Every week, 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.
Let’s see how the SP landscape has changed since last week:
| Rank | Player | Prev | Best | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Scherzer | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Madison Bumgarner | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Stephen Strasburg | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | Jose Fernandez | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | Chris Sale | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Noah Syndergaard | 9 | 4 | 11 |
| 7 | Jake Arrieta | 7 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 | Jacob DeGrom | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| 9 | Carlos Carrasco | 13 | 9 | 19 |
| 10 | Corey Kluber | 10 | 8 | 15 |
| 11 | Johnny Cueto | 11 | 11 | 30 |
| 12 | Clayton Kershaw | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| 13 | Justin Verlander | 14 | 14 | 31 |
| 14 | Yu Darvish | 15 | 15 | 44 |
| 15 | Zack Greinke | 16 | 12 | 18 |
| 16 | David Price | 16 | 8 | 17 |
| 17 | Jon Lester | 17 | 12 | 19 |
| 18 | Gerrit Cole | 18 | 13 | 25 |
| 19 | Steven Matz | 19 | 17 | 27 |
| 20 | Rich Hill | 20 | 14 | 105 |
| 21 | Kyle Hendricks | 21 | 21 | 61 |
| 22 | Jose Quintana | 22 | 22 | 39 |
| 23 | Danny Duffy | 23 | 23 | 142 |
| 24 | Drew Pomeranz | 24 | 21 | 172 |
| 25 | Cole Hamels | 25 | 20 | 30 |
| 26 | Danny Salazar | 26 | 16 | 26 |
| 27 | Lance McCullers | 27 | 27 | 46 |
| 28 | Masahiro Tanaka | 28 | 28 | 39 |
| 29 | Adam Wainwright | 29 | 22 | 84 |
| 30 | Matt Shoemaker | 30 | 30 | 124 |
| 31 | James Paxton | 31 | 31 | 121 |
| 32 | Kenta Maeda | 32 | 28 | 63 |
| 33 | Chris Archer | 33 | 14 | 64 |
| 34 | John Lackey | 34 | 18 | 67 |
| 35 | Jameson Taillon | 35 | 35 | 188 |
| 36 | Tyler Skaggs | 36 | 36 | 290 |
| 37 | Carlos Martinez | 37 | 23 | 37 |
| 38 | Michael Fulmer | 38 | 26 | 254 |
| 39 | Dylan Bundy | 39 | 39 | 154 |
| 40 | Jerad Eickhoff | 40 | 36 | 70 |
| 41 | Rick Porcello | 41 | 41 | 70 |
| 42 | Felix Hernandez | 42 | 16 | 42 |
| 43 | Anthony DeSclafani | 43 | 36 | 110 |
| 44 | Blake Snell | 44 | 44 | 85 |
| 45 | Jason Hammel | 45 | 45 | 68 |
| 46 | Taijuan Walker | 46 | 29 | 50 |
| 47 | Dallas Keuchel | 47 | 15 | 65 |
| 48 | Julio Teheran | 48 | 21 | 116 |
| 49 | Aaron Sanchez | 49 | 38 | 236 |
| 50 | Vincent Velasquez | 50 | 37 | 72 |
| 51 | Jose Berrios | 51 | 44 | 134 |
| 52 | Bud Norris | 52 | 46 | 323 |
| 53 | Joe Ross | 74 | 31 | 101 |
| 54 | Aaron Nola | 54 | 25 | 54 |
| 55 | Marco Estrada | 55 | 44 | 91 |
| 56 | Junior Guerra | 56 | 56 | 329 |
| 57 | Marcus Stroman | 57 | 20 | 88 |
| 58 | J.A. Happ | 58 | 58 | 90 |
| 59 | Sean Manaea | 59 | 59 | 327 |
| 60 | Josh Tomlin | 60 | 60 | 87 |
| 61 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 61 | 37 | 104 |
| 62 | Kevin Gausman | 62 | 45 | 72 |
| 63 | Tanner Roark | 63 | 42 | 142 |
| 64 | Mike Leake | 64 | 64 | 127 |
| 65 | Brandon McCarthy | 65 | 62 | 225 |
| 66 | Homer Bailey | 66 | 66 | 193 |
| 67 | Zach Davies | 67 | 67 | 187 |
| 68 | Jon Gray | 68 | 65 | 144 |
| 69 | Trevor Bauer | 69 | 42 | 136 |
| 70 | Carlos Rodon | 70 | 39 | 70 |
| 71 | Joe Musgrove | 71 | 71 | 332 |
| 72 | Jake Odorizzi | 72 | 34 | 72 |
| 73 | Drew Smyly | 73 | 22 | 73 |
| 74 | Michael Pineda | 74 | 24 | 82 |
| 75 | Steven Wright | 75 | 30 | 222 |
| 76 | Chris Tillman | 76 | 51 | 129 |
| 77 | Scott Kazmir | 77 | 66 | 102 |
| 78 | Robbie Ray | 78 | 71 | 119 |
| 79 | Luis Severino | 79 | 34 | 138 |
| 80 | Matt Boyd | 80 | 80 | 269 |
| 81 | Ian Kennedy | 81 | 56 | 81 |
| 82 | Nathan Eovaldi | 82 | 67 | 110 |
| 83 | Hisashi Iwakuma | 83 | 40 | 89 |
| 84 | Jordan Zimmermann | 84 | 40 | 97 |
| 85 | Sonny Gray | 85 | 25 | 85 |
| 86 | Zack Wheeler | 73 | 73 | 103 |
| 87 | Tyson Ross | 87 | 44 | 103 |
| 88 | Mike Foltynewicz | 88 | 64 | 316 |
| 89 | Adam Conley | 89 | 72 | 120 |
| 90 | Andrew Cashner | 90 | 87 | 144 |
| 91 | Collin McHugh | 91 | 59 | 95 |
| 92 | Matt Moore | 92 | 56 | 113 |
| 93 | Michael Wacha | 93 | 45 | 93 |
| 94 | Zach Eflin | 94 | 77 | 333 |
| 95 | Jeff Samardzija | 95 | 26 | 95 |
| 96 | Ervin Santana | 96 | 96 | 157 |
| 97 | Doug Fister | 97 | 82 | 147 |
| 98 | Bartolo Colon | 98 | 89 | 143 |
| 99 | Gio Gonzalez | 99 | 55 | 99 |
| 100 | Jeremy Hellickson | 100 | 88 | 153 |
Notes
– Not much happening in the Top 20, the major move coming from Corey Kluber entering the Top 10, and teammate Danny Salazar heading to the 20s. Kluber has been on a tear and living the upside we’ve wanted from him all year (still with a sub 1.00 WHIP!) while Salazar hasn’t looked like himself lately and now heads to get an MRI later today.
– After last night’s exposé, Danny Duffy jumps up into the 20s. Now that we’re past the velocity scare, it’s hard to deny that he’s been a major stud in the Royals staff. There is a little concern about its longevity, but that’s all that is holding him back from a Top 20 spot.
– Many young arms are creating their own new “Sea of Upside”. Tyler Skaggs and Dylan Bundy have been exciting in their recent early starts in the rotation, James Paxton is looking like a beast despite a tough schedule (two of his best recent games came against the Jays/Red Sox), Blake Snell is starting to blossom into the high upside southpaw we wanted him to be, and Jameson Taillon hasn’t walked a batter in four starts.
– Jose Berrios wasn’t as impressive as I hoped in yesterday’s game with Fastball command and major putaway material the biggest questions. Still, he has the upside to be a major factor and jumps to #51.
– Sean Manaea has had a major shift in his approach now that he’s added a stable Changeup to the mix. Meanwhile, his debut partner Michael Fulmer inches closer to his inevitable shutdown, while his repertoire hasn’t looked as sharp lately.
– Speaking of shutdowns, Aaron Sanchez seems to be just a few starts away from a full-time shift to the pen, dropping him in the rankings significantly. He’s still worth the next two starts short-term, but get ready to drop him.
– Aaron Nola has been struggling with his velocity causing me to drop him out of the Top 50. He could bring back the velocity, but he’s not a good investment until you see it again.
– In his last nine starts, Chris Tillman has a 4.39 ERA, 6.08 K/9, a 1.33 WHIP, and a 3.38 BB/9 as he’s averaged under 6 frames per start. Yikes.
– Homer Bailey, Joe Musgrove and Ervin Santana enter The List this week. Bailey can provide some solid innings – not spectacular but definitely more than a streamer as long as he avoids top tier offenses. Musgrove was called up by the Astros this week and is a premier command pitcher with strikeout upside. It’s unclear how long he’ll stick around, but his upside alone makes him worthy of a spot. Santana isn’t the strikeout pitcher he once was, but he’s a decent streaming option for now as he has a hot hand.