[pitcher_list_new list_id=”28890″]
Fringe Starters
| Pitcher | Why They Missed The Cut |
| Jordan Zimmermann | Great first start, but it was against the Jays. I need to see him do it again before giving him a spot |
| Bryse Wilson | I’m worried his bad start will make him to first one out to make room for Kevin Gausman and Mike Foltynewicz |
| Wade Miley | Great for a gamble at a cheap win, I worry about his low IPS and lack of strikeouts. |
| Martin Perez | Spring Training velocity reports are definitely interesting but I need to see it during the season first. |
| Dallas Keuchel | He won’t be starting until May at the earliest and he’s not worth the stash on your roster |
| Vince Velasquez | A massive Cherry Bomb without the clear path to working out of it with inconsistent secondary options. |
| Tyler Mahle | I’m waiting to see if we can trust his new curveball + Alex Wood should return shortly. |
| Carlos Rodon | Still too volatile and wasn’t all too impressive against a poor Royals offense. |
| Mike Minor | Really didn’t look sharp against the Cubs. Not enough upside to risk at this point. |
| Sean Reid-Foley | Could be on The List next week after today’s start against the Orioles. |
| Andrew Heaney | Shut down again with elbow trouble. That’s scary and makes his expected return even later. |
| Spencer Turnbull | I was hoping for a strong performance against the Jays, but it’s not there yet. |
| Trevor Cahill | He may improve as April continues, for now, I’d wait and see. |
| Ivan Nova | Just not enough upside and while he’s a decent streamer, it’s never for a high ceiling. Just not enough there. |
What is happening!
It’s a new season and the weekly updates to The List have returned. I’ll be ranking the Top 100 Starting Pitchers every Monday from now until the end of the season.
Before I dive into the player notes, we added new elements last week that I’m going to remind everyone once again
- Previous/Best/Worst columns removed
- These took a heavy chunk of loading time and ultimately provided very little value. The change arrows themselves are all that’s needed
- Tiers added
- As much as I hate making tiers (When do they start and end? How big are the cliffs?), ya’ll have been asking for them and I’m here for all of you. Please understand how hard it is to accurately place them and don’t get too worked up about it.
- Labels added
- There’s often confusion as to why a pitcher is a spot or two above or below another. These labels should help understand what each pitcher brings to the table, showing that some pitchers may be better or worse for what you need.
- Hover over them (or tap on mobile) to see each label’s name next to the pitcher.
- Ratio Focused = Their value lies in you chasing their ERA/WHIP more than strikeouts and Wins.
- Toby = Boring arm that doesn’t excite you, but you stare at the waiver wire and accept that he just okay enough. You don’t like that he’s around the office, but he gets his work done.
- Fringe Starters added
- There are always a handful of starters I badly want to add to The List but I don’t have enough room. I’ll always have this table at the end for a collection of starters – in no order – that I also heavily considered, as well as why they could be relevant
- This will be where IL Players will land. I’ll mention where they would slot when healthy.
Please let me know how you feel about these changes and I’m looking forward to another fun year assessing the wonderful entity that is the SP Landscape.
On to the notes! Remember, these ranks are for 12-teamers in H2H leagues:
Player Notes
- Moving forward, I’ll be mentioning those that were removed from The List in the “Fringe Players” section, so you can see direct reasoning for why they’re off this week.
- Nothing changed in the Top 43. It’s been four days of games y’all. Yes, even Chris Sale and Yu Darvish didn’t move. I just can’t make a move right now until we find out more about Sale, while Darvish seemed more like shaking off rust than an underlying issue.
- Since the mid-40s / early 50s is the tipping point for chasing arms, it’s where I had the most trouble ranking this week. There are a ton of exciting arms that could pan out or fizzle, but it’s hard not to love Corbin Burnes‘ strikeout flair, Pablo Lopez and Brandon Woodruff each looking strong in their season debuts, and both Collin McHugh and Matt Boyd surprising with high K games as well.
- Popular late round grabs in Derek Holland, Merrill Kelly, and Jeff Samardzija took a hit. Holland and Samardzija didn’t pitch as well as anticipated, with the later struggling to miss bats with his secondary stuff. Kelly hasn’t started yet, but his final ST tuneup came with heavily diminished velocity and I’m concerned it’s going to stick today. I hope I’m wrong and he’ll jump up a bit next week.
- Cole Hamels and Kyle Wright took significant hits as well. Hamels was far the sturdy arm you wanted in his opening start, making the distance between him and the other Tobys (Porcello, Arrieta, Lester, etc.) plenty closer. Wright’s fastball command is lacking and while he could suddenly break out in a blink of an eye, he could also be out of a job in a week or two.
- The pair of Sonny Gray and Luke Weaver also looked far from ideal in their opening starts, forcing a sizeable drop in the ranks. They both could be given the TIARA (Turn It Around Right Away) and perform well on a dime, but for now, you’re safer going elsewhere and waiting until they perform.
- We have a good amount of players joining The List this week. Sandy Alcantara impressed with his eight shutout innings, looking more polished with his heater than expected. Marcus Stroman showcased whiffability – finally! – as he jumped into mid-80s with his teammate Aaron Sanchez (who is sporting increased velocity himself!). Trevor Williams continues to defy everything I know about pitching, Lucas Giolito had a small tick more heat with secondary pitches inside the strikezone, and Frankie Montas‘ new splitter could hint at an increase in strikeouts.
- At the very end, Matt Shoemaker and Jake Odorizzi each got a spot as possible streamers for their stellar performances. Maybe it clicks in the near future against weaker opponents, maybe not. A decent option to consider now.
(Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)
