Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Two-Start Options Abound

Todd Zola ranks the week's starting pitching, which is packed with two-start quality arms, including Tampa Bay Cy Young candidate Blake Snell.

Updated on September 15, 2018 3:16PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Two-Start Options Abound

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on September 15, 2018 3:16PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

SPECIAL OFFER

Get 20% OFF

To celebrate the start of the NBA season, we're giving away 20% off all subscriptions. Ends 10/26. Use promo code .

PROMO CODE BASKET

It's a great week for two-start pitchers as most are quality arms with something on the line. There's even a few mid-to-lower range that could be available in shallower leagues if you need to keep pace with a head-to-head opponent with one or two of the top options.

For the week, Sept. 17-23

UPDATED: Sunday September 16. 9:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Blake Snell	TB	at TEX, at TOR	Cy Snell - has a nice ring to it
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. BOS	Final two full length start, will likely have abbreviated outing final week
3	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. BAL	Yankees don't want to fly 3000 miles for wild-card game
4	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. LAA
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SEA
6	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
7	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. SEA
8	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. LAA	In a rut, 5.03 ERA, 1.53 WHIP with 17 K and 9 BB last 19.2 IP entering the weekend
9	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS	Peripherals back to normal, recent ERA artificially high
10	Jakob Junis	KC	at DET
11	Lance Lynn	NYY	vs. BAL	.335 BABIP harpooning season
12	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BAL
13	David Price	BOS	at NYY	A new guy since moving to other side of rubber and dropping arm slot
14	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. KC
15	Chris Sale	BOS	at CLE	Still on innings/pitch limit but could go 5
16	Jose Berrios

For the week, Sept. 17-23

UPDATED: Sunday September 16. 9:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Blake Snell	TB	at TEX, at TOR	Cy Snell - has a nice ring to it
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. BOS	Final two full length start, will likely have abbreviated outing final week
3	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. BAL	Yankees don't want to fly 3000 miles for wild-card game
4	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. LAA
5	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SEA
6	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
7	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. SEA
8	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. LAA	In a rut, 5.03 ERA, 1.53 WHIP with 17 K and 9 BB last 19.2 IP entering the weekend
9	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS	Peripherals back to normal, recent ERA artificially high
10	Jakob Junis	KC	at DET
11	Lance Lynn	NYY	vs. BAL	.335 BABIP harpooning season
12	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BAL
13	David Price	BOS	at NYY	A new guy since moving to other side of rubber and dropping arm slot
14	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. KC
15	Chris Sale	BOS	at CLE	Still on innings/pitch limit but could go 5
16	Jose Berrios	MIN	at OAK
17	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS
18	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at DET
19	Trevor Cahill	OAK	vs. MIN	Tentative, had injection for back on Friday
20	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. MIN	5-0 last six starts despite allowing 7 HR in those 34.1 IP
21	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. SEA
22	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. BOS
23	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. CHC	1.40 ERA, .90 WHIP with 28 L, 8 BB in last 4 GS, covering 25.2 IP
24	James Paxton	SEA	at TEX	Tentative, recovering from pneumonia
25	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. MIN, vs. KC	Decent matchups, worth spending last FAAB unit to pick up
26	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at NYY, at CLE	In play for wins and whiffs, on bench in tight ratio races
27	Ryan Borucki	TOR	at BAL, vs. TB	Good matchups but still risky
28	Felix Pena	LAA	at OAK, at HOU
29	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY	Solid outing could cement spot in playoff rotation
30	Ian Kennedy	KC	at DET
31	Mike Leake	SEA	at HOU
32	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BAL
33	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at OAK	On target to return after rehabbing groin strain
34	Liam Hendriks	OAK	vs. LAA, vs. MIN
35	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at OAK
36	Rick Porcello	BOS	at CLE	Good time to snap out of funk
37	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR
38	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at HOU
39	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at OAK	Number one goal is get to the end healthy
40	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at CLE, vs. CHC
41	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at HOU
42	Thomas Pannone	TOR	vs. TB
43	Francisco Liriano	DET	vs. KC
44	Jaime Barria	LAA	at HOU
45	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. MIN, vs. KC
46	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. TB
47	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. TB
48	Edwin Jackson	OAK	vs. LAA
49	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at TEX, at TOR	Like the little girl with the curl
50	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
51	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. CHC
52	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. LAA
53	Jalen Beeks	TB	at TOR
54	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. BOS
55	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. CWS
56	Jorge Lopez	KC	at DET
57	Brad Keller	KC	at PIT, at DET
58	Jimmy Yacabonis	BAL	vs. TOR
59	Alex Cobb	BAL	at NYY
60	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at TEX
61	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. SEA, vs. LAA
62	Yohander Mendez	TEX	vs. TB
63	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at PIT
64	Sean Gilmartin	BAL	vs. TOR
65	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	at TEX
66	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. MIN
67	Stephen Gonsalves	MIN	at DET
68	Yefry Ramirez	BAL	at NYY
69	Kohl Stewart	MIN	at DET
70	Sam Gaviglio	TOR	at BAL
71	James Shields	CWS	at CLE
72	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. TB, vs. SEA
73	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at TEX
74	Eric Skoglund	KC	at PIT
75	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY
76	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. SEA
77	Chase De Jong	MIN	at OAK
78	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE
79	Roenis Elias	SEA	at HOU
80	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	vs. TB

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	OPP	Comments
1	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM, at ATL	With Phillies flailing, only pitching for NL Cy
2	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. CHC, vs. COL	Draws a couple teams in playoff hunt
3	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. STL, vs. PHI	Deserves more than 11 wins
4	Miles Mikolas	STL	at ATL, vs. SF	Low strikeouts beginning to inflate ERA
5	Jon Gray	COL	at LAD, at ARI	Huge week for Gray, facing both teams chasing Rockies
6	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at ARI, at CWS
7	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL, vs. SD	73 K in 63.1 IP
8	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	vs. STL, vs. PHI	Continues to do great job keeping the ball in the yard
9	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM	Currently lined up to face deGrom
10	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM, at ATL
11	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at MIA
12	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. KC, vs. MIL	Homers high but pitching in PNC helps
13	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. SF, at LAD	In a different year, could get ROY consideration, but… Acuna and Soto
14	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI, at WAS	Would be higher but nicked a tad for pair on the road
15	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. COL
16	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS	A win over Mad Max should lock down NL Cy
17	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. SD
18	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. COL
19	Luis Castillo	CIN	at MIA
20	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ATL
21	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. SD
22	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. KC	Quietly having an outstanding campaign
23	Jon Lester	CHC	at CWS	Pitching better over the second half
24	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS
25	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CWS	So is he
26	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
27	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. COL
28	Robbie Erlin	SD	vs. SF
29	John Gant	STL	vs. SF
30	German Marquez	COL	at ARI
31	Kyle Freeland	COL	at LAD
32	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at MIL, at MIA	Seems to be burned by the proverbial big inning
33	Cole Hamels	CHC	at ARI
34	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at STL
35	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at STL
36	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. PHI
37	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PHI
38	Chris Stratton	SF	at SD
39	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. CHC
40	Tyler Anderson	COL	at LAD
41	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. KC
42	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. CIN
43	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. STL
44	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. WAS, vs. CIN
45	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. NYM	Marlins proved to the panacea for recent swoon
46	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIL
47	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. CIN
48	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. NYM
49	Derek Holland	SF	at SD
50	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT
51	Andrew Suarez	SF	at SD, at STL	Low punch outs temper ranking but decent matchups
52	Erick Fedde	WAS	at MIA, vs. NYM	Great matchups, 16 K in last 10.1 IP
53	Cody Reed	CIN	at MIA
54	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL
55	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at ARI
56	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CIN, at PIT
57	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
58	Michael Lorenzen	CIN	at MIL, at MIA
59	Jason Vargas	NYM	at PHI, at WAS
60	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIL
61	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM
62	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. SF
63	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at ARI
64	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL
65	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. CIN	Pitching better since the trade, but still feels risky
66	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	vs. CIN
67	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. SF
68	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
69	Jacob Nix	SD	at LAD
70	Matt Harvey	CIN	at MIL
71	Eric Lauer	SD	at LAD
72	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. WAS
73	Jeff Brigham	MIA	vs. CIN
74	Austin Gomber	STL	at ATL
75	Matt Koch	ARI	vs. CHC

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPP	COMMENT
1	Blake Snell	TB	at TEX, at TOR	Cy Snell - has a nice ring to it
2	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS, vs. BOS	Final two full length start, will likely have abbreviated outing final week
3	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. NYM, at ATL	With Phillies flailing, only pitching for NL Cy
4	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. CHC, vs. COL	Draws a couple teams in playoff hunt
5	J.A. Happ	NYY	vs. BOS, vs. BAL	Yankees don't want to fly 3000 miles for wild-card game
6	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	vs. STL, vs. PHI	Deserves more than 11 wins
7	Miles Mikolas	STL	at ATL, vs. SF	Low strikeouts beginning to inflate ERA
8	Jon Gray	COL	at LAD, at ARI	Huge week for Gray, facing both teams chasing Rockies
9	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at ARI, at CWS
10	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	vs. COL, vs. SD	73 K in 63.1 IP
11	Justin Verlander	HOU	vs. LAA
12	Anibal Sanchez	ATL	vs. STL, vs. PHI	Continues to do great job keeping the ball in the yard
13	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. NYM	Currently lined up to face deGrom
14	Jake Arrieta	PHI	vs. NYM, at ATL
15	Gerrit Cole	HOU	vs. SEA
16	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	at MIA
17	Joe Musgrove	PIT	vs. KC, vs. MIL	Homers high but pitching in PNC helps
18	Joey Lucchesi	SD	vs. SF, at LAD	In a different year, could get ROY consideration, but… Acuna and Soto
19	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. CWS
20	Zack Wheeler	NYM	at PHI, at WAS	Would be higher but nicked a tad for pair on the road
21	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	vs. COL
22	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at WAS	A win over Mad Max should lock down NL Cy
23	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	vs. SEA
24	Ross Stripling	LAD	vs. SD
25	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. COL
26	Luis Castillo	CIN	at MIA
27	Charlie Morton	HOU	vs. LAA	In a rut, 5.03 ERA, 1.53 WHIP with 17 K and 9 BB last 19.2 IP entering the weekend
28	Jack Flaherty	STL	at ATL
29	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. SD
30	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. KC	Quietly having an outstanding campaign
31	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. BOS	Peripherals back to normal, recent ERA artificially high
32	Jon Lester	CHC	at CWS	Pitching better over the second half
33	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at WAS
34	Jakob Junis	KC	at DET
35	Jose Quintana	CHC	at CWS	So is he
36	Walker Buehler	LAD	vs. COL
37	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. COL
38	Lance Lynn	NYY	vs. BAL	.335 BABIP harpooning season
39	Robbie Erlin	SD	vs. SF
40	John Gant	STL	vs. SF
41	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. BAL
42	German Marquez	COL	at ARI
43	Kyle Freeland	COL	at LAD
44	David Price	BOS	at NYY	A new guy since moving to other side of rubber and dropping arm slot
45	Matthew Boyd	DET	vs. KC
46	Anthony DeSclafani	CIN	at MIL, at MIA	Seems to be burned by the proverbial big inning
47	Cole Hamels	CHC	at ARI
48	Chris Sale	BOS	at CLE	Still on innings/pitch limit but could go 5
49	Madison Bumgarner	SF	at STL
50	Dereck Rodriguez	SF	at STL
51	Jose Berrios	MIN	at OAK
52	Sean Newcomb	ATL	vs. PHI
53	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. BOS
54	Jake Odorizzi	MIN	at DET
55	Julio Teheran	ATL	vs. PHI
56	Chris Stratton	SF	at SD
57	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. CHC
58	Trevor Cahill	OAK	vs. MIN	Tentative, had injection for back on Friday
59	Tyler Anderson	COL	at LAD
60	Chris Archer	PIT	vs. KC
61	Mike Fiers	OAK	vs. MIN	5-0 last six starts despite allowing 7 HR in those 34.1 IP
62	Mike Minor	TEX	vs. SEA
63	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. CIN
64	Kevin Gausman	ATL	vs. STL
65	Trevor Richards	MIA	vs. WAS, vs. CIN
66	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. BOS
67	Zach Eflin	PHI	vs. NYM	Marlins proved to the panacea for recent swoon
68	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. CHC	1.40 ERA, .90 WHIP with 28 L, 8 BB in last 4 GS, covering 25.2 IP
69	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. MIL
70	James Paxton	SEA	at TEX	Tentative, recovering from pneumonia
71	Chase Anderson	MIL	vs. CIN
72	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. MIN, vs. KC	Decent matchups, worth spending last FAAB unit to pick up
73	Tanner Roark	WAS	vs. NYM
74	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	at NYY, at CLE	In play for wins and whiffs, on bench in tight ratio races
75	Ryan Borucki	TOR	at BAL, vs. TB	Good matchups but still risky
76	Felix Pena	LAA	at OAK, at HOU
77	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	at NYY	Solid outing could cement spot in playoff rotation
78	Derek Holland	SF	at SD
79	Jhoulys Chacin	MIL	at PIT
80	Andrew Suarez	SF	at SD, at STL	Low punch outs temper ranking but decent matchups
81	Ian Kennedy	KC	at DET
82	Mike Leake	SEA	at HOU
83	Erick Fedde	WAS	at MIA, vs. NYM	Great matchups, 16 K in last 10.1 IP
84	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	at BAL
85	Cody Reed	CIN	at MIA
86	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ATL
87	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	at OAK	On target to return after rehabbing groin strain
88	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at ARI
89	Liam Hendriks	OAK	vs. LAA, vs. MIN
90	Wade Miley	MIL	vs. CIN, at PIT
91	Zach Davies	MIL	at PIT
92	Michael Lorenzen	CIN	at MIL, at MIA
93	Kyle Gibson	MIN	at OAK
94	Jason Vargas	NYM	at PHI, at WAS
95	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. MIL
96	Rick Porcello	BOS	at CLE	Good time to snap out of funk
97	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TOR
98	Andrew Heaney	LAA	at HOU
99	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. NYM
100	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	at OAK	Number one goal is get to the end healthy
101	Adam Wainwright	STL	vs. SF
102	Carlos Rodon	CWS	at CLE, vs. CHC
103	Wade LeBlanc	SEA	at HOU
104	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at ARI
105	Thomas Pannone	TOR	vs. TB
106	Francisco Liriano	DET	vs. KC
107	Jaime Barria	LAA	at HOU
108	Vince Velasquez	PHI	at ATL
109	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. MIN, vs. KC
110	Gio Gonzalez	MIL	vs. CIN	Pitching better since the trade, but still feels risky
111	Sean Reid-Foley	TOR	vs. TB
112	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. TB
113	Edwin Jackson	OAK	vs. LAA
114	Wei-Yin Chen	MIA	vs. CIN
115	Tyler Glasnow	TB	at TEX, at TOR	Like the little girl with the curl
116	Yonny Chirinos	TB	at TOR
117	Bryan Mitchell	SD	vs. SF
118	Steven Matz	NYM	at PHI
119	Lucas Giolito	CWS	vs. CHC
120	Brett Anderson	OAK	vs. LAA
121	Jalen Beeks	TB	at TOR
122	Jacob Nix	SD	at LAD
123	Shane Bieber	CLE	vs. BOS
124	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. CWS
125	Jorge Lopez	KC	at DET
126	Brad Keller	KC	at PIT, at DET
127	Jimmy Yacabonis	BAL	vs. TOR
128	Matt Harvey	CIN	at MIL
129	Eric Lauer	SD	at LAD
130	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	vs. WAS
131	Jeff Brigham	MIA	vs. CIN
132	Alex Cobb	BAL	at NYY
133	Marco Gonzales	SEA	at TEX
134	Framber Valdez	HOU	vs. SEA, vs. LAA
135	Austin Gomber	STL	at ATL
136	Yohander Mendez	TEX	vs. TB
137	Heath Fillmyer	KC	at PIT
138	Sean Gilmartin	BAL	vs. TOR
139	Matt Koch	ARI	vs. CHC
140	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	at TEX
141	Spencer Turnbull	DET	vs. MIN
142	Stephen Gonsalves	MIN	at DET
143	Yefry Ramirez	BAL	at NYY
144	Kohl Stewart	MIN	at DET
145	Sam Gaviglio	TOR	at BAL
146	James Shields	CWS	at CLE
147	Adrian Sampson	TEX	vs. TB, vs. SEA
148	Ryan Yarbrough	TB	at TEX
149	Eric Skoglund	KC	at PIT
150	Andrew Cashner	BAL	at NYY
151	Ariel Jurado	TEX	vs. SEA
152	Chase De Jong	MIN	at OAK
153	Dylan Covey	CWS	at CLE
154	Roenis Elias	SEA	at HOU
155	Yovani Gallardo	TEX	vs. TB