Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Smooth Sale-ing

Todd Zola's weekly pitcher rankings feature a re-vitalized Chris Sale, sits atop a list devoid of many two-start aces.

Updated on June 9, 2019 11:42PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Smooth Sale-ing

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Updated on June 9, 2019 11:42PM EST

Remember when Chris Sale couldn't top 90 mph? Good times. The author of two immaculate innings this season (nine pitches, all strikes) sits atop rankings devoid of many two-start aces.

There are 34 double-dippers on the docket, several with one favorable and one tougher matchup, making start/sit decision difficult. Remember, these rankings tend to favor strikeouts, so if you're more concerned with ratios, drop the riskier options a few spots.

A is the custom, these are initial rankings with the final set coming out Sunday night, after teams have firmed up rotations for the week.

For the week June 10-16.

UPDATED: June 9, 11:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX, at BAL	Immaculate ranking
2	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at LAA, vs. CHC	1.66 ERA, .89 WHIP in 27 GS (162.1 IP) since start of 2018
3	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. OAK, vs. LAA	Improved skills fending off regression
4	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at CWS, vs. ARI
5	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. MIL, vs. TOR
6	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CIN, at DET	Homers continue to plague
7	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. NYM, at CWS	Returning from paternity leave, could get second start
8	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. ARI
9	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. STL
10	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CHC
11	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TOR	Leading league in strikeouts
12	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIL
13	Mike Minor	TEX	at BOS, at CIN	Red Sox

Remember when Chris Sale couldn't top 90 mph? Good times. The author of two immaculate innings this season (nine pitches, all strikes) sits atop rankings devoid of many two-start aces.

A is the custom, these are initial rankings with the final set coming out Sunday night, after teams have firmed up rotations for the week.

For the week June 10-16.

UPDATED: June 9, 11:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX, at BAL	Immaculate ranking
2	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at LAA, vs. CHC	1.66 ERA, .89 WHIP in 27 GS (162.1 IP) since start of 2018
3	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. OAK, vs. LAA	Improved skills fending off regression
4	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at CWS, vs. ARI
5	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. MIL, vs. TOR
6	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CIN, at DET	Homers continue to plague
7	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. NYM, at CWS	Returning from paternity leave, could get second start
8	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. ARI
9	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. STL
10	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CHC
11	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TOR	Leading league in strikeouts
12	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIL
13	Mike Minor	TEX	at BOS, at CIN	Red Sox just average vs. LHP
14	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. ARI
15	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. STL
16	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. CHC
17	Blake Snell	TB	vs. LAA
18	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PIT	Not a concern yet, but workload might be monitored later
19	Chris Archer	PIT	at ATL, at MIA
20	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CHC
21	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIA
22	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. SEA, vs. KC
23	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. KC	Actual ERA less than half xFIP and SIERA
24	Chris Paddack	SD	at SF
25	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. MIL
26	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at LAD
27	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. SEA
28	J.A. Happ	NYY	at CWS
29	Matthew Boyd	DET	at KC
30	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at KC, vs. CLE	Nice matchups
31	Jack Flaherty	STL	at NYM
32	Mike Fiers	OAK	at TB, vs. SEA
33	Zack Greinke	ARI	at WAS
34	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. PIT	1.02 ERA, .85 WHIP with 19 K and 4 BB in last 3 GS, spanning 17.2 IP
35	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. OAK	Beginning to start and not follow
36	James Paxton	NYY	vs. NYM	Could lose second start if Tanaka comes back Monday
37	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. PIT	1.99 ERA, .88 WHIP in 4 GS since May 10 shellacking by Mets (10 ER in 3 IP)
38	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. NYY	Still owed some BABIP (.256) and HR/FB (6.3%) correction.
39	Luis Castillo	CIN	at CLE	Lukcy .243 BABIP masking generous 11.8 BB%
40	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. STL, vs. PIT
41	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. OAK, vs. LAA	Likely will be primary pitcher, but treat like a starter
42	Shane Bieber	CLE	at DET
43	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. STL
44	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. SEA
45	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL
46	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at ATL, at MIA	Beginning to lose faith, strikeouts too low to warrant next tier
47	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at TB
48	German Marquez	COL	vs. CHC, vs. SD	Even struggling on the road lately, whiffs down
49	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. ARI
50	CC Sabathia	NYY	at CWS
51	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PIT
52	David Price	BOS	vs. TEX
53	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at LAA
54	Chase Anderson	MIL	at SF
55	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. ARI, at ATL
56	John Means	BAL	vs. TOR, vs. BOS
57	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PIT, vs. PHI	15 HR in 44.1 IP after allowing 17 in 183 IP last season
58	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at HOU
59	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. LAD, at TB
60	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. PIT, vs. PHI	Pitching for spot in rotation with Dallas Keuchel looming
61	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. ARI
62	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at BAL
63	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. DET, at MIN
64	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. LAA
65	Max Fried	ATL	vs. PHI
66	Jason Vargas	NYM	at NYY, vs. STL
67	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at NYY
68	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. TOR
69	Jon Duplantier	ARI	at PHI, at WAS	Ratios a rick but piling up punch outs
70	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. DET
71	Michael Wacha	STL	at MIA, at NYM	Coming out of the bullpen, don't expect more than 5 IP
72	Dakota Hudson	STL	at MIA, at NYM
73	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. STL
74	Trent Thornton	TOR	at BAL, at HOU
75	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at TB
76	Jon Lester	CHC	at LAD
77	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. TEX
78	Zach Davies	MIL	at SF
79	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. MIL
80	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at CWS, vs. ARI
81	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CIN
82	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL
83	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at HOU
84	Daniel Ponce de Leon	STL	at NYM
85	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at SF
86	Griffin Canning	LAA	at TB
87	Cal Quantrill	SD	at SF
88	Chad Green	NYY	at CWS
89	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at BAL
90	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. SEA
91	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at ATL
92	Mike Leake	SEA	at MIN, at OAK
93	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. TEX
94	Robbie Ray	ARI	at WAS
95	Jose Quintana	CHC	at COL, at LAD
96	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TEX
97	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. TEX
98	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. SEA
99	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
100	Shaun Anderson	SF	vs. SD
101	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at PHI
102	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at OAK
103	Trevor Cahill	LAA	vs. LAD
104	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. NYY
105	Steven Brault	PIT	at MIA
106	Adam Plutko	CLE	at DET
107	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. MIL
108	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. BOS
109	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at COL
110	Darwinzon Hernandez	BOS	vs. TEX, at BAL
111	Brett Anderson	OAK	at TB
112	Jon Gray	COL	vs. SD
113	Cole Hamels	CHC	at COL
114	Yu Darvish	CHC	at COL, at LAD
115	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. NYY
116	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at OAK
117	Matt Strahm	SD	at COL
118	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at CLE
119	Lance Lynn	TEX	at BOS
120	Brad Keller	KC	at MIN
121	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at MIN
122	Mitch Keller	PIT	at ATL
123	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at HOU
124	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. BOS
125	Gregory Soto	DET	vs. CLE
126	Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. WAS, vs. NYY
127	Drew Smyly	TEX	at CIN
128	Nick Margevicius	SD	at COL
129	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	vs. STL
130	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. CHC, vs. SD
131	David Hess	BAL	vs. TOR
132	Tyler Anderson	COL	at TB
133	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at PHI, at WAS
134	Edwin Jackson	TOR	at BAL
135	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. TOR
136	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CHC
137	Clayton Richard	TOR	at HOU
138	Tommy Milone	SEA	at MIN
139	Odrisamer Despaigne	CWS	vs. WAS
140	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at BOS, at CIN
141	Ryan Carpenter	DET	vs. CLE
142	Adrian Sampson	TEX	at BOS
143	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at MIN
144	Daniel Norris	DET	at KC
145	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. DET
146	Eric Lauer	SD	at COL
147	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. SD
148	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. SD

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TEX, at BAL	Immaculate ranking
2	Charlie Morton	TB	vs. OAK, vs. LAA	Improved skills fending off regression
3	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. MIL, vs. TOR
4	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CIN, at DET	Homers continue to plague
5	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. NYM, at CWS	Returning from paternity leave, could get second start
6	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TOR	Leading league in strikeouts
7	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. MIL
8	Mike Minor	TEX	at BOS, at CIN	Red Sox just average vs. LHP
9	Blake Snell	TB	vs. LAA
10	Martin Perez	MIN	vs. SEA, vs. KC
11	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	vs. KC	Actual ERA less than half xFIP and SIERA
12	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. SEA
13	J.A. Happ	NYY	at CWS
14	Matthew Boyd	DET	at KC
15	Spencer Turnbull	DET	at KC, vs. CLE	Nice matchups
16	Mike Fiers	OAK	at TB, vs. SEA
17	Yonny Chirinos	TB	vs. OAK	Beginning to start and not follow
18	James Paxton	NYY	vs. NYM	Could lose second start if Tanaka comes back Monday
19	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. NYY	Still owed some BABIP (.256) and HR/FB (6.3%) correction.
20	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. OAK, vs. LAA	Likely will be primary pitcher, but treat like a starter
21	Shane Bieber	CLE	at DET
22	Frankie Montas	OAK	vs. SEA
23	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at TB
24	CC Sabathia	NYY	at CWS
25	David Price	BOS	vs. TEX
26	John Means	BAL	vs. TOR, vs. BOS
27	Felix Pena	LAA	vs. LAD, at TB
28	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at BAL
29	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. DET, at MIN
30	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	vs. LAA
31	Wade Miley	HOU	vs. TOR
32	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. DET
33	Trent Thornton	TOR	at BAL, at HOU
34	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at TB
35	Zach Plesac	CLE	vs. CIN
36	Griffin Canning	LAA	at TB
37	Chad Green	NYY	at CWS
38	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at BAL
39	Michael Pineda	MIN	vs. SEA
40	Mike Leake	SEA	at MIN, at OAK
41	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TEX
42	Chris Bassitt	OAK	vs. SEA
43	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. KC
44	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	at OAK
45	Trevor Cahill	LAA	vs. LAD
46	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. NYY
47	Adam Plutko	CLE	at DET
48	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. BOS
49	Darwinzon Hernandez	BOS	vs. TEX, at BAL
50	Brett Anderson	OAK	at TB
51	Ivan Nova	CWS	vs. NYY
52	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at OAK
53	Lance Lynn	TEX	at BOS
54	Brad Keller	KC	at MIN
55	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at MIN
56	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at HOU
57	Andrew Cashner	BAL	vs. BOS
58	Gregory Soto	DET	vs. CLE
59	Manny Banuelos	CWS	vs. WAS, vs. NYY
60	Drew Smyly	TEX	at CIN
61	David Hess	BAL	vs. TOR
62	Edwin Jackson	TOR	at BAL
63	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	vs. TOR
64	Clayton Richard	TOR	at HOU
65	Tommy Milone	SEA	at MIN
66	Odrisamer Despaigne	CWS	vs. WAS
67	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at BOS, at CIN
68	Ryan Carpenter	DET	vs. CLE
69	Adrian Sampson	TEX	at BOS
70	Glenn Sparkman	KC	at MIN
71	Daniel Norris	DET	at KC
72	Homer Bailey	KC	vs. DET

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at LAA, vs. CHC	1.66 ERA, .89 WHIP in 27 GS (162.1 IP) since start of 2018
2	Patrick Corbin	WAS	at CWS, vs. ARI
3	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. ARI
4	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. STL
5	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. CHC
6	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. ARI
7	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. STL
8	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. CHC
9	Mike Soroka	ATL	vs. PIT	Not a concern yet, but workload might be monitored later
10	Chris Archer	PIT	at ATL, at MIA
11	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. CHC
12	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIA
13	Chris Paddack	SD	at SF
14	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. MIL
15	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at LAD
16	Jack Flaherty	STL	at NYM
17	Zack Greinke	ARI	at WAS
18	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. PIT	1.02 ERA, .85 WHIP with 19 K and 4 BB in last 3 GS, spanning 17.2 IP
19	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. PIT	1.99 ERA, .88 WHIP in 4 GS since May 10 shellacking by Mets (10 ER in 3 IP)
20	Luis Castillo	CIN	at CLE	Lukcy .243 BABIP masking generous 11.8 BB%
21	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. STL, vs. PIT
22	Steven Matz	NYM	vs. STL
23	Aaron Nola	PHI	at ATL
24	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at ATL, at MIA	Beginning to lose faith, strikeouts too low to warrant next tier
25	German Marquez	COL	vs. CHC, vs. SD	Even struggling on the road lately, whiffs down
26	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. ARI
27	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PIT
28	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at LAA
29	Chase Anderson	MIL	at SF
30	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. ARI, at ATL
31	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. PIT, vs. PHI	15 HR in 44.1 IP after allowing 17 in 183 IP last season
32	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	at HOU
33	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. PIT, vs. PHI	Pitching for spot in rotation with Dallas Keuchel looming
34	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. ARI
35	Max Fried	ATL	vs. PHI
36	Jason Vargas	NYM	at NYY, vs. STL
37	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at NYY
38	Jon Duplantier	ARI	at PHI, at WAS	Ratios a rick but piling up punch outs
39	Michael Wacha	STL	at MIA, at NYM	Coming out of the bullpen, don't expect more than 5 IP
40	Dakota Hudson	STL	at MIA, at NYM
41	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. STL
42	Jon Lester	CHC	at LAD
43	Sonny Gray	CIN	vs. TEX
44	Zach Davies	MIL	at SF
45	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. MIL
46	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	at CWS, vs. ARI
47	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL
48	Freddy Peralta	MIL	at HOU
49	Daniel Ponce de Leon	STL	at NYM
50	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at SF
51	Cal Quantrill	SD	at SF
52	Jordan Lyles	PIT	at ATL
53	Tyler Mahle	CIN	vs. TEX
54	Robbie Ray	ARI	at WAS
55	Jose Quintana	CHC	at COL, at LAD
56	Tanner Roark	CIN	vs. TEX
57	Shaun Anderson	SF	vs. SD
58	Merrill Kelly	ARI	at PHI
59	Steven Brault	PIT	at MIA
60	Drew Pomeranz	SF	vs. MIL
61	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at COL
62	Jon Gray	COL	vs. SD
63	Cole Hamels	CHC	at COL
64	Yu Darvish	CHC	at COL, at LAD
65	Matt Strahm	SD	at COL
66	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at CLE
67	Mitch Keller	PIT	at ATL
68	Nick Margevicius	SD	at COL
69	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	vs. STL
70	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. CHC, vs. SD
71	Tyler Anderson	COL	at TB
72	Taylor Clarke	ARI	at PHI, at WAS
73	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CHC
74	Eric Lauer	SD	at COL
75	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. SD
76	Jeff Hoffman	COL	vs. SD