week. No thanks.

Patrick Corbin – Ha, that was a fun four-start ride, wasn’t it?

Brandon Williamson – The cutter makes for some nights of survival, but you want a better life. Even when he does well, it doesn’t look sustainable.

Jaime Barría – Slider and change can be good, but the ceiling feels awfully low.

Jimmy Key – Crafty lefties just don’t cut it these days. Thanks for reading the notes! As a token of my thanks, here’s $70 off PL Pro Yearly. Use code KEYTOPL at checkout.

Colin Rea – He has these ridiculous nights out of nowhere. There are worse dart throws.

Tyler Anderson – His changeup looks good (like 15 whiffs good), but it’s Coors so we don’t.

Ryan Yarbrough – It’s cool that he’s pitching again. That doesn’t mean you have to roster his slooooow arsenal that is highly dependent on command and a fortunate BABIP for a losing ball club.

Jordan Lyles – He’s come through once when the matchup was good. ONCE.

Trevor Williams – He hasn’t been fantasy relevant for a while.

Connor Seabold – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Chase Anderson – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Austin Gomber – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Noah Davis – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Quinn Priester – It’s slow sinkers and not good enough secondaries. Nope.

Jesse Scholtens – Not stretched out and holds a super low strikeout rate.

Ross Stripling – He’s in the rotation and doesn’t have his old changeup + he’s not going deep yet.

Adrian Houser – Naaaaaaah. Yes, not even after the ten-strikeout game.

Touki Toussaint – Yes, he’s pitching again. No, he’s not fantasy relevant.

Chris Murphy – The Red Sox are letting him pitch in games and that’s all there is to say about him. Hey, you just wrote that? Is it wrong?

Cooper Criswell – The Rays are kinda featuring him in bullpen games and it’s not something to chase.

Bryan Hoeing – He’s a sinkerballer that can squirm his way through five frames on a given night.

 

 

SCROLL BACK UP AND READ THE NOTES

 

Rank	Pitcher	Badges	Change
1	Spencer StriderT1	Aces Gonna Ace	-
2	Gerrit Cole	Aces Gonna Ace	-
3	Shane McClanahan	Aces Gonna Ace	-
4	Luis Castillo	Aces Gonna Ace	-
5	Kevin Gausman	Aces Gonna Ace	-
6	Zac Gallen T2	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
7	Tyler Glasnow	Aces Gonna Ace	+3
8	Max Scherzer	Aces Gonna Ace Injury Risk	-
9	Joe Musgrove	Aces Gonna Ace	-
10	Blake Snell	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
11	Shohei Ohtani	Aces Gonna Ace	-5
12	Framber Valdez	Aces Gonna Ace Injury Risk	+1
13	Corbin Burnes T3	Ace Potential	+2
14	Jesús Luzardo	Ace Potential	+5
15	Joe Ryan	Ace Potential	-3
16	Zack Wheeler	Ace Potential	+1
17	Logan Webb	Ace Potential	-1
18	Pablo López	Ace Potential	-
19	James Paxton	Ace Potential	+2
20	George Kirby	Ace Potential	+2
21	Aaron Nola	Ace Potential	+4
22	Yu Darvish	Ace Potential	+4
23	Carlos Rodón	Ace Potential Injury Risk	-9
24	Julio Urías	Ace Potential	-4
25	Sandy Alcantara T4	Ace Potential	-2
26	Zach Eflin	Quality Starts	+6
27	Justin Verlander	Quality Starts	+3
28	Dylan Cease	Ace Potential	+1
29	Justin Steele	Quality Starts	+2
30	Bailey Ober	Quality Starts	+3
31	Freddy Peralta	Ace Potential	-7
32	Lucas Giolito	Quality Starts	-5
33	Logan Gilbert	Quality Starts	-5
34	Bryce Miller T5	Ace Potential Injury Risk	-
35	Bobby Miller	Ace Potential Injury Risk	-
36	Andrew Abbott	Ace Potential	+1
37	Reid Detmers	Ace Potential	+1
38	Kenta Maeda	Ace Potential	+7
39	Tarik Skubal	Ace Potential	+11
40	Brayan Bello T6	Quality Starts	-
41	José Berríos	Quality Starts	-
42	Tyler Wells	Quality Starts	-3
43	Kodai Senga	Strikeout Upside	+4
44	Charlie Morton	Cherry Bomb	+2
45	Chris Bassitt	Quality Starts	+7
46	Eduardo Rodriguez	Quality Starts	+7
47	Jordan Montgomery	Quality Starts	+8
48	Tanner Bibee T7	Cherry Bomb	+12
49	Sonny Gray	Quality Starts Cherry Bomb	-1
50	Cristian Javier	Cherry Bomb	+6
51	Grayson Rodriguez	Cherry Bomb	+10
52	Bryan Woo	Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-8
53	Hunter Brown	Cherry Bomb	-17
54	Gavin Williams	Cherry Bomb	+4
55	Kyle Bradish	Cherry Bomb	+9
56	Taj Bradley	Cherry Bomb	+1
57	Edward Cabrera	Cherry Bomb	+5
58	Logan Allen	Cherry Bomb	+5
59	Marcus Stroman T8	Quality Starts	-8
60	Mitch Keller	Cherry Bomb	-18
61	Nathan Eovaldi	Injury Risk Cherry Bomb	-18
62	Merrill Kelly	Injury Risk Quality Starts	+UR
63	Seth Lugo	Cherry Bomb	+5
64	Jack Flaherty	Cherry Bomb	-5
65	Alex Cobb	Cherry Bomb	-11
66	Griffin Canning	Cherry Bomb	-
67		Cherry Bomb	+8
68	Yusei Kikuchi T9	Toby	+10
69	Kyle Hendricks	Toby	+4
70	Cristopher Sánchez	Toby	+13
71	Domingo Germán	Toby	+6
72	Taijuan Walker	Toby	-1
73	Clarke Schmidt	Toby	-8
74	Lance Lynn T10	Cherry Bomb	-25
75	Steven Matz	Cherry Bomb	+1
76	Dean Kremer	Cherry Bomb	-2
77	Jon Gray	Cherry Bomb	+5
78	Chase Silseth	Cherry Bomb	+UR
79	Johnny Cueto	Cherry Bomb	+UR
80	Luis Severino	Cherry Bomb	-1
81	MacKenzie Gore	Cherry Bomb	-
82	Tony Gonsolin T11	Toby	-10
83	J.P. France	Toby	+1
84	Bryce Elder	Toby	+1
85	Braxton Garrett	Toby	-18
86	Michael Lorenzen	Toby	+8
87	Johan Oviedo	Toby	+6
88	Jose Quintana	Toby	+4
89	Nick Pivetta T12	Streaming Option	-1
90	Luis Medina	Streaming Option	+6
91	Emmet Sheehan	Streaming Option	-21
92	Andrew Heaney	Streaming Option	-12
93	Kyle Gibson	Streaming Option	+5
94	Alek Manoah	Streaming Option	-5
95	Matt Manning	Streaming Option	-
96	Aaron Civale	Streaming Option	-10
97	Dane Dunning	Streaming Option	-7
98	Reese Olson	Streaming Option	-11
99	Kutter Crawford	Streaming Option	-8
100	Brandon Pfaadt	Streaming Option	+UR

 

Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)