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 | Madison Bumgarner | 11 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Jose Fernandez | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 7 | Stephen Strasburg | 7 | 7 | 12 |
| 8 | Max Scherzer | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | Jacob DeGrom | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | Carlos Carrasco | 19 | 9 | 19 |
| 11 | Corey Kluber | 8 | 8 | 11 |
| 12 | David Price | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| 13 | Johnny Cueto | 26 | 26 | 30 |
| 14 | Danny Salazar | 21 | 21 | 23 |
| 15 | Steven Matz | 23 | 23 | 27 |
| 16 | Aaron Nola | 36 | 36 | 48 |
| 17 | Yu Darvish | 32 | 32 | 44 |
| 18 | Jon Lester | 17 | 17 | 19 |
| 19 | Zack Greinke | 15 | 14 | 17 |
| 20 | Jose Quintana | 28 | 28 | 39 |
| 21 | Rich Hill | 56 | 48 | 105 |
| 22 | Matt Harvey | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| 23 | Masahiro Tanaka | 39 | 37 | 39 |
| 24 | Gerrit Cole | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| 25 | Cole Hamels | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 26 | Justin Verlander | 30 | 28 | 31 |
| 27 | Lance McCullers | 43 | 36 | 43 |
| 28 | Joe Ross | 31 | 31 | 35 |
| 29 | John Lackey | 65 | 54 | 67 |
| 30 | Drew Pomeranz | 57 | 52 | 172 |
| 31 | Kevin Gausman | 68 | 53 | 72 |
| 32 | Kyle Hendricks | 61 | 47 | 61 |
| 33 | Carlos Martinez | 27 | 23 | 27 |
| 34 | Chris Archer | 14 | 14 | 16 |
| 35 | Jeff Samardzija | 63 | 55 | 78 |
| 36 | Jason Hammel | 60 | 50 | 68 |
| 37 | Jaime Garcia | 38 | 31 | 38 |
| 38 | Jordan Zimmermann | 40 | 40 | 53 |
| 39 | Marcus Stroman | 25 | 20 | 26 |
| 40 | Aaron Sanchez | 69 | 51 | 236 |
| 41 | Jake Odorizzi | 34 | 34 | 43 |
| 42 | Taijuan Walker | 29 | 29 | 50 |
| 43 | Dallas Keuchel | 18 | 15 | 18 |
| 44 | Felix Hernandez | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 45 | Sonny Gray | 25 | 25 | 29 |
| 46 | Michael Fulmer | 59 | 59 | 254 |
| 47 | Drew Smyly | 22 | 22 | 33 |
| 48 | Vincent Velasquez | 37 | 37 | 72 |
| 49 | Steven Wright | 73 | 73 | 222 |
| 50 | Tanner Roark | 53 | 53 | 142 |
| 51 | Kenta Maeda | 54 | 35 | 63 |
| 52 | Wei-Yin Chen | 55 | 53 | 60 |
| 53 | Chris Tillman | 107 | 100 | 129 |
| 54 | Julio Teheran | 57 | 57 | 116 |
| 55 | Matt Shoemaker | 81 | 81 | 124 |
| 56 | Nathan Eovaldi | 87 | 67 | 94 |
| 57 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 55 | 37 | 68 |
| 58 | Jerad Eickhoff | 60 | 45 | 70 |
| 59 | Marco Estrada | 67 | 67 | 91 |
| 60 | Michael Wacha | 61 | 45 | 61 |
| 61 | Gio Gonzalez | 58 | 55 | 58 |
| 62 | Ian Kennedy | 58 | 56 | 69 |
| 63 | Carlos Rodon | 63 | 39 | 63 |
| 64 | Mike Leake | 68 | 68 | 127 |
| 65 | Jameson Taillon | 64 | 64 | 188 |
| 66 | Blake Snell | 65 | 62 | 85 |
| 67 | Alex Reyes | 330 | 330 | 330 |
| 68 | Tyler Glasnow | 66 | 66 | 86 |
| 69 | Edinson Volquez | 56 | 56 | 95 |
| 70 | Collin McHugh | 69 | 59 | 88 |
| 71 | Jon Gray | 77 | 77 | 144 |
| 72 | J.A. Happ | 72 | 72 | 90 |
| 73 | Archie Bradley | 94 | 94 | 135 |
| 74 | Anthony DeSclafani | 110 | 80 | 110 |
| 75 | Adam Conley | 84 | 72 | 120 |
| 76 | Rick Porcello | 62 | 51 | 70 |
| 77 | Josh Tomlin | 75 | 72 | 87 |
| 78 | Jeremy Hellickson | 88 | 88 | 153 |
| 79 | Hisashi Iwakuma | 79 | 40 | 79 |
| 80 | Junior Guerra | 329 | 329 | 329 |
| 81 | James Shields | 76 | 46 | 77 |
| 82 | Scott Kazmir | 80 | 66 | 80 |
| 83 | Nate Karns | 93 | 63 | 93 |
| 84 | Michael Pineda | 82 | 24 | 82 |
| 85 | Tyson Ross | 78 | 44 | 78 |
| 86 | Jimmy Nelson | 85 | 85 | 111 |
| 87 | Yordano Ventura | 86 | 50 | 86 |
| 88 | Adam Wainwright | 64 | 22 | 84 |
| 89 | James Paxton | 121 | 81 | 121 |
| 90 | Alex Cobb | 101 | 92 | 101 |
| 91 | Zack Wheeler | 102 | 93 | 103 |
| 92 | Bartolo Colon | 92 | 92 | 143 |
| 93 | Sean Manaea | 108 | 69 | 327 |
| 94 | Danny Duffy | 142 | 127 | 142 |
| 95 | Josh Hader | 331 | 331 | 331 |
| 96 | Joe Musgrove | 332 | 332 | 332 |
| 97 | Mike Fiers | 99 | 68 | 99 |
| 98 | Julio Urias | 101 | 77 | 117 |
| 99 | Doug Fister | 147 | 133 | 147 |
| 100 | Derek Holland | 113 | 90 | 113 |
Notes
– Very small changes in the Top 20 this week. Madison Bumgarner gets the call to #5 despite the amazing performances of Jose Fernandez and Stephen Strasburg. His longevity makes him slightly more valuable, especially with JoFer’s inevitable shut down this season.
– I’m back on the Matt Harvey train after a pair of strong appearances, while Gerrit Cole’s stock is slowly falling as he fails to live up to his upside.
– Chris Archer has continued his struggles but there is still some hope that at some point he puts on a run similiar to his 2015 first half. Don’t invest too heavily into that.
– Despite playing against the hottest offense in baseball two times in a row, it’s tough to keep the faith in Marcus Stroman. However, his under-the-hood numbers present a pitcher well underperforming and I think we’ll see an improved pitcher – not the same Top 20 upside – moving forward.
– The news of Raisel Iglesias coming out of the pen this season demolishes his fantasy value. While he may wind up being a closer or holds guy, his relevance on this list is all but destroyed.
– I want to remark about the general lack of excitement from the low 30s and beyond, which gets emphasized near #50. Often times there are many talented pitchers that need to be owner hovering around the #50 mark, but this season is presenting too many low floor pitchers for there to be a consistent foundation at the middle mark. Expect it to keep changing week-to-week, with possible stability coming later in the season when more pitchers come up through the ranks.
– For example, a guy like Michael Fulmer is now Top 50 since he’s expressed top-of-the-line upside for three straight starts after trusting in his Changeup. He has a major test today against the Blue Jays, but if he succeeds, he’ll be one of the more talked about young starters.
– Then there’s Matt Shoemaker who has been on fire. It could come crashing down swiftly, but given the lack of options that here definitively above the Waiver Wire FodderTM, it makes it tough not to make him Top 60 this week.
– Anthony DeSclafani rejoins The List this week as he returns from the DL on Friday. Don’t expect success right off the bat, but he could be a solid asset for a 12 teamer.
– Junior Guerra isn’t an exciting hurler in Milwaukee, but he’s been serviceable and deserves a spot above some very inconsistent options.
– Since the lack of talent is shocking this year, many prospects including Josh Hader, Joe Musgrove, and Alex Reyes have been added.
– It’s time to say goodbye to Tyler Duffey who struggled twice against strong teams, then couldn’t recover against two poor offenses last week. He may return in the future, but cut your losses and move on.
– Also leaving The List this week was Alex Wood (DL), Francisco Liriano (Walk problems), Mike Clevinger (Optioned to AAA), Mike Foltynewicz (DL), and Juan Nicasio (General mehness).