Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

Wow! It’s been a full week since I wrote something up and, to be honest, it feels like I’ve been gone for a month.

I hope you’ve all been doing well as we head into the dog days of summer and have managed to find some time to chill out (literally and figuratively).

Last Friday, the kids and I planned a Happy Gilmore 2 day for the release of the new movie, and it got me thinking. Could I work in the Happy Gilmore theme today with our NL-Only Starters for the rest of the season rankings?

Similar to last week, I’ll give you the screenshot of the Top 50-ish Rest Of Season Player Rater (sorted for 12-Team NL-Only) and give you a look at what I was working with (or against) as far as the ROS Player Rater rankings were concerned with the NL-Only arms.

After that, I’ll break our bigger notes into some very valid and perfectly suitable categories that will undoubtedly make sense and not seem like I pulled them out of a nasty golf bag that we found underneath Grey’s signed carnival caricature of Reggie Jackson that had been stashed under a dusty tarp in the back of the Razzball warehouse.

Or something like that.

It’ll be the same kind of setup for today. I’ll pit myself against the machine for ROS rankings (pulled Saturday afternoon) and try to illuminate where we were close and where the robot needed a set of brass knuckles to its chrome-covered teeth.

But, as always, 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. 

The Top 100 (NL-ONLY) Starting Pitchers for (The Rest Of) 2025

SP RANK	Name	Team	ROS PLAYER RATER RANKING	Notes
1	Zack Wheeler	PHI	1	Sure, he got roughed up at NYY yesterday, but was there ever a doubt about who was going to be the NL’s SP1 for the rest of the season?
2	Paul Skenes	PIT	2	We were worried that he’d have his innings managed last year, and it didn’t happen until the last week of September. The same reports surfaced about a week ago, so while it makes sense to preserve the golden arm, do we believe Pittsburgh wants to shelve their #1 ticket draw before August 1st? I sure don’t.
3	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	7	The 8-7 record is misleading, but the low win total is what pushes him down the Player Rater (both current and rest of season). He’s at CIN today and lines up at TB next Sunday if the Dodgers stick to a 5-man rotation.
4	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	6	A complete game 4-hitter with just one solo homer allowed helped the NL’s biggest All-Star snub lock down his 9th win last week. The dozen strikeouts were some thick icing on the already scrumptious cake he cooked up in that game. Today’s start (at CWS) could be even better.
5	Freddy Peralta	MLW	9	5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.81. I watched this start on Friday. A Kyle Stowers solo home run was the only hiccup. He pitched great, but ended up with a no-decision after the bullpen unraveled.
6	Logan Webb	SF	5	Logan Met his match vs NYM Friday night to run his current 3-game stink stretch to 16 ER in 15.1 IP. The good news is he’s still limiting walks (just one in each of those starts), and striking guys out (11 Ks in 3 GS).
7	Spencer Strider	ATL	3	More than half of his starts have been quality starts, but he’s still not the Strider we know and love. Not yet, at least. If there’s anyone on this list with the potential to make it tougher for Wheeler to sit atop the NL SP mountain unchallenged, this is it. I wrote this in a note earlier this week: “If we pulled a random percentage out of thin air, would you rather have a 70% Strider ROS or a different guy ranked below him who’s a Top 50ish arm?”
8	Robbie Ray	SF	15	He took a tough luck loss vs NYM Saturday after pitching into the 6th inning and allowing just 2 ER. The strikeouts have been down in his last two games, but he’s proven to be a Top 10 NL-Only guy all year.
9	MacKenzie Gore	WSH	14	144 Ks in 117.2 IP classifies as a breakout. Throwing 12 QS in 21 starts is pretty solid, too. So can you guess what his record is, then? If you don’t roster him, I bet you were way off. He’s 4-10.
10	Dylan Cease	SD	2	I originally had Cease ranked much lower than this, but I can’t get past the potential for a dozen-strikeout game every time he takes the ball. He’s fine as an SP2, but make sure you have arms that can offset the ratio damage that will happen if you set it and forget it with him. He’s a two-start arm this week, too.
11	Sonny Gray	STL	8	5 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.33. The peripherals are still pretty great, but recent games are what we look at for ROS rankings. His last three starts sum it up pretty accurately. 11.1 IP, 15 ER, 25 H, 11.91 ERA. Ouch. But over those 3 GS, he also posted as 11.9 K/9, 0 BB/9, and a 2.55 xFIP.
12	Ranger Suarez	PHI	13	After allowing 9 ER in his previous 11 IP (two starts), Ranger threw a beauty at NYY on Saturday night (5.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks).
13	Shota Imanaga	CHC	11	He was solid in his 5 starts since returning from the IL on June 26th. Last week, he ran into the juggernaut that is the Chicago White Sox. I’ll give you a minute to stop laughing. 3 IP, 7 ER, 12 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks is the kind of line I’d expect to see after a visit to Dodger Stadium. When I watched the highlights, he looked pretty shell-shocked. He’ll try to bounce back this week at MLW.
14	Tyler Glasnow	LAD	10	This one warrants a direct quote from the boss: “7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.75. Most Ks by a Dodgers starter this year, and a 70% Whiff rate on his curve. He’s so goofy good when healthy, it’s nuts.” Like Strider, if we had a guarantee that he was fully healthy ROS, he’d be a lot higher on this list.
15	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW	59	3 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.45. He reached triple digits 14 times in 64 pitches. If he reached it ten or fewer times, maybe he wouldn’t have been pulled at 64 pitches. Mister Misio is almost too good for his own sake. More below.
16	Nick Pivetta	SD	16	The first match (after Wheeler and Skenes) for Marmo and the Player Rater! The Canadian gets a sweet 16 from both of us.
17	Nick Lodolo	CIN	26	Grey mentioned last week that he’s starting to put some side notes down for offseason sleeper posts and that Lodolo will likely be one of his targets in 2026. I’m fully in on that one as well. 9 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.08 is a good way to show you’re headed towards ace status.
18	Hunter Greene	CIN	19	Greene, missing two months with a groin injury, might make this look like an aggressive ranking, but he’s been rehabbing and striking guys out. If it were an arm injury, I’d be more wary. He should be back by early August.
19	Andrew Abbott	CIN	32	I had him as a Top 15 guy here at first, but dropped him below a few others in the final list (I drew the line at ranking him below Luzardo).
20	Kodai Senga	NYM	18	There are a lot of tiny red flags here from a dip in velocity in his last start to a hamstring injury that knocked him out for a month. That said, I still believe. Just be careful and pay attention to his velocity in his next start.
21	Matthew Boyd	CHC	31	It’s a two-start week for Boyd (at MLW and vs BAL). I still feel like he should be ranked higher than this, but the robot sure doesn’t. 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.20 last week vs KC, and he’s officially pushed his scoreless streak to 20 innings (3 GS).
22	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	12	5 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.58. He’s now given up 4 or more earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. The walks are out of …uh… control, but the strikeout potential and run support are still sky high. That said, I wouldn’t be rushing out to add him at the trade deadline if I were in a mixed league, and certainly not if I had his ratio doppleganger, Dylan Cease, rostered as well.
23	Michael King	SD	30	More below.
24	Brandon Woodruff	MLW	22	6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks in a pitching duel with Eury Perez yesterday. Both starters ended up with a no-decision.
25	Eury Perez	MIA	43	I didn’t realize that Woodruff and Eury were facing each other yesterday until well after I’d ranked them next to one another here. Eury pitched one fewer inning than Woodruff, but also allowed fewer hits (2), earned runs (1), and walks (2). His half dozen strikeouts give him 46 on the year (in 44 IP). Be careful this week, though. He gets NYY at home this weekend.
26	Blake Snell	LAD	27	More below.
27	David Peterson	NYM	21	Are you looking for an underrated arm that can limit earned runs? Boy, do I have a name for you. This is no secret to the NL-Only folks, but Peterson pitched another gem Saturday and has allowed just 3 ER in his last 25.2 IP (4 starts).
28	Merrill Kelly	ARI	17	I’ve said it a few times, but I’m not a fan of Merrill Kelly. Maybe he’s a nice guy in real life. Maybe he saves kittens from trees or walks the neighborhood dogs for free. I don’t know. But I do know he’s allowed about the same number of earned runs in his last 4 GS as Peterson has. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he were traded before our new list comes out next Monday.
29	Mitch Keller	PIT	34	More below.
30	Clay Holmes	NYM	45	After going winless in his last 5 GS, Holmes rolled into SF and picked up his 9th win of the year. The strikeouts are nothing to write home about, and he has just 6 quality starts in 21 GS, but he’s been solid otherwise.
31	Quinn Priester	MLW	52	7 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.28. I’ll be the first to admit that I have no idea why I’m obsessed with this pitcher, but here we are. He lost back-to-back starts in the middle of May and hasn’t looked back since, going 9-0 over his next 13 starts. Sure, the 7.61 K/9 could use a boost, but I’d be taking him over a lot of others in this list if I had a chance to add him in my mixed leagues.
32	Sean Manaea	NYM	28	5 IP, 1 ER, 2H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. But the most important number was the increase in pitches thrown. He’s over 80 pitches per start now, and the stamina keeps on building up. If you’re looking for a sneaky sleeper-type 2nd half SP, this might be your guy.
33	Chase Burns	CIN	49	The strikeout numbers are through the roof, but unfortunately for Burns, the fastball sometimes goes through the roof too. (4 HR allowed in 21.2 IP). He gets two starts this week, and they’re both at home…but he faces LAD and ATL.
34	Edward Cabrera	MIA	38	5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, and a nice bounceback after a 4 ER blip in BAL. Forget about Uber, the EdCab is the one getting phone calls rerouted to Miami’s front office. And I assume there’s been more than a few.
35	Emmett Sheehan	LAD	65	He’s allowed two or fewer earned runs in 4 of his 5 starts. He’ll get TB this week (in Tampa), but with Blake Snell coming back, it could mean more uncertainty with Sheehan. This ranking is more about the talent and the hope that LAD employs a 6-man rotation to give guys extra rest for the next couple of months.
36	Justin Verlander	SF	48	5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 5 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.70. I saw it somewhere this week, so I can’t take credit, but there was a photo of Verlander, Kate Upton, and their kid with a caption that read: “This guy could be at home spending every moment with this…and he still wants to play. He’s married to baseball.” That’s tough to argue.
37	Brady Singer	CIN	29	A few NL SPs in this list had a bounce-back week last week, and Singer was no exception. 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks. He gets ATL at home this week.
38	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	NR	He’s been gradually working up the pitch count through each of his 6 starts. 3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks on 46 pitches was the line from his June 21 game vs MIN. He’s not ready to go 6 innings yet, but he should get there around mid-to-late August, barring any setbacks.
39	Grant Holmes	ATL	44	I had him slotted in at SP30 for the rest of the way, but the 15-day IL assignment yesterday squashed that plan. He’s done for at least two weeks, and the injury is officially listed as “right elbow inflammation”. That’s not good, Holmes! Monitor the progress and move him way down if there’s more news that blows holes in a hopeful early-August return date. EDIT: Well, that didn’t take long. On a final edit last night, I read that ATL transferred Holmes to the 60-day IL and announced he’s done for the year. Delete and move everyone up one spot!
40	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	36	More below.
41	Yu Darvish	SD	33	3 1/3 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 9.18. The whirling Darvish got swirled down the toilet. I’m still taking him over some of the next few names ROS, though.
42	Zac Gallen	ARI	23	Player Rater likes.
43	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI	20	Marmo says, “Yikes”.
44	Jameson Taillon	CHC	46	Another one that almost matches up with the Player Rater. He’s “on track” to return in early August.
45	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	50	More below.
46	Frankie Montas	NYM	52	5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.62. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it was likely time to add Montas to the Top 100 list. Then he went out and posted two ugly starts. He’s won three in a row now, and pitches in SD today.
47	Matthew Liberatore	STL	64	He started a nice run on June 17th, ripped off three quality starts, and just missed a 4th. I had him about 10 spots higher before a final edit moved him closer to where he should be. The mediocre strikeout totals and trouble consistently getting through 6 innings push him down.
48	Cade Horton	CHC	78	I’ve been high on Horton all year (talk about a good title for a failed Dr. Seuss sequel). He’s ripped off 12 straight scoreless innings, so things are looking promising. One of those starts was at CWS, though (the other vs BOS).
49	Landen Roupp	SF	53	I could copy and paste Grant Holmes’ note for the Roupp-Dogg here. Just like Holmes, Roupp has right elbow inflammation. Unlike Holmes, the team thinks it’s nothing to be concerned with, and he’ll be back in two weeks. Legitimate injury or creative innings management? You decide.
50	Aaron Nola	PHI	24	More below.
51	Chris Sale	ATL	35	More below.
52	Ryne Nelson	ARI	56	How many of these guys will still be pitching in Arizona after July 31st? At the beginning of August, I expect the Snakes to have their ace, Eduardo Rodriguez, followed by Marcus Stroman, Jose Butto, Chris Flexen, and Matt Manning. Yeesh.
53	Roki Sasaki	LAD	47	If we’re being hopeful for returns and for second-half payoffs, we might as well throw Roki into the mix. He’s been throwing bullpens and is working out at the spring training complex. Topping out at 90 MPH isn’t ideal, but he has to be better than he was in the springtime, no? Yet another gamble.
54	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	42	The PR has more faith in EdRod than I do. Could he be traded? Sure. Will he report to a new team? Uh…if he didn’t, it wouldn’t be the first time!
56	Jose Quintana	MLW	57	“So you wanna Quintana? Send us two mid-level pitching prospects and he’s yours.” – That’s Brewers GM Matt Arnold on the phone with 20 other teams this week.
57	Janson Junk	MIA	82	“You want us to send you Junk? Ok, just don’t send us garbage back.” – That’s Assistant GM Gabe Kapler fielding calls from the teams who couldn’t finalize the trade for Quintana.
58	Andrew Heaney	PIT	62	Another guy who is likely to be pitching elsewhere in a week. His ARI start on Saturday (5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks) was a nice bounceback from a couple of rough outings. His exit should make room for at least one of the kids (see below).
59	Tylor Megill	NYM	63	Yet another mid-August return for an SP who has been shelved for a while. Megill’s injury was officially an “elbow sprain”, so at least he’s not trying to rebuild a break or tear. He could be a nice push for the Mets’ playoff run.
60	Andrew Painter	PHI	102	More below.
61	Bubba Chandler	PIT	86	More below.
62	Michael McGreevy	STL	68	I wouldn’t argue that he should be ranked higher than the previous two, especially because he’s already up and throwing big league innings. The DFA of Erick Fedde should give him even more job security now, too, even after getting lit up by SD yesterday.

HAPPY GILMORE – These are the ‘main characters’ who jumped up MY rankings that could and should be important rest-of-season.

Michael King (MD: SP23, PR: SP30) – He’s working his way back from a thoracic nerve injury.  And, yes, I had to Google where that was. Cut me some slack, I’m not a high school Biology teacher. 

The official word is that he’ll throw a simulated game today, and if that goes well, they’ll look at a plan for rehab starts in early August. There has been a lot of buzz around the Padres’ starting pitchers as we approach the trade deadline, but with San Diego just 4 games behind LAD for the division lead and sitting in a wild card spot, I find it hard to believe they’ll be moving Cease or King out.

Blake Snell (MD: SP26, PR: SP27) – He is already throwing rehab starts, with his most recent one coming this past Saturday. 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 BB, 7 Ks is a nice start, even if it’s at AAA Oklahoma. The walks are tough to see, but otherwise, this has to go down as a successful outing for Snellzilla. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t root for Blake Snell even more than I used to after I started to watch and comment during his Call of Duty streams on Twitch during Covid. Either way, it’ll be a nice boost for our NL-only leaguers to get this guy back to full strength and on a big league mound as early as next weekend.

Mitch Keller (MD: SP29, PR: SP34) – This one is a bit of a cheat because I think he’ll land in the AL by the end of deadline day, but he keeps pumping out quality starts like it’s his job…which I guess it kind of is. If you’re a fan of a playoff-contending team, your squad could do a lot worse than sending a couple of mid-level prospects and an MLB-ready player to PIT for the 29-year-old righty. 

SHOOTER MCGAVIN – These are the ‘experienced’ veteran SPs that we don’t expect much from, but who might be able to recapture some of the old magic and help us ROS. 

Aaron Nola (MD: SP50, PR: SP24) – The Player Rater is a big Shooter McGavin fan. It also likes veteran pitchers with a track record. And I mean it really likes those guys. Nola fits the bill. The good news is Aaron Nola has the experience to work through a rough patch, and he pitches for a team that can give him a solid bit of run support every time he takes the ball. The bad news is Nola’s 2025 season line looks like this: 49.2 IP, 34 ER, 59 H, 16 BB, 52 Ks. The other, more practical issue? He isn’t back on the mound yet. 

Nola’s early-season struggles could be the result of the ankle/rib injuries, but it’s encouraging that we shouldn’t have to worry about him having a setback with arm trouble. He’s scheduled to start rehabbing at AAA this week.

Chris Sale (MD: SP51, PR: SP35) – There’s a pattern here. I could copy and paste the Nola blurb – right down to the rib injury – but the difference is Sale isn’t as close to a return as Nola. Atlanta moved him to the 60-day IL at the beginning of July, so he can’t return until the last week of August at the earliest. If you’re in the hunt for a title, stashing Sale might make sense if you have room. Just remember that one setback means you may get nothing from him ROS, and you’ll be using up a roster spot on a gamble that isn’t a sure thing to pay off.

Clayton Kershaw (MD: SP46, PR: SP50) – He’s winless in his last four starts after posting Ws in 4 straight, but let’s cut to the chase here. If the Dodgers decide to manage innings (or whatever they want to call it), it will only help give their 37-year-old lefty more time to recuperate after each start. In the realm of “maybe this is nothing”, I also noticed that the hardest he’s been hit in his more recent starts were the ones where he threw 90+ pitches. Maybe it’s nothing, but I would be surprised if the Dodgers didn’t go out and load up on bullpen arms just so they didn’t have to have any of their SPs push much past the 6th inning in any of their starts.

THE WATERBURY CADDY – These are the SPs most likely to frustrate us and make us want to choke someone out for the rest of the season.

Jacob Misiorowski (M: SP15, PR SP59) – The potential frustration from this one is more about his usage and the Player Rater ranking than his actual production. I highlighted last week how much the Player Rater hates rookies. (And my investigation as to whether the robot was created by technology wizards in the bowels of Coors Field came back with inconclusive results).

Should The Miz be rated as a Top 15 SP for the rest of the season based on his talent and potential? Of course, he should. Does the Player Rater seem like it’s a 93-year-old scout that complains about how young pitchers would throw 800 innings a year “back in my day”? That’s an affirmative as well. The bottom line here is that the Miz will be very valuable for the rest of the season, whether he gets a regular turn in the rotation through October or is moved to the bullpen to ‘manage his innings’. The Player Rater ranking of SP59 is far too low.

Sandy Alcantara (MD: SP41, PR: SP36) – He’s bounced back from the dead a few times this year, and the peripherals aren’t as terrible as his results have been. The xERA is over 1.5 lower than his current ERA, so at least that indicates he should be in for some positive regression – if that oxymoronic term even makes sense. Maybe the right pitching coach can help Sandy sort things out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some Jumbo Shrimp traded for a Miami SP at the trade deadline. FWIW, I also wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the only Marlins pitching deal we see. It’ll be risky to trade away known commodities for a stretch run with him, though.

Spencer Schwellenbach (MD: NR, PR SP25) – Ok, I mentioned it last week, and it’s worth repeating. The Razzball mechanic either mixed up the motor oil with the THC oil during its most recent tune-up, or the robot can’t process rookie potential and injury reports simultaneously. I’m fine with the Player Rater listing Schwellenbach on its ROS list, but ranking him as the SP25 when he has an elbow fracture is tougher to swallow than a sawdust milkshake. The report is that he “could return” in September, but I’m not betting that we get the same dominant pitcher that we had back in April/May, even if he does.

Andrew Painter (MD: SP60, PR SP102) AND Buba Chandler (MD: SP61, PR SP86) – It felt right to add these two in at the end of the list, as they’ve been an easy go-to for many NL-Only managers’ source of frustration. Either of these kids could get the call as early as tomorrow…or they could end up being relegated to a cup of coffee in September.

I ranked Painter above Chandler because he’s headed to a playoff contender when/if he gets the call. One could argue that Chandler might have more value ROS, though, as Pittsburgh is likely to move out a few rotation pieces and give Bubba the ball every 5 days in a starting role. Painter, on the other hand, could become a lethal bullpen piece for the Phillies – something that doesn’t help us managers in leagues with a Quality Start category or in need of excellent innings/ratio help. 

Let’s put these two down as the ultimate wild cards and add in names like Cade Cavalli, Nolan McLean, Logan Henderson, and Carson Whisenhunt from that same MiLB pond, too.

JACKASS! (These are the names that some might argue should be on the list, and might even call me some nasty names because of their omission [Player Rater ranking in parentheses]

This one warrants a YouTube clip. ***CAUTION – SPOILER***

Miles Mikolas (SP37) – If DFA means “Don’t Fall Apart”, someone forgot to tell Erick Fedde. I imagine Miles Mikolas might be on that list soon, too.

Ben Brown (SP39)

Jake Irvin (SP40)

Dustin May (SP 41) – With the big Dodger arms healthy and returning, he MAY not get more than 2-3 starts the rest of the year.

Andre Pallante (SP54)

Colin Rea (SP55)

Bryce Elder (SP58)

Anthony Desclafani (SP60)

Kyle Freeland (SP66)

Mitchell Parker (SP67)

Nick Martinez (SP68)

Michael Soroka (SP69)

Hayden Birdsong (SP70) 

Bailey Falter (SP76)

 

That’s all for Round Two! I hope you enjoyed it! 

As for our Happy Gilmore Day, my boys gave the sequel movie a 5/10 but pushed it to a 6 because of the cameo from the “Jackass guy” (a favorite celebrity they recognized as soon as he appeared on screen).

Wait, what do you eat for breakfast?

Happy Gilmore Day isn’t complete without Subway.

No clowns were destroyed in the making of this mini-putt round.

While the movie didn’t get a great review from the Marmo-lets, the final ranking of the whole day got an 11/10.

I’m glad that we could put together a good day and make some lasting memories. 

Let me know your thoughts about the 2nd half NL-Only rankings in the comments below, and make sure to come back next Monday when I’m back with a newly organized and polished up Top 100 for the whole league.

Have a great week!

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social