Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Good Week Ahead for Harvey

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Updated on May 1, 2016 12:20AM EST

As always, remember that rotations are subject to change, so if you see something that looks incorrect, assume that it was a change that occurred since this was written and feel free to politely bring it up in the comments. I'll let you know where the new arm slots.

For the week May 2-8

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	MIN	If there's a fly in the ointment, it's the modest K% (23%), which may be fueled by a substantial velo drop (down ~2 MPH from last April)
2	David Price	at NYY
3	Cole Hamels	at DET
4	Danny Salazar	KC	Elevated 14% BB% hurts a lot less when you're allowing an MLB-low 4.3 H/9; though that .192 BABIP will regress so let's monitor the walks
5	Chris Archer	at LAA
6	Corey Kluber	DET
7	Felix Hernandez	at OAK, at HOU	Results still out-pacing skills and SwStr% has dropped every single start; monitoring him very closely
8	Dallas Keuchel	MIN, SEA
9	Justin Verlander	at CLE, TEX
10	Jose Quintana	BOS, MIN	Don't quite buy the K% surge, but Q has been a solid arms for years and now if CWS is actually good, he'll finally log a double-digit win season!
11	Taijuan Walker	at HOU	Only four starts, but really feeling like the beginning of a big breakout
12	Garrett Richards	TB
13	Drew Smyly	LAD
14	Masahiro Tanaka	at BAL	Has allowed exactly 2 ER in every start; there's K% upside with

For the week May 2-8

AMERICAN LEAGUE

START

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	MIN	If there's a fly in the ointment, it's the modest K% (23%), which may be fueled by a substantial velo drop (down ~2 MPH from last April)
2	David Price	at NYY
3	Cole Hamels	at DET
4	Danny Salazar	KC	Elevated 14% BB% hurts a lot less when you're allowing an MLB-low 4.3 H/9; though that .192 BABIP will regress so let's monitor the walks
5	Chris Archer	at LAA
6	Corey Kluber	DET
7	Felix Hernandez	at OAK, at HOU	Results still out-pacing skills and SwStr% has dropped every single start; monitoring him very closely
8	Dallas Keuchel	MIN, SEA
9	Justin Verlander	at CLE, TEX
10	Jose Quintana	BOS, MIN	Don't quite buy the K% surge, but Q has been a solid arms for years and now if CWS is actually good, he'll finally log a double-digit win season!
11	Taijuan Walker	at HOU	Only four starts, but really feeling like the beginning of a big breakout
12	Garrett Richards	TB
13	Drew Smyly	LAD
14	Masahiro Tanaka	at BAL	Has allowed exactly 2 ER in every start; there's K% upside with his 14% SwStr%
15	Jake Odorizzi	at LAA
16	Sonny Gray	SEA	Coincidence or trend: several big arms with uncharacteristically high BB% so far, including Gray at 12% (career 8%)
17	Ian Kennedy	at CLE	LAA gave Kennedy, Volquez a dose of regression, but Kennedy rebounded after a tough first (3 ER)
18	Yordano Ventura	at CLE
19	Jordan Zimmermann	TEX	Unquestionably pitching well, but if the 15% K% doesn't improve, the regression on his 90% LOB will sting quite a bit
20	Carlos Rodon	BOS
21	Kevin Gausman	OAK
22	Hector Santiago	at MIL	Logged 40-plus GB% in just 5 starts last year; has done so in all 5 this year
23	Hisashi Iwakuma	at OAK
24	Matt Moore	LAD, at LAA
25	J.A. Happ	TEX
26	Marcus Stroman	LAD	Elite GB% puts less pressure on K% for success, but 14% is just too low to be considering a mixed-league No. 2
27	Chris Tillman	NYY, OAK	Velo up 1.5 mph and SwStr% is backing the K% jump
28	Luis Severino	at BAL, BOS
29	Steven Wright	at CWS, at NYY
30	Michael Pineda	BOS
31	Rich Hill	at BAL	Has made me look foolish since my overreaction to his first start; I'm dipping my toes back into that pool, but still a little suspect ... just a little
32	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS
33	Colin McHugh	MIN, SEA
34	Nate Karns	at OAK, at HOU
35	Jose Berrios	at HOU, at CWS	There are at least viable excuses for shaky debut: rain delay, nerves (which seemed obvious when comparing to his MiLB tape), and 44-degree weather; still buying
36	Aaron Sanchez	TEX
37	Edinson Volquez	WAS, at CLE	Wasn't as good as starts before his trip to LAA (8 ER), not as bad as LAA thrashing; distribution is uneven, but his ERA is where it should be (mid-3.00s)
38	Rick Porcello	at NYY
39	Kendall Graveman	SEA, at BAL
40	Marco Estrada	TEX, LAD	Seemed to be visibly distressed related to his shoulder as he threw 118 pitches in 6.7 IP; I'm not a pitch-count militant based on whole number, but rather pitches thrown when tired, and he seemed fatigued/tired
41	Josh Tomlin	DET, KC
42	A.J. Griffin	at TOR, at DET	Has avoided previous gopheritis, but this could be the slate to change that; be careful
43	R.A. Dickey	TEX, LAD	Logged a 5.00-plus ERA in each of the last two Aprils, but still had a 3.81 ERA in 430; patience is needed
44	Ricky Nolasco	at CWS
45	Mike Fiers	MIN
46	Sean Manaea	SEA	One of those starts that was much better than line score when you watch it; Doolittle allowed two of the runs, too
47	Michael Fulmer	at CLE	Sharp debut in Minnesota; could really be a solid contributor right away; buy
48	Jesse Hahn	at BAL
49	Anibal Sanchez	at CLE	Yet to log 6 IP in a start
50	Chris Young	WAS
51	Nicholas Tropeano	at MIL	Also yet to log 6 IP in a start
52	Mat Latos	MIN	The Vegas casino is less of a mirage than this; joking aside he's inducing tons of soft contact, so that is something
53	Kris Medlen	WAS	1.0 K:BB ratio is gross, but ER totals are 2, 1, 7, 1; it'll get better, but maybe reserve him in mixers until the K:BB gets back on track
54	Phil Hughes	at HOU

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
55	Cody Anderson	KC	Expected to get recalled for this start; don't think he's this bad, but we can't ignore three straight 5 ER outings
56	Tyler Duffey	at CWS
57	Trevor Bauer	DET
58	Martin Perez	at TOR, at DET	On my watch list, but I need a skills improvement (0.9 K:BB) before investing seriously
59	Derek Holland	at TOR
60	Henry Owens	at CWS
61	Wade Miley	at HOU
62	Clay Buchholz	at CWS
63	Matt Shoemaker	TB
64	Alex Meyer	at HOU
65	Chris Devenski	SEA
66	Ubaldo Jimenez	OAK
67	Doug Fister	SEA
68	CC Sabathia	at BAL
69	Colby Lewis	at TOR
70	Tyler Wilson	NYY
71	Jered Weaver	at MIL, TB
72	Mike Wright	NYY
73	John Danks	BOS
74	Mike Pelfrey	TEX

NATIONAL LEAGUE

START

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Jake Arrieta	at PIT, WAS	He good. #analysis
2	Clayton Kershaw	at TOR
3	Noah Syndergaard	at SD	Oh this should go well for San Diego
4	Johnny Cueto	at CIN, COL
5	Matt Harvey	ATL, at SD	SwStr% at 11%, 12% the last two starts; a good week to keep that going
6	Gerrit Cole	CHC, at STL
7	Stephen Strasburg	at KC	Maintaining elite '15 skills along with a 10% boost in GB rate to 52%
8	Max Scherzer	at CHC	HR rate looking like last August and Wrigley isn't best place for that; a little bit of concern here
9	Jacob deGrom	at SD
10	Jose Fernandez	ARI	Too many walks, but skills are fantastic otherwise; I'd buy even without a discount
11	Jon Lester	at PIT
12	Michael Wacha	PHI, PIT
13	Zack Greinke	at ATL	At least the 11% SwSt% portends for some K% improvement
14	Madison Bumgarner	COL
15	Gio Gonzalez	at KC, at CHC	Tough slate keeps him down a bit, but looking really sharp this season
16	Jaime Garcia	PHI
17	Carlos Martinez	PIT
18	Jason Hammel	at PIT, WAS	Skills strong yet again; if he stay healthy, he'll be really good again as in 2014-15
19	Aaron Nola	at STL, at MIA
20	Vincent Velasquez	at MIA
21	Raisel Iglesias	MIL	We haven't seen the swing-and-miss from last year, but he maintains a strong walk rate
22	Steven Matz	ATL	Has allowed just 2 ER in 19.3 IP since 1.7 IP, 7 ER in opener
23	Kenta Maeda	at TB	MIA got to him a little bit, but he's still looked fantastic
24	Francisco Liriano	at STL
25	John Lackey	WAS	Weird season: two 6 ER outings and then 2 ER in his other two combined
26	Jerad Eickhoff	at STL
27	Joe Ross	at CHC	Looked sharp in return start from blister-shortened outing
28	Wei-Yin Chen	PHI
29	Drew Pomeranz	NYM
30	Adam Wainwright	PHI, PIT	If you don't feel comfortable starting Waino, Shields, Cobrin with these slates, just cut 'em
31	James Shields	COL, NYM
32	Tanner Roark	at KC, at CHC	Looking a lot more like the starter version from 2014 than the shaky reliever from last year
33	Patrick Corbin	at MIA, at ATL
34	Bartolo Colon	ATL, at SD	A dream scenario for a mixed-league stream
35	Jeff Samardzija	at CIN, COL
36	Jeremy Hellickson	at STL, at MIA	Has logged a sub-10% SwStr% just once this season (and he still notched 8 Ks that game)
37	Brandon Finnegan	SF, MIL	It's going to be a little uneven, but there should be more good than bad so don't overeact on the lows
38	Jimmy Nelson	LAA, at CIN
39	Adam Conley	ARI
40	Jon Gray	at SD, at SF	Excellent skills, but stupid Coors ruins everything; great stream option this week
41	Jhoulys Chacin	at NYM	Skills really supporting the run; maybe just best off as a 90-pitch guy (season-high is 91 pitches)
42	Kyle Hendricks	WAS
43	Scott Kazmir	at TB
44	Rubby De La Rosa	at MIA	Looking great his last two times and overall his work vs. lefties is coming along (just a 93-point split)
45	Julio Teheran	ARI
46	Robbie Ray	at MIA
47	Aaron Blair	ARI
48	Matt Wisler	at NYM, ARI
49	Juan Nicasio	CHC	Hard to look at his April as anything other than a resounding success (3.33 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 26% K%); tough matchup this week, though
50	Mike Leake	PHI	He's not a near-6.00 ERA pitcher; there isn't a ton of upside, but he will find his way back to at least the low-4.00s
51	Shelby Miller	at ATL	Another start-or-cut guy because Atlanta is terrible

SIT

RANK	PITCHER	OPPONENT	COMMENT
52	Tyler Chatwood	at SD
53	Chase Anderson	at CIN
54	Andrew Cashner	COL, NYM	I'm done for now
55	Ross Stripling	at TOR
56	Tom Koehler	PHI	Home-only streamer gets a good matchup
57	Chad Bettis	at SF
58	Alex Wood	at TOR	Not the place for him, even after a great start vs. SD ... especially since it was SD
59	Dan Straily	SF
60	Jon Niese	CHC
61	Jake Peavy	at CIN
62	Matt Cain	COL
63	Adam Morgan	at STL
64	Wily Peralta	at CIN
65	Zach Davies	LAA
66	Collin Rea	NYM
67	Jon Moscot	SF, MIL
68	Taylor Jungmann fill-in	LAA, at CIN
69	Cesar Vargas	COL
70	Alfredo Simon	MIL
71	Justin Nicolino	ARI, PHI
72	Mike Foltynewicz	at NYM
73	Chris Rusin	at SF
74	Jeff Locke	at STL
75	Eddie Butler	at SD, at SF

MLB TOP 100

Rank	Pitcher	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Jake Arrieta	at PIT, WAS	He good. #analysis
2	Clayton Kershaw	at TOR
3	Noah Syndergaard	at SD	Oh this should go well for San Diego
4	Johnny Cueto	at CIN, COL
5	Matt Harvey	ATL, at SD	SwStr% at 11%, 12% the last two starts; a good week to keep that going
6	Gerrit Cole	CHC, at STL
7	Chris Sale	MIN	If there's a fly in the ointment, it's the modest K% (23%), which may be fueled by a substantial velo drop (down ~2 MPH from last April)
8	David Price	at NYY
9	Stephen Strasburg	at KC	Maintaining elite '15 skills along with a 10% boost in GB rate to 52%
10	Max Scherzer	at CHC	HR rate looking like last August and Wrigley isn't best place for that; a little bit of concern here
11	Jacob deGrom	at SD
12	Jose Fernandez	ARI	Too many walks, but skills are fantastic otherwise; I'd buy even without a discount
13	Cole Hamels	at DET
14	Danny Salazar	KC	Elevated 14% BB% hurts a lot less when you're allowing an MLB-low 4.3 H/9; though that .192 BABIP will regress so let's monitor the walks
15	Chris Archer	at LAA
16	Corey Kluber	DET
17	Felix Hernandez	at OAK, at HOU	Results still out-pacing skills and SwStr% has dropped every single start; monitoring him very closely
18	Dallas Keuchel	MIN, SEA
19	Justin Verlander	at CLE, TEX
20	Jose Quintana	BOS, MIN	Don't quite buy the K% surge, but Q has been a solid arms for years and now if CWS is actually good, he'll finally log a double-digit win season!
21	Taijuan Walker	at HOU	Only four starts, but really feeling like the beginning of a big breakout
22	Garrett Richards	TB
23	Jon Lester	at PIT
24	Michael Wacha	PHI, PIT
25	Zack Greinke	at ATL	At least the 11% SwSt% portends for some K% improvement
26	Madison Bumgarner	COL
27	Gio Gonzalez	at KC, at CHC	Tough slate keeps him down a bit, but looking really sharp this season
28	Drew Smyly	LAD
29	Masahiro Tanaka	at BAL	Has allowed exactly 2 ER in every start; there's K% upside with his 14% SwStr%
30	Jake Odorizzi	at LAA
31	Jaime Garcia	PHI
32	Carlos Martinez	PIT
33	Jason Hammel	at PIT, WAS	Skills strong yet again; if he stay healthy, he'll be really good again as in 2014-15
34	Aaron Nola	at STL, at MIA
35	Sonny Gray	SEA	Coincidence or trend: several big arms with uncharacteristically high BB% so far, including Gray at 12% (career 8%)
36	Ian Kennedy	at CLE	LAA gave Kennedy, Volquez a dose of regression, but Kennedy rebounded after a tough first (3 ER)
37	Yordano Ventura	at CLE
38	Jordan Zimmermann	TEX	Unquestionably pitching well, but if the 15% K% doesn't improve, the regression on his 90% LOB will sting quite a bit
39	Vincent Velasquez	at MIA
40	Raisel Iglesias	MIL	We haven't seen the swing-and-miss from last year, but he maintains a strong walk rate
41	Steven Matz	ATL	Has allowed just 2 ER in 19.3 IP since 1.7 IP, 7 ER in opener
42	Kenta Maeda	at TB	MIA got to him a little bit, but he's still looked fantastic
43	Francisco Liriano	at STL
44	John Lackey	WAS	Weird season: two 6 ER outings and then 2 ER in his other two combined
45	Jerad Eickhoff	at STL
46	Joe Ross	at CHC	Looked sharp in return start from blister-shortened outing
47	Wei-Yin Chen	PHI
48	Drew Pomeranz	NYM
49	Carlos Rodon	BOS
50	Kevin Gausman	OAK
51	Hector Santiago	at MIL	Logged 40-plus GB% in just 5 starts last year; has done so in all 5 this year
52	Hisashi Iwakuma	at OAK
53	Matt Moore	LAD, at LAA
54	Adam Wainwright	PHI, PIT	If you don't feel comfortable starting Waino, Shields, Cobrin with these slates, just cut 'em
55	James Shields	COL, NYM
56	Tanner Roark	at KC, at CHC	Looking a lot more like the starter version from 2014 than the shaky reliever from last year
57	Patrick Corbin	at MIA, at ATL
58	Bartolo Colon	ATL, at SD	A dream scenario for a mixed-league stream
59	Jeff Samardzija	at CIN, COL
60	Jeremy Hellickson	at STL, at MIA	Has logged a sub-10% SwStr% just once this season (and he still notched 8 Ks that game)
61	Brandon Finnegan	SF, MIL	It's going to be a little uneven, but there should be more good than bad so don't overeact on the lows
62	Jimmy Nelson	LAA, at CIN
75	J.A. Happ	TEX
76	Marcus Stroman	LAD	Elite GB% puts less pressure on K% for success, but 14% is just too low to be considering a mixed-league No. 2
77	Chris Tillman	NYY, OAK	Velo up 1.5 mph and SwStr% is backing the K% jump
78	Luis Severino	at BAL, BOS
79	Steven Wright	at CWS, at NYY
80	Michael Pineda	BOS
81	Rich Hill	at BAL	Has made me look foolish since my overreaction to his first start; I'm dipping my toes back into that pool, but still a little suspect ... just a little
82	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS
83	Collin McHugh	MIN, SEA
84	Nate Karns	at OAK, at HOU
63	Adam Conley	ARI
64	Jon Gray	at SD, at SF	Excellent skills, but stupid Coors ruins everything; great stream option this week
65	Jhoulys Chacin	at NYM	Skills really supporting the run; maybe just best off as a 90-pitch guy (season-high is 91 pitches)
66	Kyle Hendricks	WAS
67	Scott Kazmir	at TB
68	Rubby De La Rosa	at MIA	Looking great his last two times and overall his work vs. lefties is coming along (just a 93-point split)
69	Julio Teheran	ARI
85	Jose Berrios	at HOU, at CWS	There are at least viable excuses for shaky debut: rain delay, nerves (which seemed obvious when comparing to his MiLB tape), and 44-degree weather; still buying
85	Aaron Sanchez	TEX
86	Edinson Volquez	WAS, at CLE	Wasn't as good as starts before his trip to LAA (8 ER), not as bad as LAA thrashing; distribution is uneven, but his ERA is where it should be (mid-3.00s)
87	Rick Porcello	at NYY
88	Kendall Graveman	SEA, at BAL
89	Marco Estrada	TEX, LAD	Seemed to be visibly distressed related to his shoulder as he threw 118 pitches in 6.7 IP; I'm not a pitch-count militant based on whole number, but rather pitches thrown when tired, and he seemed fatigued/tired
70	Robbie Ray	at MIA
71	Aaron Blair	ARI
72	Matt Wisler	at NYM, ARI
73	Juan Nicasio	CHC	Hard to look at his April as anything other than a resounding success (3.33 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 26% K%); tough matchup this week, though
74	Mike Leake	PHI	He's not a near-6.00 ERA pitcher; there isn't a ton of upside, but he will find his way back to at least the low-4.00s
93	Ricky Nolasco	at CWS
90	Josh Tomlin	DET, KC
91	A.J. Griffin	at TOR, at DET	Has avoided previous gopheritis, but this could be the slate to change that; be careful
92	R.A. Dickey	TEX, LAD	Logged a 5.00-plus ERA in each of the last two Aprils, but still had a 3.81 ERA in 430; patience is needed
94	Mike Fiers	MIN
96	Sean Manaea	SEA	One of those starts that was much better than line score when you watch it; Doolittle allowed two of the runs, too
97	Michael Fulmer	at CLE	Sharp debut in Minnesota; could really be a solid contributor right away; buy
98	Jesse Hahn	at BAL
99	Anibal Sanchez	at CLE	Yet to log 6 IP in a start
100	Chris Young	WAS