My sincere apologies for all the delays this week. It’s been a busy two weeks for me with awkward travel and I’ve just finished catching up on everything. Here’s to regularly scheduled podcasts, articles, and livestreams moving forward!
-Nick
Welcome to The List, where I rank the Top 100 SP for Fantasy Baseball every single Monday of the year.
Want an earlier update to The List? Join me on Mondays at 2:00pm ET as I live-stream its creation each week!
Have questions? My “office hours” are on Playback 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:
- This is 5×5, 12-teamer, H2H format focused. It generally is the same as roto as well, but make sure you adjust accordingly.
- Before the notes and rankings, an injury table outlines where players would be relatively ranked if they were fully healthy. It’s the best way to tackle how to value players on the IL.
- 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.
- Second is a table of pitchers outside the Top 100 I considered. Please read this if you can’t find your guy.
- Since this is a 12-teamer, I heavily weigh upside in the back-half of the rankings. The Cherry Bomb players are likely going to underperform those labeled as a Toby across a full season, but it’s in your best interest to chase ceiling vs. floor in many cases. Pick the one that you need most in your situation, of course.
- 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.
- 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. Injuries are so strange (especially in spring training) and instead of shoving them at random moments on The List, I’ve elected to throw all of them into one table here for you, the wise fantasy manager, to determine if it’s worthwhile to take the injury discount and when.
(OFS) = Out For Season. They usually went under TJS or a similar procedure.
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 – pitchers often 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 last 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, and this rank will likely conflict with our weekly SP To Stash article from Rudy Ropp, though we will be conferring each week.. 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, which can include non-prospects demoted mid-season. If any of these are called up, they should be added to your 12-teamers as spec adds at the very least. 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 = Worthy of a stash right now in 12-teamers.
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 75,000+ word Top 400 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.
- Pitchers in the Top 40 (or so) move less drastically than those from 40-100. Yes, I’m reiterating the last bullet point because I get comments about it each week. The back-half of the List has a ton of movement constantly due to the nature of 12-team leagues. It’s in your best interest to get value now vs. holding onto a fringe arm as a stash for 10 days while you sit them against a tough offense. Yes, this means you’ll see dramatic +15/-20 moves a lot. It’s how it works.
- 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.
- Added: Kodai Senga (35), Robbie Ray (39), Clayton Kershaw (42)
- Removed: Max Fried (8), Ryan Pepiot (35), Reese Olson (44)
- Net Change Inside Top 60: (-)
- Please understand how this affects movement across The List.
Tier 1 – The High-Fivers
These aces make you want to high-five every person you see.
1. Zack Wheeler – No reason to remove the most stable arm in baseball from the top. He’s not missing any games and that’s a lovely thing.
2. Tyler Glasnow – Glasnow returns this week and should pick up where he left off.
3. Tarik Skubal – There’s an argument for SP #1 and I don’t blame you if you want that. Making the swap to #1 needs to be more definitive.
4. Chris Sale – He’s been so dang good.
5. Paul Skenes – This is Skenes world. We’re just living in it.
6. Garrett Crochet – Will he be dealt before his second start this week? Part of me thinks the White Sox elect to sit him for the Sunday game regardless – preserve those innings for a prospective buyer, right?
7. Corbin Burnes – He’s a ratio workhorse, though the cutter has been degrading a bit…he should improve it over time.
8. Cole Ragans – Pew Pew Pew y’all. He’s working on the cutter more and more while the fastball/change is stellar.
9. George Kirby – He’s pushed his way to the top tier with the new curve and lean into the BSB approach…even if it wasn’t perfected in his last outing.
10. Gerrit Cole – Our featured arm this week has done enough to return to the top tier, rooted in his elite heater and improved cutter. I’m still a little weirded out that Cole’s slider isn’t what it used to be, but that cutter is shaping up to fill in the gaps easily + the curve is looking as good as ever.
Tier 2 – AGA With Something To Prove
They have the AGA tag, though they all have a quirk that could mean they lose it by August.
11. Aaron Nola – Nola’s curve is legit and his lean into four-seamers up + sinkers armside to RHB is gorgeous.
12. Grayson Rodriguez – Grayson’s stuff is stupid good and if he could ever figure out a way to keep his breakers + changeup down, he’ll vault his way into the Top 5. There’s so much potential here and he’s still producing as an ace in the meantime.
13. Jack Flaherty – Yep. He’s been so dang reliable when he actually pitches and he seems healthy as can be now. A move to another club will only do him wonders for his Win potential, too.
14. Luis Castillo – Castillo’s slider has oddly dropped in velocity to roughly 83 mph and I don’t quite get it. I have to believe the harder slider returns in time.
15. Shota Imanaga – Imanaga’s four-seamer has lost vertical break over the last three months (19″ to 16″) but the sweeper has appeared to help nullify the fastball’s dip, while the splitter is still excellent.
16. Joe Ryan – Ryan hasn’t been as sharp with his command over the past few weeks, though his heater is still elite and I’d expect his secondaries to improve over the final two months.
17. Logan Gilbert – The four-seamer and slider are working well and I’d love for the cutter or splitter to be a bit more consistent before raising Gilbert further up the ranks.
18. Sonny Gray – Gray is still a solid play each time out, though the results haven’t been quite as we wanted. It’ll be there, he has these ebbs and flows.
19. Justin Steele – Steele didn’t have the same feel per usual in his first start back from the break. It’s not enough to make a move of his ranking, though.
20. Tanner Houck – It’s judgment week for Houck with Coors + Yankees on the docket. Let’s hope he keeps the AGA tag.
Tier 3 – We Expect Success Every Night
This is a weird one. They aren’t quite at AGA level yet, but they all have been that guy for you this year (for the most part). Maybe they force their way into Tier 2 at some point.
21. Michael King – With the Orioles and Dodgers up next for King, he has two final tests before he can be the King with a crown.
22. Seth Lugo – Lugo just made easy work of the White Sox and one more outing of dominance makes it hard to deny him an AGA tag.
23. Taj Bradley – Bradley doesn’t have the precision of Lugo or King, but his stuff is debilitating batters incessantly. I may need to accept that he’s a General Disarray AGA. Give me two more starts of it and I’ll have no choice.
24. Dylan Cease – Cease’s slider and four-seamer were at their best over the weekend. I want to believe that’s the version of Cease we’ll see most nights, but we all know his volatile nature.
25. Pablo López – López had another fantastic start over the weekend, here with many changeup strikes and his sweeper working well once again. I’m still waiting for his changeup to overwhelm before the AGA tag arrives, but we’re taking the right steps forward. That sweeper was missing for much of the season.
Tier 4 – Hard Rock Café
I don’t think they’ll get the AGA tag this year, but hot dang are they stable 6+ inning arms for all-around production.
26. Bailey Ober – Ober has a proper test against the Phillies and it’s possible he outlines acedom to propel into the third tier. We’ll see.
27. Ronel Blanco – Blanco’s LOB rate regressed against the Mariners, pitching similarly to what we’ve seen all year.
28. Nathan Eovaldi – Eovaldi is fine y’all, I’m not letting a start against the Orioles take Eovaldi out of this tier, even if the velocity was 94/95.
29. Kutter Crawford – He allowed 5 HR to the Dodgers. It happens.
Tier 5 – The Firecrackers
We can all see how these pitchers become aces, though they still have questions to answer before then.
30. Freddy Peralta – He was chaotic in a somewhat controlled way…? The results did not reflect the erratic nature of his arsenal, though he was generally in the right spots with all his pitches. I want to see more.
31. Luis Gil – Gil’s iVB improved in his last outing. I’m optimistic he’ll continue his breakout season across the final two months.
32. Blake Snell – Snell flashed his unreal self last time out, let’s hope it continues into the second half.
33. Hunter Greene – Greene should have been in this tier on Thursday as his low ratios + high strikeout rate certainly suggests AGA more than Holly.
34. Zac Gallen – Gallen’s four-seamer velocity has dropped and while the changeup showed up, I’m not seeing classic fastball/curve Gallen here. I can’t escape the thought that his 240+ innings of 2023 and career mileage are beginning to affect his performance.
35. Kodai Senga – He’s finally making his season debut and I’m not sure where to rank him. Given my advocacy for Senga in the pre-season before injury, Senga would be in Tier 3 if he’s performing up to snuff. For now, we wait and see. Senga could jump up if the velocity + splitter feel is there out of the gate.
Tier 6 – The Local Diner
This is the late-night food that’s always there for you. Their names never change and you should get something you enjoy.
36. Reynaldo López – Here’s to López maintaining the breakout season for two more months.
37. Nick Pivetta – Pivetta’s whirlybird sweeper returned against the Dodgers and we should be so very happy about that.
38. Logan Webb – Webb is fine. He’s not going to be the ace of old – especially if he elects to throw just 12 changeups on the regular – but he’ll get Wins, have a solid ERA, and collect strikeouts consistently per start given his ability to find the seventh often.
39. Robbie Ray – Ray is starting against the Dodgers this week – leave him in the IL slot for the Still ILL, then expect him to flirt with his 25-30% strikeout self with solid ratios. Lots of Quality Starts + Wins could come here as he’s sure to go all out for the rest of the season.
40. Carlos Rodón – This includes his absurdly good performance against the Rays on 7/22 (1:00pm start time!) and I dug the ability to go BSB, showcasing confidence in his slider/curve/change whenever he needed it. He’s a new Rodón who can feature any of four pitches at a given time and instead of focusing on the destructive June/July, I’d be optimistic about August and September.
41. Yusei Kikuchi – Same goes for Kikuchi. His four-seamer is elite, the slider is back, and all he needs to do is remove the poor strike-rate changeup. Just stop throwing it.
42. Clayton Kershaw – He’s returning from the IL this week and I’m not sure how much we’ll see or how good it’ll be. I want to believe Kershaw will be a proper 22% strikeout Holly, but he’ll be in the upper 80s with his fastball and returning from a shoulder injury that usually takes far longer to recover from. Let’s see what happens this week.
43. Tanner Bibee – Bibee’s command still terrifies me, even if curveballs are included more than before. I want to be more into this, I just can’t without that change or slider being reliable, or the four-seamer having mediocre shape. At least he’s spotting said fastball better than 2023.
44. Bryce Miller – Here’s to believing that Miller will figure out how to incorporate his secondaries better in the second half. The four-seamer is such a good foundation to build upon, after all.
45. Cristopher Sánchez – He’s a bit tumultuous, yes, he also pitches for the Phillies and goes deep into games. The changeup/sinker are a great LHP combo that needs to not be hurled over the heart of the plate constantly for success to come his way. So it’ll happen more often than not? Nailed it.
46. Brayan Bello – Bello’s sinker/change are living more in the zone now while the slider is as good as it’s ever been. He has the three-pitch mix we’ve wanted him to have for ages. I’m a believer in Bello’s second half.
47. Bryan Woo – He just went over 70 pitches and all we can do is hope he’ll be able to smoothly transition to 90+ pitches across the next few starts. With a larger pitch count, we should see more reliance on non-fastballs, leading to a proper arsenal that generates strikeouts instead of “Here’s a heater, do something with the heater.”
48. Jake Irvin – Irvin earned 9/50 whiffs on his four-seamer and I’m not sure that holds up over time. Still, his 38% CSW curveball does outline more of the great Irvin and not the shaky one we endured early in the month.
49. Framber Valdez – Is he safe or is he not? I DON’T KNOW. You’re rostering this HIPSTER and expecting him to help more than hurt. Good luck.
Tier 7 – The Wobbly Guardrails
We’re at the edge of The Cliff where it’s heavily in your interest to grab guys who have the potential to lock themselves firmly inside the Top 40/50 SP for the season.
50. Nick Lodolo – Is he okay? He was better over the weekend, though the fastball command still wasn’t where we wanted it to be.
51. MacKenzie Gore – The velocity dropped to 95 mph over the weekend (not 97 mph, blegh) and he hasn’t put together the secondaries consistently. And yet, the ceiling is stupid high with multiple games of pure obliteration this year. With this tier being the last bastion of intrigue before the “Whatever, I guess this is fine” tier of Toby types, it’s hard to place Gore lower than this.
52. Kevin Gausman – Gausman. Buddy. Find the splitter. PLEASE. I can’t rank you inside the Top 50 (relatively) until you find that pitch against.
53. Max Scherzer – He left his last outing with “arm fatigue” and yet he’s not on the IL. Combined with my lack of faith that his future ability will flirt with his prime self, Scherzer is feeling awfully like a HIPSTER.
54. Hunter Brown – You likely believe Brown should be higher on this list. I see a guy who struggles with his secondaries and doesn’t have a replicated approach game-to-game. It’s frustrating and doesn’t speak to a clear roster spot for the second half.
55. Gavin Williams – Williams has gone to a changeup more than the cutter/slider lately and I’m not sure why. I love that breaker as a strike stabilizer and expect it to return moving forward. At least the heater is still strong and the curve looks better than its 2023 iteration.
56. Shane Baz – The fastball is great, but the slider isn’t. The “ceiling” we idolize for Baz envisions his 2021 slider returning and I’d be shocked if we saw that 20%+ SwStr pitch again. This is a worse pitch and it makes for a worse play in fantasy – especially with Tampa Bay’s track record of keeping shorter leashes for their young and oft-injured arms.
Tier 8 – It’s Dangerous To Go Alone
Your last bastion of safety if you don’t want to endure the world of streaming. You see them rostered and dropped across all your leagues constantly.
57. Zach Eflin – He’s a Toby and some of y’all may even feel he’s worse than that. Don’t be one of those people, just start him against all but the toughest teams and you’ll benefit from it. Unless, of course, he loses his command entirely.
58. Nestor Cortes – Cortes is maddening. I find it hard to determine what to do with him and at the end of the day, he still gets elite iVB on the heater and pitches for a winning club.
59. Chris Bassitt – You play Bassitt and accept the production that you get. He is what he is.
60. Ranger Suárez – Suárez has declined and that’s fine. It may be a little longer until he’s back on the upswing, but at least the Wins can still continue to flow his way in the meantime.
61. Gavin Stone – He’s a solid Win chance, especially when the changeup is cooking.
62. Brady Singer – Singer is acting like the best version of his former self. You’re not dropping him for now, but don’t be shocked if he’s a Double Bubble in a week or two.
63. Marcus Stroman – Stroman is Stroman. Sinkers for outs, a whole of secondaries to get the other strikes he needs.
64. Tyler Anderson – The changeup is still legit while the four-seamer and cutter have their days. The volume is there.
65. Andrew Heaney – July has featured Heaney showcasing a slider reminiscent of his days with the Dodgers and it helped him stave off a tough Baltimore lineup over the weekend. I want to believe the pitch will stick for a while, but Heaney has a track record of instability.
66. Drew Thorpe – Not only has the changeup been there for Thorpe, but the slider was fantastic in his last outing. Here’s to hoping he can replicate the pitch moving forward.
67. Brandon Pfaadt – I still struggle to believe that Pfaadt’s sinker is the answer for his two-pitch flaw (four-seamer/sweeper), though his changeup did show up in a major way over the weekend.
68. Mitch Keller – Keller has been productive so far this year, though he fails to repeat his precision game-to-game and it makes him hard to elevate past the Toby tier.
69. Michael Wacha – The changeup is back in action and the rest of the mix is doing just fine. That’s a Toby, alright.
Tier 9 – They Had A Bunch Of Hits
The New Kids on the Block who could stick around and be something special…or off your team next week.
70. Hayden Birdsong – I rambled about Birdsong in the roundup after his start in Coors and I’m skeptical his curveball can perform at a similar level moving forward. After all, he returned 5/38 whiffs on the hook across his four starts before going 12/33 whiffs on Sunday. That seems like a day he had a good feel for it and I’d expect it to dissipate. Additionally, the four-seamer’s sub-50 % strike rate should make you a bit worried too. THAT SAID, why not take a chance on this when he faces Rockie Road in Oracle Park? Maybe he can do it again…or maybe he go the way of DJ Herz.
71. River Ryan – He’s making his MLB debut tonight against the Giants and I’m all for picking him up and seeing how this goes. The leash isn’t long, but the four-seamer is legit and I hope he can get a true shot at getting stretched out and developing the full arsenal. There’s legit talent in that arm + pitching for the Dodgers is always a positive.
72. Luis L. Ortiz – Ortiz just survived against the Phillies and it’s getting harder and harder to deny him a roster spot.
73. Spencer Schwellenbach – Two heaters allowed two home runs and I’m still upset about it. He returned twenty-one whiffs in the same game and all I want is for him to limit the pitch that is ruining all the gains from his other offerings. You’re so close, Spencer.
74. Tobias Myers – Myers has been on a great run, possibly due to his wide arsenal and featuring enough strikes in the zone. Give it a shot and see if this Vargas Rule lasts.
75. Andrew Abbott – He’s had good results, but can you really put your faith in nine baserunners and one strikeout? He’s hurling four-seamers and sweepers over the plate now without a whole of a supporting cast…which is different than what we saw previously. I struggle to lean heavily into pitchers who don’t have a routine focus and shift between starts – it’s a product of not having a reliable arsenal.
76. Ryne Nelson – Ryne’s four-seamer has performed exceptionally well inside the zone (great shape!) and it led to dominance against the Cubs (with some help behind the dish…). I just wish the secondaries were better than they are.
77. Edward Cabrera – This is the last tier of “hey, that’s some legit upside!”, which forces me to place Cabrera here at #77. He was terrible in his last outing, but the ceiling is massive if he can consistently find the zone. We’ve seen him do it before and a heavier reliance on his slider over four-seamers may do the trick.
Tier 10 – Tennis Partners
You’re down to play Tennis. You’ve always wanted to! And now you’re linked at the hip…but you don’t know if you’re actually going to enjoy playing doubles with them.
78. Matt Waldron – Waldron should have been on The List last Thursday. That’s on me and I should have acknowledged the chance of success against the Guardians plus the solid matchup against the Nationals after. HOWEVER, Waldron isn’t a safe starter and I don’t see him carrying a ton of upside that forces you to stash him when you want to bench him, like, for example, a start against the Dodgers…which is coming after this start against the Nationals. Stick with Waldron if you like past that, I personally want to find someone more reliable.
79. José Soriano – Soriano’s sinker and curve are great when he finds enough of the zone. It’s a bit tough to tell when that’ll happen, but at least he has good matchups and provides a bit more production than a given waiver-wire arm.
80. Kyle Gibson – Gibson’s sweeper is still good and he constantly goes six frames.
81. Erick Fedde – Fedde’s schedule improves after the Rangers matchup this week and will be a better bet than most of the streaming options.
82. Sean Manaea – Yes, he gets the Yankees, but then the schedule is worthwhile. And hey, maybe it’s a cold Yankee night. It’s hot in NYC right now. Not what I meant y’all.
83. Jameson Taillon – He’s had a successful run and could be dealt at the deadline, providing a good Win chance shortly. If not, the August+ schedule should help your fantasy squads.
Tier 11 – Fine, You Need Some Streams & Other Randos
More streaming options here, but a slight drop from the previous tier.
84. Spencer Arrighetti – Just throw strikes with fastballs and secondaries. It’s the Athletics and that’s all you really need to do. So right down the pipe and slightly down? Okay, not any strikes.
85. Landon Knack – Knack is stretched out around 90 pitches now, which could mean six frames are in the cards against the Giants. Which is it, St. Louis or San Francisco? Please stop, I gotta finish the notes.
86. Michael Lorenzen – He’s a standard streaming option and gets the White Sox this week. Lovely.
87. Albert Suárez – Suárez against the Marlins makes for a solid Win chance with ratios.
88. Griffin Canning – He didn’t come through in his first easy matchup against the Athletics, so how about the Mariners?
89. José Berríos – Oh how far you’ve fallen. It’s incredibly hard to trust Berríos these days, but if you’re jonesing for a Quality Start, he could come through against the Rays…or hurt your team once again.
90. Ben Lively – Lively has come through against poor offenses efficiently this year, though he’s a likely bench with the Phillies next. So it goes, feel free to hold onto Lively or look at that Baltimore start and say “Wait, I should have dropped him before these two games.” It’s weird keeping him on The List given the next two weeks, but I understand how many of y’all have more faith in Lively after this mini-gauntlet than the rest of the wire. So you do you.
91. Aaron Civale – Civale tossed sub-50 % strikes with his cutter and it was painful to watch. He’ll get the Marlins up next and I wouldn’t count him out for a rebound start on his new squad.
92. Mitchell Parker – He’s fine. The Padres aren’t a team I’d love to start Parker against, though his four-pitch mix makes for opportunity each time out.
93. Randy Vásquez – Vásquez has been on a mini-run of his own and gets the Nationals (before the Orioles). Maybe he comes through there.
94. Charlie Morton – He’s absurdly volatile, but we did just see Morton’s peak curveball.
95. Jon Gray – He gets the White Sox next and even if I’m not liking his current slider/fastball mix, that’s a worthy gamble.
96. Luis Severino – Sevy just looked great with 97 mph heaters and breakers. Unfortunately, he gets Atlanta next and I’m skeptical that fastball will stick around for another start.
97. David Peterson – He’ll get the Marlins, but does Peterson have enough in the tank to make him worth the pickup? Ehhhhh.
98. Zack Littell – I ranked him after the Yankees start on Monday, which wouldn’t have had an effect either way. This is about the Reds on the road next time out and that could be just fine for trusting managers.
99. Carson Fulmer – Fulmer looked solid in his first start, then made a few curveball mistakes that burned him against the Athletics. He’ll get the Athletics a second time and I can see that going better this time around.
100. Yilber Diaz – I’m not a big fan of what Yilber does, but his 96 mph four-seamer could miss more bats than we saw in his first two outings + the slider flashed legitimacy when he located it down-and-away. It’s a major gamble with a Shag Rug, but maybe it pans out.
Honorable Mentions
You’re getting little blurbs on everyone else with a rotation spot this week. This is in alphabetical team order, not rank. If a pitcher has a rotation spot and is not listed here, it’s an error on my part after crafting The List and forgetting to add them here. Feel free to let me know if someone isn’t listed here and I’ll add them – it’s usually a fringe guy I removed and lapsed when ensuring they had a blurb!
Jordan Montgomery (ARI) – He could be returning soon, but even then, it’s a Still ILL until we see him back in proper form.
Dylan Dodd (ATL) – With Fried on the mend, Dodd takes his place. For now. Bryce Elder could show up shortly after, who just had himself a day with sliders and sinkers and may provide some streaming value in the future.
Bruce Zimmermann (BAL) – If Povich doesn’t return, Zimmermann may get a start. Nooooooope.
Cade Povich (BAL) – Demoted to the minors, not sure when he’ll return yet.
Dean Kremer (BAL) – You never know what he’ll have on a given night.
Cooper Criswell (BOS) – This isn’t what you want.
Hayden Wesneski (CHC) – It’s just a sweeper. You need more than that.
Javier Assad (CHC) – He returned and gave us little hope he’ll be a strong option against the Brewers.
Kyle Hendricks (CHC) – The curveball is back. That’s great, but it didn’t save him.
Chris Flexen (CHW) – There are days that he’s FLEXEN AT THE BEACH and it sure wasn’t his last outing.
Jonathan Cannon (CHW) – The Rangers aren’t the matchup you want Cannon for.
Mike Clevinger (CHW) – You don’t want to touch the Treble Clev.
Frankie Montas (CIN) – Are you desperately chasing a Quality Start? Knock yourself out.
Nick Martinez (CIN) – He may get a start and it’s Atlanta. Womp womp.
Carlos Carrasco (CLE) – He’s only of consideration if you have a dire need for six frames.
Xzavion Curry (CLE) – Curry lacks the spice to make him anything more than a Hail Mary for five innings of decency.
Austin Gomber (COL) – COL story, bro.
Cal Quantrill (COL) – COL story, bro.
Germán Márquez (COL) – COL story, bro. He’s back! That’s fun, at least.
Kyle Freeland (COL) – I nearly added him to The List this week as he’s been shockingly productive as of late. His skills weren’t nearly as good in his last outing, though, and I’d be careful, even in Oracle Park.
Ryan Feltner (COL) – COL story, bro.
Tanner Gordon (COL) – COL story, bro. Kinda liked his command for an MLB debut, then it was gone in his second start.
Casey Mize (DET) – He could return, and let’s wait to see what he’s like when he does.
Joey Wentz (DET) – We may see some Wentz, we may see some Alex Faedo, we’ll likely see some tough days in Detroit. GIVE US JOBE. Hey, I’m with you. Stash Jobe now y’all.
Keider Montero (DET) – If he gets another start, it would be against the Twins. I’m not loving him enough to chance that.
Kenta Maeda (DET) – Why chase Maeda? The ceiling is too low to justify the floor.
Jake Bloss (HOU) – Okay okay okay, I messed up. I had Bloss on here last week for his start against Oakland and I’ve already taken him off before he got a chance. I watched more of him and realized it wasn’t worth it to consider him this week with many others capable of going 5-6 with a Win chance. He’s like #103 SP or whatever if I kept going with the final tier. Let’s hope he forces me to put him back next week.
Justin Verlander (HOU) – Maybe he’s back? It would be against the Dodgers though and you should leave him in the IL-spot for that start. Or it may be next week against the Pirates and that’s more acceptable to overturn the laws of Still ILL.
Alec Marsh (KCR) – Marsh just doesn’t do enough.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) – Even against the Mariners, Jack didn’t have the cheese he needed.
James Paxton (LAD) – JUST KIDDING, HE WAS DFA’D TODAY. Wow. The Dodgers needed a spot for River Ryan and likely expected to make additional moves this week for the trade deadline and elected to do this one first. Paxton’s health lasted far longer than the Dodgers anticipated and eventually said “look, we didn’t expect any of this. You aren’t even supposed to be here now.” I imagine he’ll get swooped up by a team somewhere by his next start (Brewers? Guardians? Orioles? Red Sox?) and we’ll take that one from there.
Justin Wrobleski (LAD) – Maybe we’ll see Wrobleski again with Glasnow & Kershaw returning and he went from two whiffs to fourteen on his four-seamer across his last two starts. The secondaries didn’t help much in that second one, though, and I highly doubt we’ll see that heater success replicated…again, if he gets another shot or two.
Kyle Tyler (MIA) – Tyler ain’t it y’all.
Max Meyer (MIA) – Are we finally seeing Meyer return to the bigs? If so, he’d get Milwaukee. For a guy who has mostly just a slider and carries a low Win chance with Miami, that’s a clear pass.
Roddery Muñoz (MIA) – His command is too volatile to trust against all but the poor offenses.
Trevor Rogers (MIA) – There are hints of success here and there, but the full arsenal hasn’t come together yet.
Yonny Chirinos (MIA) – He made a start and shocked us all with a legit strikeout performance, fueled by a new slider at a lower velocity and bigger break. It won’t last.
Colin Rea (MIL) – He’s a Werewolf without a high enough ceiling.
Dallas Keuchel (MIL) – I still can’t believe this is a thing. Narrator: It’s not.
Chris Paddack (MIN) – Paddack is back on the IL and wasn’t that good when he was healthy.
Louie Varland (MIN) – With Paddack missing time (again), Varland could get the call this week…or David Festa. Either way, it’s the Phillies, who make for a clear bench should the opportunity Luis arise.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) – He’s getting the Phillies this week and I don’t believe he’s worthwhile to hold through it.
Christian Scott (NYM) – After failing to handle Rockie Road and the Marlins, how can we continue to hold Scott?
Jose Quintana (NYM) – The four-seamer wasn’t there and now it’s the Yankees. Hopefully he’s better and we can jump back in after.
Hogan Harris (OAK) – His heater isn’t dominating as we want it to, while the curve + change have been meh
Joey Estes (OAK) – There isn’t enough water in this Estes flask. He’s too dang volatile!
JP Sears (OAK) – He’s also too dang volatile!
Mitch Spence (OAK) – He’ll get the Angels again and he’s literally the last one off The List. Not the worst stream there, just not a needle-pushing arm.
Osvaldo Bido (OAK) – Really?! Him?!
Ross Stripling (OAK) – He could be back and you can ignore this for now.
Tyler Phillips (PHI) – Maybe the sweeper with scattered heaters and whatnot is good enough to secure a Win or two for Phillips. Likely not, but not the worst gamble for a Win out there.
Marco Gonzales (PIT) – Marco needs to show us he’s a worthy streamer first before we go after it.
Martín Pérez (PIT) – He’s back and could click into a Toby label soon enough. Let’s wait for him to take advantage of a streamable matchup first.
Quinn Priester (PIT) – Maybe he finds another start and I wouldn’t touch it.
Adam Mazur (SDP) – His third start came with plenty walks, even if his precision wasn’t nearly as terrible as the line. He may get another start if Darvish needs more time, but I’d resist streaming him until we see real promise.
Jordan Hicks (SFG) – The velocity is falling, the strikes are fading, and the sinker is getting hit harder.
Kyle Harrison (SFG) – I don’t have interest in Harrison. He needs to do something new to get my attention and believe he can be a reliable 12-teamer arm. But he had better locations last time out! True, it’s still not enough and it’s the Dodgers next.
Andre Pallante (STL) – He’s still in the rotation and at least he had a normal pitch count this time. Not much to latch onto here, though. Maybe worth it against the Pirates…?
Lance Lynn (STL) – If you get Two L’s, you’re gonna get a third. Most of the time.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) – It’s either him or Gordon Graceffo getting a start this week and neither should go too long if given the chance. Blegh.
Miles Mikolas (STL) – I was considering Mikolas as a decent volume arm for points or QS leagues, but he just demolished any confidence we had in him. Can’t chance it. But he just did well against Atlanta! Ehhhh, still don’t want to chance it.
Tyler Alexander (TBR) – The Rays need a starter as Springs isn’t ready yet and I guess it’ll be some innings of T-Lex. Yay.
Yariel Rodríguez (TOR) – I think some of y’all would have wanted me to put Yariel on The List but I don’t think there’s enough there. He’s still limited to about 80 pitches and his fastballs/slider is pretty basic. You can do better.
DJ Herz (WSN) – He’s back and I have no idea what we’ll get.
Patrick Corbin (WSN) – This isn’t working out. Shocking, I know. At least he’s experimenting…?
SCROLL BACK UP AND READ THE NOTES
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| Rank | Pitcher | Badges | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack WheelerT1 | Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts | - |
| 2 | Tyler Glasnow | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | - |
| 3 | Tarik Skubal | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | - |
| 4 | Chris Sale | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | - |
| 5 | Paul Skenes | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | - |
| 6 | Garrett Crochet | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | - |
| 7 | Corbin Burnes | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | - |
| 8 | Cole Ragans | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 9 | George Kirby | Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts | +3 |
| 10 | Gerrit Cole | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus Injury Risk | - |
| 11 | Aaron NolaT2 | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | - |
| 12 | Grayson Rodriguez | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +6 |
| 13 | Jack Flaherty | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +8 |
| 14 | Luis Castillo | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | -1 |
| 15 | Shota Imanaga | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +4 |
| 16 | Joe Ryan | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | -2 |
| 17 | Logan Gilbert | Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts | - |
| 18 | Sonny Gray | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | -3 |
| 19 | Justin Steele | Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts | -3 |
| 20 | Tanner Houck | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | - |
| 21 | Michael KingT3 | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 22 | Seth Lugo | Ace Potential Quality Starts | +1 |
| 23 | Taj Bradley | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +7 |
| 24 | Dylan Cease | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +5 |
| 25 | Pablo López | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +7 |
| 26 | Bailey OberT4 | Holly Quality Starts | -2 |
| 27 | Ronel Blanco | Holly Ratio Focused | -2 |
| 28 | Nathan Eovaldi | Holly Quality Starts | -1 |
| 29 | Kutter Crawford | Holly Strikeout Upside | -1 |
| 30 | Freddy PeraltaT5 | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 31 | Luis Gil | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | - |
| 32 | Blake Snell | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +2 |
| 33 | Hunter Greene | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 34 | Zac Gallen | Ace Potential Quality Starts Injury Risk | -8 |
| 35 | Kodai Senga | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +UR |
| 36 | Reynaldo LópezT6 | Holly Team Context Effect | +2 |
| 37 | Nick Pivetta | Holly Strikeout Upside | +10 |
| 38 | Logan Webb | Holly Quality Starts | -1 |
| 39 | Robbie Ray | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +UR |
| 40 | Carlos Rodón | Holly Wins Bonus | - |
| 41 | Yusei Kikuchi | Holly Strikeout Upside | +2 |
| 42 | Clayton Kershaw | Holly Wins Bonus Injury Risk | +UR |
| 43 | Tanner Bibee | Holly Strikeout Upside | +5 |
| 44 | Bryce Miller | Holly Ratio Focused | +7 |
| 45 | Cristopher Sánchez | Holly Quality Starts | - |
| 46 | Brayan Bello | Holly Quality Starts | +12 |
| 47 | Bryan Woo | Holly Ratio Focused Injury Risk | +14 |
| 48 | Jake Irvin | Holly Ratio Focused | +9 |
| 49 | Framber Valdez | Holly Quality Starts | -8 |
| 50 | Nick LodoloT7 | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +10 |
| 51 | MacKenzie Gore | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | -5 |
| 52 | Kevin Gausman | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | -10 |
| 53 | Max Scherzer | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -14 |
| 54 | Hunter Brown | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | +8 |
| 55 | Gavin Williams | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -5 |
| 56 | Shane Baz | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -7 |
| 57 | Zach EflinT8 | Toby Quality Starts | -5 |
| 58 | Nestor Cortes | Toby Wins Bonus | -5 |
| 59 | Chris Bassitt | Toby Quality Starts | -5 |
| 60 | Ranger Suárez | Toby Wins Bonus | -5 |
| 61 | Gavin Stone | Toby Team Context Effect | -5 |
| 62 | Brady Singer | Toby Strikeout Upside | +7 |
| 63 | Marcus Stroman | Toby Quality Starts | -4 |
| 64 | Tyler Anderson | Toby Quality Starts | - |
| 65 | Andrew Heaney | Toby Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 66 | Drew Thorpe | Toby Quality Starts | +25 |
| 67 | Brandon Pfaadt | Toby Quality Starts | +21 |
| 68 | Mitch Keller | Toby Quality Starts | -3 |
| 69 | Michael Wacha | Toby Ratio Focused | +4 |
| 70 | Hayden BirdsongT9 | Spice Girl Strikeout Upside | +UR |
| 71 | River Ryan | Spice Girl Rotation Spot Bonus | +9 |
| 72 | Luis L. Ortiz | Spice Girl Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 73 | Spencer Schwellenbach | Spice Girl Team Context Effect | +4 |
| 74 | Tobias Myers | Spice Girl Ratio Focused | +2 |
| 75 | Andrew Abbott | Spice Girl Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 76 | Ryne Nelson | Spice Girl Ratio Focused | +UR |
| 77 | Edward Cabrera | Spice Girl Strikeout Upside | -14 |
| 78 | Matt WaldronT10 | Toby Ratio Focused | +UR |
| 79 | José Soriano | Toby Strikeout Upside | +4 |
| 80 | Kyle Gibson | Toby Quality Starts | -10 |
| 81 | Erick Fedde | Toby Quality Starts | -10 |
| 82 | Sean Manaea | Toby Wins Bonus | -10 |
| 83 | Jameson Taillon | Toby Wins Bonus | -9 |
| 84 | Spencer ArrighettiT11 | Streaming Option Strikeout Upside | -3 |
| 85 | Landon Knack | Streaming Option Wins Bonus | -1 |
| 86 | Michael Lorenzen | Streaming Option Quality Starts | +7 |
| 87 | Albert Suárez | Streaming Option Wins Bonus | +8 |
| 88 | Griffin Canning | Streaming Option Strikeout Upside | -3 |
| 89 | José Berríos | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -2 |
| 90 | Ben Lively | Streaming Option Ratio Focused | -23 |
| 91 | Aaron Civale | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -2 |
| 92 | Mitchell Parker | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -6 |
| 93 | Randy Vásquez | Streaming Option Ratio Focused | +6 |
| 94 | Charlie Morton | Streaming Option Wins Bonus | +2 |
| 95 | Jon Gray | Streaming Option Ratio Focused | +UR |
| 96 | Luis Severino | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -2 |
| 97 | David Peterson | Streaming Option Quality Starts | +UR |
| 98 | Zack Littell | Streaming Option Ratio Focused | - |
| 99 | Carson Fulmer | Streaming Option Rotation Spot Bonus | -20 |
| 100 | Yilber Diaz | Streaming Option Rotation Spot Bonus | +UR |
Labels Legend
I’ve updated the tags for 2024, now allowing myself to tag a player in one three groups.
Overall Label
Aces Gonna Ace
Ace Potential
Holly
Toby
Cherry Bomb
Spice Girl
Vargas Rule
Streaming Option
Bonus Stat
QS Bonus
Wins Bonus
Strikeouts Bonus
Ratios Bonus
Rotation Spot Bonus
Team Context Effect
Special Tag
Stash Option
Injury Risk
Playing Time Question
A quick legend for those unfamiliar with our odd terms at Pitcher List:
Holly = Solid ratios, constant 6 IP & a 20-25% strikeout rate
Toby = Borderline arm for your 12-teamers who has a 20% or lower strikeout rate. They barely do enough.
Cherry Bomb = A volatile starting pitcher. Usually with strikeout upside and low ratio floor.
Spice Girl = Young arms who have massive ceilings or could be off your team in a few weeks.
Vargas Rule = A pitcher we’re picking up now given he’s on a roll, but we drop once he stumbles again.
Team Context Effect = Either ranked higher or lower due to team context (Coors, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta, Cincy, etc.)
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)