The List 8/24 – Ranking The Top 100 Starting Pitchers Every Monday

We’re back in the regular groove of Monday afternoon updates of The List! As always, make sure to read the notes as there are many changes that have good reasons behind them.

As always, these ranks are based on a 12-teamer, 5×5 roto format. Adjust accordingly to your situation.

 

Ranking Notes

 

• Next week will be the final week of the traditional “List” rankings as I’ll shift to a giant table showcasing future opponents and separating everyone in major tiers. I wish we had more time for the traditional List but that’s 2020 for ya.
• Also, look at that Fringe Pitchers table. It’s ENORMOUS. So many talented pitchers who are just not given the chance or have health against them. I just wish they could all be dope.

 

• Tier one is smaller this week as Max Scherzer imploded against the Marlins. You obviously shouldn’t be scared starting Scherzer, but Cole / Bieber / deGrom sure aren’t going to have a start like that.
• Walker Buehler is the one knocking at the door as he finally woke up this past week. He’s over 90 pitches now and looking like the Top 5 arm we expected in the pre-season. To consider him something else moving forward wouldn’t be wise.

 

• Tier two doesn’t have any major changes otherwise so onto Tier 3 where we get a good amount of arms rectifying their ranks from last week. Patrick Corbin’s velocity improved and I’m pulling him back up because of it. Chris Paddack’s fastball was as good as we’ve seen all season, and Lucas Giolito is having success with fastballs and changeups again. Still a little wary of the latter, but that’s alright.
• Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are both up to speed with their pitch counts now and while I initially had Glasnow ahead, Snell’s 15%+ SwStr was the tiebreaker to favor him as the premier arm in Tampa Bay.

 

• It pained me to drop Jack Flaherty so far down to Tier 4, but after lasting for just five outs and on a very short leash, I had to demote him. It’s going to take a moment before we get a chance at six frames again and we only have five weeks left!
• Carlos Carrasco and Frankie Montas each took significant hits and for obvious reasons. Montas had the worst week after dealing with a back issue, leading to poor command across his repertoire. Carrasco’s last three starts have also come with poor command, especially with his slider and changeup. Here’s to hoping both can turn it around in a heartbeat.

 

• I feel I should also mention Jose Berrios and his climb back to Tier 4. I need to take it a little slow as it was just one outing, but his curveball was on and if that sticks, so will his success.
• German Marquez had the opposite – his slider disappeared completely. It’s the pitch that vaulted him in 2018 and earlier this season and I’m crossing my fingers it was just one of those days.

 

• Tier 5 is where you’ll find the latest contenders for Spider-Man as these Tobys are doing their thing and we love it. Don’t expect a ton of strikeouts, but appreciate the Wins and Ratios and keep starting them religiously.
• Yes, that includes Dustin May. If people are still treating him as if he’s on the verge of being an ace, deal him. His approach just isn’t made for strikeouts.

 

• Tier 6 is the final tier of arms that I’m thrilled to hold in all leagues. I’m a fan of Jordan Montgomery’s improvement in his rain-shortened start against Boston and heavily believe in a strong stretch ahead. Pablo Lopez has found his groove with fastball command, changeup whiffs, and cutters for strikes, and I’d love to see it continue. Then there’s Corbin Burnes who has a great schedule ahead, is stretched out, and has all the tools he needs for some legit strikeout games.
• It may be too high for Sixto Sanchez and Triston McKenzie given their questionable playing time ahead, but their skill set speaks of a spot in Tier 4. They are both getting at least one more turn in the rotation and the chance they could stick for longer warrants their Top 50 spots.

 

• Tier 7 and Tier 8 is where it gets tricky. To understand T7, I need to explain Tier 8 first. That’s where we have all the Cherry Bomb players, better yet, they could be labeled as a PEAS as they have the potential to breakout in a big way, but are too risky to chase right now.
• That includes Luke Weaver even after Sunday’s start as his fastball isn’t quite as good as it needs to be. Spencer Turnbull and Garrett Richards are also closer than the rest to achieving their greatness, but there’s also Matthew Boyd who finally had success, but did so on the back of his changeup and not his signature slider. Weird.

 

• Okay, so back to Tier 7, I currently feel more confident starting these names than the risky upside plays in Tier 8. Dylan Cease and Elieser Hernandez also have the Cherry Bomb label, but they have been less volatile as of late and make for better options. Same goes for Framber Valdez who I don’t believe in long term as his sinker is questionable, but I can’t deny his string of success any longer.
• You may be confused about Brad Keller and Dakota Hudson hanging around at 58 and 59. Keller’s new curveball is causing fits that have helped him hold a 0.00 ERA through three starts. Hudson’s slider and curveball have improved from last year and he could find himself in the Tier 5 of Spider-Man arms soon enough. They’re safer than Tier 8 and the boring Tobys of Tier 10 and 11.

 

• Before #10 is Tier 9, where I made a mini-grouping of other volatile arms, but ones I like a little less and can mostly be considered as stashes. Tarik Skubal is an arm I am excited about long-term, but he needs more time to polish his stuff and get properly stretched out. Josh Lindblom isn’t there with his velocity, nor his secondary stuff to get the whiffs yet. And you’re on your own dealing with Jon Gray.
• I’m very cautious with Rich Hill as well. He’s been sitting at just 88 mph in his first two starts, has already hit the IL a second time, and isn’t stretched out to go the 5/6 innings you want. Be careful.

 

• Alright, Tier 10 for real now. We have some fun names here starting with Kyle Freeland, who has proven himself worthy of your consideration despite the rough Colorado schedule. There’s also Merrill Kelly demanding the same attention, though I don’t think his success lasts for long. Tyler Mahle is much of the same energy, though, as he has a start slated for this weekend and could be a good short term option.
• I had to give dramatic drops to Griffin Canning, Mike Minor, and Ross Stripling. Canning’s command has struggled lately and he’s a ticking clock given how PRP injections are usually not long-term solutions for elbow trouble. Minor’s fastball is still coming with depressed velocity as his changeup isn’t what it was last year, and Stripling hasn’t hit an 8% SwStr across any of his last five starts. These arms are not trending in the right direction.

 

• The final two tiers are two sets of boring arms that could help as streamers. Tier 11 begins with Alex Young, who is now stretched out for the Diamondbacks and has enough in his repertoire to make you a satisfied fantasy manager. Justus Sheffield follows fresh off a start with the best changeup he’s had in the majors. It may not stick, but it’s an exciting moment.
• While we don’t know the fate of Touki Toussaint after his week relief appearance, we do know Zach Davies will continue to get chances in the rotation as long as his changeup is locked in. So far so good there and we can give him a Vargas Rule label, just like with Adam Wainwright, who has shown few signs of slowing down despite the team’s long layover.

 

• And lastly, there’s Tier 12. I think JT Brubaker deserves a little more attention with a solid sinker and well-spotted slider, though he’s only to be used against weaker lineups. There’s also Kwang-Hyun Kim joining The List as he could be a decent Toby for the Cardinals as he continues to establish himself as a starter.
• We have a quartet of Giants arms joining The List this week between Logan Webb, Trevor Cahill, Tyler Anderson, and Johnny Cueto. Each present something different – Webb has a good fastball and could get enough from his secondary stuff to be a decent streamer, Anderson just threw a CG and could have another in him, Cahill just had another excellent CSW evening with phenomenal changeups, and Cueto somehow makes it work every so often.

 

 

All right, now that the notes are at the top and you understand where I’m coming from, let’s get to The List:

Rank	Pitcher	Badges	Change
1	Gerrit ColeT1	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-
2	Shane Bieber	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-
3	Jacob deGrom	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-
4	Walker Buehler T2	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+6
5	Max Scherzer	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-1
6	Sonny Gray	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-1
7	Trevor Bauer	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts Cherry Bomb	+2
8	Aaron Nola	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-1
9	Yu Darvish	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+4
10	Clayton Kershaw	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+2
11	Lance Lynn	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-
12	Luis Castillo	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-6
13	Kenta Maeda	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+2
14	Zac Gallen	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+2
15	Blake Snell T3	Aces Gonna Ace Injury Risk Strikeout Upside	+8
16	Dinelson Lamet	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside	+4
17	Aaron Civale	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts Ratio Focused Streaming Option	+4
18	Jesús Luzardo	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside	+6
19	Tyler Glasnow	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Low Ips	-2
20	Chris Paddack	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+6
21	Patrick Corbin	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+10
22	Brandon Woodruff	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-3
23	Julio Urías	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+4
24	Lucas Giolito	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+6
25	Max Fried	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside	+3
26	Jack Flaherty T4	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts Playing Time Question	-12
27	Zack Wheeler	Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+5
28	Zack Greinke	Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts	-3
29	Dylan Bundy	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb	-
30	Carlos Carrasco	Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-22
31	Germán Márquez	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb	-9
32	Frankie Montas	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-14
33	José Berríos	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	+6
34	Lance McCullers Jr.	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Low Ips	-1
35	Hyun Jin Ryu T5	Ace Potential Injury Risk Quality Starts Ratio Focused	+2
36	Kyle Hendricks	Ace Potential Quality Starts Ratio Focused	-2
37	Dustin May	Low Ips Playing Time Question Ratio Focused	-2
38	Randy Dobnak	Quality Starts Toby Ratio Focused	+9
39	Dallas Keuchel	Toby Ratio Focused	+1
40	Jordan Montgomery T6	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Streaming Option Stash Option	+4
41	Pablo López	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+8
42	Casey Mize	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Stash Option	+14
43	Sixto Sánchez	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question	+UR
44	Corbin Burnes	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+17
45	Triston McKenzie	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question	+UR
46	Kevin Gausman	Ace Potential Quality Starts Toby Ratio Focused Streaming Option	+5
47	Masahiro Tanaka	Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Ratio Focused	-6
48	Chris Bassitt	Strikeout Upside Toby Ratio Focused Streaming Option	-6
49	Dylan Cease T7	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Low Ips Cherry Bomb	+22
50	Elieser Hernández	Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+20
51	Adrian Houser	Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Streaming Option	-3
52	Ryan Yarbrough	Toby Ratio Focused	+1
53	Anthony DeSclafani	Strikeout Upside Toby	+14
54	Sean Manaea	Injury Risk Ratio Focused	+14
55	Cristian Javier	Strikeout Upside Low Ips Cherry Bomb	+18
56	Yusei Kikuchi	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Toby Streaming Option	+1
57	Brad Keller	Toby Streaming Option	+37
58	Dakota Hudson	Toby Streaming Option	+21
59	Framber Valdez	Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+33
60	Chad Kuhl	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-2
61	Luke Weaver T8	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Quality Starts Cherry Bomb Ratio Focused	+14
62	Garrett Richards	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	-16
63	Spencer Turnbull	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	-25
64	Andrew Heaney	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb	-14
65	Matthew Boyd	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb	+20
66	Robbie Ray	Ace Potential Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Low Ips Cherry Bomb	-2
67	John Means	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Quality Starts	-2
68	Tarik Skubal T9	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-5
69	Josh Lindblom	Ace Potential Injury Risk Quality Starts Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb Toby Ratio Focused	-17
70	Rich Hill	Injury Risk Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	+UR
71	Jon Gray	Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb	+7
72	Kyle Freeland T10	Cherry Bomb Toby Ratio Focused Streaming Option	-3
73	Tyler Mahle	Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Streaming Option	+UR
74	Nathan Eovaldi	Strikeout Upside Toby Streaming Option	+9
75	Merrill Kelly	Toby Streaming Option	-1
76	Griffin Canning	Ace Potential Injury Risk Cherry Bomb	-21
77	Mike Minor	Ace Potential Quality Starts Ratio Focused	-17
78	Ross Stripling	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-42
79	Spencer Howard	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Stash Option	+5
80	Alex Young T11	Playing Time Question Toby Streaming Option	+15
81	Justus Sheffield	Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+18
82	Alex Cobb	Toby Streaming Option	+8
83	Taijuan Walker	Toby Streaming Option	+13
84	Brady Singer	Strikeout Upside Quality Starts Ratio Focused Streaming Option	-2
85	Zach Davies	Toby Streaming Option	+12
86	Touki Toussaint	Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Low Ips Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-27
87	Adam Wainwright	Toby Streaming Option	+UR
88	JT Brubaker T12	Playing Time Question Toby Streaming Option	+UR
89	Kwang Hyun Kim	Toby Streaming Option	+UR
90	Ryan Castellani	Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	-14
91	Kyle Gibson	Strikeout Upside Low Ips Cherry Bomb	-14
92	Asher Wojciechowski	Strikeout Upside Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	+1
93	Zach Eflin	Toby Streaming Option	-6
94	Brandon Bielak	Playing Time Question Ratio Focused Streaming Option	-14
95	Logan Webb	Toby Streaming Option	+UR
96	Trevor Cahill	Playing Time Question Toby Streaming Option	+UR
97	Tyler Anderson	Toby Streaming Option	+UR
98	Johnny Cueto	Toby Ratio Focused Streaming Option	+UR
99	Patrick Sandoval	Strikeout Upside Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb Streaming Option	-8
100	Marco Gonzales	Toby Streaming Option	-

Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)