Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

We’re almost done! And if you’re anything like me at this point, you’re wondering, “What are the two most important things that warrant attention as we round out the fantasy season?”

Well, I’ve got some good news for you in the form of a couple of fancy bulleted sentences.

• Your early round draft picks and highest bids from your auction draft have no real meaning at this point. If you want to finish strong, you need to ride the hot hand regardless of your players’ early Spring price tags.

For MONTHS Tanner Bibee looked about as steady as a newborn giraffe. Then, last Friday, he gave us the 4th-best start of the year (thanks to Vin for the update!).

But I’ve been patiently waiting for the return of Cole Ragans! He’s been on my bench for three months because he was my third-round ace! He’s coming back soon, isn’t he?!

Well, I’ve got some bad news for you, italicized pretend voice quote. To put it bluntly, it means you can dump Cole Ragans and add an arm that will not only give you actual innings, but will also add some much-needed stats for that title run.

I dumped Ragans in Sunday night’s TGFBI FAAB. Holding on to him as long as I did amounted to a wasted roster space for more weeks than I’d like to admit.

His replacement? The unheralded and mostly forgotten SP, Tyler Wells. I can gain some ground in my league in strikeouts and wins, and Tyler Wells toeing the rubber for two or three games the rest of the way is a much better gamble to make than continuing to wonder how many rehab starts Ragans will need before, or if, he returns to the big leagues.

• Check your waivers for new names, call-ups, or returnees who might give you some help and/or a bit of #1 from above.

A convenient example?

The aforementioned Tyler Wells – 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.31. 

Back in draft season, Wells was one of the guys left for the scavengers or buried amongst the Lance Lynns (ADP 635) and German Marquezes (ADP 630) of the world. 

I sorted my TGFBI ADP to have a peek down the deep, dark rabbit hole and nearly broke my index fingernail scrolling down to the bottom of the well. The last pitcher in that list with a 653 ADP? Kyle Bradish.

But now, some of those same names from the scrap heap are shining much more brightly than they were way back in March.

These arms are the kinds of adds that you need to be looking to make in the final few weeks of your charge to the title…or at least to help you pass the managers who checked out for fantasy football three weeks ago.

Tyler Wells? He had an ADP of 452.

Ok, cool. But I’d rather gamble on a young pitcher that might still be floating on the waiver wire. 

How about…Brandon Sproat – 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks, and a 2.25 ERA. It’s a lovely thing that such beauty is Sproating in September in New York City. San Diego this week might be tough, but I’d run him out vs WSH if I had him on my squad.

But what do I do if those guys are already rostered?

Well, if you’re in a shallower redraft league, have I got a sneaky one for you.

This lede was only two guys old before a quick bit of Saturday night news made me do a little happy dance and head straight to a first, early edit.

Oh baby. Rookie pitchers are tough cookies to tango with. But if people are still running out Charlie Morton or Chris Paddack, you can’t blame that same someone for adding and starting Trey Yesavage. I’m in regardless of how that cookie crumbles…or cooks to perfection.

Some of these guys might not make the list today, but we do have some movement to report.

Also, since ‘tis the season of volatility, this week and next, I’ll be adding a Streamonator column for our Razzball faithful who are still “in it to win it”. 

These are a few calls from the robot that not only make sense, but might be one of those “I guess I should start him” additions. It’ll be guys who should get a start (or two!) that the Streamonator is high on, or at least doesn’t think will destroy your team from the inside out.

Think of it as an extra helping robot hand, and a bit of a free advertisement of why you should be subscribing to Rudy’s tools for 2026 – because when you do, you’ll get all of these little robo-secrets each week to help you dominate your competition.

This week and next, wherever you see this – – it means the Streamonator is down with that start for the week. 

And, to help out even more, if you see this one – -, it’s the Streamonator’s way of saying GTFO before you get zapped.

And now, on to the list.

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2025

*All italicized edits are as of Sunday at 9:00 PM. I had to take the kids to the local IBL championship game yesterday afternoon to watch the hometown team win the title*

 

SP RANK	Name	Team	UP/DOWN	S.O.N.(ATOR)	Notes
1	Tarik Skubal	DET			It’s oftentimes not a good sign when I drop a “More below” on the first guy, but here we are.
2	Paul Skenes	PIT			It’s also a bit early for a Grey quote, but here it is anyway! “5 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 1.92. That’s now 178 IP, 203 Ks, and a 0.92 WHIP. Only six pitchers have finished a season with a qualified ERA under 2.00 and 200+ K since 2000.”
3	Garrett Crochet	BOS			The Yankees were one win away from a weekend sweep at Fenway yesterday. Have to go to the late-night edit for the verdict here. EDIT: He was well on his way to an easy cruise to the iVictory coast last night when I updated this – 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks, and likely his 16th win of the year.
4	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD			7.0 IP, 1 hit, ER, BB, 10 K. This is buried underneath the Paul Skenes love fest, but Yoshi should get some consideration, no? At least a couple of votes?
5	Freddy Peralta	MLW			5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 2.69. The 30-scoreless innings streak was snapped in this one. I had a bad feeling all those accolades in the Top 100 over the last two weeks were going to curse him at some point. Well, here it is.
6	Hunter Brown	HOU			6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and his 12th win. ERA at 2.27. He threw 108 pitches more than Marla Gibbs did in this one. Everyone who targeted Hunter Brown as their ace way back in draft season is sitting pretty on our way into the final two weeks.
7	Bryan Woo	SEA			I started this one on Saturday night before my eyelids betrayed me once again, and I fell asleep. At least I managed to stay awake to see Jo Adell’s 36th HR. Oh, and the Woo-bot won his 14th with another quality start and 13 STRIKEOUTS!
8	Jacob deGrom	TEX			7.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 2 K, 12th win, ERA at 2.82. I recommended starting Jonah Tong in New York for this one before I saw it was DeGrom and the homecoming game. You never want to bet against a Top 10 SP heading back to his former stomping grounds for the first time. The 8 runs of support were also the most he’s had at Citi Field in all of his 110 career starts there. Oof emoji.
9	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI			6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.57. First, no All-Star Game. Then no Cy Young Award. Gentlemen (and 5 ladies), I give you C-San, the bridesmaid.
10	Blake Snell	LAD			6 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.79. Oh. You might think that’s just the crisp pre-autumn breeze that you’re Snell-ing. But it’s the wind generated from the whiffs of Blake’s opposing hitters.
11	Max Fried	NYY			5.1 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, and his 17th win. The 3.03 ERA and 1.13 WHIP are pretty smooth, and if Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet had fallen apart two months ago, he would’ve cruised through the AL Cy Young voting.
12	Logan Gilbert	SEA			4.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, and the no-decision. The Cards made Lo-Gi throw 95 pitches before being lifted with 2 outs in the 5th inning. One solo HR to Ivan Herrera was the only damage done, though.
13	Tyler Glasnow	LAD			11 Ks in his first start pushes him back up a bit. He started yesterday, too. EDIT: 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks last night wasn’t as impressive as start #1 was, but he’s still a top-tier arm.
14	Trevor Rogers	BAL			5.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, ERA at 1.43. Sore toe aside, no matter how he finishes the year off, this investment/dice roll paid off in spades if you picked him up in March.
15	Nick Pivetta	SD			7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.73. I used to rip on this guy and thought he should be used exclusively as a bullpen piece. Not anymore.
16	Joe Ryan	MIN			4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks. ERA at 3.35. It took him. 93 pitches to get 12 outs in this one. A Marmo-moment of silence if you were penciling him in for the auto win in a head-to-head playoff matchup.
17	Logan Webb	SF			4 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks is tough sledding, but this one was against LAD, so he gets a bit of a pass.
18	Carlos Rodon	NYY			6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.11. 311? Whoa! Amber is the color of Rodon’s energy.
19	Chris Sale	ATL			5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks, and a tough luck loss vs CHC. Sale keeps pumping out strikeouts. That’s 18 Ks in his last 17.2 IP (3 GS).
20	George Kirby	SEA			4 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 4.56. His tough year this year will give him a final line that’ll likely be enough to curb everyone’s excitement next preseason, and I’ll end up owning him in more places than I should. (This was after start #1) EDIT: So much for that quiet curbing of enthusiasm. 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB and 14(!) Ks vs LAA last night.
21	Hunter Greene	CIN			2.1 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 Ks, and 2 HR allowed at ATH. Bing Bong claims another victim! SacTown continues to be a nightmare for SPs.
22	Framber Valdez	HOU			EDIT: 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks and his third straight loss. I wonder if he blamed his catcher for this one too.
23	Brandon Woodruff	MLW			He was skipped last week as MLW shuffled their rotation a bit. He’s slated to start Wednesday vs LAA.
24	Cade Horton	CHC			6.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks at ATL. ERA at 2.70. Once again, Cade slayed. He’s 7-1 in his last 9 starts and gets a juicy one today at PIT.
25	Ranger Suarez	PHI			More below.
26	Shota Imanaga	CHC			EDIT: 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks. He missed his 8th consecutive quality start by three outs, and got squeezed out of the win too (no decision).
27	Sonny Gray	STL			5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks. He wasn’t around long enough to have to deal with the extra-inning loss at MLW, but it was an encouraging start against a tough opponent, nonetheless.
28	Robbie Ray	SF			5 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.32. I almost stayed up to watch this one, but my eyelids betrayed me. Back to school is officially underway. That was start #1 last week. EDIT: Uh oh. The Dodgers did what the Dodgers usually do to opponents last night. 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks.
29	Noah McLean	NYM			EDIT: 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, and yet another solid start ruined by the bullpen. This time it wasn’t Reed Garrett. Brooks Raley was the culprit, but the Mets still won it in extras.
30	Drew Rasmussen	TB			5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. Remember when he was only throwing 4 innings a game? When the Rays were being oh so careful with their innings management? Ya, that last 4-inning outing was on July 22nd, and 10 starts ago. He threw 80 pitches in this one, so he’s not exactly pumping out Nolan Ryan pitch counts, but he certainly wasn’t getting managed all that much.
31	Kyle Bradish	BAL			7 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.65. I convinced someone in my AL Only to throw this guy into a deal for Bello (and Mullins), and now he’s on the shortlist for 2026 keepers.
32	Merrill Kelly	TEX			5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.21. And he gave up mad hits like he was Rod Carew.
33	Pablo Lopez	MIN			5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, and the no-decision. He threw 99 pitches in this one and wasn’t the only SP who had to put in some work to finish 5 innings last week.
34	Lucas Giolito	BOS			5.2 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 6 K, 4th L, ERA at 3.31. Not a bad start by any means, Gio was just out-duelled by Gil. SON is not a fan this week vs ATH, though. He’s at -$5.6 (122nd).
35	Quinn Priester	MLW			5.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, BB, 5 K, 13th win. A baker’s dozen for Priester. That’s 20 consecutive starts now with a W or a no-decision. Do you think the Red Sox are regretting cutting this guy loose?
36	Kevin Gausman	TOR			More below. (He’s SON’s 7th-ranked SP this week)
37	Ryan Pepiot	TB			Scratched last week due to fatigue. I wonder if I can use that one to call in a supply teacher at school next week. The two-start week lines him up for a nice SON boost, too (9th).
38	Jesus Luzardo	PHI			8 IP, 4 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 10 Ks, ERA at 4.03. I am the Luzard-king, I can do anything. Or almost anything. Apparently, he can’t impress the Streamonator ($-2.7 ranks 104th).
39	Brayan Bello	BOS			5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks, and a 3.25 ERA. Lost to Max Fried and the Yankees at Fenway. As a Jays fan, I’m not looking forward to the next two weeks of the NYY and BOS accelerator stomp.
40	Nick Lodolo	CIN			EDIT: 5.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks and 3 HR allowed. He’s now winless in his last 5 starts. Ugh.
41	Eury Perez	MIA			5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.67. The good news is the strikeouts are still there. The bad news is he’s still so young, and there’s a lot to work on. I’d still take him over all the Zebbies and Tajes of the world, but it might take a year or two before it all clicks and he launches into the Skubal-sphere.
42	Dylan Cease	SD			6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, and his second straight win. He’s allowed just 4 ER in his last 15 innings and has struck out 18 (3 GS). This is him laying the trap for the next implosion. And it would be fitting if it were this week in his return to CWS.
43	Cam Schlittler	NYY			6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.05. A nice bounceback from The Schlittler. No word if Jim Carrey is slated to play him in the post-career biopic/Batman movie in 2042.
44	Jonah Tong	NYM			0.2 IP, 4 hits, 6 ER, 3 BB, K. Ew. Someone needs to run that Tong through the wash again. He’s a SON play this week, though, with a projected $10.3 at WSH. (27th).
45	Shohei Ohtani	LAD			Shohei didn’t start last week, but there was no scheduled SP for today’s LAD/PHI game when I wrote this up yesterday afternoon, so double-check before the lock to see if he’s in. For what it’s worth, the robot thinks he’s starting today, which also means he lines up for a two-start week. He’s 3rd on SON behind Skenes and Peralta.
46	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW			5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and a very mortal-esque line from the rookie phenom. He heads to STL this week.
47	Ryan Bergert	KC			4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks. Way to blow the pattern with one too many strikeouts, Bergert-Time. And to add insult to more insult, SON hates this week’s match-up vs TOR. -$11.3 (144th, our lowest ranking of the Top 100 SPs).
48	Shane Bieber	TOR			EDIT: Not Justin handled the Orioles last night and increased the Jays’ AL East lead to 3.5 games! 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, and a sigh of relief for any fans that were worried about his previous two starts.
49	Matthew Boyd	CHC			5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and his 13th win. I watched the start of this one while I was making dinner for the kids and their buddies on the BBQ. When Christopher Morel tags you for a 3-run bomb in the first, it can mean you’re in for a long night, but Boyd settled down nicely and got into a bit of a groove. No strikeouts to get excited about, but a nice Wacha-esque start was good enough for a win.
50	Will Warren	NYY			6 IP, 2 ER, 3 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.22. Will Warren win! Another WWW? Someone call Ask Jeeves and see if AOL is still running. That was after his first start last week. Yesterday afternoon, he was at Fenway. EDIT: 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 1 K, and the easiest loss to call of the weekend. When the Sox lost the first two games against the Yankees, Sunday’s matchup was an easy home team bet to make.
51	Gavin Williams	CLE			6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.16. In the shallower leagues, it’s probably worth checking to see if a disgruntled manager cut bait on this guy when he was struggling (ie, April and May, some of July, and a bit of August). His last 3 games have been pretty stellar. A MarmosDad spring darling is finally starting to deliver.
52	Noah Cameron	KC			7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.00. This was against the same team that treated Ryan Bergert-Time like he was a Joey Chestnut victim. Because baseball is weird sometimes. That was his first start last week. EDIT: 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and his 8th win. At Philly! That’s back to back quality starts and 15 Ks in his last 14 IP.
53	Max Scherzer	TOR			5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. ERA at 4.31. Just like I said with the current Tigers ace, you probably shouldn’t expect a CG SO with this former one either. It’s all good, though. As long as he keeps firing decent starts (and the bullpen doesn’t collapse).
54	Casey Mize	DET			“6 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.83. If you had the stones to start Mize in the Bronx, you’re challenging J. Lo for the rocks you got.” And that’s me quoting Grey! For the record, I sat Mize in the AL-Only league because I was afraid of Yankee Stadium. I am the cowardly Marmos.
55	Spencer Strider	ATL			6 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.86. All he needed was a boost against a struggling Cubs team to right the ship. Right? RIGHT?!
56	Jack Flaherty	DET			5 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.69. A friend of mine is a Windsor guy (Ontario, not England), so the natural connection is Tigers fandom. I said to him that I don’t know how comfortable I’d be if my favorite team started Mize and Flaherty after King Tarik in a best-of-three playoff series. He, correctly, responded with, “Ya, but what else do we have?”
57	Luis Castillo	SEA			6.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Back-to-back QS and I’d start him at KC this week.
58	Payton Tolle	BOS			2 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 7.84. TWO INNINGS and 33 pitches?! I gotta watch this recap. Spoiler: Jarren Duran almost robbed a 367-foot Shea Langeliers homer in the first, and Nick Kurtz hit one over the LF wall in the second. I haven’t seen any injury news, so maybe the early hook is just part of Alex Cora’s “developing game plan” for one of his young arms.
59	Brady Singer	CIN			6 IP, 2 ER (solo homers), 3 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks AT ATH! Don’t look now, but that’s 6 consecutive quality starts for the unmasked Singer. This is a guy that fits the bill for the ‘under the radar’ kind of start I was referring to up top. He’s at STL this week, then hosts PIT.
60	Mitch Keller	PIT			5.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, BB, 4 K. Mitch better have my money. Because it doesn’t look like he has any quality starts left in the tank.
61	Yu Darvish	SD			EDIT: 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and his 4th win. I streamed him in one of my RCLs, so pin a rose on the Marmo nose.
62	Clayton Kershaw	LAD			3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks, and the no-decision on Saturday at SF. When the weakest link in your rotation is Clayton Kershaw, you’re gonna be just fine.
63	Luis Gil	NYY			6.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. The walks are fine if they’re paired with zero hits and zero earned runs. Gil isn’t fooling SON this week, though. It has him at -$3.1 at MIN (ranked 111th).
64	Ryne Nelson	ARI			6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks. ERA at 3.34. I don’t know what’s more annoying. That my brain can’t get excited for this guy’s starts, or that I still somehow mix him up with Reese Olson.
65	Jack Leiter	TEX			More below.
66	Emmett Sheehan	LAD			7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.32. I’m gonna call him Emmett SHHHeehan because we don’t need any more attention that will push up his draft cost next spring.
67	Zac Gallen	ARI			6 2/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.84. We cursed him with the boost last week. The only ones rostering this guy are the circus jugglers who use bags of C4 filled bowling pins and have no hands. That said, Streamonator kind of loves him this week because of the two starts, so I moved him up above Morales and Waldrep (10th).
68	Justin Verlander	SF			7.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 4 BB, 4 K. JV, doing his best Bowser impression, going head-to-head with Yoshi.
69	Luis Morales	ATH			EDIT: 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and his 4th win. It wasn’t an overwhelmingly great start, but it was good enough to beat the Reds.
70	Hurston Waldrep	ATL			Oh my. 4.2 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and a thrashing at the hands of the Bang Bang Astros. Ouch.
71	David Peterson	NYM			5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.77. Good on you if you had the Peter-stones to start him in this one. He was at PHI, and I would have benched him. Reed “Don’t call me Mrs.” Garrett booted his chance at a dub, though.
72	Jose Berrios	TOR			5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and a bounceback after a tough go at CIN. A start like this vs HOU is encouraging, and I’m fine starting him at TB and KC (his next two).
73	Clay Holmes	NYM			4 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.75. I’m pretty surprised he hasn’t been IL’ed yet with an assessment of “violent sneeze” just to test him before the playoffs.
74	Sandy Alcantara	MIA			7.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 8 K, 9th win. A great start, but it’s even better news that he hasn’t been fish-hooked like EdCab and Eury have lately.
75	Tanner Bibee	CLE			9 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks. Well, if you held on to him and auto-started him for the last 4 months of frustration, congrats, I guess. Dan Pants said this was Cleveland’s first shutout in 6 years and that was almost as tough to believe as Bibee’s line here. 4th best start of the year according to Vin, though. Crazy times. More above! He has to move up today.
76	Luis Severino	ATH			5 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. The bad news for this guy is that my brain has always tethered him to Sean Manaea for some reason. And Manaea just slipped off the list. Down we go!
77	Jose Soriano	LAA			4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks, and a giant ball of “Who knows?” every time he toes the rubber. He’s at MLW this week, which means he’s glued to my bench.
78	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA			6.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 3 K. Not a bad start, but still the opposite of Luis Castillo in that I wouldn’t start Kikuchi (at MLW) this week.
79	Chris Bassitt	TOR			5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, and the 8th consecutive start that he’s allowed 3 or fewer earned runs. Sure, he only has two quality starts to show for it, but he’s been as good as we could’ve hoped.
80	Zebby Matthews	MIN			More below.
81	Jason Alexander	HOU			7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.19. Only 3 hits allowed by the assistant to the travelling secretary? That’s a good day!
82	Andrew Abbott	CIN			8 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.79. Well, it’s Abbott time. This guy flipped the switch back on. Managers with this guy have been waiting for a game like this for a while—his first win in 10 starts. SON loves him this week for two starts, too.
83	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT			He piggybacked Mike Burrows last week (3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks), but is slated to start at CHC today. PIT is setting up a 6-man rotation to help manage their youngsters’ innings.
84	Zack Littell	CIN			6 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks. That’s a Littell bit better than his previous few starts, but he’s still winless in his last six.
85	Ryan Weathers	MIA	N/R		5 IP, 0 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.73, as he was activated from the IL. This is another one of those “pull your comb through the waiver wire” guys, and I’d be checking to see if managers in your league forgot about him. He gets Colorado this week.
86	Aaron Nola	PHI			EDIT: 6 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Aaron Nola and the number of the beast. I was almost a bit worried that I moved him down before he pitched today. Then I saw the final line afterwards and wondered if I dropped him far enough.
87	Bryce Miller	SEA			5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 11 Ks, ERA at 5.59. If it’s a quality start league, don’t even bother. If you’re chasing down strikeout points in a roto-league, though? This is a Streamonator check-in at the very least. See Gore, MacKenzie.
88	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI			4.2 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, BB, 2 K, ERA at 5.31. Pfeffing Pfbrutal.
89	Jeffrey Springs	ATH			5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, and his 11th loss. I nearly bumped Springs out today, but he was saved when Michael Wacha hit the IL, and I removed him instead. He hasn’t won a game since July 30th.
90	MacKenzie Gore	WSH	N/R		5 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.14. Probably a more fitting “Return of the MacK” lede than our Nolan McLean spotlight last week, but only on name value alone. That said, this could be a Streamonator play if he’s back to full health. One of the few guys that could pop off for double-digit Ks in any start (if that’s what you need).
91	Jose Quintana	MLW			EDIT: 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks and an early exit because of a calf injury. I don’t know how many times we need to tell him to take better care of his baby cows. *rimshot*
92	Michael King	SD	N/R		5 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.87. Well, that’s one where he was money. Now, can we get two for the show before he gets all shook up again? Uh huh? Easing him back in here today.
93	Michael McGreevy	STL			I wanted to cut him out today, but he bounced back last week. 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks at SEA.
94	Cade Cavalli	WSH			EDIT: 5 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks, and the no-decision. I was ready to push Cavalli off the list this week, but he hasn’t been terrible. Three straight 5-inning starts with minimal runs allowed isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible either.
95	Adrian Houser	TB			EDIT: 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and the no-decision. He survived a tough one at Wrigley.
96	Parker Messick	CLE			6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks. He slipped a bit after a September 1st trip up, but he’s given up just 1 ER in each of his last two starts (12 IP).
97	Cristian Javier	HOU			More below.
98	Bubba Chandler	PIT	N/R		6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks. These front offices that say they’ll baby their kid pitchers by putting them in the bullpen. Come on. It’s kinda tough to record a quality start like this one from the bullpen, no? Either way, Happy 23rd Birthday (yesterday). Our gift to you is a place on the Top 100 Starting Pitchers list. No need to write me a thank-you note. He’s going to rocket upwards if he keeps throwing quality starts in the new 6-man rotation.
99	Bailey Ober	MIN			EDIT: 6 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks vs ARI. The zero walks and nine strikeouts are nice, but I wouldn’t be starting this guy at all until we give him a full offseason to recover from his lingering injuries.
100	Shane Smith	CWS			5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.78. A bit of a justification game for the addition to the bottom of the list last week. The “All-Star” isn’t quite under-the-radar, but the second half White Sox haven’t been as much of an auto-loss as you might think.

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

Ranger Suarez – 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.77. I almost ran with the lede “Ranger Danger Drops A Dozen On The City Of Dreams” today, but went another route. Ripping off 12 strikeouts vs. the Mets in a divisional smackfest is about as dangerous as it gets. Wow. 

And while we’re here and speaking of Stranger Danger, if there are any of you who weren’t born early enough to remember the 1980s safety ads geared towards us kids, this one should explain why some of us are the way we are. Just be forewarned – it’s a heavy dose of WTF.

Then again, I suppose we could change the name on the container here to “edibles” and call it a day.

Kevin Gausman – 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 walk, 9 Ks, and his 2nd career shutout. That pushes his ERA down to 3.44. Yet another sparkling start from the Goose. And speaking of helping a playoff push, this guy is doing just that for your fantasy clubs and for reals, too. If the Jays can get this kind of production out of the de facto ace while Biebs and Scherz channel old glory? It may be time to get legitimately excited about potential playoff baseball success north of the border.

Jack Leiter – Well, your friendly neighborhood MarmosDad couldn’t pass up a chance to share this one with you this week. Apparently, Jack’s dad, Al Leiter, was at City Field for an alumni game on the weekend, and that gave us some cool shots of Jack hanging out with his pops before Al threw against the oldies. 

Al Leiter hangs out with his son Jack before the Alumni Classic at Citi Field

?? Tri-State @Cadillac pic.twitter.com/KdrfWXWcqq

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) September 13, 2025

No DNA test needed here.

This was pretty cool. Almost as cool as Jack’s most recent 4 starts – stat line. If anyone ordered a late-season breakout, it’s here. Last Tuesday’s game (4.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks) broke a personal three-game streak of quality starts, but I’m starting the kid this week (at HOU) as the Rangers charge towards a playoff berth.

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

Tarik Skubal – 3.1 IP, 4 hits, 4 ER, 2 K, and a visit from too many people before the end of the 4th inning.

It’s never a good sign when these folks come out to the mound.

Early reports were as good as they could be, but the Oblique Monster still lingers. If he isn’t pushed back this week, he’s an obvious start, just don’t expect a CG SO.

Skubes isn’t a Dumper in the truest sense of the word, but I’d tread carefully and keep an eye on the news before lineups lock this week if you roster him. More of a “proceed with caution and seek more information” here.

Zebby Matthews – 4 2/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 5.06. I keep putting guys like this in our list and turning a sour face when they match up against guys like Kyle Hendricks. Then the guys like Kyle Hendricks outpitch the kid, and it leaves us with this. It goes back to what I said up top today: When you have the choice between a hard-throwing rookie or a boring veteran at this point in the year, you might be better off starting the yawner.

Cristian Javier – 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.78. So this one made me think. He doesn’t look like he’s healthy. Doesn’t seem like he shook off whatever rust he had over that lengthy IL stint. And for as much as we bag on teams like the Mets for being inept at rehabbing pitcher injuries, can we have a quick peek in at the Astros? This guy. Luis Garcia lasted all of one start. Lance McCullers? He’s nowhere near what he was pre-injury(ies). Hunter Brown had better hope any injury he sustains is a hangnail because I don’t think I’d want Houston’s doctors recommending any procedure if I were him.

Michael Wacha – Hit the concussion IL. Uh oh. Sounds like he Wacha’ed his head pretty hard. *rimshot*. Sorry, buddy. You’re out!

Shane Baz – Remember last week when I said he should be back on the list? Ya. Let’s forget about that.

Charlie Morton – 4 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks, and another start stolen from Troy Melton. He hasn’t thrown a pitch in the 6th inning since August 20th (5 starts ago). Come on, Charlie. Just take the assistant bullpen coach job already and call it a day. He gone.

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

Nestor Cortes

Dean Kremer

Cade Povich – It feels like I look at him every week and try to find space, but it’s not this week…again.

Brandon Young

Jake Irvin

Joey Cantillo

Mick Abel

Eduardo Rodriguez

Jameson Taillon

Tyler Anderson

Brad Lord

Tomoyuki Sugano

Landen Roupp

Javier Assad

Taj Bradley – 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.88. Nah. Only if my team is a bottom two and I’m just looking to rack up Ks with no care for ratios. But I’ve written him up twice in a row now, so…?

Slade Cecconi – He’s another one I’ve written up twice in a row now. Maybe it’s time to look for someone else to chop off the list. EDIT: 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks. One could argue that he deserves a spot over most of the bottom 10 SP today, and one would not necessarily be wrong!

Stephen Kolek

Ian Seymour – 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.16. I almost added him last week, but I wasn’t confident that he’d throw enough innings and get a regular turn. He’s another one to check for on the waiver wire (unless you have managers who pick up every guy with a news bite).

Walker Buehler – 5.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 3 K. For who? Oh ya. The Phillies. This is your Zack Wheeler consolation prize, Liberty Bell enthusiasts. That said, maybe he can run into a hot finish with a strong team that can provide offensive support.

Bryce Elder – 4.1 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks, and a near add to the list. But. Nope.

Colin Rea – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. ERA at 4.23. I had to double-check if I still had Rea on the list. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.

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

Griffin Canning

Reese Olson

Grayson Rodriguez

Jackson Jobe

Andrew Painter

Tyler Mahle

Pablo Lopez

Tylor Megill

Ryan Weathers

Clarke Schmidt

Logan Henderson

Corbin Burnes

Max Meyer

Chase Burns  – 2.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, K. It looked like he had a pretty bad return from injury…until you see that he was used as a reliever and didn’t start.

Zack Wheeler 

Edward Cabrera

Kodai Senga – the minor league starts have been promising, but he’s not sniffing the list until he gets recalled.

Spencer Arrighetti

Seth Lugo

WHEE (New arrivals to the list this week)

MacKenzie Gore

Bubba Chandler 

Ryan Weathers

Michael King 

OOF (Stumbled or were replaced by others in the list this week)

Michael Wacha

Sean Manaea – Ya. This should have happened a while ago. 

Charlie Morton

Shane Baz

 

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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