Happy All-Star Break, Razzball faithful!

Well, we made it! The All-Star break is here, and it’s a good time to check in on our Top 100 Starting Pitchers to see which ones are performing well enough to be named to their respective All-Star teams.

It’s a nice, calm, and relaxing week for everyone, right?

Trea Turner is not happy with a certain SP appointment.

Oh. Um. I guess it’s not all nice and calm everywhere. 

So, to bring everyone up to speed here, Matthew Boyd was originally selected to represent the senior circuit. He announced on Friday night that he won’t be throwing in the All-Star game because he’d be working on just 3 days’ rest after his start on Saturday at NYY (more on that below). 

That sounds reasonable. Many guys have reasons they miss the game—fatigue, rest, spending time with the family, and recharging the batteries.

Enter Jacob Misiorowski as a replacement for Boyd. Dave Roberts explained the Misiorowski selection by saying the fans want to see exciting players, and guys that can bring the velocity.

Trea Turner? Well, he said what he said above, added that the pick was “f-n terrible” and said that it was “a joke”. 

At the risk of dragging this out for far too long, the “Mis-tery” of why Phillies players are so miserable isn’t all that surprising. You won’t get much of an argument from me that Trea Turner’s teammates, Cristopher Sanchez and  Ranger Suarez, are deserving of a spot in the Midsummer Classic.

Do people have a right to be miserable about the appointment? I guess so. Is there a misrepresentation of Misiorowski that is making him into a villain for accepting the nod? Yes.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said it best without pulling any punches…

“People want to see Miz pitch. He’s the new shiny toy in the league. It’s not deserving; that has nothing to do with it. He’s been given this opportunity. It’s not his fault.”

This is what happens when we have to make a list of the best players in the league. Some people will be up in arms that Player X was overlooked or say he is overrated, and that Player Y isn’t as deserving of a spot. 

Imagine writing up a list of baseball players and ranking them based on different criteria. All the while, knowing that you’re going to make a lot of people mad if “their guy” isn’t where they think he should be? 

Uh…ya. I know a guy who knows what that’s like. But what about Misiorowski?! 

Well, if Mister Miz had any inkling that this was coming, he sure didn’t let it bother him vs the Dodgers last Tuesday night. Jacob Misiorowski – 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 12 Ks! 

After an honorable sacrificial leadoff HR to King Ohtani, Misiorowski struck out the next three hitters en route to yet another dominant outing. I mean, come on now. This kid welcomes a sure-fire Hall of Famer and the newest member of the 3000 K club to his mound, and goes toe-to-toe with him. He steamrolled through a lineup that is better than either All-Star squad, and made them look like they were little kids flailing away at a pitching machine set to 45 MPH.

WTF. And you can be sure that this WTF doesn’t mean what you think it does (but it kind of does). “Where’s The Fun?” Oh, that’s an easy one. It’s in a 6’7” 190 lb. frame that you can find on the bump in Milwaukee, and now on the one in Atlanta this week, too. 

I don’t know if we have enough superlatives to use once we’re through gushing all over this guy, but the fastball topped out at 101 MPH and the breaking ball looked like a butterfly that just escaped a mountain of snow on Tony Montana’s desk. Holy hell. 

Does that mean this kid should have a spot in the Top 30 SPs today? Should we ask Trea Turner if he’s a Top 20 arm? Top 15?!

Well, before we get to the list, I need to remind you to lock in your Razzball Fantasy Baseball Subscription. This should be your go-to reference for the entire season. The Streamonator is also a helpful resource when making lineup decisions. Rudy’s tools are well worth the price of admission. 

Also, as a bonus this week, I’ll add the All-Stars in our UP/DOWN section. There are two new icons to look for today.

 – Named an all-star but will not pitch in the game.

 – Named an all-star (or replacement) and scheduled to pitch in the game.

One final apology in advance, I wrote this up on my regular schedule (Sunday/Monday), so if anything is confusing (tenses, dates), that’s why!

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2025

SP RANK	Name	Team	UP/DOWN (ALLSTAR)	Notes
1	Tarik Skubal	DET		5.0 IP, 4 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Somehow he managed to avoid being victimized by the Duke of Dumpertown, but those late Cal Raleigh homers just added to the debacle (12-3 Tigers loss). Half of the earned runs came on a 2-out 2-run bomb to Julio Rodriguez, so that line looks worse than it was. Skubal’s still the best in baseball, and the AL’s All-Star Game starter.
2	Garrett Crochet	BOS		(Replaced by Casey Mize). 9 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks, his FIRST career complete game shutout, and his 10th win. No word if John Henry sent a thank-you basket to the White Sox for managing Crochet’s innings as well as they did last year.
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI		(Replaced by Adrian Morejon). 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, and the no-decision. Wheels got tagged for 2 HR by former zombie Jackson Merrill (his first homers in 35 games), but didn’t roll over many more bumps than that.
4	Max Fried	NYY		(Replaced by Carlos Rodon). 3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks, and one blister. Fried left with a bubbly left index finger. I assume it was the same one he was using to point out all the duck snort hits the Cubs managed to squeeze out in the first few innings.
5	Paul Skenes	PIT		More below.
6	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD		He pitched Sunday, so that meant the ASG was a no-go. EDIT: Yoshi and Robbie Ray both pitched great games on Sunday. 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, and the no-decision.
7	Jacob deGrom	TEX		(Replaced by Carlos Estevez). 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks. The only annoying part of DeGrom and Framber not getting the win after two excellent starts is that they’re making it even more difficult to sort out the Top 10 SPs each week. (Honestly, people could argue at least 15-20 names who deserve a spot.)
8	Bryan Woo	SEA		More below.
9	Hunter Brown	HOU		6 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 2.21 after Start #1 last week. Sunday’s game vs Nathan Eovaldi? 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks. He was named an All-Star last week, but will be replaced by Joe Ryan. Hunter needs the rest.
10	Framber Valdez	HOU		6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks, and the no-decision. Framber bested Jacob DeGrom in Saturday’s start, but neither guy ended up with the win.
11	Robbie Ray	SFG		(Replaced by David Peterson). 5 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.63. The good news is he’s easily been a Top 25 SP all year. The bad news is we won’t get to see him at the All-Star game (opted out). EDIT: Ray and Yoshi both pitched great games on Sunday. 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB. 6 Ks, and the no-decision.
12	Freddy Peralta	MLW		(Replaced by Trevor Megill). More below.
13	Kris Bubic	KC		5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.48. Bubic could be a bargain ace, or could be a reason why our prospect writer scratches his chest. We may never know for sure, but we do know that KC will be asking a lot for him in trade talks this month (the pitcher, not the writer).
14	Joe Ryan	MIN		(Replaces Hunter Brown). 5.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9th win as he peacocks his way into the All-Star break with every contending team paying close attention and jotting notes on their trade boards.
15	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI		More below.
16	Carlos Rodon	NYY		(Replaces Max Fried) 8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, BB, 8 K, 10th win, ERA at 3.08. Another deserving All-Star selection.
17	Logan Webb	SF		5.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, BB, 6 K, 9th win. It’s a pretty sweet start…if we take out those 6 ER. Homers to Michael Conforto and Shohei Ohtani didn’t help, but facing a pitcher who’s flaming out faster than his red hair (Dustin May) certainly did.
18	MacKenzie Gore	WSH		6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.02. Return of the Mack!
19	Logan Gilbert	SEA		Two starts last week! 5 1/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.88. Aaaaaaaand guess who left the game with a sore arm! He was pitching a one-hitter into the 4th inning when they got dinged with a rain delay and…unravel. EDIT: That sore arm business was all for naught. 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, and a pretty good bet to cruise to a solid second half if his arm is back to normal.
20	Spencer Strider	ATL		6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.94. The moustachioed man of mystery is just sneaking up on the Top 15. If he stays healthy, it’s going to be a filthy second half. (And, yes, that IF is doing some heavy lifting there).
21	George Kirby	SEA		5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks. Riley Greene did try his best to bail out Mize on Saturday afternoon (3-run HR), but Kirby managed to cruise to his 4th win after Seattle scored 9 ER off of Mize and Montero.
22	Sonny Gray	STL		5 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.51 in his first start of the week. Sunday was his second. EDIT: He got chased by the rain. 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. Can the Cards please trade him back to Cincinnati so my brain can stop trying to figure out why he’s not there? And, yes, my memory bank somehow erased his two years in Minnesota, too.
23	Ranger Suarez	PHI		6.2 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K, ERA at 1.94. This is the second most ruffled feather in Philadelphia after Phillies players openly ripped the league for not naming Cristopher Sanchez or Ranger Suarez to the All-Star team over Jacob Misiorowski. I love all three pitchers, but from a performance standpoint, it’s hard to argue excluding any of them, TBH.
24	Shota Imanaga	CHC		Every week, it’s like every pitcher gets two starts. Imanaga was on that list last week. 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 K was his first game. EDIT: On Sunday, he found the strikeout pitch again. 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks at Yankee Stadium.
25	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	N/R	5 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.52. He’s back! I can’t wait for the awesome 25 innings he’ll throw in the second half before his next injury!
26	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW		(Replaces Matt Boyd). More above!
27	Andrew Abbott	CIN		(Replaces Yoshinobu Yamamoto). 7 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.07. “I’m Andrew Abbott, and it’s been 4 months since I solved the mystery of the aggressive regression fairies”. That’s him in last week’s A.A. meeting. He’s 8-1.
28	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX		He had two starts last week that were nearly identical. Game 1: 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 1.62. Game 2: 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. The bottom line? He’s back, and he’s going to be a big factor in the second half of fantasy leagues. A big boost today into the 20s.
29	Ryan Pepiot	TB		6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.32. I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I didn’t dislike Pepiot way back in draft season. I just didn’t like where the helium had floated him in the ADP rankings. The good news is Spring draft position is irrelevant now.
30	Nick Pivetta	SD		5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.07. Is he a Top 30 guy? The first half line looks like this – 102.2 IP, 114 Ks, 3.07 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9-2 record – and that makes it hard to argue that he’s not. EDIT: Sunday’s start was very similar to his first start last week, if not even better. 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, and the no-decision.
31	Seth Lugo	KC		He hasn’t lost in 8 starts. That’s the good news. He has 3 wins since May 30th. That’s not good news. 7 ER in his last 41 innings is a pretty solid way to clean up your team ERA, though.
32	Nick Lodolo	CIN		More below.
33	Dylan Cease	SD		6 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.88. Searching…Cease and destroy! (Your ratios).
34	Chase Burns	CIN		6.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 10 K. With 15 whiffs on 63 called strikes. Talk about living up to his name.
35	Casey Mize	DET		(Replaces Garrett Crochet) 3 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and his 3rd loss (9-3). A 3-run bomb to Luke Raley in the third inning was half the problem Saturday afternoon.
36	Jesus Luzardo	PHI		7 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.14. Resurrection! Now we just have to wait 40 days to see if the ascension is real.
37	Clay Holmes	NYM		5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.29 was Start #1. His second start was Sunday at KC (and Noah Cameron). EDIT: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and the no-decision. He was upstaged by his reliever, Sean Manaea (3.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks).
38	Luis Castillo	SEA		He rolled into Motown last week and won his second straight start. 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks wasn’t as clean as his previous 2 GS (13 IP, 1 ER, 12 Ks total), but he’s bounced back nicely after a rough June. Still, he has work to do to get back up where he was a few months ago.
39	Matthew Boyd	CHC		(Replaced by Jacob Misiorowski). 8 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, and his 10th win?! So the Cubs saunter into Yankee Stadium to face Max Fried at home, and Matty B. shows the league that they made the right decision naming him to the All-Star team. In the words of noted U.S. poet/historian, William Drayton Jr…Yeah, Boyd!
40	Noah Cameron	KC		Two starts last week! His first was 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.56. Represent. He’s a shoo-in for the All-Star team. What? The “Two First Names” All-Star team. That was obvious, no? EDIT: His second was Sunday afternoon, and it was even better than the first. 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, and the no-decision. Too bad the Royals couldn’t score more than two runs off of Clay Holmes. A big boost up to SP40 today.
41	Shane Baz	TB		Two starts last week!  6 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 7 Ks in Game 1, then  6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, and a tough loss to bring his record down to 8-5 in Game 2. Baz was overshadowed by an elite outing from Garrett Crochet, but for those keeping track, I don’t have to tell you that this was his 4th consecutive quality start. He has 30 Ks in his last 27.1 IP.
42	Jack Flaherty	DET		6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.70. If you take out the ERA there, it could look like one of his starts from last year’s charge to the Top 10 SP rankings. Unfortunately for Flaherty and Tigers fans, that’s not how it works. He’s pitched better than his 5-9 record shows, but I’d be floating his name out in trade talks if you think anyone believes he’ll turn it on again in the second half. EDIT: It was two solo homers that did the damage for Flaherty on Sunday. 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, and the no-decision.
43	Kodai Senga	NYM	N/R	4.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. That line has more 420s than a Cheech and Chong movie. Senga’s first game back from the IL was encouraging, but we’ll need to see him get a few more innings per start before buying back in.
44	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA		(Replaced by Drew Rasmussen). 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Kikuchi’s biggest headaches of the night were two solo homers from Eugenio Suarez, who hit his 30th and 31st before our All-Star break. Yes, that’s the same guy who hit 30 last year…in 158 games. I’m sorry, juicedballssaywhat?
45	Lucas Giolito	BOS		More below.
46	Will Warren	NYY		5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.70. I started Warren in every league that I have him (3), and I’m happy to report that my magic 8-ball is working again, just without the $1.99 strikeout add-on. EDIT: 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 K, and the loss. He gave up a leadoff homer to Michael Busch.
47	Eury Perez	MIA		More below.
48	Kevin Gausman	TOR		5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and the loss (6-7). On one hand, it’s impressive that he only allowed one home run at Bing Bong Stadium. On the other (empty) hand is the number of people who thought this was a good start. Optimistically, at least he gave Brent Rooker some practice before this week’s Home Run Derby.
49	David Peterson	NYM		(Replacing Robbie Ray) 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.06. When Peterson found out he was replacing Robbie Ray in the All-Star game, he immediately put his wet pants in the dryer on the HIGH/HOT setting.
50	Brandon Woodruff	MLW		More below.
51	Matthew Liberatore	STL		Atlanta came to Busch Stadium last week and gave Liberator a lesson in whatever I can call the opposite of liberation (without getting cancelled). 3 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 0 Ks. Yes, that’s right. The liberator gave out just one free pass, along with zero strikeouts.
52	Merrill Kelly	ARI		Two starts last week! His first was 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.41. EDIT: 5 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, and his 8th win at LAA on Sunday. I’ve got a somewhat serious question here – how many of his rotation mates will be with him after the trade deadline is over?
53	Tanner Bibee	CLE		More below.
54	Yu Darvish	SD	N/R	4.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks on 83 pitches. So he threw 20 more pitches than he did in his first game back early last week (vs ARI), but Yu was in tough against Philly and Zack Wheeler on Saturday. The only thing that matters for fantasy managers right now is he’s building that stamina back up and should be good to go for the second half.
55	Grant Holmes	ATL		3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K. Who you trying to get crazy with ése? Don’t you know I’m loco? (But for the record, I’d still be floating trade offers out to try to land him over the break.)
56	Landen Roupp	SFG		5 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks in Game 1 (vs PHI) then followed up with 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks in a tough luck loss vs LAD. If you started him last week expecting two wins, then you’re officially the most optimistic person in fantasy baseball. The good news? Landen has allowed just four earned runs in his last five starts. (26.1 innings). Roupp we go again!
57	Trevor Rogers	BAL		I watched this one on Saturday afternoon, and oh, baby, was the 2017 first-rounder firing on all cylinders. 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks. He came out of the gate with something to prove against his former team, as 6 of his first 11 outs were strikeouts. The 96 MPH FB was dotting the top and bottom of the zone all afternoon, and the off-speed mix-ins (80 MPH sweeper) were just enough to keep a hot Miami offense off balance. How off balance? How about no-hits through Rogers’ first 6 innings kind of off-balance? The big lefty is a sneaky add if you’re looking for a big potential breakout for the second half.
58	Cade Horton	CHC		4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 4.45. Two weeks ago was a nice bounce back. Last week? He tightened the slack rope yet again. Taillon and Hodge heading to the IL means there won’t be a roster crunch anytime soon, but he needs to clean it up.
59	Jacob Lopez	ATH		5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and his 3rd win. The line wasn’t much different than Gausman’s, and J-Lopez blew some taco-flavored kisses to Mason Miller for locking down the dub in the ninth inning.
60	Gavin Williams	CLE		5.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K. Sorry, Gavin. I’m not havin’ much more of this unless you figure out those walk issues. He drives me crazy, but I still think there’s something here.
61	Quinn Priester	MLW		6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 7th win, and still cemented as an arm I want to roster for the second half in a lot more places than I currently have him.
62	Shohei Ohtani	LAD		3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks on 36 pitches. Shohei cruising and firing 100 MPH bullets on the mound is a welcome sight for managers in leagues where he’s still split into two players. At this rate, he should be working into the 5th before the end of July.
63	Mitch Keller	PIT		More below.
64	Brayan Bello	BOS		Two starts last week! This one is another guy who met the “vs. Rockies requirements.” He went 9 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.27 in his first start last week. The “in-your-face” numbers look pretty good, but as Grey mentioned, the “out-of-your face” numbers (6.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 4.23 xFIP)? Not so much. Paraphrased, of course. EDIT: 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, his 6th win, and third dub in a row.
65	Edward Cabrera	MIA		More below.
66	Zack Littell	TB		5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.56. He’s a little bit Eflin and a little bit Rock and Roll. Except without the Rock and Roll. The walk rate is pretty sick, though. But the strikeout rate just leaves you sick. He’s like a younger, weaker Tomoyuki Sugano. I guess we can call him aspartame.
67	Reese Olson	DET		5 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 1 K, ERA at 2.95. It’s unfair to criticize the Tigers when they’re sitting atop the AL Central with a 15-game lead at the break. But (here it comes) would it kill them to let Olson pitch 6 innings in ONE START?!
68	Jose Soriano	LAA		Game 1 last week was 4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.00. Oh boy. It’s feast or famine with our Angel of Death (by ratios). He’s going to do just enough of this to keep his ADP sewered for 2026. We just have to hope his arm holds up for the second half. EDIT: 5 IP, 5 R, (1 ER), 3 BB, 3 Ks, and his 7th loss of the year. Not all Sunday starts were stellar, but the unearned runs are what sunk Soriano in this one.
69	Emmett Sheehan	LAD	N/R	4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks as he followed Ohtani and picked up his first win of the year. Just a mountain of riches when you can throw the best player in the world as a starter, then follow him with a kid who lives up to the hype.
70	Charlie Morton	BAL		6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 5.18. Charlie sees all the old guy hype surrounding Kershaw, Verlander, and Scherzer and just continues to fly under the radar with a 5-0 record, 10.51 K/9, and a 2.72 ERA in his last 10 games. If we compared veteran MLB pitchers to Sith Lords, Morton would be Jar Jar Binks. If you look down on the Baltimore GM’s office floor and see the pool of saliva, it’s from Mike Elias as he fields trade offers for their de facto ace. “Just like they drew it up in Spring Training!” (Said no one anywhere). He gets a boost today and will likely stick here until it all (inevitably) unravels.
71	Chris Paddack	MIN		6 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.95. Fitting that his last name is Paddack because this one smelled like a field full of horse manure.
72	Chris Bassitt	TOR		I took some heat on the Reddits for having Bassitt ranked too highly last week. SP39 was too lofty a perch for this Blue Jay. The ratios took a beating a few weeks back, but at least he’s been a good source of wins (9). EDIT: He pitched one inning of scoreless relief Sunday after Berrios started the game, and is slated to open the second half vs SF.
73	Jose Berrios	TOR		Two starts last week! Game 1: “6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.53. First start of the week (CWS) went just as planned. Second?” Game 2: EDIT: Another Sunday meh, this time from the Boo Jays. 3 IP, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, his 4th loss, and a barf emoji.
74	Michael Wacha	KC		5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks. He’d lost his last three starts, so coming away with a no-decision in this one was a bit of a plus. His next start lines up in MIA.
75	Jack Leiter	TEX		5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 6 Ks at Houston is enough to count as a positive, especially when he picked up his 5th win of the season. The 4 BBs aren’t going to shave anything off of that 1.36 WHIP, though.
76	Brady Singer	CIN		I thought this would be a pretty easy bench in weekly leagues, but he did fine vs MIA, and his home start against COL wasn’t much to be concerned about either. 11.1 IP, 5 ER, 14 H, 2 BB, 12 Ks total from his two-start week (he went 0-1). That’s not as bad as I expected it to be, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s winless in his last 5 GS.
77	Brandon Walter	HOU		6 IP, 2 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.98. Representing the two first names club!
78	Eric Lauer	TOR		4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks. Sure, his name might remind you of the one guy in your office who knows how to reset the router, but he’s got more strikeouts than innings pitched, some solid ratios, and is holding opponents to a .204 BAA. That’s better than a streamer in most leagues.
79	David Festa	MIN		5.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. He’s been on the balance beam for a month. One week, a win and a solid start. The next week, it’s an implosion and a loss. Last week was a win. He heads to COL after the break, so let’s see if he can…uh…break the cycle.
80	Clayton Kershaw	LAD		(‘Legend” All-Star appointment). 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.38. “Um, excuse me? That’s Three Thousand AND THREE strikeouts thank you very much!” That’s a direct quote from Clayton’s grandmother, Karen Kershaw.
81	Adrian Houser	CWS		7 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 1.56. Just firing pinpoint stuff in his glass Houser. I’ll be far away from those walls when it goes south (side), though.
82	Shane Smith	CWS		Smith managed to avoid his 5th straight loss last week…by only going 3 innings (2 solo HR, 0 BB, 5 Ks). Gentlemen and five ladies, your CWS All-Star!
83	Taj Bradley	TB		6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.60. This start was in Fenway, too, so I half expected a Homer fest. He’s not out of the woods yet, but this was encouraging.
84	Jeffrey Springs	ATH		Game 1: 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.92. So there were 6 HR allowed in this start…and only one was given up by Springs. It’s kind of impressive to be honest. I assumed that he was going to be a launchpad at Big Bong Stadium, but he’s only allowed one more homer in 7 home starts (9) than he has in his 10 road ones (8). EDIT: His second start of the week was Sunday vs TOR. 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and his 8th win. Oh, and 2 more HRs allowed at home, so maybe there’s nothing there after all.
85	Janson Junk	MIA	N/R	As I said in the Rogers notes, I watched this one on Saturday. Junk was anything but, with 7 innings of shutout ball (5 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks). As easy as it is to write this dude off as trash, he’s won two of his last three starts and has allowed just 2 ER in his last 20 IP.
86	Dustin May	LAD		More below.
87	Jose Quintana	MLW		6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.28. Quintana falls into that Littell/Sugano category, too. I wonder what kind of candied gummies we can think of that rhyme with Quintana. Maybe we should ask Mary Jane.
88	Ryne Nelson	ARI		I almost removed him and kept Soroka this week, but Nelson’s previous 5 GS were a lot more solid than the Washington starter’s were. Nelson got roughed up for 4 ER in 4 IP with just 4 Ks at LAA last week, but he sticks on the list today and even gets a bit of a bump from SP92 because the guys around him are…not good as well!
89	Richard Fitts	BOS	N/R	5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.28. Vs Colorado. Yay! Who cares that it’s vs COL? Time to trade for him everywhere! And…he just got sent to Worcester. Womp womp. EDIT: What’s that? Hunter Dobbins is out for the year with a torn ACL? I’m not saying we should be happy with that kind of news, but if the shoe Fitts…
90	Justin Verlander	SF		6 IP, 2 ER, 7 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.70. We’re getting to the point where it’s tough to rank him based on name vs output. This one was a beauty, though. Speaking of which, Mr Upton gets a boost this week. Boost. I typed boost.
91	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL		6 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.44. No Sugano to stand beside me. No Sugano to run with me.
92	Max Scherzer	TOR		6.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, BB, 8 K. Maxamillion doesn’t just refer to his paychecks from 4 different MLB teams. It also references the number of prayers that Jays fans whisper before bedtime that Scherzer somehow stays healthy enough to be a big factor in a September playoff race. He was also a “Jumper” in last week’s list.
93	Lance McCullers	HOU		Captain Curveball got crushed by TEX last week. 3 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. At least he’s healthy? Ya, that’s all I’ve got.
94	Slade Cecconi	CLE		7 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.44. He and Spencer Arrighetti should open up a restaurant. Walk-ins only. (Their BB rates are pretty ugly.)
95	Zac Gallen	ARI		Two starts last week – “6 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 5.15. Gallen responded well to the modest boost last week. It’ll take a lot more of these for him to escape the bottom 75, though.” That was the note after his first start. “5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, and his 10th loss. This is what happens when I throw a guy a bone and move him up a dozen spots. So much for those stellar two previous starts.” That was the one after Saturday’s debacle. Side Note: Who is giving up anything of value for this guy at the deadline?
96	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI		8 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 4 Ks, ERA at 5.16. Nearly a complete game with just 4 hits allowed? Brandon is laying out some Pfaadt bait before the break to reel some more suckers in.
97	Sandy Alcantara	MIA		5 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 7.22. Dear Blue Jays: Please don’t trade for him. Please don’t trade for him. Please don’t trade for him. Pitching coach Pete Walker is good, but he’s not a necromancer.
98	Erick Fedde	STL		4.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K. Every week I look for names to drop off the list and replace them with new ones. And every week, Erick feeds us an acceptable start. Well, Erick also fed some fat meatballs to Ronald Acuna and Marcell Ozuna. That’s enough to at least push him down a bit today.
99	Andrew Heaney	PIT		“Hello, <insert contending team name here>? It’s Ben Cherington. I was just wondering what you’d like to give up for Andrew Heaney. Yes. There are just two conditions. (1) Don’t look at his last two starts, and (2) we can’t take on any contracts that cost more than a Primanti’s Pastrami and Cheese.
100	Luis Severino	ATH		I tried to watch this start on Saturday night, but it was blacked out on the MLB app. I listened to a couple of innings on the GameStream, and it sounded like Severino was throwing smoke, but having a tough time getting through innings. 4.2 IP, 5 R, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, and his 5th consecutive loss (2-11) made a weird line make a bit more sense.

JUMPERS (These are some of the players who jumped up the rankings this week)

Paul Skenes – 5.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 6 K. What a solid start! That should be good for his 10th win! What? 7th win? Hello? Is this microphone working?

Yes, it’s true. Skenes is sitting at 4 wins on the year. That didn’t stop Dave Roberts from giving him a phone call ahead of this week’s All-Star game, though. I love these kinds of clips.

The call to National League Starting Pitcher, Paul Skenes ? pic.twitter.com/s38F41vV4o

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 12, 2025

Mr. Livvy Dunne gets the nod for this week’s All-Star start (kind of stutter!). Maybe he’ll finally get some run support in this one. Yes, I’m looking at you, Pirates offense.

Bryan Woo – Well, of course, I couldn’t run out our Jumpers without this kind of video added in. I’m assuming the excitement for this moment ranks (1) Woo and his parents, (2) Pete and Patty, and (3) MarmosDad. 

 7 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.75. He had a no-hitter through 7 innings before a couple of doink shots cost him his W. That’s the savior of my fantasy seasons right there! Woo!

Freddy Peralta – 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.74. I’ll add in a quote from Grey’s Wednesday (that prompted an autocorrect to Grey’s Anatomy – *shivers*)…

“I might have to make an executive decision and not feature anymore pitchers vs. the Rockies. It’s similar to how I don’t feature hitting performances when they’re in Coors. So, we’ll make a blood pact. If a guy pitches well, and it’s vs. the Rockies, then some ground rules for it to be a lede: It’s gotta be a complete game. Ten or more strikeouts. An ERA overall under 3.50…”

EDIT: His second start of the week (Sunday) was nearly another shutout. 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and his 11th win (tied with Fried for the MLB lead). It wasn’t quite 10+ Ks, but we’ll take it.

Cristopher Sanchez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.59. All joking aside, this guy should have been named to the All-Star team before they started looking for replacement arms. Dude has been absolutely dirty. EDIT: Sunday’s start (his 2nd of the week) was almost a carbon copy of his first. 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, and one giant chip on his shoulder. He’s 8-2.

Nick Lodolo –  I’m deferring to the boss for this one. Here’s a quote on Lodolo from Grey from last week: “6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.38. He’s become a pitcher this year, instead of a thrower, and looks lined up for a huge step forward next year, as he becomes a perennial top 20 starter. He’s got the makings of a 2026 sleeper.”  

It’s a pretty awesome evolution to watch when a young pitcher figures out how to pitch instead of just chucking it as hard as he can. Fun fact: Lodolo is the evolved form of Ludicolo.

Nick Lodolico. Strikeout type.

Lucas Giolito – 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.36. I was catching up on some older podcasts that I didn’t have a chance to listen to when school was still on, and I caught one from mid-June with Eno Saris and Nick Pollack. I had to flip back a few seconds to make sure I heard it correctly when Nick asked Eno, “…“if you had to put me as the ‘blank’ guy for this year, as like the pitcher that I’m most associated with in your head for 2025, who would you say that is?” Eno guessed Sawyer Gipson-Long, and Nick responded with: “Reddit has decided it’s Lucas Giolito. And I’m like, I get why, but yeah, so he did well last night in there, you know, I’m sure that they’re just so upset.”

I don’t know how much my mention of someone’s ranking of a certain Red Sox SP had to do with all of that Reddit bluster, but, regardless, it’s time for Gio to G.O. up the list again. And, undoubtedly, put a smile on Nick’s face too.

Eury Perez – A two-start week for the Marlin Mauler. Game 1 was 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks. That made it 11 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 15 Ks in his last two starts with one solo HR as the only blemish on his line. Then, in his second start of the week (Sunday), he turned in an even better performance. 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks. If it feels like the Sunday second start group all threw gems, it’s because a majority of them did. It’s time to get in if you haven’t yet. Do you read me? 

Brandon Woodruff – 4.1 IP, 2 ER (2 solo HR allowed), 5 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks. Hang on a second. I know school is out, so the Math is a bit rusty, but 4 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts? That’s…

…10 Ks in 13 outs! Oh, my.

So Woodruff was nearly the lede this week, but I wanted to go with more of an All-Star theme. Woody gets a big-time boost today after showing he’s ready to throw 80+ pitches and strike out a bunch of hitters (18 Ks in 13.1 IP). If you’re asking if I’d grab the Brewers’ SP, I would (ruff).

Mitch Keller – I wasn’t kidding when I said it seemed like everyone had two starts last week. Game 1 was 6 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.58, and I had this note ready to go: “So much for running off 10 straight wins (after going winless in 15). Keller misses recording his third straight victory, but the no-decision is more about the Pirates’ batters not being able to figure out Seth Lugo than any ineffectiveness from Keller. A lack of run support? I wonder if any other Pirates starters can relate to that.”

Paul Skenes, when he’s asked what he thinks about Keller’s lack of run support

Well, Game 2 was Sunday at MIN gave us an even stronger start – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks. Did he nab his 4th win? Of course, he didn’t. The Pirates won 2-1 on a Spencer Horwitz groundout in the 9th inning, and Dennis Santana picked up his 3rd win. SMH emoji.

DUMPERS (With apologies to Cal Raleigh, these are some of the big dumpers in the rankings this week)

Drew Rasmussen (2.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, BB, K), and Joe Boyle (4.0 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, K) – Well, this is a bit embarrassing. An All-Star replacement is removed from the Top 100 list, and a guy who hasn’t even made the list yet is listed as a Dumper? As Milli Vanilli once said, “Blame it on the Rays”. 

“Welcome to Frustration Station, the most mentally exhausting stop on your MLB starting pitchers’ tour. I’ll be your guide, Kevin Cash, and I’ll answer any questions you may have as long as they don’t involve me explaining why I’m now destroying TWO excellent starting pitchers’ seasons.” Load management. Ya, it’s a load of something, that’s for sure.

Tanner Bibee – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 5 Ks. But, (*waves hand in a sweeping Jedi motion in front of the computer screen), those aren’t the numbers you’re looking for. You want to know how many walks, don’t you? Well, it wasn’t zero. He walked two. AND he won his 5th game of the year. As Austin Powers would say, “Yeah, Bibee!” But, before you get too excited, let’s remember this was against a team with Mike Tauchman leading off and Lenny Sosa hitting cleanup (the Shite Sox). I wouldn’t be too surprised if you were ready to cut bait and let Tanner BeFree.

Edward Cabrera – 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 6 K, and an early exit due to “fatigue” or “posterior elbow discomfort”, depending on how optimistic you are. For what it’s worth, the Sunday MRI came back clean.

Dustin May – 4.2 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. You know how I know I’m done with this guy? When the first thing that comes to mind after seeing his line from Friday night is, “I wonder how Alek Manoah’s rehab is going. Let me go check the free agent list.” A 15-spot drop seems about right today. Just know that he’s on thinner ice than a hockey player in August.

STUMPERS (These names might stump you as to why they aren’t on the Top 100…yet. Some of these guys are close).

Jake Irvin

Tobias Myers 

JP Sears 

Dean Kremer

Keider Montero

Logan Allen

Stephen Kolek

Landon Knack

Ben Casparius

Ben Brown

Mitchell Parker

German Marquez

Michael McCreevey 

Frankie Montas – 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and his 2nd win. It was tempting to do a clean sweep of the bottom 10 SPs today, but I couldn’t wipe out everyone. That said, Montas deserves a spot. He’ll be in there soon.

Simeon Woods-Richardson

Kumar Rocker

Joe Boyle – I came very close to adding him this week, but things are so up in the air with him and Rasmussen that it’s better to leave them both out until we get a clearer picture of how they’ll be used after the break.

Cam Schlittler

Dean Kremer

Colin Rea 

Hayden Birdsong – skipped last week for extra rest.

Mike Soroka

BUMPERS (Injured starters or minor league guys who could or would bump others off the list if they were active on the big league roster)

Cole Ragans 

Shane McClanahan

Jared Jones

Gerrit Cole

Luis Gil – rehabbing.

Spencer Arrighetti

Justin Steele

John Means

Shane Bieber

Blake Snell 

Grayson Rodriguez

Nestor Cortes

Hayden Wesneski

Aaron Nola – rehabbing. 

Bryce Miller

Hunter Greene – setback

Michael King

Tyler Mahle

Pablo Lopez

Tylor Megill

Chris Sale – (Replaced by Robert Suarez)

Logan Henderson

Corbin Burnes

Max Meyer

WHEE! – These players vaulted onto the Top 100 list this week.

Yu Darvish

Kodai Senga

Tyler Glasnow

Emmett Sheehan

Janson Junk

Richard Fitts

OOF! – These players fell off the Top 100 list this week.

Drew Rasmussen 

Hayden Birdsong

Mike Soroka

Nick Martinez 

Andre Pallante 

Marcus Stroman – Mister 100! 5 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 3 Ks. ERA at 6.66. That’s the number of the beast … that lives in the mouse hole in your basement. I assumed the Stro Show was good to go (off the list) this week. Stro had a good start at Yankee Stadium and still slipped out. I guess we can call him Mister 102 now.

He gets ATL after the break, so that’ll be another good test to see if he’s ready to be the Yankees’ savior. Just don’t say his name three times in a row, or he’ll Beetlejuice us.

 

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! If you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here, drop some comments in the chat. Have a great week!

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