Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Yu Gotta Believe

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Yu Gotta Believe

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Updated on August 26, 2019 12:11AM EST

There's only five weeks left in the season with precious few opportunities to stream two-start options. In fact, this could be the final two-step for some of those with a pair this week. In a 26-week season, the leaders in games started toss 32 or 33 games, so they have six or seven double dips, or one every month.

Making a return to the top 10 is Cubs starter Yu Darvish. At the end of June, Darvish was sitting on a bloated 4.9 BB/9. Since then, it's a minuscule 0.3 BB/9. the turnaround came out of nowhere. Even in his salad days, Darvish displayed sketchy control.

This is a decent week for picking up streaming options with Brad Keller, Adam Plutko, Mike Montgomery and Sandy Alcantara among the candidates.

By means of reminder, all questions regarding scheduling should be directed to the Projected Starters grid. All ranking questions should be posed in the comments below.

Keep in mind there are preliminary rankings. The final version will be posted Sunday night after pitching plans are clarified.

For the week Aug. 26 - Sept. 1.

UPDATED: Sunday, August 25 10:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB, at TOR
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at HOU, vs. CLE	Only 12 HR allowed in 161 IP
3	Luis Castillo	CIN	at MIA, at STL
4	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. MIN, at ATL	36 K last 21 IP
5	Sonny Gray	CIN	at

There's only five weeks left in the season with precious few opportunities to stream two-start options. In fact, this could be the final two-step for some of those with a pair this week. In a 26-week season, the leaders in games started toss 32 or 33 games, so they have six or seven double dips, or one every month.

Making a return to the top 10 is Cubs starter Yu Darvish. At the end of June, Darvish was sitting on a bloated 4.9 BB/9. Since then, it's a minuscule 0.3 BB/9. the turnaround came out of nowhere. Even in his salad days, Darvish displayed sketchy control.

This is a decent week for picking up streaming options with Brad Keller, Adam Plutko, Mike Montgomery and Sandy Alcantara among the candidates.

By means of reminder, all questions regarding scheduling should be directed to the Projected Starters grid. All ranking questions should be posed in the comments below.

Keep in mind there are preliminary rankings. The final version will be posted Sunday night after pitching plans are clarified.

For the week Aug. 26 - Sept. 1.

UPDATED: Sunday, August 25 10:45 PM ET

MLB

Rank	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB, at TOR
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at HOU, vs. CLE	Only 12 HR allowed in 161 IP
3	Luis Castillo	CIN	at MIA, at STL
4	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. MIN, at ATL	36 K last 21 IP
5	Sonny Gray	CIN	at MIA, at STL
6	Yu Darvish	CHC	at NYM, vs. MIL	5 straight GS without a walk, only 3 BB last 54 IP
7	Mike Minor	TEX	at LAA, vs. SEA
8	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TB
9	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. CHC
10	Michael Pineda	MIN	at CWS, at DET	Matchups drive high ranking
11	Zack Greinke	HOU	vs. TB
12	Marcus Stroman	NYM	vs. CHC, at PHI	Strikeouts a little higher with the Mets
13	Shane Bieber	CLE	at TB
14	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM
15	Brad Keller	KC	vs. OAK, vs. BAL	Worth picking up if available, favorable matchups
16	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. MIA
17	Walker Buehler	LAD	at SD
18	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at TB
19	Andrew Heaney	LAA	vs. TEX, vs. BOS	20 K with 0 BB last two GS, spanning 15 IP
20	Jose Berrios	MIN	at CWS
21	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at ARI	11 ER in 10 IP over last two GS
22	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. BAL	Some free agent signings work out
23	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. CHC	1.82 ERA, .98 WHIP with 55 K in 54.1 IP since the break
24	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
25	Jason Vargas	PHI	vs. PIT, vs. NYM
26	Trevor Bauer	CIN	at STL
27	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL	Top-10 SP in 2020
28	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at ARI	25 GS, all at least 6 IP
29	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at NYM
30	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI
31	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at CWS
32	Alex Wood	CIN	at MIA
33	Mike Soroka	ATL	at TOR	Low strikeouts lower ranking
34	Mike Fiers	OAK	at KC, at NYY
35	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. CWS	Two consecutive 6 IP, 7 K, 0 BB outings, with just 1 ER allowed
36	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at MIA
37	Chris Paddack	SD	at SF	Could be hitting rookie wall
38	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BAL	On a pitch count
39	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. CIN, at WAS
40	Domingo German	NYY	vs. OAK	27 HR, 56 ER, second highest HR/ER in the league (Verlander highest)
41	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIL	1.38 ERA, .77 WHIP with 33 K and 1 BB last 26 IP
42	Adam Plutko	CLE	at DET, at TB	Good win potential, decent FAAB/waiver target this week
43	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. STL, at CHC
44	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. MIL
45	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF
46	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. ARI
47	James Paxton	NYY	at SEA
48	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
49	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. LAD, at SF
50	Max Fried	ATL	vs. CWS
51	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at DET
52	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. SEA
53	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SD
54	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. CIN, at WAS
55	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIL, vs. CIN	5 HR allowed last 16 IP
56	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. MIA
57	German Marquez	COL	vs. BOS, vs. PIT
58	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. CLE, vs. MIN
59	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at SF
60	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. STL	Quietly having a solid campaign
61	David Price	BOS	at LAA
62	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. MIN
63	Martin Perez	MIN	at DET
64	Tanner Roark	OAK	at KC
65	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. OAK, vs. BAL	Starting to pitch better as a starter, viable pickup for two-step
66	Jon Lester	CHC	at NYM
67	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. BAL
68	John Means	BAL	at KC
69	Wade Miley	HOU	at TOR
70	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. LAD
71	J.A. Happ	NYY	at SEA, vs. OAK	Hard to trust even in decent matchups
72	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. STL
73	Dustin May	LAD	at SD, at ARI
74	Julio Teheran	ATL	at COL, vs. CWS
75	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. CIN	At least 7 IP last 3 GS, though only 15 K in 21.2 IP
76	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
77	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	vs. CIN
78	Zach Plesac	CLE	at DET
79	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. CLE
80	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at TOR
81	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at HOU
82	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. MIA
83	Mitch Keller	PIT	at PHI
84	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. OAK
85	Justus Sheffield	SEA	vs. NYY
86	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. CLE
87	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. NYM
88	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at COL	Big test for improving southpaw
89	Rick Porcello	BOS	at COL, at LAA
90	Dillon Peters	LAA	vs. BOS
91	Cal Quantrill	SD	vs. LAD
92	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. NYY, at TEX
93	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. PIT
94	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at KC
95	Mike Leake	ARI	at SF
96	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CHC
97	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	at ARI
98	Framber Valdez	HOU	at TOR
99	Drew Smyly	PHI	vs. PIT
100	Aaron Civale	CLE	at DET
101	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at KC
102	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIL, vs. CIN
103	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at STL
104	Logan Webb	SF	vs. SD
105	Steven Brault	PIT	at PHI, at COL
106	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. OAK
107	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at ATL
108	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at LAA
109	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at PHI, at COL	1.54 ERA, .89 WHIP in April -- 5.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP since
110	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. BOS
111	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. ARI, vs. SD
112	Alex Young	ARI	at SF, vs. LAD
113	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	at WAS
114	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CIN
115	Clay Buchholz	TOR	vs. HOU
116	Ivan Nova	CWS	at ATL
117	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. MIN
118	Kolby Allard	TEX	vs. SEA
119	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. CIN
120	Homer Bailey	OAK	at KC, at NYY
121	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
122	Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. NYY, at TEX
123	Brock Burke	TEX	vs. SEA
124	Trevor Richards	TB	at HOU
125	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	vs. ATL
126	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at TEX
127	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. LAD
128	Zack Godley	TOR	vs. ATL
129	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	vs. TEX
130	Drew VerHagen	DET	vs. CLE
131	Jacob Nix	SD	vs. LAD
132	Brett Anderson	OAK	at NYY
133	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. SD
134	Zac Gallen	ARI	vs. LAD
135	Glenn Sparkman	KC	vs. OAK
136	Aaron Brooks	BAL	at WAS, at KC
137	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE
138	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. HOU
139	Tim Melville	COL	vs. ATL, vs. PIT
140	Ross Detwiler	CWS	vs. MIN
141	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at LAA
142	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. HOU
143	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at TEX
144	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at WAS
145	Edwin Jackson	DET	vs. MIN
146	Trevor Williams	PIT	at COL
147	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. PIT
148	Dario Agrazal	PIT	at COL
149	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	vs. PIT
150	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. BOS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. TB, at TOR
2	Charlie Morton	TB	at HOU, vs. CLE	Only 12 HR allowed in 161 IP
3	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. MIN, at ATL	36 K last 21 IP
4	Mike Minor	TEX	at LAA, vs. SEA
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. TB
6	Michael Pineda	MIN	at CWS, at DET	Matchups drive high ranking
7	Zack Greinke	HOU	vs. TB
8	Shane Bieber	CLE	at TB
9	Brad Keller	KC	vs. OAK, vs. BAL	Worth picking up if available, favorable matchups
10	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at TB
11	Andrew Heaney	LAA	vs. TEX, vs. BOS	20 K with 0 BB last two GS, spanning 15 IP
12	Jose Berrios	MIN	at CWS
13	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at CWS
14	Mike Fiers	OAK	at KC, at NYY
15	Domingo German	NYY	vs. OAK	27 HR, 56 ER, second highest HR/ER in the league (Verlander highest)
16	Adam Plutko	CLE	at DET, at TB	Good win potential, decent FAAB/waiver target this week
17	James Paxton	NYY	at SEA
18	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at SEA
19	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at DET
20	Lance Lynn	TEX	vs. SEA
21	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. CLE, vs. MIN
22	David Price	BOS	at LAA
23	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. MIN
24	Martin Perez	MIN	at DET
25	Tanner Roark	OAK	at KC
26	Mike Montgomery	KC	vs. OAK, vs. BAL	Starting to pitch better as a starter, viable pickup for two-step
27	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. BAL
28	John Means	BAL	at KC
29	Wade Miley	HOU	at TOR
30	J.A. Happ	NYY	at SEA, vs. OAK	Hard to trust even in decent matchups
31	Zach Plesac	CLE	at DET
32	Austin Pruitt	TB	vs. CLE
33	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at HOU
34	Jakob Junis	KC	vs. OAK
35	Justus Sheffield	SEA	vs. NYY
36	Jalen Beeks	TB	vs. CLE
37	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at COL	Big test for improving southpaw
38	Rick Porcello	BOS	at COL, at LAA
39	Dillon Peters	LAA	vs. BOS
40	Yusei Kikuchi	SEA	vs. NYY, at TEX
41	Chris Bassitt	OAK	at KC
42	Framber Valdez	HOU	at TOR
43	Aaron Civale	CLE	at DET
44	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at KC
45	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. OAK
46	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	at ATL
47	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at LAA
48	Jaime Barria	LAA	vs. BOS
49	Asher Wojciechowski	BAL	at WAS
50	Clay Buchholz	TOR	vs. HOU
51	Ivan Nova	CWS	at ATL
52	Dylan Cease	CWS	vs. MIN
53	Kolby Allard	TEX	vs. SEA
54	Homer Bailey	OAK	at KC, at NYY
55	Tommy Milone	SEA	vs. NYY, at TEX
56	Brock Burke	TEX	vs. SEA
57	Trevor Richards	TB	at HOU
58	Jacob Waguespack	TOR	vs. ATL
59	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at TEX
60	Zack Godley	TOR	vs. ATL
61	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	vs. TEX
62	Drew VerHagen	DET	vs. CLE
63	Brett Anderson	OAK	at NYY
64	Glenn Sparkman	KC	vs. OAK
65	Aaron Brooks	BAL	at WAS, at KC
66	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE
67	Trent Thornton	TOR	vs. HOU
68	Ross Detwiler	CWS	vs. MIN
69	Ariel Jurado	TEX	at LAA
70	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. HOU
71	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at TEX
72	Edwin Jackson	DET	vs. MIN

NATIONAL LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Luis Castillo	CIN	at MIA, at STL
2	Sonny Gray	CIN	at MIA, at STL
3	Yu Darvish	CHC	at NYM, vs. MIL	5 straight GS without a walk, only 3 BB last 54 IP
4	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. CHC
5	Marcus Stroman	NYM	vs. CHC, at PHI	Strikeouts a little higher with the Mets
6	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM
7	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. MIA
8	Walker Buehler	LAD	at SD
9	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at ARI	11 ER in 10 IP over last two GS
10	Patrick Corbin	WAS	vs. BAL	Some free agent signings work out
11	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	vs. CHC	1.82 ERA, .98 WHIP with 55 K in 54.1 IP since the break
12	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
13	Jason Vargas	PHI	vs. PIT, vs. NYM
14	Trevor Bauer	CIN	at STL
15	Jack Flaherty	STL	at MIL	Top-10 SP in 2020
16	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at ARI	25 GS, all at least 6 IP
17	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at NYM
18	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI
19	Alex Wood	CIN	at MIA
20	Mike Soroka	ATL	at TOR	Low strikeouts lower ranking
21	Dallas Keuchel	ATL	vs. CWS	Two consecutive 6 IP, 7 K, 0 BB outings, with just 1 ER allowed
22	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at MIA
23	Chris Paddack	SD	at SF	Could be hitting rookie wall
24	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. BAL	On a pitch count
25	Caleb Smith	MIA	vs. CIN, at WAS
26	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. MIL	1.38 ERA, .77 WHIP with 33 K and 1 BB last 26 IP
27	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. STL, at CHC
28	Cole Hamels	CHC	vs. MIL
29	Joey Lucchesi	SD	at SF
30	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. ARI
31	Eric Lauer	SD	vs. LAD, at SF
32	Max Fried	ATL	vs. CWS
33	Kenta Maeda	LAD	at SD
34	Pablo Lopez	MIA	vs. CIN, at WAS
35	Miles Mikolas	STL	at MIL, vs. CIN	5 HR allowed last 16 IP
36	Anibal Sanchez	WAS	vs. MIA
37	German Marquez	COL	vs. BOS, vs. PIT
38	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at SF
39	Adrian Houser	MIL	vs. STL	Quietly having a solid campaign
40	Jon Lester	CHC	at NYM
41	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. LAD
42	Jordan Lyles	MIL	vs. STL
43	Dustin May	LAD	at SD, at ARI
44	Julio Teheran	ATL	at COL, vs. CWS
45	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. CIN	At least 7 IP last 3 GS, though only 15 K in 21.2 IP
46	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
47	Jordan Yamamoto	MIA	vs. CIN
48	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at TOR
49	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. MIA
50	Mitch Keller	PIT	at PHI
51	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. NYM
52	Cal Quantrill	SD	vs. LAD
53	Vince Velasquez	PHI	vs. PIT
54	Mike Leake	ARI	at SF
55	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CHC
56	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	at ARI
57	Drew Smyly	PHI	vs. PIT
58	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIL, vs. CIN
59	Tyler Mahle	CIN	at STL
60	Logan Webb	SF	vs. SD
61	Steven Brault	PIT	at PHI, at COL
62	Joe Musgrove	PIT	at PHI, at COL	1.54 ERA, .89 WHIP in April -- 5.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP since
63	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	vs. ARI, vs. SD
64	Alex Young	ARI	at SF, vs. LAD
65	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CIN
66	Dakota Hudson	STL	vs. CIN
67	Zach Davies	MIL	at CHC
68	Merrill Kelly	ARI	vs. LAD
69	Jacob Nix	SD	vs. LAD
70	Tyler Beede	SF	vs. SD
71	Zac Gallen	ARI	vs. LAD
72	Tim Melville	COL	vs. ATL, vs. PIT
73	Elieser Hernandez	MIA	at WAS
74	Trevor Williams	PIT	at COL
75	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. PIT
76	Dario Agrazal	PIT	at COL
77	Chi Chi Gonzalez	COL	vs. PIT
78	Peter Lambert	COL	vs. BOS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Todd Zola

@toddzola

Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.

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