Welcome to The List, where I rank the Top 100 SP for Fantasy Baseball every Monday of the year.
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It’s that time of the year where we shift from the traditional Top 100 ranking of The List to a stupid long article outlining every single expected Starting Pitcher start and ranking them all together in one smattering that kinda makes sense and should help your team. Yes, the traditional Top 100 rankings will return for 2026.
Yeah, it’s a lot to take in, but it’s what I think is the most helpful way of talking about the final four weeks of the season and it’s what you see before you.
First thing’s first, I want to thank Josh Mockensturm for creating the individual team tables and color-coding their matchup tiers. I’ve compiled them all to make the mega tables at the end of the article, and that’s only possible because of Josh’s work.
These schedules are going to change. Seriously, even the daily streaming pitchers article I write often changes and that’s published just hours before game time. Use this article as a guide to understand the flow of rotations and move the respective pitchers around as needed when changes happen.
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:
- This is 5×5, 12-teamer, H2H format focused. It generally is the same as roto as well, but make sure you adjust accordingly.
- Again, these tables are going to change. I’m trying to give a general idea of it, but injured pitchers returning, rainouts, bumped starters, callups, etc. mean the orders are all messed up. It happens, nothing I can do about it.
- The notes outline oh-so-much to help your team. Please read the notes if you can instead of just scrolling to the bottom.
Pretty straightforward stuff. Let’s take a look at how I’m loosely ranking these matchups for the next month (which, also, will change. These are humans, after all):
This year, I’ve added labels to each pitcher in their team tables, designated by their color. Here is the legend:
Note: Pitcher cells are colored based on the legend above. The TEAM MATCHUP cell is colored based on PLV’s offense ranks. Two different color systems.
Now let’s jump to the expected schedules for each team starting September 2nd.
(OFF) = Team has an off-day before this start. For example, 9/5 BOS (OFF) = Team had an off day on 9/4.
Zac Gallen – Gallen wasn’t stellar last time out, though he could still be helpful in at least one of his final three starts.
Eduardo Rodriguez – He’s a Toby to consider for the easy matchups.
Brandon Pfaadt – I’d be careful. I don’t trust the changeup/sinker approach to LHB.
Ryne Nelson – He’s been solid and developing the slider curveball cutter anything could take him another step forward before the end of the year. I just wish it weren’t the Phillies and Dodgers.
Anthony DeSclafani – If he does return, I’m not interested.
Jeffrey Springs – It’s hard to tell when Springs will be Sunshine and Rainbows, though a date in PNC Park seems to be okay.
Mason Barnett – I’m not a fan of what he brings to the table, even with the shocking number of whiffs in one of his outings.
J.T. Ginn – Maybe the command is there in one of these games?
Luis Severino – Here’s to hoping Severino is able to take advantage of the Pirates. Not my favorite Toby, but it could work.
Luis Morales – He throws hard and I wish he located the four-seamer a little better upstairs. I’m cool with the Pirates, but would be cautious against the Astros.
Atlanta
Spencer Strider – We’re not in a position to trust Strider. Maybe at the end of the year, but you can drop at the moment. Note: I’d be shocked if Atlanta gave him that final start. Why not preserve his arm?
Nathan Wiles – This is a bullpen game for a doubleheader.
Chris Sale – Aces gonna ace. Just don’t expect him to pitch against the Pirates.
Hurston Waldrep – The move away from the four-seamer has worked out, and his splitter was awesome against the Phillies, but it wasn’t there against Miami or the Mariners and definitely not last time out. Maybe the Nationals play into the pitch, but I still see it as a coin flip. I hate pitchers super reliant on splitters.
Bryce Elder – I don’t care if he had a great run before his last outing (and still collected a ton of slider whiffs during his poor performance). You can’t. YOU CAN’T.
Joey Wentz – I’m in for the Pirates and could see a scenario to give it a go against the Tigers. He’s throwing a changeup now!
Kyle Bradish – Obviously in for the White Sox, but it’s tough to believe he’ll go unscathed across two straight against the Yankees.
Tyler Wells – Wells has done well and just look at that schedule. Let’s roll.
Cade Povich – Povich is a surprisingly good streamer the rest of the way. Circle him as an arm to chase.
Dean Kremer – He’s Dean Werewolf. Good luck. Oh. And the whole forearm thing.
Trevor Rogers – You’re going to start him until it breaks. Does that include his toe? No, it does not.
Tomoyuki Sugano – I challenge y’all to find a more brutal schedule down the stretch. Rogers. THAT DOESN’T COUNT.
Connelly Early – He fanned eleven in his debut against the same squad and it won’t be as good this time around. The Shag Rug exists, and even though I’m leaning into it, recognize the low floor.
Dustin May – The Red Sox may bring him back into the rotation and I don’t trust his ability.
Lucas Giolito – Uhhhh, don’t feel that you need to hold onto Giolito. Those matchups aren’t great and he’s not at his peak.
Brayan Bello – Bello has been reliable for two months now, if not more, and just had a stumble. Now it’s a tough schedule and boy, it’s hard to hold.
Garrett Crochet – Aces gonna ace.
Payton Tolle – It’s frustrating to deal with the haze of when he’ll start, making me want to try other options.
Kyle Harrison – He’ll likely piggy-back with Tolle and I’m not seeing enough to chase it with his enigmatic usage.
Jameson Taillon – He’s a Toby and fresh to go six constantly in the final month.
Cade Horton – Too good of a schedule to deny.
Matthew Boyd – Now that Coors is out of the way (and velocity was good!), you should have few hesitations. Sure, maybe the Mets and it’s possible he’s getting fatigued, but don’t big-brain this.
Colin Rea – It’s meh in Cincy, but if you need a Win, I get it.
Shota Imanaga – IM AN AGA.
Sean Burke – There’s a chance he has his best secondary command for some of these mid matchups. Good luck choosing which one.
Shane Smith – He’s someone to consider for all but the Yankees. I’m down.
Martín Pérez – It’s a low ceiling, decent QS stream.
Davis Martin – Martin is a Toby who is ehhhh against the Padres, and NOPE against the Yankees.
Yoendrys Gómez – Gómez intrigues me and could be a final-weekend savior against the Nationals.
Cincinnati Reds
Zack Littell – Y’all know how I feel about Littell. Sure, try it against the Cardinals if you must, but nothing else.
Andrew Abbott – You’re concerned, but I’m personally letting him fly.
Brady Singer – He’s fine, but you may want to hold off if he gets the Brewers at the end.
Hunter Greene – Aces gonna ace.
Nick Lodolo – Poor Lodolo, the schedule has been rough and the results have not been there as a result, despite pitching well. I love the start against the Pirates, but the Cubs… Up to you.
Joey Cantillo – I dig his skillset, though it’s a bit risky against those squads and without a long track record of recent success.
Logan Allen – That schedule does him no favors. He’s a dire stream.
Gavin Williams – Yes, he’s had a sub 3.00 ERA since the 2nd of July, but it sure feels suspect.
Tanner Bibee – I can’t believe he just tossed a CGSHO. He can’t do that again…right?
John Means – I imagine the Guardians will want to give him frames before the year ends and I wouldn’t be surprised if they squeezed more than one start. It’s a bit of a desperate stream at first, but maybe worthwhile against the Rangers.
Parker Messick – He’s a Toby, which likely means one productive and one poor outing.
Slade Cecconi – I’m not a part of the Slade Brigade, but those aren’t the worst matchups and he just had ten four-seamer whiffs. Somehow.
Kyle Freeland – Don’t. But he’s had two great starts since getting ejected for yelling at Devers! And it’s the Marlins! I BEG YOU.
Germán Márquez – Don’t.
McCade Brown –Don’t.
Tanner Gordon –Don’t.
Bradley Blalock – Don’t.
Casey Mize – I’m not too interested, but he’s a Toby at the end of the day.
Jack Flaherty – He’s a HIPSTER who I still believe is better than the valley of the summer, but is too risky to be a blind hold.
Tarik Skubal – Aces gonna ace. If the Tigers are starting him after he felt side soreness, then you should too.
Charlie Morton – You got me, Morton. You couldn’t come through against the SlySox or Marlins, how can I trust you against anyone?
Keider Montero – With SGL to the IL, Montero could get another start or two after tossing five decent frames. I wish Troy Melton would get a proper start again…
Jason Alexander – I guess circle the start against the Rangers or Angels?
Cristian Javier – This is too much of a minefield to trust Javier. If he has his command, he can navigate it, but hot dang is this a risk.
Jayden Murray – He may piggy-back with Colton Gordon or AJ Blubaugh in place of Luis Garcia. Murray isn’t stretched out enough to be of consideration and the others are too much of headache to figure out their usage.
Hunter Brown – Aces gonna ace.
Framber Valdez – Aces gonna ace.
Michael Wacha – He’s a Toby and those are not good matchups.
COLE RAGANS – PEW PEW PEW. Okay, it’s risky as anything and they’ll likely baby him in these starts. BUT MAYBE NOT.
Seth Lugo – Ahhhh, so it was an injury. You should avoid the Still ILL but return for @LAA in all likelihood.
Michael Lorenzen – Maybe there’s a QS in there. Probably not.
Ryan Bergert – I dig him, but this ain’t it.
Noah Cameron – Despite still killing it here and there, those matchups ain’t pretty.
Stephen Kolek – No, I don’t think his skills are legit and it’s unclear when he makes another start now that Ragans is returning.
Caden Dana – I wonder if there’s a Toby in there that comes out over time. Time. The one thing we don’t have. Welp, see ya next year.
José Soriano – He’s a HIPSTER.
Yusei Kikuchi – So is he.
Mitch Farris – He’s a soft-tossing southpaw who somehow survived his second start with a 90 mph warmball and a legit 77mph slothball… that he failed to command. I’m not dancing with this.
Kyle Hendricks – You can’t be serious.
Emmet Sheehan – I love his ability, but the haze of his usage + the Phillies today makes it harder to manage.
Blake Snell – Hot. Snell. Summer.
Shohei Ohtani – Aces gonna ace. Probably. If he starts and can go more than five innings.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto – Aces gonna ace.
Clayton Kershaw – Jeez. I don’t trust the skills but the schedule is solid. Even after pitching poorly against the Giants? Yeah, good point. He may be hitting a wall.
Tyler Glasnow – Aces gonna ace. Please be healthy.
Eury Pérez – He’s not an ace while he fails to find a great attack against LHB, but you’re not benching him.
Ryan Weathers – He tossed 68 pitches in both his final rehab start and in his Still ILL, making it likely he’ll be under 80 pitches in Coors. I’m okay with it and the Phillies after, but I just wish the schedule were easier.
Sandy Alcantara – It’s the Nationals now, just go for that and see where we are. Could be a case of one or two starts and donezo.
Janson Junk – He’s on the IL and I’m not interested in grabbing Janson. You can’t trust the command.
Adam Mazur – I’m not ready to jump in here, even after the good outing on Sunday.
Robby Snelling – WHERE IS (S)HE?! Even if he were to get the call, the only situation I’d be interested in would be @TEX and not for his debut.
Freddy Peralta – There’s no reason to bench Peralta.
Quinn Priester – I’m not the biggest Priester believer, but those starts are fine with me.
Brandon Woodruff – He’s looked like an ace when not facing strong lineups. You’re not dropping him.
Jacob Misiorowski – With the shorter leash against the Cardinals, expect more along the lines of 85-90 pitches against the Cardinals, then back to sub 80 pitches against the Padres. Maybe even a skipped start to rest for the playoffs.
Jose Quintana – Quintana, you let us down over the weekend. Can you kindly get back into form for these last two?
Simeon Woods Richardson – I have little faith in SWR and I wonder if he’s even going to return to the rotation. How dare they demote Abel…
Zebby Matthews – You can’t against the Yankees and let’s hope it works in Arlington.
Taj Bradley – Bradley is the same chaotic arm of old. No thanks. But the scouting reports! He’s a thrower, not a pitcher. The catcher was handling that for him, while Bradley still battles himself over the batter. Doesn’t change anything.
Pablo López – Let. Him. FLY.
Bailey Ober – The command was excellent to LHB in his last start and he should get more to feast upon on the 20th. Sit for the Phillies, though.
Joe Ryan – Aces gonna ace. Yes, even after his last two meh outings.
Clay Holmes / Sean Manaea – It’s a piggy-back for at least the Tuesday start and it could continue that way through the end. Manaea is the one to target there with a higher chance of Win and removal of his weakest skill: Facing batters a third time.
David Peterson – Annnnd the schedule has done him dirty, but at least he has the Marlins.
Jonah Tong – It’s hard to trust Tong at the moment with just two pitches and questionable matchups. He may get ousted before the Cubs.
Brandon Sproat – I’m a little scared of the Nats with their LHB against his sweeper-focus, but I’m still game. I don’t like that Cubs start, though.
Nolan McLean – McLean has been on such an incredible run and you’re not going to bench him.
Kodai Senga – Senga was sent to the minors to make room for Sproat, if you can believe it. I wouldn’t be shocked if he took over Tong’s spot before the end.
Carlos Rodón – Rodón isn’t at his peak, but he’s in a good enough place to trust through September.
Cam Schlittler – Trust the kid. He’s dope.
Luis Gil – The command is still in question, but now he has a far easier schedule.
Max Fried – He’s looking much better these days and could return to AGA-land.
Will Warren – Warren has battled his command a lot this season and I’m not sure he’ll click into place before the end. I’d play it conservatively if I could.
Ranger Suárez – Suárez is pitching too well to stop right now. You got this.
Cristopher Sánchez – Aces gonna ace.
Jesús Luzardo – He’s a Cherry Bomb. Good luck.
Walker Buehler – How did you get here?! No, he’s not “fixed”.
Taijuan Walker – Vargas Rule him if you must, I can’t do it. He gave you nothing except a single strikeout against the Marlins, after all.
Aaron Nola – Nola. Man, I want to start him the rest of the way, and he was great against the Mets, only to stumble in his following outing. Sigh. I’m going for it, but I understand if you don’t want to – especially given that he could skip his final start.
Braxton Ashcraft – How much is he going to go? Will it be innings you actually want?
Paul Skenes – Aces gonna ace.
Johan Oviedo – I’m intrigued by Oviedo’s 99th percentile extension and legit slider. If only we could believe in his command.
Mitch Keller – Sure, he’s a desperate shot for a QS and has relied more on his sweeper as of late, but it’s just so meh.
Bubba Chandler – After the 9 ER disaster for his first carrer start, Chandler was legit in his second. I’m riding this into the sunset of the season.
Mike Burrows – This could be a piggy-back of Burrows + Braxton Ashcraft, I’m not sure. Either way, he’s a desperate stream and nothing more.
Michael King – I don’t care if it’s the Mets, I’m going after this.
Nick Pivetta – Aces gonna ace.
Dylan Cease – The schedule is great and the skills are better than the results. You know this and yet…he hasn’t come through. Good luck.
Yu Darvish – Darvish has the ability to cruise the rest of the way, but has yet to do so with the easiest schedule. I cannot trust it.
Randy Vásquez – He took care of Rockie Road, but his final two opponents are far stronger.
Kai-Wei Teng – Think Lance McCullers Jr.. If you need strikeouts, he could be the answer. The floor is lava, though.
Carson Whisenhunt – Maybe the changeup is enough against Rockie Road…?
Carson Seymour – He throws 96+ mph but there isn’t a whole lot supporting it. The slider has promise but we need more.
Justin Verlander – We just saw a ton of slider whiffs and that schedule is solid.
Logan Webb – He’s not at his peak and I wish he didn’t have to face the Dodgers again. You can’t drop him though, right?
Robbie Ray – Ray is pitching just fine right now. It’s a hard call against the Dodgers, but I’m all for the Cards.
Logan Gilbert – Aces gonna ace. He may not get that final start if everything is locked up.
Bryce Miller – It’s a strong schedule across September, fortunately, making him a hold. For now.
Luis Castillo – He’s done enough to be a hold through these final two starts.
Bryan Woo – Aces gonna ace.
George Kirby – He’s been the worst and the best. Good luck.
Matthew Liberatore – Liberatore has been fatigued in the second half. I’d avoid this. Even the Reds Carpet? Okay fine, consider that one.
Michael McGreevy – Hot dang, look at that schedule! Don’t expect strikeouts, but the Wins and QS could be there with decent ratios based on the elite defense behind him. You don’t want him for the Cubs, unless they’re sitting their starters on the final day…
Andre Pallante – This is not the sneaky arm you’re looking for.
Sonny Gray – It should be Sonny more than Gray.
Miles Mikolas – You know better than this.
Joe Boyle – It looks like a spot start and let’s be real. You can’t trust the command and it’s the Jays. In volatile Tampa Bay. Absolutely not.
Ryan Pepiot – I’d avoid the Jays at home. And maybe the Sawx at home. And maybe in Toronto. Oh no.
Ian Seymour – Another southpaw with a changeup who came through in both starts last week. I’m okay with @BAL, but nothing else
Shane Baz – Baz sat a tick up on the heater, two on the curve, and three on the cutter in two starts before settling back down in his last outing. He’s a coin flip for the Orioles.
Drew Rasmussen – His six-inning days are growing more and more distant. I love the skills, but it’s hard to strongly endorse Ras after seeing 5 IP and 3 ER a bit too often.
Adrian Houser – Houser is still capable of six innings for QS leagues if you need to chase it. I’d prefer not to, though.
Jack Leiter – He’s a PEAS and I’d wait for Miami to test this, then hopefully continue against @CLE.
Merrill Kelly – Kelly has been shockingly consistent and I’m riding this through to the end.
Jacob deGrom – Aces gonna ace.
Tyler Mahle – I wonder if he’ll look any decent and how long he’ll go. This could still be Jacob Latz getting the attention – Latz would be on regular rest for this game. There’s your sneaky chance at a dub.
Patrick Corbin – Corbin has gone 10% fastballs, boasting sliders, cutters, and changeups to the Astros and Mets for two straight outings. This is the sneakiest of all final streams out there. IT COULD WORK FOR BOTH.
Trey Yesavage – He’s super over the top and doesn’t do enough with the 93/94 mph heater, meh slider, and splitter to get me to take a shot for his MLB debut, nor bank on his two possible starts after.
José Berríos – He’s The Great Undulator. Your call.
Kevin Gausman – Gausman is pitching too well to sit right now. I hope this works out.
Chris Bassitt – He’s your QS/Win streamer with a questionable set of skills.
Max Scherzer – I’m down with Mad Max the rest of the way.
Shane Bieber – Bieber is legit. Don’t overthink it.
Eric Lauer – Back to the bullpen. For now. I’m not interested if they put him back into the rotation, save for a desperate stream against a RHB-heavy lineup.
Mitchell Parker – Oh how I wish he can reach his potential. He’s been good lately! Better*. Sadly, I can’t believe it’s repeatable and a launching pad.
MacKenzie Gore – He’s stretched out enough that Gore could be productive in both starts. It’s a Cherry Bomb play.
Brad Lord – It’s a decent sinker but not enough to chase against Atlanta.
Andrew Alvarez – Alvarez’s slider and curve are interesting with different movement at the same velocity, which may be enough to befuddle the SlySox at the end of the year. Definitely avoid against the Mets, though.
Cade Cavalli – He didn’t come through as well as we’d hoped and he’s a desperate shot for strikeouts during the final weekend.
The List Based On ROS Schedules
Phew. With all the team schedules outlined above, I went forward and made a GIANT table featuring every starter listed above, ranking them in seven different tiers to get a sense of who to target and avoid down the stretch.
Before we get to that, I need to address a few things:
- Due to the annoying nature of predicting schedule vs. things shifting around constantly, I decided to tier them up and sort them by alphabetical order.
- It’s just too nuanced to rank these properly at this point. What is the value of 4 starts remaining vs. 5? It depends on so much.
- Seriously, this is near impossible at this point. For daily questions, I’ll have my daily streaming articles.
- Let me outline the definitions of each tier:
- Auto: You’re pretty much starting them for each outing they have ahead of them, regardless of the opponent. Maybe one or two considerations, but you’re likely still starting them.
- Solid: You trust them against weak teams and there may be one or two games that give you some hesitation. These are the arms that are most likely already rostered in leagues and not available off the wire. There are also a few arms who are trending down and may fall into the “Gamble” tier next week.
- Tobys and Bombs: These are possible waiver adds with a heavy swing of good and poor matchups, with a mix of your standard Toby types who you trust a little more than a streamer, your high upside/high risk Cherry Bomb types, or guys who we may like to take a spec add on and see if they can become more trusted in future weeks.
- Streaming Option: These pitchers have a start to circle as a possible streaming option, but are not to be held onto otherwise.
- Desperate Streamer: They have a skill that gives them a chance to come through – Long leash, strikeout upside, etc. – but shouldn’t be circled as an option in your leagues.
- Do Not Start: It’s certainly possible they pull off a good outing here and there, but you really don’t want to bet on it. Don’t do this.
- These matchups are likely to change plenty between now and the end of the season and take the time to look into who maybe shift around and who may not (e.g. The Yankees rotation)
- Again, please don’t hate me, this took forever.
- I went with a screenshot instead of a table as it’s far easier to create the colored cells for opponents + I think it works better for scrolling. Sorry you can’t Ctrl+F inside it. It’s a concession I think is worth it.
- If you’d like a searchable version, I have shared a copy of this Google Sheet inside our PL+ Discord.
Players are not ranked inside tiers. They are sorted in alphabetical order.
Here is the legend once again as a reminder:
(OFF) = Team has an off-day before this start. For example, 9/5 BOS (OFF) = Team has an off day on 9/4.
Auto-Start Tier
You’re pretty much starting them for each outing they have ahead of them, regardless of the opponent. Maybe one or two considerations, but you’re likely still starting them.
Solid Start Tier
You trust them against weak teams and there may be one or two games that give you some hesitation. These are the arms that are most likely already rostered in leagues and not available off the wire. There are also a few arms who are trending down and may fall into the “Gamble” tier next week.
Tobys and Bombs Start Tier
These are possible waiver adds with a heavy swing of good and poor matchups, with a mix of your standard Toby types who you trust a little more than a streamer, your high upside/high risk Cherry Bomb types, or guys who we may like to take a spec add on and see if they can become more trusted in future weeks.
Streamer Option Tier
These pitchers have a start to circle as a possible streaming option, but are not to be held onto otherwise.
Desperate Streamer Tier
They have a skill that gives them a chance to come through – Long leash, strikeout upside, etc. – but shouldn’t be circled as an option in your leagues.
Do Not Start Tier
It’s certainly possible they pull off a good outing here and there, but you really don’t want to bet on it. Don’t do this.
Good luck everyone!
Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
