Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

Let’s start things off a bit spicy this week with some Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

There’s plenty of material to draw on here, but it’d be tough not to think of this tune when I’m watching a certain Red Sox starting pitcher continue to rack up quality starts. 

So feel free to sing along in your head with this little ditty about a guy who has given us 9 quality starts in his last 9 starts! (Not including the July 1st game where he followed Richard Fitts).

Spicy! (Just don’t add any of this into your New England Clam Chowder).

“Bello

Listen what I say, yo

I got your Bello

Now listen what I say, yo

When will I know that I really can’t go

To the well once more – time to decide on

When it’s killing me, when will I really see

All that I need to look inside (is his matchups)”

So, last Wednesday night, the talkative donkey AKA Brayin’ Brayan Bello, took a cruise to the iVictory Coast (of Minnesota) and helmed the Red Sox ship to an easy dub against Zebby Matthews and the Twins.

His 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks would have looked a lot better if we took those four walks and tagged them on as strikeouts instead, but with that outing, Bello pushed his quality start total up to 11 (out of 18 starts).

More importantly, outside of a 7 ER hiccup vs ATL way back on May 18th, Bello hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER in any of his other games.

The good news is his ratios are helping mixed leaguers keep their ERA and WHIP in check (ERA: 3.18, WHIP: 1.28). The not-so-good news is what we’ve always known about Bello – the 8.4% walk rate is still quite underwhelming, and his 20.1% K rate isn’t much to get excited about either.

As long as he’s limiting the earned runs, and the offense behind him is giving him support, I Can’t Stop thinking it’s a good idea to take the Higher Ground and roster Bello wherever I can for the stretch run. 

Yes, it’s fair to assume that other managers probably aren’t going to Give It Away. Still, I’d be looking at rosters and putting together trade offers for the 26-year-old RHP, especially if I were in a quality starts league.

Bello’s numbers are looking good, if not necessarily dominant. Where does that land him on this week’s installment of the Top 100 Starting Pitchers?

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. 

*I had a Sunday afternoon baseball party to attend, so most notes do not include Sunday games*

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2025

SP RANK	Name	Team	UP / DOWN	Notes
1	Tarik Skubal	DET		Scubie Doo? Where are you? (Right where he’s supposed to be)
2	Garrett Crochet	BOS		He’s won 6 of his last 7 starts and is exactly what the Red Sox had hoped for when they traded for him. The caveat here is that the team has begun discussing “innings management”. He’ll likely surpass his total from last year (146 IP) in his next start, so just be aware that he might get skipped in the rotation here and there to preserve his arm.
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI		He hasn’t won in four starts, but who cares? We know what we’re getting here. Fun fact: I saw his strikeout totals over his past 10 games and wondered how many games he hasn’t struck out at least half a dozen hitters. The answer? 1. Out of 22 starts. Wow.
4	Paul Skenes	PIT		I had this as an added note for the Bello intro, but I decided to put it in here instead: “As a side note, could you imagine what Paul Skenes’ record would look like if he got the same kind of run support as Bello does instead of having to rely on getting help from the MLB’s worst offense? Boston is 4th in the league with 545 runs scored compared to Pittsburgh’s 30th-ranked 369.”
5	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD		I skipped Framber vs Giolito to watch Yoshi and Boyle yesterday in that palindrome (Racecar) game. The ace outing from Yoshi was expected. The Boyle outing? Search down there to find him!
6	Max Fried	NYY		6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.62. It’s nice to see that at least one Yankee starter’s arm isn’t fried.
7	Jacob deGrom	TEX		JDG is PFG. The first word there is pretty. The last is good. I’m sure you can figure out the rest. Also, this is a large-scale understatement. EDIT: Also II: The Sequel – he gave up 5 ER in 5 IP yesterday at Seattle.
8	Bryan Woo	SEA		My boo, Woo, got a very unhospitable reception at Bing Bong Stadium last week (4 HR allowed). I’m still very much in, and you should be too. He gets CWS at home this week.
9	Tyler Glasnow	LAD		I can almost hear your eyes popping out as you read this. Yes, Glasnow in the Top 10 is a bit aggressive, especially after getting roughed up in Cincy last week, but I don’t know how anyone can argue it when he can throw a game like he did the week before (7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 12 Ks). He’s a beast in head-to-head matchups and a game changer in those leagues where you’re gearing up for playoffs.
10	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI		Last week, the White Sox (of all teams) halted Sanchez’s 6-game streak of allowing just 1 ER. The strikeouts are elite (9.57 K/9), and the 2.27 BB/9 is good for a top 20 ranking. He’s a beast.
11	Freddy Peralta	MLW		4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 Ks. ERA at 3.08. More like Freddy KBBad News. He got cranked by the Cubs.
12	Framber Valdez	HOU		The King of Quality Starts just got a boost to the offense with the addition of Jesus Sanchez and the return of Carlos Correa. Watch out for the ‘Stros!
13	Joe Ryan	MIN		6.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K. Don’t worry, Red Sox fans. Someone from your team fumbling a trade report last week isn’t as bad as dealing with players fumbling baseballs. Just ask Yankee fans.
14	Hunter Brown	HOU		7.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 6 K in Boston. He ended up with a no-decision despite the Browntown beat-down in Beantown, which also sounds like the mashup of a Taco Bell/Metamucil ad.
15	Logan Webb	SF		5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.31. 11 out of 17 outs were strikeouts? I’ll take it! And I did! (in a home league where I just dealt Landen Roupp and Brandon Lowe for him).
16	Robbie Ray	SF		7.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 6 K. Robbie keeps bringing Rays of sunshine to fantasy managers. Seriously. Make a trade offer for this guy if you’re in the hunt for a title.
17	Spencer Strider	ATL		He was warming up yesterday when the rain hit. ATL told him to forget it as they threw a bullpen game after the delay instead of starting him. Good news for weekly leaguers – he’s now likely to get two starts this week.
18	Logan Gilbert	SEA		6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 7 K. That’s good for 2 quality starts in his last 3 games. He’s not the superstar we expected, but he’s pitching well and giving us healthy strikeout totals. That means he’s well inside the Top 20.
19	Dylan Cease	SD		More below.
20	Carlos Rodon	NYY		4.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 9 K. The walks undid him again, but to be fair, it was the defense that cost him the win again.
21	George Kirby	SEA		15 Ks in 12 IP and back-to-back wins in his last two starts are doing nothing to Kirby enthusiasm here.
22	Blake Snell	LAD	N/R	More below.
23	Shota Imanaga	CHC	N/R	He came back after the last Top 100 list (three weeks ago), so he’s a ‘newer’ addition despite having two starts under his belt since his return from injury.
24	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX		A big jump from a couple of weeks ago. He’s shown us he’s healthy and good to go. 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 1.49, and his fifth consecutive win. He’s allowed just 2 ER in his last 30.2 IP.
25	Ranger Suarez	PHI		7.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 5 K. Steady eddy. Because Stranger Danger didn’t sound right.
26	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW		It’s a ‘tibia’ injury that shelves the golden Brewer this week. Word is that he’s headed to the IL for two weeks. At worst, it helps manage the innings a bit better and makes it more likely he throws more starts than they’d planned ROS. Also, Logan Henderson somehow escapes the minors with this one. I’d add him now. Seriously, minimize this window and go grab him off waivers if you can. Just make sure you come back!
27	MacKenzie Gore	WSH		5.1 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.80. The last time it was this bad for Gore was when he got run through in that bullfighting arena.
28	Nick Pivetta	SD		7.0 IP, ER, 1 H, 5 K, 11th win. He outearned his draft position 3 months ago.
29	Seth Lugo	KC		“Lugo, you-go nowhere” was the message last week after KC signed him to a two-year extension (with a player option for the third).
30	Luis Castillo	SEA		Hit a hiccup Saturday vs TEX, and it wasn’t even all that bad. 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and the first time he hasn’t completed 5+ innings in his last 18 starts.
31	Nick Lodolo	CIN		5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.09. He started against Glasnow and the Dodgers, and I nearly sat him. Then I looked at his recent starts and had some FOMO that he’d keep the train running, so I said, “YOLO,” and ran him out there. 11 Ks against The Avengers? (And Ohtani went 0-5 with 4 strikeouts?!) LOL!
32	Andrew Abbott	CIN		5.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 1 K, ERA at 2.15. Oh look! A handful of walks, low strikeout totals, and still a decent outing. It’s kind of like Brayan Bello. Maybe we can call him Brayandrew Bellobott. After some serious consideration (1.3 seconds), we probably shouldn’t.
33	Sonny Gray	STL		5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.38. Took his 5th loss, dropping his record to 10-5. It wasn’t great, and it wasn’t terrible. If only there were a color that we could use to describe something in between good and bad.
34	Brandon Woodruff	MLW		What’s the story with Woody? How about just 4 ER in his last 18 IP with 19 Ks. He gets the Mets at home this week, and I’d start him no matter what.
35	Eury Perez	MIA		Saturday’s 6-inning shutout of the Yankees was enough to bring me fully in. He’s gone at least 5 innings in each of his last 6 starts and has 4 ER over those 34 IP. The 10 walks aren’t great, but the 37 strikeouts sure are.
36	Matthew Boyd	CHC		Boyd’s Saturday start was even more impressive than Eury’s. Sure, it was against Baltimore, but still…7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks.
37	Trevor Rogers	BAL		8.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K. With Baltimore losing a bunch of bullpen arms to trades or injuries, Rogers might be asked to throw 130 pitches every three days. FWIW, this wasn’t even enough to nab him a win as he lost to Cade Horton and the Cubs.
38	Jack Flaherty	DET		6.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K. That’s right, Jack! Show those old fogeys in your rotation how it’s done! (For the record, he’s 29 years old, but it feels like he’s been around forever).
39	Noah Cameron	KC		Lately, he’s flip-flopped great outings with games where he gets beat up a bit. Last week he gave up 4 ER in 6.1 IP at TOR. This week he should be better at MIN.
40	Sean Manaea	N/R		5.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.08. I mentioned a few weeks ago that some people were whispering about him being their biggest sleeper for the second half. So far, so good. Now if we can just get him to strike out more guys than the number of vowels he has in his last name…
41	Hunter Greene	CIN	N/R	He was scheduled to throw his third rehab start yesterday, this one at AAA Louisville. Injury-free innings are the news here, and if he got through yesterday’s game without groin issues, he should be good to go as early as next week. EDIT: 66 pitches, 42 strikes. 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB.
42	Ryan Pepiot	TB		4.0 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 3.80. Oh boy. Rays fans are crying for the Return of Taj already, aren’t they?
43	Lucas Giolito	BOS		6.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.80. Yo, Gio! That’s the guy we all bought in on in the first half! Just 2 ER (total) in his last 2 GS (14 IP).
44	Jesus Luzardo	PHI		7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.31. I don’t want to just paraphrase what Grey said on Wednesday morning, but this guy might just be the biggest “I have no idea how it’s going to go” guy for every start in the second half.
45	Merrill Kelly	TEX		Traded to Texas. He’s the only Top 50 SP here that got dealt at the deadline.  I guess we’re ready for the Chuck Norris reboot, Merrill Kelly: Texas Ranger. If I had bet that only one of Merrill Kelly, Joe Ryan, Edward Cabrera, or Yusei Kikuchi would be traded last week…I would’ve lost that bet.
46	Chase Burns	CIN		Sure that ERA and WHIP burns, but so does the strikeout rate (14.93 K/9)
47	Quinn Priester	MLW		5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.27. That was good enough for his 10th Win. He’s sitting at 10-2. I imagine if reporters asked Alex Cora if he’s glad they let this guy go and signed Walker instead, they’d get the…Buehler? Buehler? Buehler? Response.
48	Edward Cabrera	MIA		EdCab ended up shutting off the meter at the trade deadline after all. He stayed in Miami and mowed down the Yankees yesterday (6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks).
49	Kodai Senga	NYM	N/R	I had originally had him in the SP37 spot, then I checked his last 4 games and changed him up with Trevor Rogers (which was easier than re-jigging the whole list). He’s pitched into the 6th inning just once in his last 5 starts, and has allowed 11 ER in his last 12 IP. Oh, and as I wrote this up, my house’s water line started to bang and hum with a blockage at the meter, so if you’re into that kind of poetic timing, then there’s that too.
50	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA		He had a bizarro start last week against Texas. Zero walks for the first time in 6 starts was nice to see, but he also gave up a season high 10 hits. The 3 ER were enough to leave him with a no-decision.
51	David Peterson	NYM		6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K, ERA at 2.83 ERA. Another quality start with fewer strikeouts than his counterpart. He’s been solid in regular leagues and excellent in QS leagues. If you’re in a league with no strikeout category, he’s even better.
52	Kevin Gausman	TOR		6.0 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K. Every once in a while, when he takes two steps forward, we immediately end up taking three steps back and get Goosed.
53	Will Warren	NYY		6.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.64. It was his only 6-inning start over his last 6 games, and the first time he’s thrown 100 pitches in those starts, too. That’s a good sign.
54	Shane Bieber	TOR	N/R	Traded to Toronto. More below.
55	Shane Baz	TB		More below.
56	Casey Mize	DET		1.2 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 3.43. “This Mize…oh, he’s trying…this Mize, he’s pitched a lot of innings and you know some time in August he’s gonna fall apart and disappoint youuuuuuu”.
57	Tanner Bibee	CLE		Three quality starts in his last 10 games. Uh…ya. I’m putting him in the same penalty box as Shane Baz.
58	Clay Holmes	NYM		More below
59	Yu Darvish	SD	N/R	7.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 6.46. Yu’ve got yourself a comeback!
60	Gavin Williams	CLE		6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K. Uh oh. Three straight quality starts, and none of them were against minor league teams? We’re Gavin a good time now!
61	Brayan Bello	BOS		See above!
62	Mitch Keller	PIT		Word on the street is the Yankees were offering Babe Ruth’s skeleton, David Letterman’s beard, and the Statue of Liberty in trade talks, but the Pirates were holding out for Spencer Jones. Can you imagine the nerve?! That immediately killed all discussions. *makes loud, long raspberry noise with mouth*
63	Jose Berrios	TOR		“‘Member the last time he threw a 7-inning shutout? ‘Member it was at Fenway Park? ‘Member it was a month and a half ago?” That’s the MemberBerrioses chatting in the Blue Jays bullpen.
64	Ryne Nelson	ARI		Ok, serious question D-Backs fans. If I had a high-pressure water pistol aimed squarely at the head of your coveted (and priceless) powdered-sugar sculpture of Tony Womack, which ARI SP would you roster if you had to start him every week for the rest of the season? And, no, “None of them” is not an acceptable answer.
65	Max Scherzer	TOR		The Blue Jays need Mad Max to channel some thunder in the dome for the playoff run. Saturday’s 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K outing against KC was exactly what they were wishcasting when they signed him last winter. Just make sure he’s wrapped in thicker bubble wrap than Byron Buxton was in between his starts.
66	Zack Littell	CIN		Traded to Cincinnati. 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.58. Grey mentioned it last week, but four walks from a guy with a 1.2 BB/9 is a Littell bit concerning. With Hunter Green due back sooner rather than later, I hope the Reds decide to go to a 6-man rotation. The rest of the group is solid, and if they don’t, Littell is likely the odd man out.
67	Jose Soriano	LAA		7.0 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.65. He was a tough-luck loser to Nathan Eovaldi, and, coincidentally, has been pitching almost as well as him (6 ER in his last 25 IP).
68	Michael Wacha	KC		8.0 IP, ER, 3 H, 5 Ks. Wacha is like a blue-collar working guy. Just grab the steel lunchbox, chuck the hard hat in your ball bag, and make sure you run your card through the punch clock. Another steady eddy. But he’s a Steady Michael (I also doubt that catches on).
69	Brady Singer	CIN		6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, BB, 10 K, and his 9th win. Brady is singing a tune about how thankful he is that he didn’t get shipped off to Colorado for yet another corner infielder.
70	Shohei Ohtani	LAD		More below.
71	Chris Bassitt	TOR		The naysayers were out in full force after his 2.1 IP, 6 ER, 7 H debacle at BAL on June 28th. Yesterday’s 6 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 K outing was much better, but not enough to get him his 12th win.
72	Joe Boyle	TB		More below. (I moved him up another 10 spots after yesterday’s start).
73	Jack Leiter	TEX		4.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks. This is what Kumar Rocker managers pray for every time. I’m trusting Leiter more ROS.
74	Justin Verlander	SF		5.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.53. Yet another great start ruined by a steamrolling juggernaut offense. The Giants lost to the Pirates 3-1, and, yes, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek.
75	Cade Horton	CHC		He took it to Baltimore and Trevor Rogers last week with a 5-inning, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K outing. Someone lit a fire under the kid. He hasn’t allowed a run (earned or otherwise) in 17 IP (3 GS).
76	Slade Cecconi	CLE		Four out of his last five starts have been QS. The strikeouts could use a boost, but he’s been pretty good and shouldn’t get shut down anytime soon (76 IP).
77	Clayton Kershaw	LAD		6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 3 K. I always lump Kershaw, Verlander, and Scherzer into the same group. So far, it looks like Kershaw has been the best of the three. I’m hoping Max heats up with August (and the playoff chase).
78	Emmett Sheehan	LAD		Dustin May’s exit loosened the noose on Sheehan’s time in the rotation. The Dodgers are going to roll with a 6-man rotation, and he should be safe even after Snell returns.
79	Cam Schlittler	NYY		The 6’6” righty is bringing the heat – his 97.8 MPH fastball ranks in the 94th percentile – but he’s struggled to get through innings and has pitched into the 6th just once (in 4 GS).
80	Jacob Lopez	ATH		ZERO earned in his last two starts! (but it’s been 7 games since he pitched into the 6th inning).
81	Adrian Houser	TB		Traded to Tampa. There’s an unwritten rule to avoid starting pitchers that the Rays trade away and pay more attention to the ones they bring in. The front office must have seen something they liked in the Houser Renaissance. The Ks aren’t great, but those ratios are nice. He should get two starts this week, too.
82	Charlie Morton	DET		Traded to Detroit. 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks, ERA at 5.42, and his 7th win. What is going on in Tiger Town? Why are these guys bent on paying old guys? First, they signed a rotten Alex Cobb back in the wintertime, now they’re trading for Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton? Is Rich Hill is looking at Motown hotel rooms and salivating because he’s likely their next move, or is it because he’s eligible for the Motel 6 senior discount? Also, RIP Matt Manning (PHI).
83	Matthew Liberatore	STL		I had him 10 spots higher today, then almost gagged when I looked at his most recent starts again. Even SP83 feels a bit too gracious.
84	Eric Lauer	TOR		I know we often look at Sonny Gray and Michael Wacha as those quiet and under-the-radar type SPs who rarely get credit for being solid arms, but Lauer should be on that short list too (ERA at 2.68; WHIP at 0.95).
85	Frankie Montas	NYM		Last week was a rough one at SD, but he started ok yesterday and should be reliable in that Mets rotation the rest of the way.
86	Janson Junk	MIA		Whatcha gonna do with Janson Junk? I’m gonna get get get you…a ton of earned runs? Ya, that’s not how the song is supposed to go.
87	Jose Quintana	MLW		Quint captained the ship on the way to the iVictory coast last week at WSH. Fitting, too, since this summer is the 50th anniversary of Jaws.
88	Taj Bradley	MIN		Traded to Minnesota. There’s a bit of a pattern this week with the SPs involved in Rays trades. Taj was sent to Minnesota and immediately optioned so he could “work on his pitches”. I assume that’s like telling a chef they need to “work on their cooking” after half the restaurant gets food poisoning.
89	Bryce Miller	SEA	N/R	Yes, this is more wishful thinking than anything solid, but he allowed just one hit over 4 IP with 6 Ks in a Friday AAA rehab start. I’ve got a polished monocle on him, but he might not be up for a couple of weeks.
90	Zebby Matthews	MIN		4.1 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 5.67. “And coming in at the end of the list – for SPs and alphabetical order – is Mr. Zed (or Zee if you’re me).
91	Jeffrey Springs	ATH		Springs looked oiled up and rust-free in his last two starts. Back-to-back wins, 12 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 12 Ks is a nice week, but it was even more impressive since one of the games was in HOU.
92	Kumar Rocker	TEX	N/R	4.2 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 5.74. The upside is there, and the arm is electric. I still expect some shocks along the way, though. And for the record, I didn’t just copy and paste the same note for Taj Bradley.
93	Sandy Alcantara	MIA		5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks, and his second consecutive start of zero earned runs. ERA at 6.36. I was getting some tooth surgery done early Wednesday morning when I saw this come across the ticker on the TV, and for a second, I thought the dentist might have jabbed the anesthetic into my eyeballs and/or brain instead of my jawline.
94	Chris Paddack	DET		6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.77, and a one-way ticket to Traded to Detroit. Wow. Tigertown. I have a few friends who are die-hard Detroit fans. I’m going to refrain from telling those friends that I’m glad the Blue Jays didn’t trade for Chris Paddack.
95	JP Sears	SD	N/R	Traded to San Diego. An underrated deadline add for the Dads. I assume he slides in as their SP5 at least until Michael King is ready to come back. Moving to a 6-man rotation (or a Randy Vasquez re-assignment) would help Sears retain his value after that. EDIT: When I got home last night, I saw that San Diego had sent Vasquez down to the minors. Talk about confirmation bias!
96	Zac Gallen	ARI		I don’t know how this guy escaped Bing Bong Stadium last week with just two earned runs, but here we are. Are you starting him this week at home vs COL? (Probably).
97	Andrew Heaney	PIT		Nobody? No one wanted to send an acceptable offer to Pittsburgh for this guy? I assumed someone would have sent them a low-level prospect for Heaney and a few boxes of IC Lite.
98	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI		Funny story. One of the leagues I’m in is broken into several 10-team ‘sub-leagues’, all competing against one another for a league championship as well as for the overall title. Some people were questioning why Pfaadt was available in more than a few of those free agent pools. Then he gave us the 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 11 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks (3 HR allowed) game against the Tigers last week. Needless to say, he’s still on the waiver wire in my league.
99	Michael Soroka	CHC		Traded to Chicago (NL). He was almost chopped today, but he sticks over a few others because of the new digs and the report that he’ll push Ben Brown out of the rotation.
100	Bailey Ober	MIN	N/R	More below.
101	Dustin May	BOS		Traded to Boston. I was ready to write him off, but MAYbe he gets a jolt from the trade to Beantown. Monitor for now.

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

Blake Snell – Bah-lah-kay was O-kay in his Saturday start. 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks on 86 pitches is solid for a guy whose last game was 4 months ago (to the day). I ranked him conservatively in last week’s Happy Gilmore NL-Only ROS post, but he’ll move up quickly if he can come out as his usual second-half dominant self.

Dylan Cease – Does he drive me crazy? Yes. Would I get full value back for him in a league if I traded him right now? Probably not. Is there any reason why I still can’t quite quit this dude? Well…

Dylan Cease, 99mph ?? pic.twitter.com/d96xmJ6toA

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 29, 2025

Shane Bieber – Oh boy. “Not Justin” heads across Lake Erie, presumably on a jet ski. He was scheduled to throw 75 pitches yesterday in the land of the chicken wings (Buffalo). If all goes well, he’ll travel with the team out west next weekend. One thing is certain. The second coming of Bieber Fever is ready to take over the 6ix. 

As an add-on, a friend ended up making a last-minute trip to Buffalo to see this start. I’ll add the text message exchange here.

The official line was 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 6 Ks.

Maybe I can convince my kid that they brought back Jordan Romano

Shohei Ohtani – 3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks is a bit pedestrian from our unicorn, but he passed the 50 pitch checkpoint for the first time this year in this game. His mound work was over early (removed with cramps), but he stayed in to DH, so at least it’s not a serious injury.

When I saw this, though, I wondered if Emmanuel Clase had money on this start.

These were Shohei Ohtani's last six pitches before he came out of the game with a trainer pic.twitter.com/yp38l0dnDy

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 31, 2025

Joe Boyle – Speaking of paying more attention to pitchers the Rays trade for (see the Houser note above), Boyle went head-to-head with Yoshi Yamamoto yesterday and was nearly perfect in 5 innings (3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks ). If he gets stretched out and gets a regular turn in the rotation, I’d be buying in everywhere, immediately. Also, Drew Rasmussen threw 5.1 innings on Saturday, but I have more faith that Boyle will give us more volume than Rasmussen rest-of-season (hence the latter’s omission here).

A three-pitch mix? That can’t be good!

Oh. Uh. Nevermind.

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

Clay Holmes – The innings are being throttled – he’s pitched into the 6th inning just three times in his last 10 GS – and it looks like he won’t come close to 150 innings. He’s already nearly doubled his innings pitched over the previous three years (63 IP each season), so I wouldn’t be expecting many wins or quality starts the rest of the way. This was my initial note for this week: “Does a guy have to enter from the bullpen to still be considered a bulk reliever?”

Shane Baz – Baz-tard! 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 8 K. Sure, it was against the Dodgers, but I’m done. The fact that I’m even considering dropping him in an AL-only league (where nearly everyone is rostered) should be all that you need to know. He’s headed to the bench next week despite a less-than-imposing matchup at LAA.

Bailey Ober – Nothing like writing this guy up as a lede, saying, “Don’t dream, it’s Ober”, then heading right back to the sewer well when he was activated last weekend. I had Spencer Arrighetti and Luis Gil queued up, but Ober gets the spot because he pitched this week. (I wrote this up before seeing that Gil was set to start yesterday, too).

5 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks on 91 pitches was the official line at CLE on Saturday. If you still have any faith in him, he can be had for next to nothing in a trade. 

Ryan Gusto – Traded to Miami. 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.92. Serious question. If Ryan Gusto-wind gave up a home run to Nolan Arenado, would it create the perfect air-generated-disaster pun opportunity? Now that he’s pitching in Miami, we might have a better chance of chasing that storm! He’s a Stumper this week, but I’m hoping he can hit the ground running (not blowing) in Miami.

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

Cal Quantrill

Nestor Cortes

Brandon Walter

Troy Melton

Drew Rasmussen

Richard Fitts

Dean Kremer

Luis Severino

Jake Irvin

Eduardo Rodriguez

Jameson Taillon

Tyler Anderson

Ryan Gusto

Luis Gil – he got worked over yesterday, but still offers good strikeout upside. Should be in there next week.

Spencer Arrighetti

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 

Spencer Schwellenbach

Shane McClanahan

Jared Jones

Gerrit Cole

Justin Steele

John Means

Grant Holmes

Landen Roupp

Griffin Canning

Zach Eflin

Reese Olson

Grayson Rodriguez

Nestor Cortes

Aaron Nola

Jackson Jobe

Andrew Painter

Bubba Chandler

Michael King

Tyler Mahle

Pablo Lopez

Tylor Megill

Chris Sale 

Ryan Weathers

Cristian Javier

Clarke Schmidt

Logan Henderson

Corbin Burnes

Max Meyer

Roki Sasaki

Here’s one last nod to the lede before I bounce. I haven’t seen RHCP live yet, but they’re on the list!

 

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!

 

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