Have questions? My “office hours” are on Twitch 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET Monday – Friday + the aforementioned stream of The List.
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.
- 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:
Per usual, I’ve taken all of our injured compatriots and thrown them into a separate table. Injuries are so strange 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 their value on your IL or bench.
Injured Pitchers Who Will Be Considered When Healthy
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:
Nick’s Loose Minor League SPs to Consider Stashing
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: None
Injured Pitchers Added To The List: None
Automatic Bump/Fall For Pitchers In The Top 60: (None)
Tier 1 – Highlander
1. Paul Skenes (PIT) – Aces gonna ace.
Tier 2 – Can I Just Rank Them All as SP #2?
2. Cam Schlittler (NYY) – One bad, one dope. He’s dope.
3. Chris Sale (ATL) – It’s really a matter of staying healthy.
4. Jacob deGrom (TEX) – Same with deGrom after dotting pitches like it was 2020.
5. Shohei Ohtani (LAD) – If only he weren’t in a six-man…then I’d really have no idea what to do.
6. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) – He threw high four-seamers! IT WAS AWESOME.
7. Bryan Woo (SEA) – We were scared about the stupid number of HRs across two games. I get it.
8. Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) – Welcome to the AGA club, Jay Mis. It’s where you belong. Now don’t stop throwing strikes, k thx.
Tier 3 – You’re Dope But Not Dope. Yet.
9. Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) – He’s getting more strikeouts than Fried, though there is a higher WHIP risk.
10. Max Fried (NYY) – It hasn’t been the best version of Fried, while his floor for the full year is incredible.
11. Nolan McLean (NYM) – The Mets aren’t going to keep losing so many games forever, right?
12. Chase Burns (CIN) – He failed to strikeout the farm despite facing plenty of RHB last start, while still looking like Hunter Greene in an off-brand Mets T-shirt.
13. Shota Imanaga (CHC) – IM AN AGA. I do worry that he’ll get worse as Wrigley becomes a terrible place to pitch in the summer.
Tier 4 – Quality Volume Most Of The Time
14. Logan Gilbert (SEA) – No, not an ace, even after his stupid good performance on Sunday. Do it one more time, alright?
15. Kevin Gausman (TOR) – Ignore the number, y’all. Gausman is the same as he was when he was outisde the Top 20. Blame the injuries.
16. Drew Rasmussen (TOR) – He’s absurdly hard to hit and may find strikeouts if he can continue rocking the changeups to LHB.
17. George Kirby (TEX) – I just want him to flourish with his absurd 86/87 mph sweeper that they call a slider.
18. Zack Wheeler (TBR) – Can you sit 96 mph for a start? Until then, I have to keep you down.
19. Carlos Rodón (PHI) – Rodón and Snell just got past their Still ILL starts and we should be golden now. I don’t expect the same adrenaline fueled 95/96 mph we saw over the weekend, though.
20. Dylan Cease (NYY) – He is the same Cease. The floor will continue to keep him down.
21. Blake Snell (LAD) – I sure hope #HotSnellSummer arrives a month early. He looked great and got Singled Out in his Still ILL, here’s to hoping he’s not the Cherry Bomb arm and instantly a stud moving forward.
22. Joe Ryan (MIN) – We had a major injury scare and I’m stoked he sat 93+ mph in his weekend outing. Seems like we’re out of the woods, but I’ll keep him down here for a week or two just to be safe.
Tier 5 – Is There More Or Is This It?
23. Freddy Peralta (NYM) – I may be moving him down in the future, but for now, he seems fine.
24. Framber Valdez (DET) – He’s suspended for the week for throwing the second four-seamer of his career, and it’s his fault for not protecting his grips better. The actual skills are still solid.
25. Jesús Luzardo (PHI) – Luzardo has these blowup innings and I know your pain. He’ll make up for it shortly, I’m sure.
26. José Soriano (LAA) – I’m so glad we saw Soriano rebound beautifully against the Jays. Now comes the real test against the Dodgers. If he can keep locating his fastballs well there, he’ll rise up a tier.
27. Braxton Ashcraft (PIT) – Ashcraft is proving Eno so very right, me so very wrong. His curve and slider have both stepped up for him, while the fastballs have found enough strikes and avoided damage. You love to see it.
28. Parker Messick (CLE) – Messick is killing it with the addition of a cutter to RHB. Incredibly stable SWATCH.
29. Shane McClanahan (TBR) – We just saw peak McShane, just without the same velocity on the heater. His changeup and overall command were everything we wanted to see.
30. Michael King (SDP) – I had a blast watching King utilizie all his pitches over the weekend. I hope he can continue to work at-bats the same way for a while.
Tier 5.5 – The Pitcher List Hall Of Famers
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Tier 6 – Everyone Who Sees This Wants It Ranked Differently
31. Robbie Ray (SFG) – Ray is Ray. He’s going to chuck heaters upstairs incessantly and with improved changeup feel, hopefully he’s able to limit to terrible WHIP outings more often.
32. Sonny Gray (BOS) – He came back from the IL on Wednesday and was solid. He doesn’t have the same upside as Tier 5 arms, but he has a much longer track record of production than those below.
33. Gavin Williams (CLE) – I should mention, Welcome to THE GLOB. I took ages trying to put everyone in the right tiers, valuing upside over stability, over potential, and trying hard to figure out who is real and who is not. In the end, it’s just a massive glob, y’all.
34. Logan Henderson (MIL) – I adore Henderson’s four-seamer and changeup + the cutter has extra help with a sweeper this season. He shouldn’t walk a ton, is now stretched out for 80-85 pitches, and I expect him to be held all year on your teams.
35. Michael Soroka (ARI) – He had one blip and has otherwise featured stellar command across four offerings. He’s the real deal.
36. Will Warren (NYY) – Warren stumbled over the weekend, yet I don’t believe it’s meant to be a common problem. As much as I want his sweeper and changeup to do more, his pair of fastballs are highly effective.
37. Ryne Nelson (ARI) – THIS IS TOO HIGH! Why….? Nelson has an elite four-seamer and even without the best feel for his secondaries, he still does well when removed from hilarious bad luck or the extreme conditions of Mexico City.
38. Kyle Harrison (MIL) – He just faced the Yankees, but it was still disheartening to see him fail to get a hold of both his changeup and curveball. His great four-seamer upstairs keeps his floor relatively high, though.
39. Emerson Hancock (SEA) – After I was so thrilled about Hancock for his 14-strikeout start, I elected at the time to hand-wave a noticeable trend of declining vert on his four-seamer. I think that was wrong. The pitch fell to sub 10″ of vert despite 14″+ in his season debut and it may force Hancock to do more with his secondaries if the four-seamer can’t overwhelm upstairs.
40. Ryan Weathers (NYY) – It’s hard to figure out what to do with Weathers since he missed time with an actual illness. There’s chatter about moving to the pen when Cole returns, but I wouldn’t spend time on that. A) Who knows what the rotation will look like when the time comes and B) A six-man until something breaks makes a whole lot of sense looking at the Yankees’ rotation – two injured arms, Weathers’ and Fried’s injury history, and easing Warren and Schlittler’s early-career workload.
41. Landen Roupp (SFG) – Roupp has a tendency to lose the feel for his sinker a little too much at times during his outings, but I see it more as a temporary hurdle for him to improve over the season, not a wall sending him backward.
42. Connelly Early (BOS) – I see a discount Max Fried who could come into form as he gets his feet underneath him as a starter this season. The upside isn’t as clear as others, though, and I understand favoring high strikeout arms over Early. For now.
43. Nick Lodolo (CIN) – Lodolo’s Still ILL is behind us, though I have to acknowledge that I was concerned about his 2026 season before the injury due to likely regression of his prior season’s performance. I could easily push him up next week if he cooks.
44. Davis Martin (CHW) – I suggest watching my Martin breakdown on YouTube, showcasing how he’s become a kitchen-sink arm with more whiffability than ever before. His success hinges on his feel around the zone with so many offerings, and I’m being careful pushing him too far up the ranks. That said, we’re holding on tight and letting this ride for as long as it’ll go. There’s more believability in what he’s doing than many of the other sparkling ERAs we see this time of year.
45. Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) – I intially had him inside the Top 20, but then he was scratched from Monday’s game with left side soreness. Is that bad? That’s terrible. We generally see an IL stint from this, but since we don’t know anything more, he sits back here. Sigh.
46. Connor Prielipp (MIN) – I just want to watch more of the fella. I know he recently outlined the challenge for him to get used to pitching every five days, and I’m not worried about it. It’s a process, and he’s still pitching well. There’s room to grow still in finding the right balance between the slider, heater, and changeup, and I imagine when he stops pitching in terrible weather (cold rain last game, too. It’s UNREAL the weather luck he’s had), Prielipp will shine. He’s a great arm.
47. Payton Tolle (BOS) – He’s starting to feel a bit like a HIPSTER, though Sunday’s disappointment came with a ton of strikes, unlike his second outing of the year. There’s hope he’s a Cherry Bomb type who belongs in the Top 30 starters.
48. Kris Bubic (KCR) – Bubic is fine. I’m kinda in purgatory with him (less so than the rest of this tier) as I wait for his heater, breaker, and changeup to all destroy batters in a given game. Until then, I keep going with it.
49. Kyle Bradish (BAL) – He finally had both breakers return all the whiffs, propelling a ten strikeout outing against the Athletics. Does that mean I want to start him against the Yankees? Not really. Does it mean that he could be turning the corner? Absolutely. Don’t forget, a 27%+ strikeout rate arm with good ratios and a consistent strikeout rate is still very attainable.
50. Trevor Rogers (BAL) – Like Weathers, Rogers missed time with an illness and will return to the mound this week…to face the Yankees. Treat it like a Still ILL (literally?) and he should be much better after that.
51. Edward Cabrera (CHC) – He’s throwing fewer four-seamers and that’s all we can really ask for. I don’t expect him to be a stable arm without annoyances here and there, but a Holly seems right.
52. Eury Pérez (MIA) – I keep coming back to the fact that I have yet to see Eury truely execute a gameplan. His stuff is elite and that has created some miraculous outings, but without the command, I simply can’t tell you he’ll take that next step. I haven’t seen it all year.
53. Sandy Alcantara (MIA) – Sandy is…eh. He just went sliders & changeups for 65% usage last outing and that’s awfully weird for someone with his velocity and history of churning outs on fastballs. It seems outlandish to suggest he’s going to click into place next time out, but the changeup is still elite.
Tier 7 – The Banisters Before The Cliff
54. Emmet Sheehan (LAD) – I’m scared of Sheehan’s velocity drops in-game, which, to me, represent an injury. There hasn’t been stamina growth and the reduced velocity creates a lower floor than I’d like to see. Half the time I think I’m overreacting, too. You do you.
55. Foster Griffin (WSH) – What an awesome ride it’s been for those who jumped on the Foster train early. He’s a kitchen-sink arm from the left side and it doesn’t seem like something meant to last against decent offenses. Vargas Rule all the way.
56. Spencer Strider (ATL) – I watched all of the Dodgers’ start and it was interesting. His fastball velocity is still down, while the heater’s vert dropped during the outing, and his 85 mph slider + 79 mph curveball are below-average stuff pitches. And yet, the Dodgers were not taking advantage of what you’d expect, and I wonder if there is something else we’re missing that outlines success with what he brings to the table. Or maybe it was just a good night. I think it’s more of the latter, but I can’t ignore the success.
57. Robby Snelling (MIA) – Dang I loved watching Snelling. He’s a great pitcher. I know, he walked many n all that, but that’s the PILOT Rule. Grab him and expect a strong southpaw for the year…after a start or two.
58. Max Meyer (MIA) – Meyer’s four-seamer has extra vert and I just want to see it stick for more starts. This may be the time we actually jump in for good.
59. Reid Detmers (LAA) – Detmers’ slider command wasn’t as bad as it looked under the hood, and I still see a productive strikeout arm.
60. MacKenzie Gore (TEX) – Oh jeez. Gore, you’re so better than what you’ve been, in fact, you had a Careful, Icarus against the Yankees. I wouldn’t be surprised if he exploded for a dominant outing and took off the TIARA this week.
61. Bryce Miller (SEA) – He’s finally making his seasond debut this week in a super obvious Still ILL. This upside is massive (and I expect Castillo to get ousted, acting as his piggy-back follower here) and I’m excited to see where he’s at. Could be in the Top 50 next week if the stuff is there.
Tier 8 – Fine, You Need Some Innings
62. Bryce Elder (ATL) – Elder, I’m sorry I didn’t notice your gains against LHB sooner. The cutter has made a huge difference in creating a ton of weak contact this year, boasting a sub 34% ICR rate after years of hovering 40%. It’s a big deal…even if you threw high heaters and low sliders while shelving the cutter to the Dodgers.
63. Noah Schultz (CHW) – Schultz isn’t displaying the strikeout upside I wanted to see by now. I think there’s a great pitcher in here, but he needs more refinement until he becomes anything more than a Toby.
64. Michael Wacha (KCR) – It’s a lovely run for Wacha right now, and he’s a Toby through-and-through.
65. Clay Holmes (NYM) – Same with The Adobe. The sinkerballer is throwing strikes and I love it.
66. Randy Vásquez (SDP) – Vásquez has dropped in velocity since his early outings, while the whiffs are harder to find. Still great at 95+ mph, just not a solid Holly.
67. Christian Scott (NYM) – I can see myself pushing Scott up further on The List in future weeks as long as he showcases six innings more often. The flat four-seamer + sweeper and cutter are a great combo.
68. Griffin Canning (SDP) – Canning is a better pitcher than he was in 2025 and the Padres are going to need him.
69. Merrill Kelly (ARI) – Kelly took advantage of the Mets, sure, but the feel is there. He should be a reliable play when facing offenses outside the top tier.
70. Ranger Suarez (BOS) – Suarez has been a bit strange right now due to the hamstring scare, but he’s in a much better rhythm with his arsenal than in early April.
71. Seth Lugo (KCR) – Lugo’s curveball velocity is falling dramatically and it makes me a little afraid he’s hitting the cliff we never want veterans to see.
72. Nick Martinez (TBR) – It’s a textbook Vargas Rule for Martinez, who doesn’t have the stuff in his arsenal to make me a believer long term. Cool to see 1-2 ticks up in his last start with a continued changeup focus, though.
Tier 9 – You Could Do Worse For Now
73. Bubba Chandler (PIT) – He went less max effort and threw strikes. THANK YOU. Now do that again and make the small adjustments to build on top of that. You’re not the guy we’ve seen thus far.
74. Spencer Arrighetti (HOU) – Arrighetti could arguably be placed much higher now that he’s showcased a four-seamer that could be elite if he commanded it upstairs consistently. His last outing came with horrible curveball command and he still had a salvagable start. I’d keep a sharp eye on the Pasta Pirate.
75. Trey Yesavage (TOR) – I love that Yesavage displayed a legit feel for his slider. I’m still worried he’s more hittable than last season and will be far more volatilie. Please give me one legit start and I’ll elevate you up The List.
76. Chase Dollander (COL) – I don’t love starting him at home and I really don’t love seeing him fail to land his heater upstairs during a road start. Makes the value proposition to hold far lower than I want it to be.
77. Peter Lambert (HOU) – I like Lambert, but I haven’t seen him at his peak for a bit. A decent play right now, hoping he commands as well as those first starts moving forward.
78. Trevor McDonald (SFG) – The sinker/breaker are filthy, but he gets the Dodgers this week. I may still be down to hold as he could hold onto Webb’s rotation spot for a while.
79. Mike Burrows (HOU) – Burrows finally gave us a strong outing and I still believe he’s better than the box scores have told us. That said, he sure didn’t look like he was executing consistently when I watched him, and I may be wishcasting a bit too much.
80. Andrew Abbott (CIN) – Abbott has strung together three straight decent outings now, though the skills are not where they were last year. I still need to see the heater up + changeup effectively sitting away to RHB.
Tier 10 – Six Innings Often, But At What Cost?
81. Joey Cantillo (CLE) – He hasn’t come through with the promise of strikeouts over the past few weeks. It’s still there, but can you please let us see it again?
82. Justin Wrobleski (LAD) – We just got a major wave of regression, even if he almsot went all nine frames. He’s such a weird one and I don’t trust the fastball/slider combo.
83. Zac Gallen (ARI) – Gallen gets a good matchup this week and his pitch separation was the best I’ve seen all year in his last outing.
84. Mitch Keller (PIT) – Keller has a date with the Reds Carpet and has proven he can provide massively in points leagues.
85. Lucas Giolito (SDP) – Giolito?! Oh snap! He’s expected to make his debut for the Padres this week and I’d be very careful with that. However, there’s obvious upside after the peaks from last year…with a fair share of valleys we’d love to avoid, too.
86. Jack Leiter (PHI) – The ultimate HIPSTER. If you want to gamble in favor of the stuff on a given night, go right ahead. I’ve seen enough of his struggles to locate that I’d rather cahse something else.
87. Tanner Bibee (CLE) – He’s a coin flip each night. May the odds be in your favor.
88. Aaron Nola (TEX) – Nola’s fastball command is too sporatic and he couldn’t handle Rockie Road. Yeah. We know he’s capable of six frames, so points leagues and QS leagues, he’s still valuable.
89. Dustin May (STL) – Same with May, regarding non standard leagues. He finally earned whiffs last time out with the cutter, though, and boy do I hope that catches on.
Tier 11 – Good Enough? Maybe?
90. Jameson Taillon (CHC) – He’s a good stream in decent matchups.
91. Brayan Bello (BOS) – Bello had his first legit performance of the year, even if he didn’t properly start. Maybe it sparks a return to a Toby label.
92. Slade Cecconi (CLE) – He just flexed 89 mph cutters…and didn’t have the best result. But it’s a step forward that could turn into something against the Angels.
93. Jack Flaherty (DET) – Yes, Flaherty just fanned ten batters and I don’t have him inside the Top 90. I didn’t see anything in that game that suggested sustainability, sadly. I really wish I did.
94. Cade Cavalli (WSH) – Cavalli has a good breaking ball and not much else. I think you can do better.
95. Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT) – He’ll get the Reds Carpet this week, but if he didn’t have a stellar matchup, I’d have him off The List. There isn’t enough in the arsenal.
96. Janson Junk (MIA) – Junk is still struggling to execute his high stuff arsenal, including his last outing with zero whiffs on four-seamers. It’s hard to trust right now.
97. Walbert Ureña (LAA) – He’ll get the Guardians where the changeup could feast, but the overall control is highly suspect. I wish he had a breaking ball he could trust.
98. J.T. Ginn (ATH) – Ginn was spectacular last time out and I need to see more of it, especially in Sacré Verde.
99. Keider Montero (DET) – He’s cromulent at best. And sometimes, that’s all you want.
100. Stephen Kolek (KCR) – Kolek looks to have Ragans’ spot in the rotation and with the White Sox this week, he may propel into the spotlight. The wide arsenal can chrun six innings routinely if all goes well.
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
THESE WILL BE UPDATED BY 9:00PM ET TONIGHT.
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…
Jacob Lopez (ATH) – I’m not in on Lopez until I see a fun K/BB game from him.
Jeffrey Springs (ATH) – We haven’t seen a four-seamer worthy of Sunshine and Rainbows for three starts.
Luis Severino (ATH) –
Didier Fuentes (ATL) – We saw him for one start, then he went back to the minors as Ritchie swooped in. Now he’s in the pen. I wonder when we’ll get the Fuentes experience again.
Grant Holmes (ATL) – He’s not going long and he hasn’t broken the Huascar Rule. Not worth it.
JR Ritchie (ATL) –
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?
Brandon Young (BAL) – He’s stepping in for a hurt Dean Kremer and there may be a touch of 15-team value here. I don’t like his arsenal enough to chase in 12-teamers.
Cade Povich (BAL) – Povich’s first proper outing was a success, but it wasn’t the most believable outing, even at 17 whiffs. He gets the Yankees this week and I’d wait for a better opportunity.
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.
Ben Brown (CHC) – He still breaks the Huascar Rule.
Javier Assad (CHC) – Maybe he wins the role in time and it would be super boring.
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?!
Sean Burke (CHW) – I want him to be dope, but I’m not seeing the consistency.
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.
Chase Petty (CIN) – He’s getting the call to replace Williamson and I’m not expecting the control to be there.
Rhett Lowder (CIN) – Lowder got trounced. Welp, hope we can try him against a poor team again in the future.
Jose Quintana (COL) – He’s in Colorado now, and has the rare moments of being a solid streamer when on the road. Rare.
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. There’s a touch of value on the road.
Justin Verlander (DET) – Close to making The List and he could settle in as a Toby…when returning from his hip injury.
Ty Madden (DET) – We’re gonna get a whole lot of chaos in Detroit with both Mize and Skubal now on the IL. Oh, and Sawyer Gipson-Long hurt in Triple-A, too. WHERE ARE YOU TROY MELTON.
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.
Kai-Wei Teng (HOU) – Naaaaaah. The breakers can be cool, but it’s really not it, let alone the major question of his length.
Lance McCullers Jr. (HOU) – There’s always a chance he has one of those fun games, but hot dang, the floor is so rough.
Ryan Weiss (HOU) – He’s not nearly efficient enough to get a roster spot on your squads.
Tatsuya Imai (HOU) – I need to see him look like a reliable arm before we jump back in.
Noah Cameron (KCR) – He’s not featuring the command we saw last year.
Alek Manoah (LAA) – Oh dear. Please don’t.
Caden Dana (LAA) – I wonder how he looks in his latest opportunity to stick in the rotation.
Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) – I saw some terrible command from Jackie K. this weekend and I don’t like his schedule ahead. He was one of the last arms removed from The List.
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 dig the harder splitter, but can you give us one great outing first?
Chris Paddack (MIA) – The upside is too limited and now he’s sitting 92/93 91 mph. No thanks.
Bailey Ober (MIN) – He’s sub 89 mph lol.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) – SWR was a wild card entering the year and after an unimpressive spring, it’s best to wait and see.
Zebby Matthews (MIN) –
David Peterson (NYM) – He’s a Toby at best. I don’t trust him.
Kodai Senga (NYM) – I gave him an honest try. Rockie Road should be better. It wasn’t. How can we hold him after that?!
Tobias Myers (NYM) – He’s just an opener, y’all. Not stretched out at all.
Brandon Sproat (NYY) –
Elmer Rodríguez (NYY) – With Rodón nearly here, Elmer should only get one more start, and I’m not seeing enough right now to chase a repeat against the Rangers. He needs a better LHB attack, too.
Luis Gil (NYY) – He’s the same chaotic arm we remember and now he’s in the pen. Womp womp.
Andrew Painter (PHI) – He just ain’t it. It’s sad, I know.
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. Update: He gone.
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.
Matt Waldron (SDP) – Don’t Trust A Knuckleballer.
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. Wait, maybe not the Marlins…
Tyler Mahle (SFG) –
Andre Pallante (STL) – Hopefully the cut four-seamer is jamming LHB and the sinker/slider does the trick…?
Hunter Dobbins (STL) – It was an interesting start with great opening frames, then five walks across his final seven batters. No need to monitor his return to the majors for now. It’s a wait-and-see when he does.
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.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) – I have yet to see a game where Liberatore has his full arsenal cooking, which isn’t as spectacular as his SWATCH peers. He has the leash for six frames, and I’m only considering him in the easiest of matchups for now.
Michael McGreevy (STL) – I know, he got great results! He also did it with a two-tick lower velocity. Oh dang. Not something to believe in.
Griffin Jax (TBR) – They’re stretching him out to start and I’m curious how much the velocity dips as he extends past 70 pitches. We’re still under 50 as of now, and I’d wait until he sees the fifth.
Jesse Scholtens (TBR) – There just isn’t enough upside here.
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. My closest comp for him is Márquez. Blegh.
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.
José Berríos (TOR) – Oh look! The Great Undulator may return this week. Okay, so anyway…
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.
Jake Irvin (WSN) – He’s had a good start or two and I’m not ready to believe he’s going to soar for the next few weeks.
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!
Labels Legend
Aces Gonna Ace
Ace Potential
Holly
Toby
Cherry Bomb
Hipster
Vargas Rule
Frizzle
Streaming Option
QS Bonus
Wins Bonus
Strikeouts Bonus
Ratios Bonus
Rotation Spot Bonus
Team Context Effect
Stash Option
Injury Risk
Playing Time Question
Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X
