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It’s time for regular updates to THE LIST, where I rank the best 100 starting pitchers in baseball every week.
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 (Wins, not QS). 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. (Spring edition: I have a few hypothetical rotation arms on The List who will be off the ranks if they leave camp out of the rotation).
- Since this is a 12-teamer, I heavily weigh upside in the back-half of the rankings. The HIPSTER 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 two labels 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.
Before we begin, here is the Top 100 List table without scrolling for those with PL Pro:
With this update of The List coming the day of Opening Night, I’ve taken all of our injured compatriots and thrown them into a separate table. 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 they are worthwhile to stash on your teams or not.
It’s so hard to determine where injured arms should go, so I elected to merge the in-season List with the pre-draft rankings into one table that outlines the general area where they’d be ranked when at full strength.
I also get many questions about stashing minor league SPs and it’s not my best strength. I spend a ton of energy on SPs currently inside rotations that it’s difficult to stay on top of the budding minor league arms. That said, I have a very loose SP stash list, that is all about “If this guy were up right now, would he be an auto-add or a spec-add?”, with a sprinkle of favoring their ETA.
Treat it s a bonus table, not a proclamation of the future. It’s just a general idea and I’m sure I’m missing someone or may have one or two guys flipped in time. I have highlighted in green the guys I think who will be up before the ASB and make a solid impact:
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 reading 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 HAVE MOVED IL ARMS OFF THE LIST. It’s the reason why a lot of arms have gone up.
- 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.
Injured Pitchers Removed From The List: Sonny Gray (40), Nick Pivetta (56), Mick Abel (58)
Injured Pitchers Added To The List: None
Automatic Bump/Fall For Pitchers In The Top 60: (+3 Spots)
Tier 1 – The True Aces
1. Paul Skenes – He’s the new #1 and has allowed fewer runs in his last four starts (4 ER) than during his opening day start (5 ER).
2. Tarik Skubal – You’re still good, too.
Tier 2 – AGA With Something To Prove
3. Bryan Woo – No reason to change Woo as he’s continued to be fantastic.
4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto – Same with The Inquistor. Too bad it’s a six-man, though.
5. Cristopher Sánchez – I have a small worry Sánchez is destined to have a 1.15+ WHIP akin to 2024, but I won’t act on that now.
6. Max Fried – Fried hasn’t been the stud you want across his last three, and yet, we all know he’s going to be.
7. Shohei Ohtani – Ohtani is killing it and I was tempted to raise him higher. That said, he may miss a turn here and there + it’s a six-man rotation.
8. Jacob deGrom – deGrom has displayed mortality, sure, but his four-seamer and slider are still so dang good.
9. Logan Gilbert – I like the new cutter and wonder if he’ll take a step forward with it this season. Just stay healthy.
10. Chris Sale – You too. Please.
11. Garrett Crochet – I don’t know where to put him right now. I had to remove him from the top tier after two duds in a row (including one of the worst of the year), and yet I imagine we all understand this doesn’t outline a terrible season the rest of the way. All odds are that he returns to normal next time out – in fact, he almost made it through his last start looking completely fine.
12. Tyler Glasnow – Back to the health question marks. He was fantastic in Coors and had a different slider that found all the strikes. I dig it.
13. Cam Schlittler – We have three inductees to the AGA crew this week and Schlittler was the most obvious one. His trio of 95+ mph pitches are absultely disgusting.
14. Joe Ryan – Ryan has been perfectly great. You don’t think about him, you just let it ride, let it ride.
15. Nolan McLean – McLean looks like an absolute rock for your teams, and yes, the Mets will end their losing streak at some point. Probably.
16. Shota Imanaga – IM AN AGA. His four-seamer is at 92 mph and there’s no reason to hold him back at this point.
17. Cole Ragans – Is he actually hurt? The last two games haven’t been peak PEW PEW PEW, especially Sunday where he walked eight, including four in the first frame. That’s bonkers. I’d imagine the Royals would have removed him if he was still affected by the comebacker, and I’m chalking it up to a three-hour rain delay before throwing his first pitch. He’ll lose AGA status if he falters one more time.
Tier 3 – So Dang Close To Greatness
18. George Kirby – Here’s to hoping Kirby leans into the sinker inside + slider away against RHB. The whiffs will come. The whiffs will come.
19. Jacob Misiorowski – As much as I want to give Jay Mis the AGA label, I worry he’s not efficient enough, destined to hold a double-digit walk rate.
20. Chase Burns – Burns’ problem isn’t walks, but potential HR issues in Cincy + a four-seamer that is more susceptible than most at its velocity. He’s been incredible save for one misstep so far, though, and he has a better chance of AGA than Misiorowski at this point, though the floor is a little worse without Misiorowski’s absurd stuff.
Tier 4 – Quality Volume Most Of The Time
21. Freddy Peralta – He’s a textbook Holly. Not a stud, just solid.
22. Nathan Eovaldi – I dig what Eovaldi does and see a sturdy six inning arm with great ratios throughout the year, especially in that park.
23. Kevin Gausman – He is what he is. A solid volume arm who will likely have an elevated hit-per-nine to give you many nights of an annoying WHIP.
24. Drew Rasmussen – Rasmussen dominated in his first start back as a Dad, then stumbled over the weekend. Nothing to sound the alarm.
25. Framber Valdez – I loved watching his changeup demolish the Red Sox on a night where the curveball was fine. It’s Valdez.
26. Trevor Rogers – Two clunkers in a row and you can feel the “Yeah, I thought he was a fluke,” energy. I don’t feel that way and believe he’ll bounce right back after displaying great precision in those games. Baseball won’t always go your way.
Tier 5 – It’s Worth It In The End
27. Dylan Cease – You know the drill. He’s the prototypical Cherry Bomb.
28. Zack Wheeler – We’re seeing Wheeler return this week (unreal, isn’t it?) and I’m not sure what we’re going to get. His velocity has been down during his rehab starts, after all, though Wheeler should still be productive even if he’s a tick or two down.
29. Robbie Ray – I’m seeing a better BSB with heaters and sliders this season than last. Looks like another 170+ inning season is on the horizon.
30. Kyle Bradish – This isn’t the start to the year we were hoping for. His last outing came with a 98.9 mph sinker, though, and two runs came from a “triple” that hit off the outfielder’s glove. He really should perform better than we’ve seen thus far.
31. Jesús Luzardo – Luzardo has granted you disaster outings in three of his four starts, while he’s had some of his best stuff. I see it as just baseball being baseball, personally, and it’s easier to panic in April than later in the season, I know, and I suggest holding on.
32. Eury Pérez – Pérez hasn’t developed the necessary command to take the next step and I’m losing faith that he will in the near future. The four-seamer is elite, though, and will maintain the sweetness of his Cherry Bomb tag.
33. Bubba Chandler – I could see myself both raising or lowering Chandler next week. I see him progressing forward with each start, and his skillset speaks more to a Tier 3/4 spot than Tier 5 and below. However, we have yet to see him have that start to prove it’s real.
Tier 5.5 – The Pitcher List Hall Of Famers
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Tier 6 – The Banisters Before The Cliff
34. Brandon Woodruff – Woodruff is lost among the shuffle as he’s likely to throw fewer innings than others + his 92 mph four-seamer/sinker + 89 mph cutter seems a little too…weird for the success he’s had.
35. Logan Webb – Webb has been the WHIP ball and chain we’ve feared. Don’t fret – he goes through these moments and I’m sure Koufax will give him some grace in due time.
36. Gavin Williams – Gavin looked like an absolute stud in his last start, where he had a lucious strike rate and commanded four pitches beautifully. Didn’t even need the cutter. He just needs to repeat that ability and he’ll continue to rise.
37. MacKenzie Gore – Is this too high for Gore? It might be, though I wanted to see one more. He struggled to get settled in Sacré Verde (it happens to many) and two curveballs ruined a decent outing as they left the yard in Seattle. I expect better back at home in Texas.
38. Sandy Alcantara – Two prime Sandy starts followed by two games I want to forget. It’s easy to believe he succeeded due to the poor lineups he faced (CHW, “Reds Carpet), though he boasted a much better changeup in both games, too. All we can do is hope he’ll get back on the horse at this point.
Tier 7 – Just Good Enough
39. Michael King – King has moments with all of his pitches, but I have yet to see one of his classic starts of elegant precision that made me so enamored with him in 2024. At least he hasn’t hurt your squads as he figures it out.
40. Connelly Early – He has all the runway to be a rookie of the year candidate in Boston with a full arsenal that reminds many of Max Fried. The Shag Rug exists, of course, but I’m a big believer in his production for the full year.
41. José Soriano – What do we do with you. You know it’s absurdly unsustainable (three hits per nine?! Three?!) and I’m not convinced Mike Maddux has fixed him or that his increased four-seamer usage is as beneficial as the correlation suggests. And yet, there’s no way you’re taking him out of your lineup now.
42. Emerson Hancock – Hancock’s lower arm angle + focus on high four-seamers with fantastic consistency upstairs has impressed me plenty. No, I’m not worried about the return of Bryce Miller. Who knows what the rotation will look like then + if Hancock keeps this up as we expect him to, there’s no way they take him out of the rotation.
43. Parker Messick – We’ve seen Messick act as a lovely role model for prospective SWATCH youngins everywhere. His command is far better than most at his age.
44. Kris Bubic – Bubic had a tumble last time out and I’m not ready to massively discount him for it.
45. Ryne Nelson – Speaking of which…THAT WAS DUMB. Eight hits on eight balls in play. Come on. I’m holding where I have him. You’ll forget it about it next week.
46. Will Warren – Warren finally gave us a night filled with punchouts as he did so often this time last year. Sadly, it wasn’t via the sweeper or the changeup (mostly), but the four-seamer and sinker doing work. I still have a slight suspicion he can perform at such a high level without the secondaries leading the whiff parade, but the four-seamer performs well upstairs while the sinker’s 19″ of lateral movement is eye candy.
Tier 8 – Is There More Or Is This It?
47. Braxton Ashcraft – He leaned into the curveball in his last outing and I love to see that. It’s his best pitch, in my view, and if that trend continues, he’ll keep rising every week.
48. Ryan Weathers – It was a lovely outing where he pulled back his velocity to feature more strikes, while shifting toward a slider instead of a sweeper against LHB (yes, different pitches). The velocity drop may seem scary, though I have to wonder if he’s simply not going max-effort as much. Either way, we’re riding this for a little longer and hoping we don’t need to question it again.
49. Noah Schultz – I was a Debut Downer and his second start was far better inside Sacré Verde, where he suddenly tossed fourteen changeups out of nowhere. It was the pitch I had hoped to see in his premier and it changes Schultz into a legit arm moving forward, especially with an easier schedule ahead. The combination of cutters inside to RHB, legit 96+ mph velocity, and changeups + sliders for whiffs is awfully alluring.
50. Shane McClanahan – If you want to drop McShane, I don’t blame you. It’s a question of buying the narrative that he’s still shaking off rust (I’m leaning that way given low changeup strike rates that appear abnormal) or that he’s going to take much longer to find a rhythm that works.
Tier 9 – Fine, You Need Some Innings
51. Edward Cabrera – Maybe it’s too low, but I’m not sure I can trust Cabrera to do the same thing every night. Is it four-seamer focused? Sinkers? Changeups? Does he have his breakers working? He should be more helpful than harmful, but the anxiety is real.
52. Matthew Boyd – He’s returning from the IL in a Still ILL and I’m hoping we get more of those 20 whiff games he boasted to kick off the season.
53. Aaron Nola – Nola. What are we gonna do with you. You can’t get away with fastballs over the plate as you used to and I’m not sure I can keep you inside the Top 60 for much longer, let alone endure this week’s Cubs + Atlanta matchups. Prove me wrong.
54. Randy Vásquez – I dig Vásquez’s schtick of 96 mph four-seamers and sinkers, changeups to LHB, solid cutters for strikes, and a variety of breakers. He kept an ERA under 4.00 last year, if you can believe it. And a sub 14% strikeout rate, there’s no way he keeps this up! I mean, he’s throwing two ticks harder with an improved cutter and has doubled his SwStr rate. A 22%+ clip is great with me.
55. Merrill Kelly – Kelly returned and didn’t have quite the strike rates on his secondaries we normally see. That’s why we call it a Still ILL after all.
56. Michael Soroka – Soroka’s strikeout rate has exploded this year, thanks to his curveball feel. We saw the cutter take a bigger role last start, too, and we’re holding. Hopefully he keeps giving me reason to lift him up the ranks each week.
57. Ranger Suarez – We’re getting a better version of Suarez with each start, little by little.
58. Landen Roupp – Roupp has a tough schedule in the short term, but I’m starting to buy into his ability a little more. Can’t push him any further until that sinker returns 60%+ strike rates consistently.
59. Michael Wacha – Welcome to this year’s biggest Vargas Rule. We ride until it dies.
60. Steven Matz – Matz has proven to be a solid Toby, and could stick around even when the schedule hardens.
Tier 10 – “Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy!”
61. Joey Cantillo – He’s your standard HIPSTER with some games of excellence, and others where the command is way off and batters takes advantage of the hittable 92 mph four-seamer.
62. Kodai Senga – Two terrible starts from Senga and it’s painful. And yet, I thought I would lowering him more than this. I’m willing to give him another outing before making a major decision considering how excited I was about him two weeks ago when he flexed 98 mph velocity.
63. Shane Baz – Baz is…frustrating. His four-seamer has been worse and the curveball + cutter aren’t leading the way as much as they should. I dropped him a ton after realizing I was overvaluing his ceiling, though he certainly has the opportunity to become a low-end Holly overnight.
64. Brandon Sproat – After his first two terrible starts, Sproat has been far better. The stuff is there, the Brewers are trusting him to go six frames, and I’d love to take a chance on him locking in for months.
65. Kyle Harrison – Is he okay? He had his start pushed back and we’re still waiting to make sure everything is fine. I hope we get legit four-seamers upstairs and a high strike changeup this week.
66. Emmet Sheehan – It sure feels like the 96+ mph outing was a Dennis after he returned to 93.8 mph in Coors, where he failed to hit 96 mph once. I can’t live my life like this, Sheehan, I NEED TO KNOW.
67. Reid Detmers – Detmers brought back his classic changeup against the Yankees and it turned him into a proper three-pitch arm for the first time this year. That’s a version of Detmers I can appreciate, and I simply need to see more of it.
68. Taj Bradley – Bradley’s command has disappeared from his splitter and the four-seamer has come down to Earth. Bradley’s stuff has never been in question, it’s been his command, and the cracks are forming. I don’t believe this is going to last much longer.
69. Spencer Arrighetti – The Pasta Pirate is pitching as I type this and I’m hoping his curveball to LHB is as good as it was last week against Rockie Road. His erratic command has hurt him in the past, and I’m not sure what version of Arrighetti we’ll get this season – will it be with consistent sweepers, curves, and cutters for strikes as he tries to go upstairs with his flat four-seamer? Or will he consistently rotate between his full mix in an attempt to find something he can reliably throw for a strike?
70. Jack Leiter – The stuff is cool, the feel is not. Sure, you didn’t start him in Sacré Verde or against the Dodgers, but are you that confident he’ll succeed in better matchups? I miss Jack Zippo.
71. Justin Wrobleski – He’s not there. Yet. I want to see Wrobo Cop push 96 mph with more than a simple two-pitch mix of fastballs and sliders, and we may have to wait a week for an ideal matchup to take the chance.
72. Max Meyer – The slider and sweeper are stellar. The rest is…questionable. If he can sneak in fastballs without a fuss, the breakers will do the rest.
Tier 11 – You Could Do Worse For Now
73. Andrew Painter – He’s a Toby. I want him to become a Holly in time as he figures out how to make in-game adjustments when he doesn’t have his full mix working, but for now, don’t feel like you need to hold Painter.
74. Noah Cameron – I may be too harsh on Cameron after his last two performances (94.5 mph on his four-seamer last time out is AWESOME, even if was during a poor outing against the Yankees), and I’m hoping his can locate his cutter and changeup effectively against the Angels to prove he’s worthy of a 12-teamer rotation spot.
75. Reynaldo López – He’s at 93/94 mph with worse movement on his four-seamer, and yet, he’s been fine. It don’t like it, but I get it.
76. Janson Junk – Junk has the stuff, but not the precision. He’s not the best add until he can locate four-seamers upstairs to take advantage of his flat attack and improved velocity/movement. Until then, it’s a whole lot of contact that opens up a ton of risk.
77. Seth Lugo – Is Lugo a Vargas Rule? I feel like he is given the same arsenal from last year that proved ineffective, though we’ll play it start-to-start and see how it goes. I don’t imagine you’re dropping at the moment, at least.
78. Clay Holmes – I was worried The Adobe would be limited in a start against he Dodgers and instead, he proved himself more than capable after a hamstring scare. That said, he’s still a WHIP liability and Wins are tough to come by these days. I feel for all y’all Mets fans.
Tier 12 – Could Be All The Hype In A Week Or Two
79. Walbert Ureña – I dug him more than I expected to. The lack of solid breakers is a problem, but up to triple-digits on his fastballs with a devastating changeup is pretty dang cool, even if it’s Empty Velocity. Consistency is heavily in question.
80. Connor Prielipp – If Prielipp is confirmed to not just get the spot start but also stick in the rotation, he’d be higher up into Tier 10. Same goes for Tolle. I prefer Prielipp with his fuller arsenal and a stronger ability to go deep into games.
81. Payton Tolle – I got the news of Gray’s IL stint moments before publishing and I’m slotting Tolle on The List in anticipation of a call-up. He may not get it if Gray misses just a start or two, and Tolle isn’t a polished arm who is ready to go six clean frames. That four-seamer is just so dang good, though.
82. Peter Lambert – Wait what. Lambert earned a Golden Goal with incredible precision, locating high four-seamers and low changeups and it was awesome. So awesome, I believe it’s why J.P. France was released, and now he’ll face all the LHB against the Guardians.
83. Chase Dollander – I’m not looking forward to the Padres in Coors, sure, but the Mets at Citi Field over the weekend? Oh baby. Dollander is locating high 99 mph four-seamers with elite HAVAA these days.
Tier 13 – Six Innings Often, But At What Cost?
84. Andrew Abbott – I believe he’s better than what we’ve seen – the overall command has been off. Hard to know when it’ll come back, though. Ah the fun of April.
85. Luis Severino – He’s away from Sacré Verde this week and I dig the cutter.
86. Jeffrey Springs – Two starts in Sacré Verde have returned poor fastball performance. Just start him away from home like Sevy.
87. Eduardo Rodriguez – He’s such a Toby.
88. Luis Castillo – It’s hard to get on board with Castillo when he allows 7 ER in @TEA, but I recognize he still has six innings in him often. Terrible defense behind him, though (-12 OAA = worst in baseball).
89. Tanner Bibee – I don’t trust the four-seamer vert will return again and the command is always in question. He has his moments, good luck picking when.
90. Zac Gallen – It’s weird putting him on The List when he’s mostly worthwhile in a week or two given the tough schedule ahead. I don’t think he’s destined for another horrific season, though.
91. Brayan Bello – Bello is so…meh. He has a shot for a QS each time on what should be a winning team, though.
Tier 14 – Good Enough? Maybe?
92. Dean Kremer – Kremer has had two straight solid outings, due to legit splitter feel against LHB. He won’t get so many to feast upon next time, though, and he’s notoriously volatile.
93. Foster Griffin – He’s a discount SWATCH. Hard to get amped about it.
94. Davis Martin – Sure, it’s @ARI up next. He’s been fine with his new cutter to support to the slider.
95. Carmen Mlodzinski – I like that the Pirates have used an opener for him, granting a larger window for a Win. I heavily question the efficacy of his fastballs thus far.
96. Dustin May – May had two ghastly outings to kick off the season and has since been more digestible. A start against the Marlins has a chance to work out just fine.
97. Jesse Scholtens – He’ll likely be opened for again and will stroll down the Reds Carpet + get a second start against the Twins. Not a bad streaming option, but it’s not an exciting arm.
98. J.T. Ginn – Ginn gets @TEA and @TEX, avoiding Sacré Verde and could steal a pair of Quality Starts.
99. Rhett Lowder – Lowder also has a two-step against mid offenses and with a decent change and slider + fastballs that are oddly decent at avoiding punishment, he’s not a terrible stream.
100. Bryce Elder – Elder has once again become an option, though I worry about a LHB-heavy lineup that takes away his strength of sinker/slider vs. RHB.
Wait. You forgot [THIS PITCHER]!
You should be able to find them below, but there are rare times that I removed a pitcher from The List and their name somehow got lost in the shuffle. If there is a super-obvious name that is somehow missing, you better believe it was in error. Simply let me know if I goofed, and I’ll make a swift update.
The following pitchers are sorted not by rank, but by team. I have written a small note on every arm who is currently inside a rotation – if they are not in a rotation, they are ineligible for The List.
Honorable Mentions
Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) – He’s doing a lot of the right things to LHB, but it’s still not quite working. I don’t feel incentivized to chase this. The Diamondbacks didn’t either, as he was removed for Kelly, not Soroka. Welp, see ya later.
Aaron Civale (ATH) – When is the last time you’ve actually been able to trust Civale? I did after his three starts and got burned. Do we have to update the sign? Zero days…
Jack Perkins (ATH) – He piggybacked with Ginn and I simply don’t see enough in the arsenal to give it a whirl if he ever does get a proper rotation spot.
Jacob Lopez (ATH) – I’m not in on Lopez until I see a fun K/BB game from him.
Didier Fuentes (ATL) – It’s possible Atlanta calls up Fuentes this week, especially after getting the non-injury scratch for his minor league start over the weekend, though Pérez returned and produced, creating less need for Atlanta to call him up now. And even if he did get the call, I think there’s a whole lot of inflated hype around Fuentes. We didn’t see his four-seamer return whiffs and his secondaries are questionable. As much as I like the under-the-hood marks on that fastball, I wouldn’t bank so hard that the moment he arrives, he’s awesome. So ignore him? Nah, if he gets the call, spec-add. He’s not worth stashing for a whole week, though.
Grant Holmes (ATL) – He’s not going long and he hasn’t broken the Huascar Rule. Not worth it.
JR Ritchie (ATL) – Hey, it could be Ritchie instead of Fuentes. And I don’t love it, personally. Nothing in his arsenal screams electric.
Martín Pérez (ATL) – Hey. You. Why are you doing this to yourself. He was DFA’d, you know. And he came back! For six shutout frames! Very true. And who knows how much longer that will go on for?
Cade Povich (BAL) – Povich’s first proper outing was a success, but it wasn’t the most believable outing, even at 17 whiffs. He’s back in Triple-A now with Kremer taking Eflin’s spot, so let’s just end this discussion here.
Chris Bassitt (BAL) – Maybe this is too low for an arm who has a shot to six frames for a winning team, but then again, Bassitt is so boring.
Colin Rea (CHC) – With Horton out, Rea is in, and he’ll be a streaming option when the schedule eases up.
Jameson Taillon (CHC) – As much as I want to believe in Taillon, he still carries the floor of disaster frames that make it hard to trust for a full outing.
Javier Assad (CHC) – We’re likely seeing Assad get bounced by Boyd this week. Thanks for the memories. Good ones? Memories.
Anthony Kay (CHW) – As much as I see the path toward legitimacy from Kay, he hasn’t found the consistency yet. He’s walked too many and failed to nail the approach that should work when executed.
Erick Fedde (CHW) – Oh, we’re back with the White Sox again? What’s your agenda?!
Grant Taylor (CHW) – He’s an opener. But what if he actually started. He’d be dope. But he isn’t. He’s a reliever. BUT– HE’S NOT STARTING. But you put out that tweet—He’s likely going to ramp up to something around three frames, that’s it. Oh. Yeah. I’m disappointed, too.
Sean Burke (CHW) – Burke isn’t at 96 mph anymore, nor is he killing it with his secondaries. Womp womp.
Shane Smith (CHW) – After an eight strikeout game across just eleven outs, Smith was demoted. Their opening day starter. Demoted.
Brady Singer (CIN) – He gave us a VPQS against a poor Marlins crew. Ehhhhhhh.
Brandon Williamson (CIN) – I can see the world of Williamson being a solid SWATCH with his cutter and change. We’re not there yet.
Slade Cecconi (CLE) – Sorry Slade Brigade, I just can’t keep paying the weekly dues.
Chase Dollander (COL) – He’s starting now and honestly, looks much better than last year. Sadly, he’s still in Coors and needs to get reps outside of the ridiculous conditions of Colorado to develop properly. Sigh.
Jose Quintana (COL) – He’s in Colorado now. Maybe there– He’s also on the IL now. Oh.
Kyle Freeland (COL) – Same ole, same ole.
Michael Lorenzen (COL) – You can’t do anything, even with all of your strength.
Ryan Feltner (COL) – This ain’t it.
Tomoyuki Sugano (COL) – I’m just happy he gets regular starts.
Casey Mize (DET) – Mize has featured diminished velocity early and nothing exciting to pull me in.
Jack Flaherty (DET) – I was hoping to see something new to get me interested in Flaherty again. While he did have more velocity before the Boston start, it’s just not enough.
Justin Verlander (DET) – Close to making The List and he could settle in as a Toby…when returning from his hip injury.
Keider Montero (DET) – Verlander went down, and Montero stepped in. The exciting fastball from the spring has vanished.
Cody Bolton (HOU) – I don’t think he’s pitching again after walking three to start the second before getting the hook + back problems.
Colton Gordon (HOU) – He couldn’t handle Rockie Road and now he’s back to the pen.
Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU) – There’s always a chance he has one of those fun games, but hot dang, the floor is so rough.
J.P. France (HOU) – BONJOUR. Oh hey, France. I said BON-JOUR. Not now, I’ll greet you when you show me something on the bump, on a team. Somewhere. D’accord.
Mike Burrows (HOU) – As much as I want to believe that Burrows will be more like the 4.2 innings of perfection and not the five baserunners that followed, he gets a terrible schedule ahead. Just wait and see.
Ryan Weiss (HOU) – He’s not nearly efficient enough to get a roster spot on your squads.
Matt Waldron (SDP) – Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) – Kochanowicz has been a bit more interesting as of late, but I need him to be great to overlook the historically terrible floor.
Mitch Farris (LAA) – No more Klassen, but Farris ain’t the guy.
Ryan Johnson (LAA) – I don’t see an exciting arm here.
Yusei Kikuchi (LAA) – Kikuchi’s slider is still cool, but nothing else is there. Incredibly volatile, to the point that he reverted back to his old arm angle in his last start and barely touched his slider. You simply don’t know what he’ll do. But the new arm angle! Yeah, it could stick. Or not. And will the slider return? WHO KNOWS.
Roki Sasaki (LAD) – Until he has a proper mix, I’m very out on Sasaki. I legit don’t know why the Dodgers are.
Chris Paddack (MIA) – The upside is too limited and now he’s sitting 92/93 mph. No thanks.
Chad Patrick (MIL) – He only tossed three frames in his last game, making rostering him a game of hoping he’ll go 5+ frames, which is already a gamble to be quality.
Bailey Ober (MIN) – He’s sub 89 mph lol.
Connor Prelipp (MIN) – I prefer Prelipp to Fuentes. He’s a SWATCH arm at 95/96 mph + a 88/89 mph gyro slider. This will play nicely and he could be the replacement for Abel in the rotation, and hold onto it all year.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) – SWR was a wild card entering the year and after an unimpressive spring, it’s best to wait and see.
Christian Scott (NYM) – There’s a chance he gets a call soon as the Mets get more and more desperate to fix their situation. Not a bad spec-add when the time comes, especially with the new cutter.
David Peterson (NYM) – The schedule is super tough and he’s a Toby at best + the Mets aren’t giving him full starts anymore.
Tobias Myers (NYM) – He’s just an opener, y’all. Not stretched out at all.
Luis Gil (NYY) – He’s the same chaotic arm we remember. I’m just not seeing enough stable upside to chase.
Taijuan Walker (PHI) – He’s still here and it’s kinda wild – even without his cutter leading the way in the spring despite it carrying him last season.
Mitch Keller (PIT) – Is it wrong to leave Keller off The List? As much as I want to believe he’s found a new beginning with his four-seamer, he’s throwing low 90s now. Yuck.
Germán Márquez (SDP) – He has those days with a good curve and I’m happy for him. I can’t risk it on a given day.
Walker Buehler (SDP) – I’m not buying that the Padres fixed him.
Adrian Houser (SFG) – A 15-teamer Toby when the schedule opens up. Borderline for The List when he gets a team like the Marlins.
Tyler Mahle (SFG) – He’ll be on The List in due time, he just has a poor opening schedule. Next week, y’all.
Andre Pallante (STL) – Hopefully the cut four-seamer is jamming LHB and the sinker/slider does the trick…?
Kyle Leahy (STL) – I wanted to keep him on The List, but I don’t see the value proposition being in your favor yet. His 7.2 feet of extension and 90 mph cutter are fun, but the command is not. I can see him blossoming in May/June.
Michael McGreevy (STL) – I know, he got great results! He also did it with two ticks lower velocity. Oh dang. Not something to believe in.
Nick Martinez (TBR) – He was delayed with a hamstring issue after a horrific spring outing. Why risk it?
Jacob Latz (TEX) – He stepped in for deGrom over the weekend once, and now he’s back to the pen.
Kumar Rocker (TEX) – Rocker has gone slider-heavy (not cutter heavy) and I have no idea what we’ll see next.
Eric Lauer (TOR) – He just returned 17 whiffs against the Athletics and I was in shock. His fastball is not this good, and it was even worse in Chicago, sitting three ticks down at 88 mph. Nooooope.
Max Scherzer (TOR) – I can see Scherzer actually performing well in his next start or two, but he just got demolished by the Twins. Can’t go for that.
Patrick Corbin (TOR) – No, this is not the time to restart your PC. You can’t make that joke everytime. YES I CAN.
Cade Cavalli (WSN) – I simply don’t think his ceiling is all that high. Streamers are a better use of a 12-teamer roster spot.
Jake Irvin (WSN) – No major changes that I’m aware of to suggest Irvin is an arm to snag.
Miles Mikolas (WSN) – You actually CTRL-F’d Mikolas?!
Zack Littell (WSN) – I wonder how stretched out he is and how close he is to his peak. I think he got away with a whole lot last season and his new team context only hurts.
Good luck everyone!
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Badges | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul SkenesT1 | PIT | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 2 | Tarik Skubal | DET | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 3 | Bryan WooT2 | SEA | Aces Gonna Ace Ratio Focused | +1 |
| 4 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LAD | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +1 |
| 5 | Cristopher Sánchez | PHI | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +1 |
| 6 | Max Fried | NYY | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +1 |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | LAD | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 8 | Jacob deGrom | TEX | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +1 |
| 9 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +1 |
| 10 | Chris Sale | ATL | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +1 |
| 11 | Garrett Crochet | BOS | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside | -10 |
| 12 | Tyler Glasnow | LAD | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +1 |
| 13 | Cam Schlittler | NYY | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +2 |
| 14 | Joe Ryan | MIN | Aces Gonna Ace Quality Starts | - |
| 15 | Nolan McLean | NYM | Aces Gonna Ace Wins Bonus | +1 |
| 16 | Shota Imanaga | CHC | Aces Gonna Ace Ratio Focused | +3 |
| 17 | Cole Ragans | KC | Aces Gonna Ace Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -5 |
| 18 | George KirbyT3 | SEA | Ace Potential Quality Starts Injury Risk | -1 |
| 19 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +2 |
| 20 | Chase Burns | CIN | Ace Potential Strikeout Upside | +13 |
| 21 | Freddy PeraltaT4 | NYM | Holly Wins Bonus | -3 |
| 22 | Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | Holly Quality Starts | - |
| 23 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | Holly Quality Starts | - |
| 24 | Drew Rasmussen | TB | Holly Ratio Focused | - |
| 25 | Framber Valdez | DET | Holly Quality Starts | +3 |
| 26 | Trevor Rogers | BAL | Holly Quality Starts | -6 |
| 27 | Dylan CeaseT5 | TOR | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | +4 |
| 28 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | Ace Potential Ratio Focused Stash Option Injury Risk | +UR |
| 29 | Robbie Ray | SF | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | +6 |
| 30 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | Cherry Bomb Quality Starts | -3 |
| 31 | Jesús Luzardo | PHI | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | -6 |
| 32 | Eury Pérez | MIA | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | -3 |
| 33 | Bubba Chandler | PIT | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 34 | Brandon WoodruffT6 | MIL | Holly Strikeout Upside Ratio Focused Injury Risk | +3 |
| 35 | Logan Webb | SF | Cherry Bomb Quality Starts | -9 |
| 36 | Gavin Williams | CLE | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | +5 |
| 37 | MacKenzie Gore | TEX | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside | -5 |
| 38 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | Cherry Bomb Quality Starts | -8 |
| 39 | Michael KingT7 | SD | Holly Strikeout Upside | - |
| 40 | Connelly Early | BOS | Holly Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 41 | José Soriano | LAA | Holly Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 42 | Emerson Hancock | SEA | Holly Frizzle Quality Starts | +10 |
| 43 | Parker Messick | CLE | Holly Frizzle Quality Starts | +5 |
| 44 | Kris Bubic | KC | Holly Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -10 |
| 45 | Ryne Nelson | ARI | Holly Ratio Focused | -3 |
| 46 | Will Warren | NYY | Holly Wins Bonus | +22 |
| 47 | Braxton AshcraftT8 | PIT | Cherry Bomb Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +6 |
| 48 | Ryan Weathers | NYY | Holly Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +6 |
| 49 | Noah Schultz | CWS | Cherry Bomb Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +10 |
| 50 | Shane McClanahan | TB | Cherry Bomb Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -12 |
| 51 | Edward CabreraT9 | CHC | Toby Wins Bonus | -5 |
| 52 | Matthew Boyd | CHC | Toby Wins Bonus Injury Risk | +UR |
| 53 | Aaron Nola | PHI | Toby Quality Starts | -6 |
| 54 | Randy Vásquez | SD | Toby Ratio Focused | -4 |
| 55 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | Toby | +8 |
| 56 | Michael Soroka | ARI | Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +20 |
| 57 | Ranger Suarez | BOS | Toby Quality Starts | +7 |
| 58 | Landen Roupp | SF | Toby Strikeout Upside | +12 |
| 59 | Michael Wacha | KC | Toby Strikeout Upside | +8 |
| 60 | Steven Matz | TB | Toby Ratio Focused | +5 |
| 61 | Joey CantilloT10 | CLE | Hipster Strikeout Upside | -4 |
| 62 | Kodai Senga | NYM | Hipster Quality Starts Injury Risk | +4 |
| 63 | Shane Baz | BAL | Hipster Strikeout Upside Team Context Effect | -18 |
| 64 | Brandon Sproat | MIL | Hipster Strikeout Upside | +36 |
| 65 | Kyle Harrison | MIL | Hipster Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | -10 |
| 66 | Emmet Sheehan | LAD | Hipster Quality Starts Injury Risk | -17 |
| 67 | Reid Detmers | LAA | Hipster Strikeout Upside | +19 |
| 68 | Taj Bradley | MIN | Hipster Strikeout Upside | +1 |
| 69 | Spencer Arrighetti | HOU | Hipster | +4 |
| 70 | Jack Leiter | TEX | Hipster Strikeout Upside | +2 |
| 71 | Justin Wrobleski | LAD | Hipster Team Context Effect | +3 |
| 72 | Max Meyer | MIA | Hipster Strikeout Upside | +3 |
| 73 | Andrew PainterT11 | PHI | Toby Wins Bonus | -22 |
| 74 | Noah Cameron | KC | Toby Quality Starts | -12 |
| 75 | Reynaldo López | ATL | Toby Ratio Focused | +2 |
| 76 | Janson Junk | MIA | Toby Ratio Focused | -5 |
| 77 | Seth Lugo | KC | Toby Quality Starts | +1 |
| 78 | Clay Holmes | NYM | Toby Wins Bonus | +14 |
| 79 | Walbert UreñaT12 | LAA | Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +UR |
| 80 | Connor Prielipp | MIN | Frizzle Strikeout Upside Stash Option | +UR |
| 81 | Payton Tolle | BOS | Frizzle Strikeout Upside Injury Risk | +UR |
| 82 | Peter Lambert | HOU | Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +UR |
| 83 | Chase Dollander | COL | Frizzle Strikeout Upside | +UR |
| 84 | Andrew AbbottT13 | CIN | Toby Quality Starts | -23 |
| 85 | Luis Severino | Toby Quality Starts | +UR | |
| 86 | Jeffrey Springs | Toby Quality Starts | -26 | |
| 87 | Eduardo Rodriguez | ARI | Toby Quality Starts | -8 |
| 88 | Luis Castillo | SEA | Toby Wins Bonus | +1 |
| 89 | Tanner Bibee | CLE | Toby Quality Starts | +1 |
| 90 | Zac Gallen | ARI | Toby Quality Starts | -2 |
| 91 | Brayan Bello | BOS | Toby Quality Starts | -4 |
| 92 | Dean KremerT14 | BAL | Streaming Option Strikeout Upside | +UR |
| 93 | Foster Griffin | WSH | Streaming Option Quality Starts | +1 |
| 94 | Davis Martin | CWS | Streaming Option Quality Starts | +UR |
| 95 | Carmen Mlodzinski | PIT | Streaming Option Wins Bonus | +UR |
| 96 | Dustin May | STL | Streaming Option Quality Starts | - |
| 97 | Jesse Scholtens | TB | Streaming Option Wins Bonus | +UR |
| 98 | J.T. Ginn | Streaming Option Ratio Focused | +UR | |
| 99 | Rhett Lowder | CIN | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -19 |
| 100 | Bryce Elder | ATL | Streaming Option Quality Starts | -1 |
Labels Legend
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X; @justinparadis.bsky.social on BlueSky)
