Weekly Pitcher Rankings: It's Shark Week in SF

Todd Zola likes what he's seeing from Jeff Samardzija, whose bloated ERA doesn't match his underlying numbers. That and more in this week's pitcher rankings.

Updated on May 6, 2017 11:53AM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: It's Shark Week in SF

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on May 6, 2017 11:53AM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

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So much for April showers bringing May flowers as we just endured another week marred by postponements, throwing a wrench into pitching plans. This week doesn't set up well for two-start options, meaning everyone likely will face a few tough decisions.

Another tweak was added to the ranks, namely the quality of opposition faced by each pitcher. With a month of games in the books, we can begin to formulate refined opinions with respect to each team's offense versus righty and lefty pitching. We're also at the point in-season skill changes are captured by rest-of-season expectations.

Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at CIN, vs. HOU
2	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TB	The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
3	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at MIL, vs. TB	Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
4	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR
5	Justin Verlander	DET	at ARI, at LAA
6	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. SD	Back on track after slow start
7	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. SD
8	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. MIN	Tentative, on DL with sore back
9	Chris Archer	TB	vs. KC
10	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. CLE, vs. SEA
11	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
12	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. KC
13	Danny Salazar	CLE	at TOR
14	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at OAK,

Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at CIN, vs. HOU
2	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TB	The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
3	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at MIL, vs. TB	Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
4	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR
5	Justin Verlander	DET	at ARI, at LAA
6	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. SD	Back on track after slow start
7	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. SD
8	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. MIN	Tentative, on DL with sore back
9	Chris Archer	TB	vs. KC
10	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. CLE, vs. SEA
11	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
12	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. KC
13	Danny Salazar	CLE	at TOR
14	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at OAK, vs. DET	Protected by a couple of great pitching venues
15	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. BAL
16	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. SEA
17	Michael Fulmer	DET	at LAA
18	Nathan Karns	KC	at TB, vs. BAL	Helps to be facing O's in The K
19	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. ATL, at NYY
20	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. HOU	Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes
21	Matt Andriese	TB	vs. KC, at BOS	Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet
22	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at NYY	Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts
23	Jason Hammel	KC	at TB
24	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. LAA
25	Jason Vargas	KC	at TB
26	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. HOU
27	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. LAA
28	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. DET	Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue
29	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at WAS	Great test for the emerging ace
30	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at PHI, at TOR	Huge park downgrades
31	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. HOU
32	A.J. Griffin	TEX	at SD, vs. OAK
33	Ervin Santana	MIN	at CLE	Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way
34	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. MIN
35	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. SEA	Filling in for Latos, may not make this start
36	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. MIN
37	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. DET	Figuring it out as a starter
38	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. ATL	Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer
39	Nick Martinez	TEX	at SD, vs. OAK
40	Lance McCullers	HOU	at NYY	High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar
41	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. MIN
42	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at MIL	High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton
43	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at PHI
44	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at OAK
45	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at LAA
46	Chris Tillman	BAL	at KC
47	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. LAA
48	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. MIN
49	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at TEX
50	CC Sabathia	NYY	at CIN
51	Alex Meyer	LAA	at OAK, vs. DET
52	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. SD
53	Chris Young	KC	at TB, vs. BAL
54	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. CLE
55	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. SD
56	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at TOR
57	Daniel Norris	DET	at LAA
58	Jose Berrios	MIN	at CLE
59	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. WAS, at KC
60	Blake Snell	TB	vs. KC, at BOS
61	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. MIN, vs. SD
62	Phil Hughes	MIN	at CWS
63	Hector Santiago	MIN	at CWS, at CLE
64	Kyle Kendrick	BOS	at MIL
65	Chase De Jong	SEA	at TOR
66	Sonny Gray	OAK	at TEX
67	Mike Fiers	HOU	at NYY
68	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. WAS, at KC
69	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. OAK
70	Nick Tepesch	MIN	at CWS
71	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at TOR
72	Wade Miley	BAL	at WAS
73	Casey Lawrence	TB	vs. CLE, vs. SEA
74	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at TEX
75	Christian Bergman	SEA	at TOR
76	Matt Boyd	DET	at ARI
77	Alex Cobb	TB	at BOS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	at BAL, vs. PHI
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. SF, at MIL
3	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIA, vs. CHC
4	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at NYM, vs. CIN	Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9
5	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. BAL
6	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at COL, at STL	Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis
7	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL	Lowest he'll be all season
8	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL	Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings
9	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at LAD, at ARI
10	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. DET, vs. PIT	Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games
11	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. CIN
12	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. PHI
13	Matt Moore	SF	at NYM, vs. CIN	Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups
14	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. PIT
15	Julio Teheran	ATL	at MIA
16	Adam Conley	MIA	vs. STL, vs. ATL	Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home
17	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PIT
18	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. SEA
19	Julio Urias	LAD	vs. PIT
20	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at BAL, vs. PHI
21	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. PIT
22	Ivan Nova	PIT	at LAD, at ARI	Better at home but should hold his own on the road
23	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIA	Still inconsistent
24	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. LAD
25	Lance Lynn	STL	at MIA
26	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at HOU
27	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. NYM
28	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at MIA
29	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. STL
30	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at LAD
31	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIA
32	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at ARI	Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke
33	Mike Leake	STL	vs. CHC
34	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. SF
35	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. PIT
36	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CHC
37	Edinson Volquez	MIA	vs. ATL
38	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. SEA
39	Ty Blach	SF	vs. CIN
40	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. LAD
41	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at HOU
42	Trevor Cahill	SD	at CWS
43	Matt Harvey	NYM	at MIL
44	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. STL
45	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	vs. ATL
46	Amir Garrett	CIN	at SF
47	Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. TEX, at CWS
48	Scott Feldman	CIN	at SF
49	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at WAS
50	Rich Hill	LAD	at COL
51	Matt Cain	SF	at NYM	Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip?
52	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. NYY
53	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at MIL
54	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
55	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at WAS
56	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at SF
57	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. PIT
58	Rookie Davis	CIN	vs. NYY, at SF
59	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. NYM
60	Brett Anderson	CHC	at STL
61	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. BOS
62	Jered Weaver	SD	vs. TEX, at CWS
63	Wily Peralta	MIL	vs. BOS, vs. NYM
64	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. DET
65	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at COL
66	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
67	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. SF
68	German Marquez	COL	vs. CHC
69	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. BOS
70	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at WAS
71	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	at ARI
72	John Lackey	CHC	at COL
73	Clayton Richard	SD	at TEX
74	Jacob Turner	WAS	vs. BAL
75	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at TEX
76	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at COL
777	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	at COL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	at BAL, vs. PHI
2	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. SF, at MIL
3	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at CIN, vs. HOU
4	Carlos Martinez	STL	at MIA, vs. CHC
5	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at NYM, vs. CIN	Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9
6	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TB	The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
7	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	at MIL, vs. TB	Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
8	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. BAL
9	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	at TOR
10	Justin Verlander	DET	at ARI, at LAA
11	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. SD	Back on track after slow start
12	Yu Darvish	TEX	vs. SD
13	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at COL, at STL	Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis
14	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. MIN	Tentative, on DL with sore back
15	Chris Archer	TB	vs. KC
16	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL	Lowest he'll be all season
17	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL	Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings
18	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at LAD, at ARI
19	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. DET, vs. PIT	Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games
20	Johnny Cueto	SF	vs. CIN
21	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. CLE, vs. SEA
22	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. PHI
23	Matt Moore	SF	at NYM, vs. CIN	Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups
24	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. PIT
25	Julio Teheran	ATL	at MIA
26	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TB
27	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. KC
28	Adam Conley	MIA	vs. STL, vs. ATL	Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home
29	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PIT
30	Jerad Eickhoff	PHI	vs. SEA
31	Danny Salazar	CLE	at TOR
32	Julio Urias	LAD	vs. PIT
33	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at OAK, vs. DET	Protected by a couple of great pitching venues
34	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. BAL
35	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at BAL, vs. PHI
36	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. SEA
37	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. PIT
38	Ivan Nova	PIT	at LAD, at ARI	Better at home but should hold his own on the road
39	Michael Fulmer	DET	at LAA
40	Nathan Karns	KC	at TB, vs. BAL	Helps to be facing O's in The K
41	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. ATL, at NYY
42	Michael Pineda	NYY	vs. HOU	Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes
43	Matt Andriese	TB	vs. KC, at BOS	Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet
44	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at NYY	Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts
45	Jason Hammel	KC	at TB
46	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at MIA	Still inconsistent
47	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. LAD
48	Sean Manaea	OAK	vs. LAA
49	Lance Lynn	STL	at MIA
50	Jason Vargas	KC	at TB
51	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. HOU
52	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at HOU
53	Jharel Cotton	OAK	vs. LAA
54	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	vs. DET	Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue
55	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. NYM
56	Dylan Bundy	BAL	at WAS	Great test for the emerging ace
57	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at MIA
58	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. STL
59	Chad Kuhl	PIT	at LAD
60	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at PHI, at TOR	Huge park downgrades
61	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. HOU
62	A.J. Griffin	TEX	at SD, vs. OAK
63	Ervin Santana	MIN	at CLE	Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way
64	Adam Wainwright	STL	at MIA
65	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at ARI	Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke
66	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. MIN
67	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. SEA	Filling in for Latos, may not make this start
68	Mike Leake	STL	vs. CHC
69	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. SF
70	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. MIN
71	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. DET	Figuring it out as a starter
72	Joe Musgrove	HOU	vs. ATL	Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer
73	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. PIT
74	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CHC
75	Edinson Volquez	MIA	vs. ATL
76	Nick Martinez	TEX	at SD, vs. OAK
77	Lance McCullers	HOU	at NYY	High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar
78	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. SEA
79	Miguel Gonzalez	CWS	vs. MIN
80	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at MIL	High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton
81	Ty Blach	SF	vs. CIN
82	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at PHI
83	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at OAK
84	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. LAD
85	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at LAA
86	Chris Tillman	BAL	at KC
87	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. LAA
88	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at HOU
89	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. MIN
90	Andrew Triggs	OAK	at TEX
91	CC Sabathia	NYY	at CIN
92	Alex Meyer	LAA	at OAK, vs. DET
93	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. SD
94	Trevor Cahill	SD	at CWS
95	Matt Harvey	NYM	at MIL
96	Tom Koehler	MIA	vs. STL
97	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	vs. ATL
98	Chris Young	KC	at TB, vs. BAL
99	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. CLE
100	Amir Garrett	CIN	at SF
101	Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. TEX, at CWS
102	Scott Feldman	CIN	at SF
103	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. SD
104	Mike Clevinger	CLE	at TOR
105	Daniel Norris	DET	at LAA
106	Jose Berrios	MIN	at CLE
107	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at WAS
108	Rich Hill	LAD	at COL
109	Kevin Gausman	BAL	vs. WAS, at KC
110	Matt Cain	SF	at NYM	Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip?
111	Blake Snell	TB	vs. KC, at BOS
112	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. NYY
113	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at MIL
114	Antonio Senzatela	COL	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
115	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at WAS
116	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. MIN, vs. SD
117	Bronson Arroyo	CIN	at SF
118	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. PIT
119	Phil Hughes	MIN	at CWS
120	Rookie Davis	CIN	vs. NYY, at SF
121	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. NYM
122	Hector Santiago	MIN	at CWS, at CLE
123	Kyle Kendrick	BOS	at MIL
124	Chase De Jong	SEA	at TOR
125	Brett Anderson	CHC	at STL
126	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. BOS
127	Sonny Gray	OAK	at TEX
128	Mike Fiers	HOU	at NYY
129	Jered Weaver	SD	vs. TEX, at CWS
130	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	vs. WAS, at KC
131	Wily Peralta	MIL	vs. BOS, vs. NYM
132	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. OAK
133	Nick Tepesch	MIN	at CWS
134	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. DET
135	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at COL
136	Yovani Gallardo	SEA	at TOR
137	Kyle Freeland	COL	vs. CHC, vs. LAD
138	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. SF
139	German Marquez	COL	vs. CHC
140	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	vs. BOS
141	Wade Miley	BAL	at WAS
142	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at WAS
143	Tyler Glasnow	PIT	at ARI
144	John Lackey	CHC	at COL
145	Clayton Richard	SD	at TEX
146	Casey Lawrence	TB	vs. CLE, vs. SEA
147	Jesse Hahn	OAK	at TEX
148	Jacob Turner	WAS	vs. BAL
149	Christian Bergman	SEA	at TOR
150	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at TEX
151	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at COL
152	Matt Boyd	DET	at ARI
153	Alex Cobb	TB	at BOS
154	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	at COL