The List 8/7: Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Week 19 Fantasy Baseball 2023

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

Want an earlier update to The List? Join me on Mondays at 2:00 pm ET as I live-stream its creation each week!

Have questions? My “office hours” are on Playback.tv 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. Updated 6/6 – I am now adding an “Honorable Mentions” at the end of The List to cover all the other SP who are off The List. It replaces the “Others I Considered” table.
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:

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 – oftentimes 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.

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 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.

 

• As is tradition, I need to tell you about the guys who were removed and added from the Top 60, so you have context for the ranking shifts.
• Highest Added: Brandon Woodruff (11), Max Fried (12), Clayton Kershaw (14), Nestor Cortes (42), Eury Pérez (44)
• Highest Removed: Shane McClanahan (3), Joe Musgrove (8), Joe Ryan (18), Carlos Rodón (30), Marcus Stroman (56), Edward Cabrera (60)
• Net Change Inside Top 60:  (+1)
• Please understand how this affects movement across The List.

 

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 True Aces

 

1. Spencer Strider – Aces gonna ace. He’s already over 200 strikeouts lol.

2. Gerrit Cole – Cole is the prototypical ace and finds a way to be a stud every season. It’s remarkable.

3. Luis Castillo – Aces gonna ace. It’s #HotCastilloSummer and that last start was weird.

4. Kevin Gausman – Aces gonna ace, even with his recent poor outing against the Orioles.

 

Tier 2 – AGA We Hope Don’t Fall Off

 

5. Zac Gallen – He went BSB again and this time it worked in full, powered by high heaters and low curveballs. It’s about dang time.

6. Tyler Glasnow – Glasnow was scratched with back spasms and I don’t think it spells an IL stint.

7. Zack Wheeler – He just earned his AGA tag and I don’t think anyone disagrees with it. He’s been gold across the last two months.

8. Max Scherzer – It was a VPQS, but a Win and plenty of strikeouts for Scherzer in his debut for the Rangers. That works for us and those gorgeous outings will follow.

9. Blake Snell – His walk rate is ridiculous and I want to believe he has yet another gear to hit when everything fully comes together at a start. The good news is the floor has been higher than we’ve seen in the past.

10. Shohei Ohtani – He was killing it with four-seamers and sliders (nearly 40%!) last time out before his hand cramps. Keep starting him, obviously.

 

Tier 3 – Potential AGA

 

11. Brandon Woodruff – I expect him to get his AGA after his third start – per the rules of AGA. One cannot get AGA before three starts when returning from a lengthy IL stint.

12. Max Fried – See above with Woodruff. I’d likely have them both under Wheeler.

13. Corbin Burnes – I want to give him the AGA label, but Burnes hasn’t been overly dominant with the cutter as we’ve seen in the past. He’ll get it soon enough.

14. Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw is expected back this week and you have to imagine the Dodgers are going to rely on him down the stretch to ensure they Win the division. He’ll get the AGA label back like Woodruff and Fried, but possibly not as high.

15. Pablo López – López has been far better than the 4.00+ ERA would suggest. His four-seamer’s SwStr Rate is top 10 in the majors, y’all.

16. Framber Valdez – The man just threw a no-hitter…and I don’t think it was his best overall pitching performance of the year (obviously great, but not unreal). Still, it’s far better than the horrible stretch we saw prior and I expect the cutter to come back soon.

17. Jesús Luzardo – Even with poor ratios against the Rangers, Luzardo flexed his skills and is primed to produce as he faces non-elite offenses.

18. George Kirby – The slider showed up and it was magnificent. I can only hope that sticks around moving forward.

19. James Paxton – He’s been on the verge of AGA, but he couldn’t come through against the Blue Jays. I’m not as worried as others are about the possible injury down the stretch – everyone gets injured, y’all.

20. Sandy Alcantara – Even with 4 ER against the Rangers, Sandy gave you seven strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP. He’s locked in.

 

Tier 4 – They Feel Like Aces But Aren’t

 

21. Logan Webb – Webb is solid, but not demanding dominance each time out. I still dig it, but without the old slider, I think he’s too susceptible to batted balls.

22. Yu Darvish – Darvish had those two magical starts, a step back, then two more where he focused on sinkers and sweepers. It’s worked, though I’m not sure I love it quite as much. Who cares what I want, though, he’s produced in four of his last five and that’s wonderful.

23. Justin Verlander – Verlander’s Win chances went way up with his deal to the Astros and even without the old strikeout rate, he’s still super helpful.

24. Aaron Nola – Ugggggh. I love the new Four-seamer/curve approach and to see all of the damage coming from the other 20% of his pitches last start is all kinds of frustrating. He literally threw just one cutter in that outing…that returned a two-run home run. He’s better than the ratios suggest.

25. Julio Urías – The Dodgers capped him at five frames last time out and he’s going to only be better moving forward.

26. Freddy Peralta – I love his heater and the secondaries are generally there for him. Is he the “premium” Cherry Bomb?

 

Tier 5 – Legit Potential With A Good Floor

 

27. Zach Eflin – Eflin is past the injury scare and pitches well for a winning team. Gotta love that.

28. Kenta Maeda – I adore the run Maeda is on since returning from the IL, but I worry how he’ll look when the splitter isn’t there for a start – it’ll happen (it’s a splitter, y’all) and I hope the slider steps up when it does.

29. Tarik Skubal – Tarik’s four-seamer is nuts, even if he hasn’t spotted it perfectly in his last two games. I’m excited to watch the growth of his change and slider over the final two months as there is legit Top 15 SP potential with his 96 mph four-seamer domination.

30. Justin Steele – His last two starts haven’t been pretty with middling command (one was against Atlanta, to be fair) and it’s annoying he has to face the Rangers up next. Still, Steele has proved it for long enough that you endure the likely brief time in the valley.

31. Lucas Giolito – He got crushed by Atlanta, who hasn’t? His command was actually pretty good for the most part and we have to brush it off.

32. Bailey Ober – He’s back to giving you the Bailey Special on the regular.

33. Bryce Miller – After two poor outings with a ton of longballs, Miller showed his true potential with dominant upstairs heaters and perfectly placed sliders to earn a Golden Goal and ten strikeouts against the Angels. Note: Don’t let the “Quality Start” label fool you. I generally use that for a “Great starter you trust” label, not specifically Quality Starts these days for those inside the Top 5 Tiers. I know, it’s my fault. Sorry.

34. Logan Gilbert – Along with Miller and Kirby, Gilbert also had a much better slider in his last start. I wonder if all three of them chatted and figured it out as a group. Come on Woo…

 

Tier 6 – The Hollys

 

35. José Berríos – He’s been a steady arm all year and nothing has changed.

36. Chris Bassitt – Bassitt is a steady Holly and you keep starting him. That simple.

37. Jordan Montgomery – With his trade to Texas, The Bear should have a higher Win chance, but without his changeup doing everything he wants, he sticks around in the Tier 6.

38. Sonny Gray – Gray is surprisingly steady at the moment and let’s hope he holds on through the end of the season.

39. Kodai Senga – I lowered Senga a bit as his non-forkballs have been a little disappointing as of late. Still a solid arm you start most of the time, just not on par with the other arms of Tier 5.

40. Merrill Kelly – It looks like Kelly is ready to pick up where he left off before his injury.

 

Tier 7 – Exciting Confusion

 

41. Andrew Abbott – It hasn’t been pretty in his last two starts, but Abbott should be better as he gets more starts in the majors. The potential of 10+ strikeouts is still there and I don’t expect his four-seamer and breaking ball command to be as poor as we’ve recently seen moving forward.

42. Nestor Cortes – He returned from the IL with guns blazing, earning eight strikeouts as his heater sat 93 mph and looked like the glorious pitch of 2022. Even his slider and cutter were on top of their games and I’m  excited to see if he can keep it up…or if it was an adrenaline fueled start that brings him back down into Tier 8 or 9.

43. Bobby Miller – I’ve been too forgiving of Bobby, not baking enough of the floor into his ranking. I truly believe he excels in 2024, but he may still need more time in 2023.

44. Eury Pérez – He’s back today for the Marlins and I’m not sure what we see. Hopefully they let him go a full five frames (if not six) and it’s unclear if he still has the same skills we saw prior to the demotion.

45. Grayson Rodriguez – Grayson is throwing harder and more consistently down with his changeup and slider, but there is still a little polish left. He’s not a blind start against tough matchups quite yet. We’re getting there.

46. Hunter Brown – He’s leaning into the BSB now and I believe he improves with time. Some polish with the curve and slider is needed still.

47. Tanner Bibee – We see glimpses of legit dominance, though the whole package rarely shows up. Is that enough? I’m not sure.

48. Lance Lynn – I had my suspicions that moving to the Dodgers wasn’t going to do anything more than return more potential Wins for Lynn, but they’ve pushed for more four-seamers over cutters and it’s clearly worked. I guess we’re back on the train for the…fourth time now. CHOO CHOO.

49. Dylan Cease – Cease is a Cherry Bomb that you just can’t quit because of his strikeout potential. I get it, though I was tempted to thrust him into Tier 9. I don’t blame you if you want to as his slider has not been as consistent as 2022.

 

Tier 8 – Arms You Trust, For The Most Part

 

50. Jack Flaherty – He looked fantastic with the Orioles as they pushed him to throw more cutters and the adrenaline had his four-seamer as high as 97 mph. I’m incredibly curious to see where that heater lands in his second start without the same energy, but the new cutter usage could be real.

51. Kyle Bradish – Bradish labored through 4.2 frames this weekend against the Mets and the fact he was able to keep runs off the board despite failing to throw strikes is actually a positive in my book. Look, not every pitcher will show up every day. It’s often about how you limit damage in those moments and Bradish showed me something in that start. The slider is still elite and as long as the curveball is there or the four-seamer avoids balls in play, things work out well with a high Win chance.

52. Eduardo Rodriguez – Erod is solid, though he’s still not quite as good as we saw before his injury. He’s getting there.

53. Brayan Bello – He’s still sinker/change first without much development on the slider/cutter/four-seamer side. And that’s fine, but it limits his ceiling.

54. Seth Lugo – Lugo just got trounced by the Dodgers, but that’s an elite offense (ATL, LAD, TEX, HOU, Coors are the true elites to me) and Lugo is a guy you comfortably start against everyone else.

 

Tier 9 – Fun And Pain

 

55. Cristian Javier – He’s so dang close if the slider or curve can earn enough strikes in a given start. Come on Javier…It’s up to you if you want to chase that skill returning or you’d rather go for a safer option in Tier 10. There is no wrong answer there, just do what you think is best for your situation.

56. Charlie Morton – He’s a HIPSTER and that WHIP is killing you. At the same time, the strikeouts are flowing, his ERA is under 4.00, and he pitches for a winning club. I feel your headache.

57. JP Sears – Sears’ Win potential is his worst asset (and facing the Rangers this week isn’t fun), but his four-seamer + sweeper are legit offerings, making him a Top 15 PLV pitcher.

58. Bryan Woo – He’s still here and the four-seamer was much better last time + the sinker sat inside to right-handers. I’d throw him out there against all but the elites until they shut him down.

59. Gavin Williams – I go back and forth on Gavin. I’d avoid him against legit offenses, but I do get excited at the prospect of it all coming together as he has a legit four-seamer and two breakers that will have success once he gets them constantly down.

 

Here is where prospect pitchers would appear if they are called up as I feel those in Tier 9 and below could be off your teams next week (or now?) in 12-teamers.

 

Tier 10 – The Tobys You’re Rostering

 

60. Yusei Kikuchi – He keeps cooking with his new breakers inside the zone and decent fastballs. There’s a little skepticism about its longevity, but as long as he’s starting against non-elites, you roll with it.

61. Steven Matz – Matz’s high sinker is working and when his changeup doesn’t float up, he makes it work.

62. Cristopher Sánchez – He had a poor outing, but all of his pitches did their jobs for the most part. Keep rolling with it.

63. José Quintana – After a poor outing, Quintana got back on the horse against the Orioles and I’m buying that he has his command once again.

64. Kyle Hendricks – Hendricks got lit up by Atlanta. So what.

65. Dean Kremer – Kremer’s cutter is doing great things and he’s generally good enough with the four-seamer. The Orioles win games and Kremer can go six often.

66. Michael Lorenzen – He’s an avoid against good squads but Lorenzen has dodged them better than anyone else and you’re not letting go. The best Vargas Rule around at the moment.

 

Tier 11 – The Actual Cherry Bombs

 

67. Brady Singer – His slider precision has been as good as I’ve ever seen across his last three starts and we could see him shed the Cherry Bomb tag if he keeps it up.

68. Chase Silseth – Silseth fanned ten, survived Atlanta, then fanned twelve. Sure, the latest start was a product of twelve splitter whiffs that are unlikely to return and now he gets Houston, but can you really deny the spec add?

69. Cole Ragans – I adore Ragans and now he’s getting a shot with the Royals. It’s still awfully risky and I could be off this train by next week, but we’ve seen him sit anywhere from 94 mph to 97 mph on his four-seamer (sit, not hit), while he had an incredible approach with heaters right at the top of the zone and everything else getting into the zone and lower. There’s legit potential here and I’m stoked to see how he pitches against the Red Sox.

70. Jon Gray – This may seem like a high ranking, which it absolutely is if we’re just looking at past results. I’ve seen Gray ebb and flow for years and generally, his slider gets a ton of whiffs before the four-seamer command kicks in, following a 3-4 week span of dominance. I believe we’re on the cusp of that now.

71. Kyle Gibson – I’ve been saying it’s incredibly difficult to figure out when Gibson will perform well, but that’s mostly all he’s done for weeks now. Let’s see how long this lasts.

72. Reid Detmers – It’s sad to place him down here but I doubt anyone disagrees with it. After a disappointment against the Mariners, he now gets the Astros and Rays across his next two starts, which means you’re benching for a while. I’d rather chase the other arms in this tier, but if you’re playing for September, Detmers is the guy to roster.

73. Nick Pivetta – Pivetta didn’t come through against the Jays, but he kept the skill I’ve liked from him – he was able to spot his slider down-and-gloveside. Against non-elite offenses, I’d trust Pivetta more than Oviedo or Keller.

74. Johan Oviedo – I really don’t believe in Oviedo’s four-seamer performing as well as it did last start, though I do dig his slider. Is it actually enough to be rosterable?

75. Mitch Keller – I was wrong to raise Keller last week and should have realized it was a Dennis. That’s on me. It’s possible Keller recovers to have the command and approach of the spring, but it’s more likely he continues to struggle plenty down the stretch.

 

Tier 12 – The Deep League Tobys

 

76. Logan Allen – He’s fine. The velocity is down on his fastball and its precision is worse, but there are days his slider and changeup are good enough.

77. Aaron Civale – His first start for the Rays didn’t go well (more sinkers than curveballs?!) and I expect it to be better moving forward.

78. Clarke Schmidt – He’s a proper Toby and I’ll get over my lack of love for his low ceiling.

79. Wade Miley – Miley didn’t toss many pitches in his Still ILL start and it may take one or two more to be trusted for six frames. A solid options against middling squads after his next outing.

80. Hyun Jin Ryu – I won’t treat Ryu at face value for his first start back from the IL and I understand he could get his old changeup and curve back with time.

81. Bryce Elder – He’s a Toby who you avoid against good offenses, like the Cubs over the weekend. Pretty simple.

 

Tier 13 – Stream Considerations

 

82. Andrew Heaney – I don’t believe in the recent Heaney run as each of his three pitches (fastball, changeup, slider) aren’t dependable to execute a proper gameplan.

83. Graham Ashcraft – Maybe I’m undervaluing the slider from Ashcraft, but I still don’t want to lean in heavily. The sinker appeared last time for effective strikes, but is it actually a reliable offering?

84. Taijuan Walker – Walker has been a Vargas Rule for a while, but his velocity is dwindling and he’s laboring more than ever. It’s likely time to move on.

85. Paul Blackburn – The changeup and slider have woken up for Blackburn as of late and if he’s facing a poor offense, I’d let him fly.

86. Luis Medina – I was sad to see the slider fail him against the Giants, though it was there for four starts prior. It could be back as soon as his next start.

87. Kutter Crawford – I don’t dislike Crawford, but I’m not sure his four-seamer + kutter approach packs enough of a punch.

88. Tyler Anderson – The changeup has been disgusting lately, but he’s not someone you roster through the poor matchups, like the Astros up next.

89. Tony Gonsolin – He was demolished by the Padres today (the only game I took into consideration from Monday) and you have to wonder if he’s really worth it to hold onto against the poor teams. He’s fine against the Athletics, for example, as he showed last time out.

90. Dane Dunning – Dunning has gone a little harder on his slider and it returned results. I wonder if there’s something to that as he tries to go the sinker/slider approach of Brady Singer.

91. Alex Cobb – His seven starts since returning from the IL have come with just one game of having his splitter on point. That should scare you.

92. Johnny Cueto – Cueto’s command is solid, it’s just the lack of firepower in his arsenal that scares me. He’s a decent play on a given night for a chance at a Quality Start and Win.

93. Jameson Taillon – He’s been on a decent run, but I’m not seeing anything in Taillon’s repertoire that screams “I’m a new pitcher to trust on rosters.”

94. Ryan Yarbrough – Now with the Dodgers, Yarbrough has a decent Win chance as he’s being used with an Opener. Something to think about.

95. Braxton Garrett – Garrett hasn’t had his sinker and cutter for two months now. I’d wait until the command returns before starting him, though it could come back in the near future.

96. MacKenzie Gore – He’s a Cherry Bomb with a lower floor than you want.

97. Zack Littell – The Rays need Littell these days with McShane on the shelf. There is some potential with a BSB approach, but we haven’t seen it come to fruition yet. There’s a decent Win chance in here, too.

98. Alek Manoah – He’s still someone you can stash if you want. His slider has gotten better, but the four-seamer and sinker are not where we want them to be.

99. José Urquidy – Urquidy didn’t have the command we wanted in his Still ILL outing, but all of his pitches were in the general area – four-seamers up, cutters gloveside, changeups armside – and I imagine he’ll be a solid Toby for the Astros in a start or two.

100. Nick Martinez – He had a strong three-inning “start” last week and now looks to be heading into the rotation in Joe Musgrove’s & Michael Wacha’s absence + Ryan Weathers getting dealt to Miami. If he is getting stretched out, Martinez has a deep arsenal that can provide some Wins for trusting managers. It may take some time to get to six innings, though, and there’s a chance right when he’s back to 90 pitches, he gets taken out of the rotation when Wacha or Musgrove return. I’d hate that so much.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

You’re getting little blurbs on everyone else I can think of. I can’t help myself. This is not in ranking order.

 

Josiah Gray – He had success executing the Canibal McSanchez and then it went away as we can’t trust his command. You’re better off not taking the chance.

Chris Sale – It’s not confirmed that he’s returning this week and he only tossed 4.1 frames in his second rehab start (53 pitches). It’ll take a game or two for Sale to get fully stretched out if he does get the chance to start, which makes it a Still ILL if he does start against the Tigers this weekend. If confirmed for that one, I’d have him around the 50s, likely increasing with each start. Don’t worry about the low sub 92 mph velocity in the rehab outing – he’s ramping up.

Zack Thompson – Thompson was incredible in his sixty-pitch, four-inning spot start and sadly we don’t anticipate he’ll get another start this week. If he’s getting another shot next for the Cardinals, he’ll jump into the Top 100.

Ross Stripling – His changeup returned last time and sadly he gets the Rangers and Rays next. Bummer.

Colin Rea – He didn’t have the sweeper working as I had hoped. He’s a rare streamer at best.

Matt Manning – He’s not at 95 mph – he’s at 92.5 mph. Ouch.

Edward Cabrera – Demoted as he’s struggling to find his command. Maybe the blister is to fault a bit, but this was an innate problem for Cabrera for a while.

Emmet Sheehan – Demoted by the Dodgers. Hopefully he’ll return in the future with an improved secondary core.

Joan Adon – He had a great spot start for the Nationals and it doesn’t look like he gets another shot for now. If he does, he’s a deep streaming option and not a guy to chase in 12-teamers. Sadly the fastball/breaker combo isn’t all that great.

Domingo Germán – Was placed on the restricted list as he went to a rehab clinic. Drop him.

Tyler Wells – A bit shocking to see the demotion to the minors. The Orioles should get another arm at the deadline to take his spot, though Wells is sure to return at some point before the season ends. Likely not worth the stash til then, but he’s a grab the moment he returns.

Taj Bradley – He was demoted just an hour before publication to make room for Civale. His command turned him into a Cherry Bomb we couldn’t trust and when he does return, he’ll be worth the pickup simply for the strikeout potential.

Touki Toussaint – Yes, he’s pitching again. If that curveball is actually fantastic, maybe there’s a chance.

Mike Clevinger – He returned from the IL and the results were good, but I don’t love the repertoire. It’s too meh for me.

Tommy Henry – He finally embraced the slider again in his last start and then hit the IL. Bummer.

Reese Olson – There is hope over time for Olson with a strong slider and a potential plus changeup. Not right now, though.

Ken Waldichuk – I’m curious to see how he develops the rest of the year as there is something there with a possible BSB once he refines his secondaries.

Brandon Pfaadt – His four-seamer earned seven whiffs and sadly, it came without any change of shape. Meanwhile, the slider and change were worse, and I’m not interested.

Alex Faedo – I won’t rule out the shot at his slider working out, but there’s too low of a floor here.

Luis Severino – Sigh. You can’t roster Severino anymore. Something is legit wrong as his pitches aren’t fooling anyone and I’m not exactly sure why. Hopefully he finds the tweak but you shouldn’t stash him until then. It might not come soon, if at all this season.

David Peterson – With Scherzer gone, Peterson returned to the rotation after working out of the pen across the last two weeks. I’m not seeing enough growth to consider him and would wait for something major to appear before rostering him.

Tylor Megill – Megill is back in the rotation with Scherzer and Verlander dealt at the deadline and sadly I’m not seeing much from his slider and changeup to encourage a spot on The List.

Lyon Richardson – He tossed three frames with a hard heater that failed to return a single whiff. No thanks.

Luke Weaver – He’s trying something new with increased velocity and a Canibal McSanchez approach. Let’s see if he can do it again.

Matthew Liberatore – With The Bear off to Texas, Liberatore is expected to take over in the rotation after tossing three games in Triple-A. On the 16th, he walked seven batters, and on July 22nd, he was sitting 92 mph, not 94/95 mph. That’s not fun.

Dakota Hudson – Along with Liberatore, Hudson may get a chance or two to start if the rotation empties this week. He’s a desperate quality start play and I heavily recommend against it…unless his slider turns into the legit pitch he had very brief flashes of in the past.

Ryan Weathers – He’s with the Marlins now and I don’t have much faith this will work out.

Xzavion Curry – There’s no way he’s going to 90%+ strikes on his slider again and even then, it was five decent (not elite) innings. He’s generally much more choatic.

Sean Manaea – He’s had flashes of success as a follower across four frames or so and it’s just not worthwhile in my book.

Jhony Brito – He could be considered for the rotation with Domingo Germán unlikely to return this year and Carlos Rodón hitting the IL. I don’t love his low ceiling even if he does get a shot in Rodón’s potential skipped start with his hamstring injury.

Randy Vasquez – There’s a chance he takes a start or two instead of Brito and while there are some elements I like, he’s not one to depend on.

Will Warren – …or maybe it’s Warren who has made twelve starts in Triple-A for the Yankees this year. He’s a 92/93 mph sinkerballer with a sweeper that gets whiffs and I wouldn’t trust him in his first start out of the gate.

Tristan Beck – Came in for four frames in relief for the Giants, but it was under 50 pitches and I wasn’t too impress with his fastball, cutter, sweeper approach with a few curves. Fun note that shouldn’t be applied to fantasy: He does look like Wheeler (mechanically speaking) without a good fastball.

Yonny Chirinos – I don’t love his arsenal in the slightest, but there’s a weird chance it works. After all, he has a decent Win chance with Atlanta, but that’s all you’re really chasing.

Alec Marsh – The four-seamer isn’t as good as we want it to be, even if I kinda dig the slider. It’s really hard to suggest rostering him after that atrocious start against the Yankees.

Michael Soroka – Demoted to Triple-A. Pretty disappointing to see and I hope they give him another shot soon. Once he gets the command back in order, he’s a stable 12-teamer arm.

Michael Kopech – I don’t see a good reason to roster him at the moment, but if he can string a start or two, then we’re golden.

Ryne Nelson – The changeup is supposed to be the #2 pitch now (I guess) and it’s not reliable. The cutter showed up recently and I’m not buying that yet.

Brandon Bielak – The Astros sent Bielak back to Triple-A and we’re not in until the matchups are solid and even then…we’ll see.

Drew Smyly – He’s still considerable as a streamer and his last start featured a fun cutter/sinker east-west game with most of his curveballs down…across 4.1 innings. We need more.

Patrick Sandoval – It brings me no joy to remove The Irish Panda. He’s too inconsistent with his change and slider failing to take over games.

AJ Smith-Shawver – I’m not the biggest fan of what he brings to the table, but I’m curious how he develops over the years.

Louie Varland – Demoted to the minor leagues. It’s unfair as he was given one of the worst schedules you’ll ever see. He’ll be back and become a solid pickup when he does.

Rich Hill – He sometimes works in his weird way and let’s just be happy the 43-year-old can still do it from time to time.

Joey Wentz – Welp, the nine strikeout game wasn’t real. We move on.

Zack Greinke – Greinke does what Greinke does.

Miles Mikolas – What are you chasing? This is not worth it.

Zach Davies – It’s too hard to pick your spots well.

Dallas Keuchel – No.

Osvaldo Bido – You’re looking for something stable and Bido is far from it. There will be brief moments, but he’s not the arm you need.

Hogan Harris – Demoted to Triple-A by Oakland. He’s a crafty lefty who has a small chance of making it work each time he pitches.

Freddy Tarnok – He looks to be taking Harris’ spot in the rotation and there could be some potential here. I’m curious how he develops and takes advantage of the opportunity.

Ronel Blanco – Blanco may be a 50% slider guy and I wonder if he’ll get more chances in the future. Be aware that he could be a decent spot start if given the chance.

Trevor Rogers – He’s expected back soon(ish. We think?) and I’m excited to see what he does.

Michael Grove – There’s potential and it’s cool to see him earn a ton of whiffs when the curveball was introduced. It does suggest there is a Guardians approach with two stellar breakers that could work for Grove over time.

Carlos Carrasco – The schedule is blegh and Carrasco doesn’t do enough. For example, eight innings of shutout ball returned just four strikeouts. I’m not interested.

Martín Pérez – He’s in the bullpen now with the Rangers acquiring two starters at the deadline.

Bailey Falter – The Pirates are letting him start and I wouldn’t rule out some days of production as he ramps up. Atlanta is up next, so it may take a moment.

Marco Gonzales – He’s hurt and I’ll need to see the same command when he comes back before returning to The List.

Jake Irvin – There was some intrigue here, but the velocity came down and the curve isn’t developing enough.

Ranger Suárez – He hit the wall and just isn’t worth it now. Maybe in a few weeks.

Alex Wood – He’ll hopefully go five productive frames at the risk of destroying your week. No thanks.

Patrick Corbin – Ha, that was a fun four-start ride, wasn’t it?

Brandon Williamson – His new velocity has held and the fastball/cutter combo is a decent one, but needs a little more precision + he’s still missing a legit #3 option to get whiffs.

Taylor Jungmann – Yeah, you never thought you’d see that name on this site ever again, did you? Thanks for reading the notes! As a token of my thanks, here’s $20 off PL+ Yearly. Use code TALLMAN at checkout.

Jordan Lyles – He’s come through once when the matchup was good. ONCE.

Trevor Williams – He hasn’t been fantasy relevant for a while.

Ty Blach – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Chris Flexen – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Peter Lambert – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Austin Gomber – Look, I get it. Gomber has returned 2 ER or fewer in seven of last eight starts. Many in Coors! It’s wild. It’s bonkers. It’s…not going to continue. 16% strikeout rate in that time. Please don’t.

Kyle Freeland – It’s Coors and far too risky on any night.

Adam Wainwright – You know better than this.

Quinn Priester – It’s slow sinkers and meh secondaries. Nope.

Jesse Scholtens – He’s gone 12 IP and 3 ER in his last two starts combined and I sadly don’t buy it.

Adrian Houser – Naaaaaaah. Yes, not even after the ten-strikeout game.

Chris Murphy – The Red Sox are letting him pitch in games and that’s all there is to say about him. Hey, you just wrote that? Is it wrong?

 

 

SCROLL BACK UP AND READ THE NOTES

 

Rank	Pitcher	Badges	Change
1	Spencer StriderT1	Aces Gonna Ace	-
2	Gerrit Cole	Aces Gonna Ace	-
3	Luis Castillo	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
4	Kevin Gausman	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
5	Zac Gallen T2	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
6	Tyler Glasnow	Aces Gonna Ace Injury Risk	+1
7	Zack Wheeler	Aces Gonna Ace	+6
8	Max Scherzer	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
9	Blake Snell	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
10	Shohei Ohtani	Aces Gonna Ace	+1
11	Brandon Woodruff T3	Ace Potential	+UR
12	Max Fried	Ace Potential	+UR
13	Corbin Burnes	Ace Potential	-1
14	Clayton Kershaw	Ace Potential	+UR
15	Pablo López	Ace Potential	-
16	Framber Valdez	Ace Potential	+1
17	Jesús Luzardo	Ace Potential	-3
18	George Kirby	Ace Potential	+2
19	James Paxton	Ace Potential	-3
20	Sandy Alcantara	Ace Potential	+3
21	Logan Webb T4	Ace Potential	-2
22	Yu Darvish	Ace Potential	-
23	Justin Verlander	Ace Potential	+1
24	Aaron Nola	Ace Potential	-3
25	Julio Urías	Ace Potential	+1
26	Freddy Peralta	Ace Potential	-1
27	Zach Eflin T5	Quality Starts	-
28	Kenta Maeda	Quality Starts	+4
29	Tarik Skubal	Quality Starts	+9
30	Justin Steele	Quality Starts	-2
31	Lucas Giolito	Quality Starts	-
32	Bailey Ober	Quality Starts	+1
33	Bryce Miller	Quality Starts	+2
34	Logan Gilbert	Quality Starts	+3
35	José Berríos T6	Quality Starts	+6
36	Chris Bassitt	Quality Starts	+6
37	Jordan Montgomery	Quality Starts	+6
38	Sonny Gray	Quality Starts	+7
39	Kodai Senga	Quality Starts	-3
40	Merrill Kelly	Quality Starts	+15
41	Andrew Abbott T7	Cherry Bomb	-12
42	Nestor Cortes	Cherry Bomb	+UR
43	Bobby Miller	Cherry Bomb	-9
44	Eury Pérez	Cherry Bomb	+UR
45	Grayson Rodriguez	Cherry Bomb	+1
46	Hunter Brown	Cherry Bomb	+3
47	Tanner Bibee	Cherry Bomb	-7
48	Lance Lynn	Cherry Bomb	+18
49	Dylan Cease	Cherry Bomb	-2
50	Jack Flaherty T8	Quality Starts	+13
51	Kyle Bradish	Quality Starts	+8
52	Eduardo Rodriguez	Quality Starts	+1
53	Brayan Bello	Quality Starts	-1
54	Seth Lugo	Quality Starts	-
55	Cristian Javier T9	Cherry Bomb	-5
56	Charlie Morton	Cherry Bomb	-8
57		Cherry Bomb	-
58	Bryan Woo	Playing Time Question Cherry Bomb	-
59	Gavin Williams	Cherry Bomb	-8
60	Yusei Kikuchi T10	Toby	+1
61	Steven Matz	Toby	+8
62	Cristopher Sánchez	Toby	-
63	Jose Quintana	Toby	+7
64	Kyle Hendricks	Toby	+1
65	Dean Kremer	Toby	+7
66	Michael Lorenzen	Toby	+12
67	Brady Singer T11	Cherry Bomb	+14
68	Chase Silseth	Cherry Bomb	+UR
69	Cole Ragans	Cherry Bomb	+UR
70	Jon Gray	Cherry Bomb	-3
71	Kyle Gibson	Cherry Bomb	+25
72	Reid Detmers	Cherry Bomb	-33
73	Nick Pivetta	Cherry Bomb	+9
74	Johan Oviedo	Cherry Bomb	+10
75	Mitch Keller	Cherry Bomb	-31
76	Logan Allen T12	Toby	-5
77	Aaron Civale	Toby	-4
78	Clarke Schmidt	Toby	+7
79	Wade Miley	Toby	+UR
80	Hyun Jin Ryu	Toby	-12
81	Bryce Elder	Toby	-5
82	Andrew Heaney T13	Streaming Option	+11
83	Graham Ashcraft	Streaming Option	+11
84	Taijuan Walker	Streaming Option	-7
85	Paul Blackburn	Streaming Option	+12
86	Luis Medina	Streaming Option	-6
87	Kutter Crawford	Streaming Option	+4
88	Tyler Anderson	Streaming Option	+10
89	Tony Gonsolin	Streaming Option	-14
90	Dane Dunning	Streaming Option	+UR
91	Alex Cobb	Streaming Option	-27
92	Johnny Cueto	Streaming Option	-5
93	Jameson Taillon	Streaming Option	-4
94	Ryan Yarbrough	Streaming Option	+UR
95	Braxton Garrett	Streaming Option	-21
96	MacKenzie Gore	Streaming Option	-6
97	Zack Littell	Streaming Option	+UR
98	Alek Manoah	Stash Option	+1
99	José Urquidy	Streaming Option	+UR
100	Nick Martinez	Playing Time Question Streaming Option	+UR

 

Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)