Every Monday, I will be releasing “The List” where I rank the current value of the Top 100 pitchers in fantasy baseball for the rest of the season. Use these rankings to help understand what to expect from pitchers for the rest of 2016, and as a tool to gauge trade value in your fantasy leagues.
Note: We’re working on fixing the “prev” column. They may be a bit off this week.
Let’s see how the SP landscape has changed since last week:
| Rank | Player | Prev | Best | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jake Arrieta | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Chris Sale | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Noah Syndergaard | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | Max Scherzer | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Jose Fernandez | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | Stephen Strasburg | 7 | 7 | 12 |
| 8 | Madison Bumgarner | 11 | 5 | 11 |
| 9 | Jacob DeGrom | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | Corey Kluber | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| 11 | David Price | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| 12 | Gerrit Cole | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| 13 | Matt Harvey | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | Chris Archer | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| 15 | Carlos Carrasco | 19 | 9 | 19 |
| 16 | Jon Lester | 17 | 17 | 19 |
| 17 | Zack Greinke | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| 18 | Danny Salazar | 21 | 21 | 23 |
| 19 | Drew Smyly | 22 | 22 | 33 |
| 20 | Johnny Cueto | 26 | 26 | 30 |
| 21 | Aaron Nola | 36 | 36 | 48 |
| 22 | Felix Hernandez | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 23 | Jose Quintana | 28 | 28 | 39 |
| 24 | Steven Matz | 23 | 23 | 27 |
| 25 | Marcus Stroman | 25 | 20 | 26 |
| 26 | Cole Hamels | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 27 | Taijuan Walker | 29 | 29 | 50 |
| 28 | Joe Ross | 31 | 31 | 35 |
| 29 | Yu Darvish | 32 | 32 | 44 |
| 30 | Jaime Garcia | 38 | 31 | 38 |
| 31 | Carlos Martinez | 27 | 23 | 27 |
| 32 | Masahiro Tanaka | 39 | 37 | 39 |
| 33 | Jordan Zimmermann | 40 | 40 | 53 |
| 34 | Kenta Maeda | 35 | 35 | 63 |
| 35 | Jeff Samardzija | 63 | 55 | 78 |
| 36 | Kyle Hendricks | 61 | 47 | 61 |
| 37 | Lance McCullers | 43 | 36 | 43 |
| 38 | Kevin Gausman | 68 | 53 | 72 |
| 39 | Justin Verlander | 30 | 28 | 31 |
| 40 | Jason Hammel | 60 | 50 | 68 |
| 41 | Drew Pomeranz | 57 | 52 | 172 |
| 42 | Rich Hill | 56 | 48 | 105 |
| 43 | John Lackey | 65 | 54 | 67 |
| 44 | Gio Gonzalez | 58 | 55 | 58 |
| 45 | Jake Odorizzi | 34 | 34 | 43 |
| 46 | Dallas Keuchel | 18 | 15 | 18 |
| 47 | Sonny Gray | 25 | 25 | 29 |
| 48 | Raisel Iglesias | 42 | 26 | 42 |
| 49 | Vincent Velasquez | 37 | 37 | 72 |
| 50 | Rick Porcello | 66 | 51 | 70 |
| 51 | Tyler Duffey | 64 | 64 | 112 |
| 52 | Aaron Sanchez | 69 | 51 | 236 |
| 53 | Jose Berrios | 44 | 44 | 84 |
| 54 | Michael Wacha | 50 | 45 | 57 |
| 55 | Wei-Yin Chen | 55 | 53 | 60 |
| 56 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 54 | 37 | 68 |
| 57 | Edinson Volquez | 67 | 64 | 95 |
| 58 | Adam Conley | 91 | 72 | 120 |
| 59 | Jerad Eickhoff | 45 | 45 | 70 |
| 60 | Francisco Liriano | 48 | 41 | 48 |
| 61 | Blake Snell | 82 | 62 | 85 |
| 62 | Jon Gray | 144 | 129 | 144 |
| 63 | Ian Kennedy | 59 | 56 | 69 |
| 64 | Juan Nicasio | 74 | 57 | 208 |
| 65 | Tyson Ross | 51 | 44 | 63 |
| 66 | J.A. Happ | 77 | 75 | 90 |
| 67 | Nathan Eovaldi | 87 | 67 | 94 |
| 68 | Michael Pineda | 47 | 24 | 55 |
| 69 | Carlos Rodon | 41 | 39 | 46 |
| 70 | Patrick Corbin | 46 | 31 | 46 |
| 71 | Chris Tillman | 107 | 100 | 129 |
| 72 | Alex Wood | 95 | 90 | 130 |
| 73 | Julio Teheran | 93 | 89 | 116 |
| 74 | Hisashi Iwakuma | 49 | 40 | 61 |
| 75 | Hector Santiago | 62 | 59 | 128 |
| 76 | Marco Estrada | 90 | 76 | 91 |
| 77 | Yordano Ventura | 52 | 50 | 71 |
| 78 | Scott Kazmir | 75 | 66 | 80 |
| 79 | Nate Karns | 93 | 63 | 93 |
| 80 | John Lamb | 78 | 75 | 82 |
| 81 | Bartolo Colon | 105 | 97 | 143 |
| 82 | Matt Moore | 70 | 56 | 113 |
| 83 | James Shields | 71 | 46 | 77 |
| 84 | Tanner Roark | 92 | 85 | 142 |
| 85 | Steven Wright | 222 | 215 | 222 |
| 86 | Rubby De La Rosa | 129 | 107 | 129 |
| 87 | Josh Tomlin | 73 | 72 | 87 |
| 88 | Jameson Taillon | 81 | 81 | 188 |
| 89 | Tyler Glasnow | 85 | 75 | 86 |
| 90 | Julio Urias | 86 | 77 | 117 |
| 91 | Adam Wainwright | 64 | 22 | 84 |
| 92 | Trevor Bauer | 136 | 119 | 136 |
| 93 | Mike Foltynewicz | 316 | 312 | 316 |
| 94 | Alex Cobb | 101 | 92 | 101 |
| 95 | Zack Wheeler | 102 | 93 | 103 |
| 96 | Michael Fulmer | 69 | 68 | 254 |
| 97 | Sean Manaea | 70 | 69 | 327 |
| 98 | Mike Fiers | 95 | 68 | 98 |
| 99 | Jimmy Nelson | 111 | 97 | 111 |
| 100 | Mike Leake | 100 | 99 | 127 |
Notes
– Some more shuffling here and there in the Top 20, but nothing too drastic. I still believe Corey Kluber to be more a consistent producer than David Price, though it is the one I wrestled with the most. Also, let’s welcome Johnny Cueto to the Top 20. I’ve been loud in expressing my uneasiness endorsing Cueto, but I can’t run away from his numbers forever.
– Steven Matz takes a small dive given his current injury questions. All indications are that he’ll be okay, though another skipped start is probably in order.
– Meanwhile, Aaron Nola is still blowing away expectations – even mine – and given the general lull of great pitching this year, he keeps rising.
– The biggest changes are within the Top 50. Alongside teammate Johnny Cueto, I’ve been hard on Jeff Samardzija who keeps denying me over and over. While I don’t believe a major breakout ala 2014 is in order, given how inconsistent many other pitchers have been it’s time to acknowledge the solid foundation he’s given owners.
– Other big jumps go to Kyle Hendricks, Jason Hammel, John Lackey, and Gio Gonzalez. The trio of Cubs starters have all been impressive, especially Hendricks whose command and groundball rates are giving him a stable floor. Gio has done little to deter me and while I am a bit hesitant given his past, he’s a better asset than I’ve been giving him credit.
– Then there are a pair of pitchers who have completely baffled owners. Sonny Gray is struggling to command his breaking balls, which were the crux of his success in previous seasons. Dallas Keuchel can’t grab the corners like he has in the past, and while it’s possible he makes adjustments to get back to where he was, it’s a tough bet to make.
– Another disappointing starter has been Jake Odorizzi who is holding just a 7.25 K/9 and 4.11 xFIP (3.99 SIERA) through his first eight starts. He’s not dangerous for owners to hold onto, though he isn’t producing, causing him to fall back to just past his pre-season ranking.
– Jon Gray makes significant jump given his success outside (and once inside!) of Coors. I’m not sold that this will be a long term thing, still you might as well jump on that train now and see how it plays out.
– The trio of Michael Pineda, Carlos Rodon, and Patrick Corbin, all have their types of upside, though their current performances are labeling them as droppable entities. If you’re chasing upside, it might be in your best interest to chase them, and they are ranked thusly for long-term production, not for the short-term.
– The reverse of which are Alex Wood and Hector Santiago, who are both showing signs of production in the short term. Wood has another two good starts ahead of him after bringing owners a pair of solid starts in the past week, while Santiago is featuring the increased velocity that made us fans early in the season.
– Joining The List this week are Trevor Bauer, Mike Foltynewicz, Jimmy Nelson, and Mike Leake. Bauer has been impressive his last two outings, though his walk rate could bite you if you invest heavily. Folty is starting to show some of upside and can be a high risk/high reward streamer, Leake can be a decent streamer and has woken up in the past week, and Nelson brings intriguing upside that can come out here and there.
– To make room, Ross Stripling, Aaron Blair, Collin McHugh, Luis Severino, and Nick Tropeano have been ousted. Stripling nor Blair have the upside to confidently stream, Tropeano has been struggling too frequently, McHugh has a lot of work left to do to get back to 2014, and Severino hit the DL to top off his incredibly disappointing 2016 season.