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The List 5/22: Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Week 8 Fantasy Baseball 2023

5/22 - Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2023

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

Want an earlier update to The List? Join me on Mondays at 1:00pm ET as I live-stream its creation each week!

Have questions? My “office hours” are on Twitch 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. Second is a table of pitchers outside the Top 100 I considered. Please read this if you can’t find your guy.
  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:

Injured Players Table

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 – often times 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.

Now let’s take a look at the pitchers I considered for the Top 100 but didn’t quite make the cut:

 

Other Pitchers I Considered (Not Ranked In Order)

 

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 (DL Hall and Gavin Stone for example), 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.

 

 

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 Workhorses

 

1. Gerrit Cole – AGA. Still the one we trust for a full season of production at the highest level.

2. Spencer Strider – AGA. Stumbled but we don’t care.

3. Shane McClanahan – AGA. Yep, he’s still dope and makes us feel dope.

4. Shohei Ohtani – AGA. The ERA woes weren’t destined to stick around, ya’ll.

5. Zac GallenAGA. I know it’s weird to elevate him to this tier after his worst start of the year, but I think I should have last time and I’m not worried about the blip.

6. Kevin Gausman – AGA. He’s been insane.

 

Tier 2 – AGA Without The UNREAL factor

 

7. Luis Castillo – AGA. Has been a little off lately and I hope he gets his footing with the warmer weather as he normally does.

8. Corbin Burnes – AGA. The curve and slider are coming back…

9. Zack Wheeler – AGA. His fastballs are still incredible as they propel a super high innings-per-start.

10. Clayton Kershaw – AGA. He’s the TATIAGA and there’s no way I’m lowering him after the emotional toll he endured in his last start.

11. Joe Ryan AGA. The man doesn’t stop. You should listen to Alex Fast talk to him 1-on-1 on our Talking Pitching podcast. Super insightful.

12. Cristian Javier – AGA. He’s still the same guy we know and love.

13. Justin Verlander – AGA. I wonder if I’m going to lower him into Holly territory with time this year as the strikeout rate could be sub 25% this season. For now, I’m going to stay optimistic.

 

Tier 3 – Potential Aces

 

14. Sandy Alcantara – It feels awfully weird to remove his AGA tag, but I don’t ignore the actual results even if I think he’s been incredibly unfortunate. A .472 BABIP on his changeup is just dumb and will correct itself.

15. Pablo López – He’s one start away from his AGA label as the velocity and stuff has stuck.

16. Aaron Nola – He had a redemption start as Nola looked like his old self. Do it again and we’ll likely propel him above Verlander.

17. Framber Valdez – The new cutter is great…except he just had the weirdest CGSHO against the Athletics where his cutter and curve were terrible. That sinker found called strikes and so many outs. Welcome to Jokeland.

18. Max Scherzer – He’s endured so many injuries including an opened callous on his thumb and yet he’s still produced lately. Props to him, just get that slider back please and avoid the IL.

19. Yu Darvish – Darvish is throwing more sliders but still doesn’t have the pristine command that would spell AGA dominance with consistency. Still start him every time, though.

20. Logan Gilbert – I’ve been swayed heavily by his new splitter, finally giving Gilbert a putaway pitch that isn’t his four-seamer. The 30% strikeout rate could stay elevated throughout the year because of it.

21. George Kirby – I wish he had the same putaway pitch that Gilbert had, but I do like his four-seamer more + the curve and slider are more reliable. The edge goes to Gilbert for the higher strikeout consistency.

22. Chris Sale – The outrageous luck of April has subsided as Sale is sitting 95/96 mph with as good of a slider as ever. He just need to keep it going + add the changeup at this point.

23. Tyler Glasnow – Glasnow is expected to finally make his return from TJS later this week and I’d honestly start him as he threw around 75 pitches in his final rehab start. He could rise into AGA territory in a few starts if everything is on point, though I have to dock him points as we unfurl the scroll containing his injury history.

24. Freddy Peralta – Speaking of injury history, Peralta has been able to stave off any injuries thus far and despite a few middling starts lately, his breakers are earning strikes again. I still dig this.

 

Tier 4 – Stability And Excitement

 

25. Chris Bassitt – As much as I want Bassitt in the higher tier, I see him as the pinnacle of a Holly and lacking the strikeouts to suggest he gets an AGA label. I very much hope to wrong later this season.

26. Shane Bieber – The trends are suggesting a massive implosion on the horizon for Bieber, but they have been for about 18 months now and yet he’s still been a solid play in your 12-teamers. The slider whiffs are harder to come by, the curve is used far less, and the higher lean on the cutter is…okay, all while the four-seamer hovers 91 mph. It’s not great and he’s ultimately just a Hollynot a fantasy ace.

27. Logan Webb – I’m excited to see Webb finally return to a loopier slider as it returned 5/17 whiffs in his last outing. It suggests a hint of his 25%+ strikeout rates in the past, which is all we really want to see now from Webb as he’s proven the ability to go 6+ frames consistently. It would also help with the WHIP and prevent more hits. Here’s to hoping.

28. Nathan EovaldiHe slowed down against Atlanta but is still producing for fantasy squads. I don’t believe in his repertoire as much as others (I think his command is steering the ship moreso at the moment) but you have to hold on tight as he’s been just so dang good over the last four weeks.

29. Joe Musgrove – The slider is missing from Musgrove, but his curveball was fantastic. I’m worried that he has to ask too much of his four-seamer right now. He’s not Musgrove without both his curve and slider dominating.

30. Bryce Miller – The fastball is divine. He “passed” the test against Atlanta and you have to imagine he gets better with more time on the MLB bump.

31. Mitch KellerThe command is phenomenal as he limits hard contact. I’ll keep rising him on The List as long as it sticks.

32. Nestor Cortes – In my view, the biggest problem with Cortes was his lack of slider strikes and once we saw him nail the pitch against the Jays, Cortes was able to produce for your fantasy squads. Here’s to hoping the slider is back for good.

33. Sonny GrayI’m worried about his curveball and slider slipping from its April groove. If there’s one more rough outing, I think people will begin to jump ship and I understand why.

34. Charlie Morton – The man earned 20 whiffs on his curveball alone in his last start. I think he’s locked in y’all.

 

Tier 5 – Lots of Potential, Unknown Future

 

35. Dylan Cease – After a start of better fastballs with his fantastic Slider, Cease had nothing consistent against the Guardians and it’s been a slog the last 4/5 starts. He could be a TIARA if he finds his curve and/or four-seamer, but that feels like a hard bet to make right now, leaving us to label Cease as the best Cherry Bomb around.

36. Luis Severino – He looked good – not elite – in his first start back from the IL. I hope we see better sliders in his second start as he gets settled into the rotation. Severino could be rising up The List quickly as he has obvious AGA potential.

37. Justin Steele – The slider earned seven whiffs last time…but not a lot of chases as he didn’t get the pitch down. The four-seamer command is still there, though, so we hold steady.

38. Hunter Brown – He’s going BSB and I’m so here for it. With more starts showcasing consistency, Brown could easily be Top 30 by July.

39. James Paxton – Paxton looked great in his first start and did the same thing again in his second. And to think that he doesn’t even have a legit secondary back yet. The fastball is just dominating inside the zone at 96 mph.

40. Eury Pérez – I adore the potential of Pérez and expect him to improve with more starts in the bigs. It’s a wide arsenal with plenty of whiffability and I expect him to settle into 6+ innings consistently before too long.

 

 

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Tier 6 – The Edge Of The Cliff

 

41. Lance Lynn – Did you keep the faith? If so, you got a pair of Wins, many strikeouts, and lovely ratios this past week. I don’t think we’re completely out of the woods as Lynn has been gifted a wonderful schedule, but we hold for now and hope the redemption tour never ends.

42. Hunter Greene – The slider returned to get a whole lot of strikes, but the home run problem hasn’t been quelled. I think it’s worth it for the ridiculous stretch Greene is destined to have this season, but he does test our patience plenty.

43. Jesús Luzardo – I adore Luzardo’s four-seamer command + the plus ability of the breaker and changeup. He’s been one of the unluckiest pitchers around thus far and this ranking is a reflection of this moment-forward, which assumes that luck will regress to the mean. Sidenote: his slider and changeup are both sub-25th percentile in BABIP despite being sub 20% hard contact pitches. This won’t last.

44. Tanner Bibee – The full repertoire has a ton of potential, though his last start came without a reliable change or curve. Stick with this as I trust he’ll make the adjustments necessary.

45. Lucas Giolito – Giolito is relatively safe but my hopes for greatness are constantly dashed as his velocity came back down last start + his changeup is rarely elite. I just hope one day it clicks and he never looks back.

46. Reid Detmers – We all know how poor Detmers has been facing the lineup a third time and I have to believe that gets better in time. We saw the four-seamer get the results it deserved in his last start + the slider was stupid good, propelling a twelve strikeout night. Y’all see the potential, too, and it’s hard to give up on the youngin’ at the moment. Maybe the change or curve development are the answer…

 

Tier 7 – Sturdy Hollys + A Few Risks

 

47. Zach Eflin – I don’t think I’ve seen a better version of Eflin across his entire career. The cutter is just so dang good + the curve and sinker are doing their part. Only question is if this holds.

48. Eduardo Rodriguez – I had to lower him after this Vargas Rule hit the wall against the Pirates, though that label may not have been fair. His cutter is the catalyst for success (or failure if it’s gone) and he didn’t have it against Pittsburgh. Let’s see if it returns.

49. Marcus Stroman – He’s a sturdy Quality Start arm and that’s a nice thing these days.

50. Taj Bradley – It’s fun watching Bradley (if you haven’t, I broke him down here) and we’re at the point where I’d risk chasing the ceiling of Bradley over the close-to-streamer options below.

51. Jon Gray – The fastball is at 96 mph and his harder slider is getting whiffs. What more do you want? It to last more than three weeks. Well, can’t help you there. Who knows with Gray.

52. Bailey OberThe schedule for the Twins is far from great in the near future, though Ober gets the better side of it and has been a solid mix of ratios and strikeouts.

53. Bobby Miller – He’s getting the call for the Dodgers on Tuesday and he carries an explosive fastball. A perfect spec-add with legit upside, but if you don’t want to drop anyone below, I understand. Do what’s best for you.

54. Merrill Kelly – Kelly has once again been Spider-Man and I can’t overlook that, even if I don’t think he’s that amazing.

55. Jordan Montgomery – The WHIP has been higher than I’ve liked, but he’s been teetering the Holly and Toby border all year.

 

Tier 8 – Intrigue, Safety, and Stashes

 

56. JP Sears – The whiffs are still here as he survived even the Astros. I find it hard to lean in as Sears opens himself up to damage with maybe too many pitches inside the zone + pitching for Oakland isn’t spectacular, but it’s getting hard to deny the strikeout upside.

57. Drew Smyly – The BSB is alive and well with his curveball and we hold until he tells us otherwise.

58. Alex Cobb – He’s super dependent on his splitter each night. It’s there the majority of evenings, but we may throw him into the Cherry Bomb tier in time.

59. Tony Gonsolin – Speaking of splitters, Gonsolin hasn’t had his best one lately, but it’s gotten outs while the fastball velocity is back. It’s fine, but I think we’ll see the horrid floor soon.

60. Andrew Heaney – He’s a Cherry Bomb who still struggles with his slider each night. When it’s on, though, it’s on.

61. Braxton Garrett – The new cutter is fascinating and has helped Garrett return a pair of fantastic performances. However, it’s getting hit harder than I’d like and I’d be careful throwing Garrett out there against tough lineups.

62. Logan Allen – He’s a Holly at best as the slider is good but not elite, while the changeup is fine and the fastball is commanded well around the zone. Solid for QS leagues as well.

63. Louie Varland – I want to raise Varland up further, but in the short term it’s really hard rostering him as he has four horrible matchups ahead. However, June 15th onward, I really like Varland. It’s up to you if you want to stash for that, risk those difficult starts, or try something else.

64. Blake Snell – I have Snell right under Varland as he feels like a stash play as well. The arsenal is out of whack at the moment with his slider and curve failing to find strikes, but there will be a moment it clicks this season. You can treat him like a prospect stash in the short term or if you need the spot, it may be best to let him go back to the wire.

65. J.P. France – The Astros are a great team to pitch for and France does enough with his repertoire to go six frames against all but the top tier offenses. Don’t expect a legit breakout, but even after a poor outing against the Cubs, I liked what I saw. There’s enough here for a stable hold in 12-teamers.

 

Tier 9 – The Better Cherry Bombs

 

66. Grayson Rodriguez – Ehhhhh, this is where the real cliff hits. Grayson is still intriguing as the Orioles haven’t demoted him, his four-seamer can be electric, and he still hasn’t found the command of his slider and changeup. One day…one day…

67. Edward Cabrera – He was able to throw 67% strikes with his fastballs last start and it helped him return zero walks. Sure wish I could believe it’ll stick.

68. Michael Kopech – Kopech’s last start was incredible, firing 99 mph in his final frame and sitting 97 mph with upstairs heaters against the Royals. He’s had these moments of greatness in the past, but at least he has a high floor start against the Guardians that shouldn’t burn you too badly if it’s a bad spin of the wheel.

69. Matthew Liberatore – I wasn’t all too impressed with his MLB debut – the Brewers made his four-seamer look better than it was and he didn’t have a reliable #3 pitch – but it’s possible he gets better with more time on the hill. He wasn’t April’s Triple-A pitcher of the month for nothing.

70. Brady Singer – He’s the same Cherry Bomb from 2021 and 2022. Take that as you will.

 

Tier 10 – The Traditional Tobys

 

71. Tyler Wells – Do I really buy in on his recent whiff surge? The command has been good on the fastball upstairs, but it still allows a ton of hard contact + I don’t adore all of the secondaries.

72. Anthony DeSclafani –  Don’t be upset at the drop from last week despite pitching better – it’s all about the tier groupings. He’s the same guy as before with fastballs and sliders, who should be started against middling teams and worse only.

73. Graham Ashcraft – It’s been a poor trio of weeks for Ashcraft as I hope we all sold high on him when we could. It’s really hard to buy the idea of him suddenly figuring out how to get whiffs on his hard cutter and heater.

74. Bryce Elder – The hard contact on all his pitches are far too high for me to buy into his 2023 surge.

75. Josiah Gray – I’m not sure I actually like his command enough for me to buy into Josiah long term. I was open to the idea that his cutter and slider usage was preventing him from using more fastballs, but now the heater has returned and it still terrifies me. Don’t hold Josiah too tightly.

76. Martín Pérez – He does his job against the weak teams as he should.

77. Patrick Sandoval – I’m a bit shocked to see The Irish Panda at a 17% strikeout rate and while that should change, he hasn’t had the slider & change to suggest otherwise. It’s gonna be a rocky road.

78. Tyler Anderson – The changeup shows up then disappears. Still a worthy option to stream, but not someone you have to roster.

79. Michael Wacha – Some nights he has his command and we just hope it’s around for a while. 10/30 changeup whiffs was pretty awesome to see.

80. Cal Quantrill – Quantrill finds a way with his sinker and cutter. He just does.

81. Alex Wood – I like the upcoming schedule but I recognize that Wood isn’t as reliable as his sinker/slider would suggest.

82. Michael Lorenzen – It’s a lovely schedule and he’s pulled off a trio of productive outings. I don’t buy into Lorenzen’s slider/change/curve secondaries (especially with the blegh cutter), which open the door for a horrible floor. You’re putting yourself at risk if you chase the schedule.

83. Dane Dunning – Same goes for Dunning. He fails to whiffs on his stuff and while he may good for a stream here and there, I don’t see him as a reliable arm throughout the season.

84. Miles Mikolas – Sure, if you want to chase Quality Starts without any strikeouts, Mikolas is a thing.

 

Tier 11 – Close Your Eyes

 

85. Jack Flaherty – This may seem awfully low to some and I completely understand. Personally, I’d rather not deal with it at all. That’s how I feel with all of these below, really. I’d rather chase the Toby types as a stream instead of holding on here and not even knowing when the good starts will come through, even against weak teams.

86. Johan Oviedo – Oviedo was incredible in his last start and I was tempted to raise him further…except I can’t buy that he’ll have the same fastball command next time out. We need two more games of it before I’m legit buying.

87. Brayan BelloHe earned 12 whiffs on sinkers + four-seamers last time out and that just doesn’t feel sustainable to me.

88. Domingo GermánDomingo was suspended for sticky stuff and is expected to return over the weekend. Is he as good as he was before without the extra grip?

89. MacKenzie GoreI imagine at some point this season Gore will go on the stretch I keep hinting at in my roundups. The four-seamer needs to be better commanded and he has to lock in with his curve and/or slider as well. We see it in flashes.

90. Brandon WilliamsonHe was cutter-heavy against the Rockies and survived in Coors. Maybe that’s good enough? I didn’t see an explosive arm you need to roster + young arms are generally more susceptible to the blow up than vets.

91. Kodai SengaYou may want Senga higher, but honestly, I just don’t trust the slider and fastball to pick up the slack when the ghost fork isn’t getting the job done. It’s pain.

92. José BerríosPain you say?

93. Alek ManoahPAAAAAAIIIIIN. He was better against the Orioles, but there are still so many things left to fix. I can’t do this.

94. Kyle Bradish – When he has more than the slider cooking, things are good. I can’t tell you when those starts are, sadly.

 

Tier 12 – Stream Considerations

 

95. Dean Kremer – The four-seamer is elevated, but the whole approach is too lackluster for me. He’s just a streamer.

96. Kyle Gibson – Like those in Tier 11, Gibson is so volatile. He’s down here because I find it harder to see a time where we actually buy him stripping himself of the Cherry Bomb label.

97. Taijuan Walker – He’s going 40%+ splitters now and it’s…okay. Y’all know splitters are volatile and it’s not even that great of one.

98. Marco Gonzales – Marco has solid command and gets the Athletics in the short term. Yay.

99. Kyle Hendricks – He’s expected to come back this week and who knows what we’re going to get. May be worthwhile to pick up and see what happens, but I reckon you’ll see a middling performance and he’ll be a Double Bubble.

100. Patrick Corbin – Hey, stop laughing at this. 6+ IP and 2 ER in four straight starts as he’s lowered his walk rate. Just saying.

 

SCROLL BACK UP AND READ THE NOTES

 

RankPitcherBadgesChange
1Gerrit ColeT1
Aces Gonna Ace
-
2Spencer Strider
Aces Gonna Ace
-
3Shane McClanahan
Aces Gonna Ace
-
4Shohei Ohtani
Aces Gonna Ace
-
5Zac Gallen
Aces Gonna Ace
-
6Kevin Gausman
Aces Gonna Ace
+2
7Luis Castillo
T2
Aces Gonna Ace
-1
8Corbin Burnes
Aces Gonna Ace
-1
9Zack Wheeler
Aces Gonna Ace
-
10Clayton Kershaw
Aces Gonna Ace
Injury Risk
-
11Joe Ryan
Aces Gonna Ace
-
12Cristian Javier
Aces Gonna Ace
+1
13Justin Verlander
Aces Gonna Ace
+1
14Sandy Alcantara
T3
Ace Potential
-2
15Pablo López
Ace Potential
+1
16Aaron Nola
Ace Potential
+2
17Framber Valdez
Ace Potential
+2
18Max Scherzer
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
+2
19Yu Darvish
Ace Potential
-2
20Logan Gilbert
Quality Starts
+15
21George Kirby
Quality Starts
+5
22Chris Sale
Ace Potential
+7
23Tyler Glasnow
Ace Potential
Injury Risk
+UR
24Freddy Peralta
Ace Potential
-2
25Chris Bassitt
T4
Quality Starts
+5
26Shane Bieber
Quality Starts
-5
27Logan Webb
Quality Starts
+4
28Nathan Eovaldi
Quality Starts
-1
29Joe Musgrove
Quality Starts
-5
30Bryce Miller
Ace Potential
+2
31Mitch Keller
Ace Potential
+3
32Nestor Cortes
Ace Potential
+13
33Sonny Gray
Quality Starts
-10
34Charlie Morton
Ace Potential
+8
35Dylan Cease
T5
Ace Potential
-10
36Luis Severino
Ace Potential
+UR
37Justin Steele
Quality Starts
+2
38Hunter Brown
Ace Potential
-1
39James Paxton
Injury Risk
Strikeout Upside
+9
40Eury Pérez
Ace Potential
-
41Lance Lynn
T6
Ace Potential
+5
42Hunter Greene
Ace Potential
-4
43Jesús Luzardo
Ace Potential
-15
44Tanner Bibee
Ace Potential
-11
45Lucas Giolito
Ace Potential
-1
46Reid Detmers
Ace Potential
+4
47Zach Eflin
T7
Quality Starts
+8
48Eduardo Rodriguez
Quality Starts
-12
49Marcus Stroman
Quality Starts
-2
50Taj Bradley
Ace Potential
+UR
51Jon Gray
Quality Starts
-
52Bailey Ober
Quality Starts
+1
53Bobby Miller
Ace Potential
+UR
54Merrill Kelly
Quality Starts
+9
55Jordan Montgomery
Quality Starts
-14
56
T8
Cherry Bomb
+4
57
Cherry Bomb
+15
58Alex Cobb
Quality Starts
-4
59Tony Gonsolin
Quality Starts
-1
60Andrew Heaney
Cherry Bomb
-3
61Braxton Garrett
Cherry Bomb
+10
62Logan Allen
Quality Starts
-6
63Louie Varland
Cherry Bomb
-14
64Blake Snell
Cherry Bomb
-21
65J.P. France
Quality Starts
-6
66Grayson Rodriguez
T9
Cherry Bomb
+1
67Edward Cabrera
Cherry Bomb
+7
68Michael Kopech
Cherry Bomb
+UR
69Matthew Liberatore
Cherry Bomb
+UR
70Brady Singer
Cherry Bomb
+5
71Tyler Wells
T10
Toby
+5
72Anthony DeSclafani
Toby
-7
73Graham Ashcraft
Toby
-7
74Bryce Elder
Toby
+5
75Josiah Gray
Toby
-14
76Martín Pérez
Toby
+4
77Patrick Sandoval
Toby
-15
78Tyler Anderson
Toby
+3
79Michael Wacha
Toby
+UR
80Cal Quantrill
Toby
+2
81Alex Wood
Toby
+UR
82Michael Lorenzen
Toby
+13
83Dane Dunning
Toby
+15
84Miles Mikolas
Toby
+UR
85Jack Flaherty
T11
Cherry Bomb
+6
86Johan Oviedo
Cherry Bomb
+4
87Brayan Bello
Cherry Bomb
+5
88Domingo Germán
Cherry Bomb
-18
89MacKenzie Gore
Cherry Bomb
-20
90Brandon Williamson
Cherry Bomb
+UR
91Kodai Senga
Cherry Bomb
-7
92José Berríos
Cherry Bomb
-4
93Alek Manoah
Cherry Bomb
-20
94Kyle Bradish
Cherry Bomb
-5
95Dean Kremer
T12
Streaming Option
-1
96Kyle Gibson
Streaming Option
-
97Taijuan Walker
Streaming Option
-12
98Marco Gonzales
Streaming Option
-1
99Kyle Hendricks
Streaming Option
-16
100Patrick Corbin
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

 

Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns 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.

6 responses to “The List 5/22: Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Week 8 Fantasy Baseball 2023”

  1. Frankie says:

    Josiah Gray is unfairly, perhaps on a gut feeling, being pushed down the ranks despite positive results. 4 QS and 2.00 ERA past month. Cannot argue with that. He is not getting hit hard (70th% in HardHit,) he has a sub-4.00 xERA which in this environment is above average!
    His schedule over the next few weeks ain’t bad. Gets KC and ARI, along with PHI and HOU. Sorry but JP Sears just handled Houston so anything is possible.
    I’m not running from matchups this season because we have all seen even the best matchups go south quick.

  2. Jay says:

    I think you’re being unfair with two pitchers: Eovaldi and especially Efflin. I feel their stuff has been better than you’re portraying here. They’re striking people out consistently and they’re in good situations in good teams. I think their past is informing you here way too much and that you’re not giving them enough credit for the improvements they’ve clearly made this season.

  3. B says:

    Paxton isn’t dominating shit

  4. Chris says:

    Thanks for all your hard work Nick. Thanks to these articles, I’ve been able to stay at the top of my leagues, and just flipped waiver wire pickups Keller, Bryce Miller, and Kelenic for Juan Soto. Lots of options to add as free agents as well like Taj, Bobby Miller, Detmers, Snell and other streaming options. Keep it up!

  5. Justin H says:

    I now own 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, and 30 in my league.

  6. Greg says:

    I’m writing to say nothing. I just felt sorry for you after seeing some of the other replies. Keep it going.

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