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The Top 100 Starting Pitchers For 2020 – MLB Delay Edition

Nick Pollack's Top 100 Starting Pitchers have been updated.

This is a crazy time we’re living in. I’ve never made a version of The List before with so much uncertainty, but here we are, at the end of March, reading tea leaves to figure out when (or if?!) baseball will be played in 2020. Stay safe and healthy, everyone.

I’ve updated my Top 100 ranks since I made these at the start of February with most ranking shifts coming from the MLB delay, but a good handful are a product of a change of heart. Let’s get to it and make sure to check out the notes below.

RankPitcherBadgesChange
1Gerrit ColeT1
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-
2Jacob deGrom
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-
3Max Scherzer
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+1
4Justin Verlander
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-1
5Walker Buehler
T2
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-
6Shane Bieber
T3
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+2
7Mike Clevinger
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-1
8Stephen Strasburg
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+1
9Jack Flaherty
T4
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+1
10Patrick Corbin
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+2
11Charlie Morton
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+6
12Clayton Kershaw
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
+3
13Luis Castillo
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
+1
14Yu Darvish
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-1
15Lucas Giolito
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+4
16Chris Paddack
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
+8
17Blake Snell
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
-6
18Corey Kluber
T5
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-2
19Aaron Nola
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+1
20Zack Wheeler
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+1
21Zack Greinke
Aces Gonna Ace
Quality Starts
+1
22Zac Gallen
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+1
23Sonny Gray
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+8
24Tyler Glasnow
Aces Gonna Ace
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+1
25James Paxton
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
+36
26Carlos Carrasco
T6
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
-8
27Madison Bumgarner
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
-1
28Lance Lynn
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-1
29Noah Syndergaard
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
-1
30Frankie Montas
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-1
31Trevor Bauer
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Cherry Bomb
-1
32Brandon Woodruff
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-
33Michael Soroka
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
-
34José Berríos
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-
35David Price
T7
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
-
36Jesús Luzardo
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+3
37Kenta Maeda
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+3
38Shohei Ohtani
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+9
39Carlos Martínez
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
-3
40Matthew Boyd
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
+1
41Julio Urías
T8
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+10
42Max Fried
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
-5
43Luke Weaver
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Playing Time Question
Ratio Focused
-1
44Andrew Heaney
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-
45Lance McCullers Jr.
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Playing Time Question
+15
46Kyle Hendricks
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
-8
47Joe Musgrove
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
-4
48Sean Manaea
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Ratio Focused
-3
49Dinelson Lamet
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Cherry Bomb
-3
50Robbie Ray
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Cherry Bomb
-2
51Mike Foltynewicz
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
+5
52Mitch Keller
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
-3
53Caleb Smith
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-1
54José Urquidy
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
-
55Jake Odorizzi
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Cherry Bomb
+2
56Mike Minor
Ace Potential
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
+2
57Eduardo Rodriguez
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Cherry Bomb
-7
58Germán Márquez
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-3
59Hyun Jin Ryu
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Quality Starts
Playing Time Question
Ratio Focused
-
60Dylan Cease
T9
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Low Ips
Cherry Bomb
+3
61Jordan Montgomery
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Streaming Option
Stash Option
+19
62Alex Wood
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Streaming Option
Stash Option
+19
63Garrett Richards
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
+1
64Masahiro Tanaka
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
+1
65Sandy Alcantara
Quality Starts
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
+1
66Adrian Houser
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Streaming Option
+3
67Josh Lindblom
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
+21
68John Means
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
+14
69Griffin Canning
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
Playing Time Question
Cherry Bomb
-16
70Dylan Bundy
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-
71Michael Kopech
T10
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Stash Option
-4
72A.J. Puk
Ace Potential
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Stash Option
-4
73Josh James
Ace Potential
Low Ips
Playing Time Question
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-11
74Taijuan Walker
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
Stash Option
+UR
75Joey Lucchesi
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-3
76Dallas Keuchel
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
-3
77Cole Hamels
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
+UR
78Yonny Chirinos
Playing Time Question
Toby
Ratio Focused
-4
79Ryan Yarbrough
Playing Time Question
Toby
Ratio Focused
-4
80Marcus Stroman
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
-4
81Anthony DeSclafani
Strikeout Upside
Toby
Ratio Focused
-4
82Zach Plesac
T11
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
-4
83Aaron Civale
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
-4
84Spencer Turnbull
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-
85Wade Miley
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
-
86Justus Sheffield
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-
87Nathan Eovaldi
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-
88Kevin Gausman
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
+1
89Rich Hill
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Playing Time Question
+UR
90Chris Archer
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-
91Asher Wojciechowski
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-
92Jon Gray
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
-
93Dakota Hudson
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
-
94Johnny Cueto
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
-
95Homer Bailey
Strikeout Upside
Streaming Option
-
96J.A. Happ
Quality Starts
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
-
97Jordan Lyles
Strikeout Upside
Cherry Bomb
Streaming Option
+1
98Chad Kuhl
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
Streaming Option
Stash Option
+1
99Steven Matz
Toby
Ratio Focused
Streaming Option
+1
100Chris Bassitt
Strikeout Upside
Toby
Streaming Option
+UR

Labels Legend

Aces Gonna Ace
Ace Potential
Holly
Toby
Cherry Bomb
Spice Girl
Vargas Rule
Streaming Option
QS Bonus
Wins Bonus
Strikeouts Bonus
Ratios Bonus
Rotation Spot Bonus
Team Context Effect
Stash Option
Injury Risk
Playing Time Question

 

 

Ranking Notes

 

  • Chris Sale and Tyler Beede are gone because of TJS. It makes a huge impact on the ranking numbers, so keep that in mind. Luis Severino was removed last time, so no extra (+1) there.
  • …and so does James Paxton jumping into the Top 25 as he has now been given enough time to heal before the season starts.
  • Blake Snell, Justin Verlander, and Mike Clevinger took a lot of energy to consider here. I’m worried Clevinger rushed back too soon from surgery, so he gets docked just one spot behind Shane Bieberbut I’ll assume he’s good to go for the limited season. Verlander got the same treatment with Scherzer, as there is still some risk that his lat injury will stick around. I am worried that Snell’s injury will flare up again during the year, though, as no surgery took place. A lot more risk there, so he drops.
  • Let’s tackle the major shifters due to a shorter season: Lance McCullers’ innings are not an issue anymore. Shohei Ohtani will be healed and ready to go. Jesus Luzardo and Julio Urias jump a bit since their likely 140 IP limits will be hard to hit in a shorter season. Chris Paddack had a 180 IP limit that will not matter. Charlie Morton has less time for his likely injury, so I gave him a significant boost. Cole Hamels will be back from his injury and serve as a solid Toby like Dallas KeuchelLastly, I wanted to drop Griffin Canning further with his elbow injury, but the current status is he’ll be ready when we play, so I didn’t lower him too far. Still worth the lottery ticket.
  • I’ve been impressed by the velocities of Jordan Montgomery, Alex Woodand Taijuan Walker all sitting above 92 mph. The former two make for excellent late grabs to see how the season starts, while I’m down for Walker as a deeper flier.
  • There was a lot of buzz about John Means improving his breaking stuff, vaulting him above the other Tobys. The same goes for Josh Lindblomwho showcased an impressive repertoire in the spring and is worth a dart throw before diving into the shrugs of arms in the bottom quarter of the ranks.
  • It looks like AJ Puk and Michael Kopech will not start the season in the rotation. If you have the room, go for it as they could be impact arms, but it may be a bit frustrating, especially in a shortened season where each productive inning means more.
  • I found myself favoring Mike Foltynewicz a bit more in drafts while stalling on Kyle Hendricksresulting in a rise and fall, respectively. Folty is a sturdy option among a sea of upside takes and very close to Hendricks, with a slightly different balance of ceiling and floor.
  • I’ve had a massive turnaround on Sonny Gray and I wasn’t giving him enough credit in February. The main argument against was expected regression from his slider and curveball (which still may come!), though learning that he improved the pitches when Bauer came over and introduced him to slow-motion cameras made me reconsider if I was being too harsh. In the end, he carries a similar ratio floor to Bumgarner with plenty higher strikeout ability, so I raised him to #23.
  • I’m a touch worried about Carlos Carrasco’s array of health problems, so I lowered him to the mid-20s as I found myself not wanting to take his risk over other similar arms.
  • There’s a lot of hype around Max Fried for this season with his excellent slider and while I really hope it does pan out, there’s a heavy amount of risk associated with taking him inside the Top 40. With better overall arms having more security entering the year, I dropped him into the early 40s.
  • Josh James is still battling for a fifth spot in the Houston rotation and could easily miss out, making me hesitant to chase him in the later rounds. The same goes for Austin Voth as Joe Ross is more than likely to steal the fifth spot in Washington. Sadly, I’m not a fan of chasing him in drafts. EditRich Hill was somehow removed at #89, leaving Voth on The List. Hill has been added (he should be healthy by the start of the year and provides intriguing early upside!), forcing Voth, without a spot in the rotation, off The List.
  • I found myself still staying away from Eduardo Rodriguez as I don’t trust that he’ll be a steady producer throughout the year. He’s still Top 60, but there are too many serviceable arms to go after instead.
  • There are rumors that Spencer Howard could start the year in the rotation and he likely deserves a spot on The List because of that. I wanted to wait until I heard more as it’s just a rumor at this point, with Kopech and Puk much more in the discussion up to now than Howard. I have no problem with anyone stashing Howard for now though as a last pick in the draft.

Photos by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@FreshmeatComm on Twitter)

 

Nick Pollack

Founder of Pitcher List. Creator of CSW, The List, and SP Roundup. Worked with MSG, FanGraphs, CBS Sports, and Washington Post. Former college pitcher, travel coach, pitching coach, and Brandeis alum. Wants every pitcher to be dope.

23 responses to “The Top 100 Starting Pitchers For 2020 – MLB Delay Edition”

  1. Mike D says:

    Nick my man—it’s Mike D, Joey O and Robs friend from the CBS league. Question-I’m deciding between Castillo and Kershaw in our league for a keeper. Any reason you moved Kershaw ahead of him? Stay gold Pony boy.

    • Nick Pollack says:

      Mike! Great to see you man, hope the kids are well.

      Good question about Kershaw vs. Castillo. It’s a result of three things:

      – A shorter season = less time for Kershaw’s back to flare up
      – I’m *slightly* buying into Kershaw’s reported velocity increases after visiting driveline
      – He’s much safer for production if you’re going for an SP among the first 15 off the board.

      Castillo is still a bit capped ceiling wise to me as his fastball command just isn’t going to be consistent enough as a slinger – he gets on the side of the ball and can’t pinpoint it like his elite peers. Without that foundation, I see Kershaw as a better early play for a productive season.

      Now in your keeper league…that’s absurdly close. I’d say it depends more on now vs. later, though Kershaw could have a good more left in the tank if his velocity is indeed back to normal. I doubt Joey would make y’all submit keepers until we’re closer to the start of the season, hopefully we know more about the changes Kershaw’s made before then.

      In all honestly, though, I’d trade one of them away for a hitter instead. There were always too many good starters available on the wire in that league :-P

      • Mike Davidson says:

        Good stuff, Nick, kids are great, thanks a lot my friend. My guy was telling me Kershaw, I was surprised to see so many people having Castillo ranked over him…glad to see you guys doing so well with the site, keep it up!!! Hope you are staying safe, and see you at some point in Bk!!!

  2. Jake says:

    Caleb Smith at 53 is insane. Rank is clearly based on some emotional attachment and undercuts your arguments that you rank based on facts rather than feelings. Just be honest with your audience about that.

    • Derek says:

      What a goofy comment. Why don’t you instead provide reasons why Caleb Smith isn’t 53

      • Jake says:

        What’s goofy about it? Why don’t you take a look at his performance, surface and underlying, and tell me why he should be. I can’t see a good argument for it other than some type of subjective “I believe…” or “If he does…” or “He has theoretical upside because..”

        • Derek says:

          I don’t mean to speak for the omnipotent Nick Pollock, but here goes.
          It’s goofy because instead of assuming that Nick looked at the numbers and came to a different conclusion than you did like he said he did, you assume it’s because it’s emotion. Do you have evidence that it’s emotion?
          Caleb Smith, in his healthy starts, had a 3.5 ERA, a 32 percent K rate, 3 effective pitches, and a great home park.

          • Jake says:

            He missed one month which was June. Came back in July and pitched 81 innings in the second half. Pitched more innings in the second half than the first, so tough to argue he was hurt then if he pitched more innings, and he produced a 5.42 ERA/1.41 WHIP and 1.99 HR/9. He has been consistently horrible the last two years away from home (that will continue to account for half his starts going forward btw and don’t see why it would change). Carries a career 9.7% BB, and a 1.7 HR/9. Career marks of 4.66 ERA/4.87 xFIP/ 4.44 SIERA. If you, or Nick, want to isolate those 70 first half 2019 innings out of 250 career innings (28%) to justify this ranking, then be my guest. That is still insane imo, and I can only see an explanation for it that is based on emotion, or some other subjective/gut feeling, because I don’t see it in the numbers except under a cherry picked sample size. There are way more bad performance innings sandwiched around the good ones you want to highlight.

            • Derek says:

              Now we’re having an intelligent conversation instead of using ad hominem, do you see how this works?
              It’s super easy to argue that he was pitching hurt. Total amount of innings means nothing. Here’s an excerpt from Cole Hamels, who had a 3 ERA going into the ASG, came back too soon, and had a 5.8 ERA ROS: ““I rushed back,” Hamels said. “I thought I’d be able to generate my pitches just by being out there. I thought I could just make it work. Unfortunately, my arm got tired. I basically ran before I could walk. I was never able to catch up.”” If you think pitchers don’t get rushed back or pitch through injury, you gotta open your eyes a little. His swinging strike rates cratered, velocity decreased, home run rates spiked, he was basically terrible right after he came back from injury through the rest of the season. If you think that’s a coincidence, I don’t know what to tell you.
              He’s been bad away from home because he has a home run problem. In the first half, it was like 1.3 HR/9. Which is not great, but not horrible. In the second half, it exploded. Which is horrible. If you’re going to have a home run problem, Marlins Park is the place to have it, and he has been really good at mitigating hits. He also has a walks bugaboo, that was again worse in the second half than the first. He’s not going to win an ERA title, but you’re drafting him as your 6? With a ~28% K rate? That’s fine, right?
              His career numbers are irrelevant. 9 of those games came out of the pen for the Yankees in 2017, and literally the majority of the innings in his career he was pitching hurt. As soon as we started to see the real Caleb Smith, he got hurt.
              If you want to call me a cherry picker, and you want to say Caleb Smith is bad because he was bad out of the pen with the Yankees in 2017 and bad immediately after injury this year, cool. But the numbers are there for him to be a number 6 for your fantasy staff. A 28% K rate, a 3.8 ERA, and a 1.22 WHIP is perfectly attainable.

    • Nick Pollack says:

      Hey Jake,

      I completely understand if you’re not a fan of Caleb Smith – many aren’t. I’m not one to base my rankings on feel or “I like the guy” or anything close to it.

      The first run of rankings features a detailed breakdown of each pitcher, outlining why I have them where they are. Here’s the article for Caleb Smith (https://pitcherlist.com/the-top-60-starting-pitchers-for-2020-fantasy-baseball/) and I hope you don’t mind me pasting in his blurb here:

      “It’s a joke by now, but you case you didn’t know, I like Caleb Smith. Am I saying that you should be drafting him in all leagues? Maybe not, but we’re at the point where it’s about chasing upside, and Smith displayed tangible talent last season before he succumbed to a hip injury. His fastball sat 92+ mph through his first eleven starts before hitting the IL after the 12th, then hovered 91 mph the rest of the season. During that time, his swinging-strike rate was 15.6%. His ERA was 3.10 with a 3.43 SIERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 34% strikeout rate.

      Yes, you can take many small samples and get excellent results, but those whiff numbers with higher velocity before an injury hit?! That just screams like a chance you should be taking out of the gate at a point in your draft when it’s not a win/lose situation. You’re not drafting him as an anchor: He’ll be your fifth, sixth, or maybe even seventh starter who could hold a 30%+ strikeout rate. GO FOR THIS. His dominance is based on a three-pitch mix of elevated fastballs and a slider/changeup combination that each miss bats over 16% of the time and hint at the Money Pitch metrics. It’s there, the upside you want at a time dedicated to chasing it.

      The biggest knock on Smith has been his HR rates, which ballooned to 1.94 last season, and now he doesn’t have as much of a luxury in his home park as Miami moved in its fences. But let’s say he falls down to a 1.45 HR/9 for the year; that seems reasonable. That is what he had during his first eleven healthy starts.

      One final fact: He had at least eight strikeouts in all but two of those first eleven games. One was a horrid one-strikeout game; the other was seven. Chase the health out of the gate. If he’s above 91 mph, this could be a steal past SP pick #50.

      Nick’s Reluctant Projection: 4.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 27% K rate in 160 IP”

  3. J.C. Mosier says:

    Great thanks to you and your staff for helping us through these sports-less times!

    • Nick Pollack says:

      Thanks J.C.!

      Stay safe and healthy – we’re going to be well alive here at the site through the delay and here’s to hoping baseball returns soon!

  4. Turp says:

    If Josh James was guaranteed a rotation spot, how would that affect his ranking?

    • Nick Pollack says:

      He would be pushed to around the late 50s/low 60s or so.

      I worry that his control will turn him into a low IPS arm and give you a headache each time he’s out there. I really hope I’m wrong.

  5. Dave says:

    Nick,

    What was the reason for Chris Archer falling out? He had a good (abbreviated) ST and I’m not aware of an injury.

    Thanks

  6. D says:

    Ryu down at the end of Tier 8 looks like he could provide a ton of profit. I’d take him up with those tier 6 guys, and if I can grab him as SP 59 I’d be thrilled.

    • Nick Pollack says:

      It really is all about your 12-teamer philosophy.

      I see Ryu as someone that will not replicate the sub 3.00 ERA season, while he’ll be closer to a 20% strikeout rate than 25%, and the Toronto defense + turf + AL Beast is going to force his ERA and WHIP to move toward decent but not great levels.

      I think he’ll outperform the #59, but I’d rather take a chance on the guys in front of him who could make a larger impact on your squads than Ryu. It’s all about weighing upside/floor and at this point in drafts (getting your SP #5 or so), I’m chasing ceilings in 12-teamers.

  7. Jon Gray's Broken Toe says:

    Great ranking for the website’s namesake!

    Question regarding James Paxton. Here is some of the background information regarding the surgery I read at mydailynews.com:

    “University of Pennsylvania spinal surgery expert Dr. Michael Murray said there is a 90% chance that with a good rehab, Paxton will return to full strength by the end of the 2020 season. He also said the pitcher and the Yankees have to be very cautious about that process.

    “When you get a herniated disc, what happens is there’s a crack or a tear of that outer lining of the disc, the annulus,” Murray said, “and the problem is when you take the herniated disc out, if you don’t allow that crack to heal, and you don’t take the pressure off it for a while, you can get a re-herniation.”

    Paxton had a chunk of his back taken out… AND he is going to play while his back continues to strengthen! The article also spoke about Tiger Woods as a worst case scenario… Tiger Woods had several herniated disc injuries (starting with only one) and eventually needed spinal fusion. Going forward, I see Paxton having perennial back issues … the Todd Helton or Jim Thome of pitchers. He will have back issues for the rest of his life.

    When you rank James Paxton at 25, have you taken the same type of health assumptions as I have stated above, or are you taking a more aggressive position on Paxton’s healthy back?

    • Nick Pollack says:

      Hey! Great question.

      I have ranked Paxton a bit lower given that he is constantly a health risk. The assumption right now is that he’ll be the #2 SP for the Yankees out of the gate, but as you said, there’s reason to still be cautious.

      If he plays 100% through the year, he’s easily a Top 20 starter, so I’ve docked him some points here.

  8. Edward says:

    Just curious. If Howard secures that 5th spot where would you rank him? And Pearson?

    • Nick Pollack says:

      Hey Edward!

      I’d have them both hovering the late 50s and early 60s.

      I haven’t formed a full opinion of them yet – I often do when they have their first real appearance in the majors so I can properly scout them (it’s not the same watching them vs. minor leaguers).

  9. Mike H. says:

    Michael Kopech at 71 is borderline criminal – not to mention the fact that his ranking is FALLING as the site gets updated. He’s EASILY a top 20 pitcher (arguably top 10 – even 5 if you ask me). Obviously there is the health concern but he seemed pretty damn healthy to me in ST slinging 101 mph heaters over the corners. With the shortened season I don’t see him not making the starting rotation out of the gate and if he does he’s a bonafide ace.

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