Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Young Guns

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Updated on September 1, 2019 11:41PM EST

And then there were four. That's right friends, there are only four more weeks remaining in the regular season. We're also past roster expansion time, so the rankings are even more subject to change as teams call up reinforcements to audition down the stretch as well as monitoring innings of prized young arms.

In what could be a precursor to 2020 cheat sheets, it's nice to see emerging aces Mike Clevinger, Jack Flaherty and Mike Soroka populate the top 5. As opposed to many weeks this season, there an intriguing array of mid-ranked arms with a two-step, possible available in mixed formats.

Please direct all questions germane to the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. All comments regarding the rank can be posted below.

Remember to take a break from Labor Day weekend and come back Sunday night for the update, after clubs firm up their plans.

For the week Sept. 2-8.

UPDATED: Sunday September 1, 11:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at MIL, vs. SEA	15 GS with > 10 K, including last three. That's just silly.
2	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS, at MIN	August Pitcher of the Month? 5-0, 1.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP with 51 K in 36.2 IP
3	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. SF, at PIT	Deserves more than eight wins
4	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. TOR, vs. WAS	Low strikeouts not fantasy-friendly but run prevention is real
5	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. SEA, at MIL
6

Please direct all questions germane to the schedule to the Projected Starters grid. All comments regarding the rank can be posted below.

Remember to take a break from Labor Day weekend and come back Sunday night for the update, after clubs firm up their plans.

For the week Sept. 2-8.

UPDATED: Sunday September 1, 11:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at MIL, vs. SEA	15 GS with > 10 K, including last three. That's just silly.
2	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS, at MIN	August Pitcher of the Month? 5-0, 1.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP with 51 K in 36.2 IP
3	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. SF, at PIT	Deserves more than eight wins
4	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. TOR, vs. WAS	Low strikeouts not fantasy-friendly but run prevention is real
5	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. SEA, at MIL
6	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at DET, vs. CLE	Twins doing good job of keeping in a position to succeed
7	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS, vs. PHI
8	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. SEA
9	Mike Minor	TEX	at NYY, at BAL
10	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SF
11	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL, vs. TOR	33 K in last 30 IP, facing soft lineups at home
12	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. CWS
13	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
14	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. TOR
15	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
16	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM, at ATL	Still not ready for usual long outings
17	Aaron Nola	PHI	at CIN
18	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. PHI, vs. ARI	Homers under control lately, solid second half
19	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL	Recent fade making NL Cy Young a race again
20	Zack Greinke	HOU	at MIL
21	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BOS, vs. CLE
22	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TEX, at BOS	Seems to have figured out homer issue
23	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. ARI
24	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at STL
25	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ATL
26	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. LAA	Not slowing down.
27	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. KC
28	Trevor Bauer	CIN	vs. PHI
29	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at ATL
30	Trevor Richards	TB	vs. BAL, vs. TOR	Could thrive in primary pitcher role, especially this week
31	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at PIT, vs. KC	Nice set up against non-daunting lineups
32	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at CWS	Teasing us again, but can he stay healthy for a season?
33	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. KC
34	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL
35	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. ARI
36	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. DET, at MIA	Another two-step facing lesser lineups
37	Matthew Boyd	DET	at KC
38	Danny Duffy	KC	at MIA
39	Chris Paddack	SD	at ARI
40	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIL
41	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL	Numbers on par after a slow start
42	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. LAA
43	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIL
44	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. HOU, vs. CHC	The opposite of facing lesser lineups
45	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. SEA
46	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. DET
47	Marcus Stroman	NYM	vs. PHI
48	Jaime Barria	LAA	at OAK, at CWS
49	Tanner Roark	OAK	vs. LAA
50	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
51	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. DET
52	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CWS
53	John Means	BAL	vs. TEX	Pitching better after seemingly hitting rookie wall
54	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. DET	Fared well in rehab, but still, temper espectations.
55	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
56	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. CLE
57	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at LAD	Pitching well but a couple of tough draws
58	Robbie Ray	ARI	at CIN
59	Aaron Civale	CLE	vs. CWS, at MIN	Low punchouts but getting the job done
60	Max Fried	ATL	vs. WAS
61	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. COL
62	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. STL
63	Zac Gallen	ARI	vs. SD	Better control and we've really got something here
64	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. TOR
65	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	at TB, vs. TEX
66	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. SF, at PIT
67	Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. MIA, vs. STL	Homers will come down, so will ERA
68	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. CHC
69	Miles Mikolas	STL	at PIT
70	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. WAS
71	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIA
72	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. SF	Deadline deal? We don't need no stinking deal.
73	Mike Leake	ARI	vs. SD, at CIN
74	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. SEA
75	Domingo German	NYY	at BOS	Good test for playoffs, facing top offense on the road
76	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM, at ATL
77	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. SF
78	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. TOR
79	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. LAA
80	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS
81	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. MIN	Great test - Twins have been CRUSHING LHP
82	Lance Lynn	TEX	at NYY
83	James Paxton	NYY	vs. TEX
84	Alex Wood	CIN	vs. PHI
85	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. WAS
86	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. MIN, vs. NYY	Do you feel lucky?
87	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TEX
88	Dustin May	LAD	vs. SF
89	David Price	BOS	vs. NYY
90	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at TB
91	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. BAL
92	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. COL
93	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. TEX
94	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at CIN, at NYM
95	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SD
96	Dario Agrazal	PIT	vs. MIA
97	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CHC
98	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. DET
99	Eric Skoglund	KC	at MIA
100	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. NYM
101	Justus Sheffield	SEA	at CHC, at HOU
102	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. SEA
103	Kevin Gausman	CIN	vs. PHI
104	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at OAK
105	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. CHC
106	Dillon Peters	LAA	at CWS
107	Brock Burke	TEX	at BAL
108	Steven Brault	PIT	vs. STL
109	Drew Smyly	PHI	at CIN, at NYM
110	Zack Godley	TOR	at TB
111	Cal Quantrill	SD	at ARI
112	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at HOU
113	Genesis Cabrera	STL	vs. SF
114	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. COL
115	Trent Thornton	TOR	at TB
116	Dylan Cease	CWS	at CLE, vs. LAA
117	Drew VerHagen	DET	at KC, at OAK
118	Glenn Sparkman	KC	vs. DET
119	Alex Young	ARI	at CIN
120	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at CLE
121	Kolby Allard	TEX	at BAL
122	Adam Plutko	CLE	at MIN
123	Logan Webb	SF	at STL
124	Jason Vargas	PHI	at CIN
125	Brock Stewart	TOR	at ATL
126	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at STL
127	Ty Blach	BAL	at TB
128	Johnny Cueto	SF	at LAD	Heeeeeeere's Johnny!
129	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at ATL, at TB
130	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. MIN
131	Peter Lambert	COL	at LAD, at SD
132	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at HOU
133	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. HOU
134	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at LAD
135	Robert Dugger	MIA	at PIT
136	Tyler Beede	SF	at STL, at LAD
137	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. MIN, at OAK
138	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TEX
139	Tommy Milone	SEA	at HOU
140	J.A. Happ	NYY	at BOS
141	Ivan Nova	CWS	at CLE
142	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at TB
143	Lewis Thorpe	MIN	at BOS
144	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at NYY, at BAL
145	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at PIT
146	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at LAD, at SD
147	Ross Detwiler	CWS	at CLE, vs. LAA
148	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at OAK
149	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at CHC
150	Edwin Jackson	DET	at KC
151	Jose Suarez	LAA	at OAK
152	Nick Margevicius	SD	at ARI
153	Tim Melville	COL	at SD
154	Martin Perez	MIN	at BOS
155	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. NYY

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Gerrit Cole	HOU	at MIL, vs. SEA	15 GS with > 10 K, including last three. That's just silly.
2	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. CWS, at MIN	August Pitcher of the Month? 5-0, 1.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP with 51 K in 36.2 IP
3	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at DET, vs. CLE	Twins doing good job of keeping in a position to succeed
4	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. SEA
5	Mike Minor	TEX	at NYY, at BAL
6	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. BAL, vs. TOR	33 K in last 30 IP, facing soft lineups at home
7	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. CWS
8	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. TOR
9	Zack Greinke	HOU	at MIL
10	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BOS, vs. CLE
11	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TEX, at BOS	Seems to have figured out homer issue
12	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. LAA	Not slowing down.
13	Trevor Richards	TB	vs. BAL, vs. TOR	Could thrive in primary pitcher role, especially this week
14	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at CWS	Teasing us again, but can he stay healthy for a season?
15	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. DET, at MIA	Another two-step facing lesser lineups
16	Matthew Boyd	DET	at KC
17	Danny Duffy	KC	at MIA
18	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. LAA
19	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. SEA
20	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. DET
21	Jaime Barria	LAA	at OAK, at CWS
22	Tanner Roark	OAK	vs. LAA
23	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. DET
24	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CWS
25	John Means	BAL	vs. TEX	Pitching better after seemingly hitting rookie wall
26	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. DET	Fared well in rehab, but still, temper espectations.
27	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. CLE
28	Aaron Civale	CLE	vs. CWS, at MIN	Low punchouts but getting the job done
29	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	at TB, vs. TEX
30	Domingo German	NYY	at BOS	Good test for playoffs, facing top offense on the road
31	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. TOR
32	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. LAA
33	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. MIN	Great test - Twins have been CRUSHING LHP
34	Lance Lynn	TEX	at NYY
35	James Paxton	NYY	vs. TEX
36	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. MIN, vs. NYY	Do you feel lucky?
37	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TEX
38	David Price	BOS	vs. NYY
39	Clay Buchholz	TOR	at TB
40	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. BAL
41	Jonathan Loaisiga	NYY	vs. TEX
42	Homer Bailey	OAK	vs. DET
43	Eric Skoglund	KC	at MIA
44	Justus Sheffield	SEA	at CHC, at HOU
45	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. SEA
46	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at OAK
47	Dillon Peters	LAA	at CWS
48	Brock Burke	TEX	at BAL
49	Zack Godley	TOR	at TB
50	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at HOU
51	Trent Thornton	TOR	at TB
52	Dylan Cease	CWS	at CLE, vs. LAA
53	Drew VerHagen	DET	at KC, at OAK
54	Glenn Sparkman	KC	vs. DET
55	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at CLE
56	Kolby Allard	TEX	at BAL
57	Adam Plutko	CLE	at MIN
58	Brock Stewart	TOR	at ATL
59	Ty Blach	BAL	at TB
60	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	at ATL, at TB
61	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	vs. MIN
62	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at HOU
63	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. MIN, at OAK
64	Aaron Brooks	BAL	vs. TEX
65	Tommy Milone	SEA	at HOU
66	J.A. Happ	NYY	at BOS
67	Ivan Nova	CWS	at CLE
68	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at TB
69	Lewis Thorpe	MIN	at BOS
70	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at NYY, at BAL
71	Ross Detwiler	CWS	at CLE, vs. LAA
72	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	at OAK
73	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at CHC
74	Edwin Jackson	DET	at KC
75	Jose Suarez	LAA	at OAK
76	Martin Perez	MIN	at BOS
77	Brian Johnson	BOS	vs. NYY

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Jack Flaherty	STL	vs. SF, at PIT	Deserves more than eight wins
2	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. TOR, vs. WAS	Low strikeouts not fantasy-friendly but run prevention is real
3	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	vs. SEA, at MIL
4	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS, vs. PHI
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. SF
6	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
7	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS
8	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM, at ATL	Still not ready for usual long outings
9	Aaron Nola	PHI	at CIN
10	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	vs. PHI, vs. ARI	Homers under control lately, solid second half
11	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL	Recent fade making NL Cy Young a race again
12	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. ARI
13	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at STL
14	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at ATL
15	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. KC
16	Trevor Bauer	CIN	vs. PHI
17	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at ATL
18	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	at PIT, vs. KC	Nice set up against non-daunting lineups
19	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. KC
20	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. COL
21	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. ARI
22	Chris Paddack	SD	at ARI
23	Cole Hamels	CHC	at MIL
24	Jose Quintana	CHC	at MIL	Numbers on par after a slow start
25	Yu Darvish	CHC	at MIL
26	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. HOU, vs. CHC	The opposite of facing lesser lineups
27	Marcus Stroman	NYM	vs. PHI
28	Zach Eflin	PHI	at NYM
29	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. PHI
30	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at LAD	Pitching well but a couple of tough draws
31	Robbie Ray	ARI	at CIN
32	Max Fried	ATL	vs. WAS
33	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. COL
34	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. STL
35	Zac Gallen	ARI	vs. SD	Better control and we've really got something here
36	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. TOR
37	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. SF, at PIT
38	Mitch Keller	PIT	vs. MIA, vs. STL	Homers will come down, so will ERA
39	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. CHC
40	Miles Mikolas	STL	at PIT
41	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. WAS
42	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIA
43	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	vs. SF	Deadline deal? We don't need no stinking deal.
44	Mike Leake	ARI	vs. SD, at CIN
45	Jon Lester	CHC	vs. SEA
46	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM, at ATL
47	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. SF
48	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at WAS
49	Alex Wood	CIN	vs. PHI
50	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. WAS
51	Dustin May	LAD	vs. SF
52	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. COL
53	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at CIN, at NYM
54	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. SD
55	Dario Agrazal	PIT	vs. MIA
56	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CHC
57	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. NYM
58	Kevin Gausman	CIN	vs. PHI
59	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. CHC
60	Steven Brault	PIT	vs. STL
61	Drew Smyly	PHI	at CIN, at NYM
62	Cal Quantrill	SD	at ARI
63	Genesis Cabrera	STL	vs. SF
64	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. COL
65	Alex Young	ARI	at CIN
66	Logan Webb	SF	at STL
67	Jason Vargas	PHI	at CIN
68	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at STL
69	Johnny Cueto	SF	at LAD	Heeeeeeere's Johnny!
70	Peter Lambert	COL	at LAD, at SD
71	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. HOU
72	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at LAD
73	Robert Dugger	MIA	at PIT
74	Tyler Beede	SF	at STL, at LAD
75	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at PIT
76	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	at LAD, at SD
77	Nick Margevicius	SD	at ARI
78	Tim Melville	COL	at SD