Every week, the Pitcher List team will publish an update to our power rankings, reviewing the biggest risers and fallers of the past seven days.
As always, the full rankings can be found at the bottom of this article … but where’s the fun in that?
First and Worst
With teams approaching the season’s halfway point, the crop of buyers and sellers is becoming ever clearer as we inch closer to the All-Star Break and Trade Deadline. You’ll find at this point of the Power Rankings there aren’t a ton of drastic moves in the top and bottom third of this list. The identities of the strongest contenders and most likely sellers have been solidified for some time now, but there’s still plenty of movement in the middle of the pack as the Wild Card races remain…well, wild.
The Philadelphia Phillies leapfrog the New York Yankees to reclaim the top spot on our list, as the latter is amid four straight series losses. With these recent losses coming against the stiff competition of Baltimore, Boston, Atlanta, and the GriMets, there wasn’t much reason to drop the Bronx Bombers far in our rankings. Their roster is still largely intact, though the starting pitching has been spotty lately with Luis Gil stumbling over his past two starts and Gerrit Cole looking a little rusty in his first two starts back from injury.
You won’t see any surprises in the basement of this list, either. The Miami Marlins were perhaps dealt the biggest blow of any team this week as Jesús Luzardo was placed on the 60-day IL with a lumbar stress reaction. Luzardo figured to be one of the top starting pitchers in the trade market and could have fetched a high price from a team needing to bolster their rotation such as the Baltimore Orioles. Instead, Luzardo will likely remain with Miami and look to get healthy for next season. Trade rumors are sure to follow him as long as he’s with the Marlins.
Let’s dive into our biggest risers and sliders in this week’s Pitcher List Power Rankings.
Movin’ On Up
Record: 41-38
Rank change: +4 (17 to 13)
Only a few weeks ago the basement dwellers in the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals came alive in June and sit in sole possession of second place in their division. The Redbirds currently share the second wild card spot with the San Diego Padres, a game and a half ahead of the surging New York Mets for the last two playoff spots in the National League.
While the offense itself hasn’t picked up too much—the team is 17th in June with an OPS of .696—certain members of the Cardinals lineup have picked up the slack left behind by underperforming stars and injuries. Two names that have filled the void for the Cardinals are Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson. Donovan owns an .873 OPS this month and is one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past two weeks. Burleson, meanwhile, is slashing .301/.333/.581 with seven home runs in June. With Lars Nootbaar still on the mend, Burleson has occupied the two hole in the lineup and made the most of his opportunities.
The hottest hitter on the planet isn't slowing down!
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/F2JshS8qHb
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 26, 2024
The Cardinals’ pitching has been what’s truly kept them afloat, as their 3.45 ERA is the fourth-best mark in the majors this month. Sonny Gray in particular has been lights out this month, especially over his last three starts. Across those three starts, Gray has worked 21.2 innings and allowed only 13 total baserunners. It’s exactly the kind of performance the Cardinals hoped they would get from the Cy Young finalist when they signed him. When you couple stable performances from their starters with a dominant bullpen headlined by closer Ryan Helsley, it’s not too difficult to see that this club could be a problem in the playoffs this Fall.
Record: 39-41
Rank change: +3 (23 to 20)
Just below the Cardinals at third place in the NL Central, we have the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates enjoyed a solid start to the season before losing form in late April through May, but the Bucs are playing solid ball as of late, winning three of their last four series.
Something to keep an eye on for Pittsburgh will be how the team manages the workloads of standout rookies Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. As two young pitchers with spectacular talent, the Pirates are wisely monitoring their young stars to make sure they get plenty of exposure in the bigs while mitigating the risk of injury. Already, we’ve seen this plan take place, as Jones was scheduled to start this weekend against Atlanta but will instead take some extra time before toeing the rubber once more. These comments from Pirates GM Ben Cherington should clarify the team’s plans for their rotation’s one-two punch for the rest of 2024:
“…and in order to do that, we were at some point likely going to have to look at some ways to manage volume and build in some more recovery.”
Cherington said Pirates don’t want to shut them down, so it sounds like skipping or pushing back a start is a more likely alternative.— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) June 27, 2024
As baseball fans, we obviously want to see as much of Skenes and Jones as possible, but to do that in 2025 and beyond, it’s likely we’ll see some load management through the second half of the season. With injuries running rampant across the MLB’s best arms, it feels like a smart choice, albeit a tough one to swallow.
While making the playoffs isn’t impossible for Pittsburgh, it’s still a long shot with their current roster construction. The Pirates are 28th in team OPS this season and, aside from Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz, don’t have many places to look for offensive production. A buying strategy at the deadline seems unlikely for this club with how things currently stand, even if this team has shown bright spots. The building blocks are there for this team to compete shortly, but I wouldn’t count on 2024 being a magical year for Pittsburgh just yet.
Hittin’ the Skids
Record: 39-42
Rank change: -3 (16 to 19)
It’s been a strange couple of weeks for the San Francisco Giants. Last week, the Giants lost a road series in Wrigley before getting swept by the Cardinals, but are now taking revenge against the Cubs at home by winning the first three games of a four-game set.
So, what specifically have the Giants done to warrant being one of our biggest fallers this week? In a word…nothing. It’s a product of two things: the fact that the Giants were surrounded by better-performing teams in last week’s Power Rankings (see also: Cardinals, Grimace) and the continued inability of this squad to sustain a higher level of success.
Aside from Heliot Ramos, there hasn’t been much to celebrate on an offense that ranks 15th in team OPS in 2024. Free-agent signings Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler haven’t lived up to the Giants’ hopes in their first few months with the club, and regulars like Thairo Estrada are failing to maintain past levels of performance. When you combine a lackluster offense with a staff that ranks 25th in ERA this season, you get a recipe for a team like the 2024 Giants.
This team has shown flashes of the upside their roster boasts on paper, but things aren’t yet clicking for this revamped roster. The salt in the wound has been the tumultuous season for Blake Snell, whose injuries amidst a few underwhelming starts have made this a tough signing for San Francisco thus far. If there’s any good news on the horizon for the faithful kayaking around McCovey Cove, it’s that Robbie Ray should return to action soon after the All-Star Break and provide a boost to this rotation. Whether that’s enough to get the Giants back into playoff contention is something we’ll just have to wait and see.
Robbie Ray threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento. Fastball was up to 95 mph. It's been smooth sailing in recovery from Tommy John, but it's likely going to be another 3-4 weeks before he's ready. pic.twitter.com/V4vr4Mc85X
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) June 23, 2024
Week 13 Power Rankings