Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

Well, we’re past Canada Day, and we’ve managed to survive the July 4th weekend with all of our limbs and digits intact…I hope.

Max Scherzer’s injury status is just fine, why do you ask? (More below).

But the truth of the matter is that the MLB Injury Monster waits for no one. 

Bailey Ober? It doesn’t take a Crowded House of doctors to tell you that the dream of a breakout season is even more unlikely now. Hey Now, Don’t Dream It’s Ober, indeed.

Spencer Schwellenbach? Ya, things aren’t so Schwell and good with that guy’s elbow. He was moved to the 60-day IL yesterday afternoon.

Clarke Schmidt? At least this one was just a precautionary forearm scan and a 15-day IL assignment…until the results came in and the team announced this past weekend that he’s likely headed for Tommy John surgery.

So what is a fantasy manager to do? Lick our wounds as we drag these broken rotation pieces behind us on our way to the All-Star break, and hope for better days?

Well, hopefully my Monday morning routine is not an omen of what’s yet to come this week. I cleaned out the Keurig yesterday with a nice dose of vinegar and ran it through three times.

Now, as I put together the final edits, I sip a steaming cup of caffeinated, brown vinegar.

The thinnest silver lining here is that all of these injuries make even more room on the Top 100 Starting Pitchers list for some arms that usually wouldn’t get that much attention. But be forewarned that not all of the new names today are as palatable as the ones we usually like to experience. See: Acidic breakfast beverage for an adequate comparison of positivity.

Are these guys going to be directly planted into the Top 25? Top 50? Are they just going to occupy the final 5-10 spots on our list today?

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 Starting Pitchers for 2025…

SP RANK	Name	Team	UP / DOWN	Notes
1	Tarik Skubal	DET		More below.
2	Garrett Crochet	BOS		5 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks. ERA at 2.39, WHIP at 1.09. His 9th win. So I had Crochet down as my bust pick for this year because I thought he’d fall victim to the MLB Injury Monster much sooner than later. He hasn’t, and I’m glad for that. But I can’t understand why so many other rankings have Crochet as low as SP5. I guess it’s more a testament to the skill of the rest of the top arms here than a criticism of Crochet’s talent (and his league-leading 151 strikeouts).
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI		He went head-to-head against the kid (Chase Burns) yesterday in Philly and threw a complete game one-hitter with 12 Ks to move his record to 9-3. I watched this one, and Wheels had a perfect game going into the 5th inning before Austin Hays decided to ruin it with a home run on a 3-1 fastball. Fun fact from the broadcast: Hays’ homer was just the third one that any Reds batter has hit off of Wheeler. Ever.
4	Hunter Brown	HOU		It’s a two-start week for BrownTown, and just like Oedipus, SON is in love. He’s ranked 2nd on Streamonator with a $38.8 projection (vs CLE and TEX).
5	Max Fried	NYY		Yesterday was a nice bounce-back from his Toronto meltdown last week. 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, and his league-leading 11th win.
6	Paul Skenes	PIT		I started this one a bit late yesterday (I was watching CIN at PHI), and I proved to be even more of a heathen by tuning in to the SEA broadcast. The M’s booth said it best in the top of the 5th inning, “It’s rare that pitching matchups like this deliver, but in this case, both pitchers have been great.” Skenes threw 5 innings of shutout ball and allowed just five hits. The 10 Ks were just what we expected, too. Unfortunately, so was the no-decision.
7	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD		Yoshi did what we expected last week. At COL and vs CWS, he went 12 innings, allowed just 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, and struck out 14 to record his 7th and 8th wins. His next two are on the road at MLW and SF.
8	Jacob deGrom	TEX		6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks. That makes it 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed. deGrom has won 5 of his last 6 starts, and I’m about to argue with myself for not moving him up even higher than he is here.
9	Bryan Woo	SEA		I stepped in again to do the Daily News and Notes for the Saturday Roundup last week. I’ll paste in a bunch of quotes from our Friday night pitchers here today too. I’m sure you can tell what kind of review I gave my boo, Woo. If you don’t want to click the link, here’s the gist – “6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, and (unsurprising to the regular Top 100 SP readers), my unfaltering love. Ok, maybe that’s a bit much but come on. His ERA is at 2.77, he moved into a tie for 2nd place on this list last night, and the 0.96 WHIP is enough to give Ric Flair an aneurysm. I’m just glad that one of my two “Draft him everywhere you can!” calls came through this season (*pouring one out for Jared Jones fans*.)
10	Logan Webb	SF		It was his 8th win of the year as SF visited Bing Bong Stadium Saturday night. SON even thinks he’s playable at home vs LAD this week! ($9.3)
11	Framber Valdez	HOU		Speaking of the Dodgers, Houston rolled into the city of Angels and although Framber wasn’t the pitcher in the 18-1 beat down from Friday night, he managed to secure his 10th win of the season with a 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K outing the next night.
12	Robbie Ray	SFG		The Top 11 stayed the same this week. Here’s where the shuffling starts! 9 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.68. 9 innings for his 9th win. I kind of can’t wait for next week’s 10-inning marathon for his 10th win. Or when he has to throw 178 pitches to lock down his 17th W in September.
13	Kris Bubic	KC		“7 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, and his 7th win. Bubic is one of those guys who is quickly approaching his career-high in innings. He needs 27 innings to match his career high, and we’re just sitting back and enjoying the ride. Could his arm disintegrate into dust during his next start? Sure. But I’d be running him out in any situation in any park until he gives us a reason not to.”
14	Joe Ryan	MIN		He’s winless in two starts. How does he stay up here, then? Well, his two starts last week looked like this (total): 13 IP, 3 ER, 11 H, 1 BB, 12 Ks. Outside of solo home runs to Kyle Stowers and Taylor Walls (yes, you read that right), he was tough to score on at MIA and vs TB, respectively.
15	Freddy Peralta	MLW		6 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.91. And, Freddy 1 BB.
16	Carlos Rodon	NYY		Rodon got rocked Saturday night in Queens with 5 IP, 7 R, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 HR, 4 Ks. He threw 97 pitches. I’m not moving a guy with 9 wins down the list too far, especially when this was the first time he gave up more than three earned runs in his last 6 GS.
17	MacKenzie Gore	WSH		“Extra rest” pushes back the potential two-start week for Gore. I get it, though. His last four pitch counts? 111, 103, 100, 97. He’s scheduled to get the Cards in STL on Wednesday.
18	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI		This next grouping of 5-10 SPs is tight. Sanchez won his 7th of the year last week and just keeps giving us clean innings with pristine ratios. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in his last 7 GS. Two starts this week push him into the Top 20.
19	Logan Gilbert	SEA		4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 3.40. The encouraging part here was the pitch count (95) and the run suppression. He’s recorded 30 Ks in 20 innings since his return (June 16th). He’s at NYY and DET this week.
20	Spencer Strider	ATL		“6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks. And now you know who the schmoe with the 3-7 record is. Strider didn’t even have that bad of a night. He IS lucky this isn’t a ’90s WWE storyline when losing to Charlie Morton at home meant Strider would have to retire.” I poked some fun at Strider’s loss to Charlie Morton, but this was more about the old boy main-lining some fermented Mike Mussina juice than Strider being ineffective.
21	George Kirby	SEA		I mentioned it above, but I watched the Skenes/Kirby matchup yesterday, and both guys were on their game. Kirby went a bit longer than Skenes did, but both ended up giving us great starts. (6.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks.)
22	Sonny Gray	STL		6 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.51. What? You don’t expect him to throw a complete game shutout every time out, do you?
23	Ranger Suarez	PHI		There’s a theme with some of these upper-tier starters. Ranger has allowed more than one earned run just once in his last 9 GS.
24	Shota Imanaga	CHC		Two consecutive wins since coming back off the IL and just 5 ER (3 solo homers) in his last 21 innings. He’s at MIN and NYY this week.
25	Drew Rasmussen	TB		The 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB yesterday is pretty good news…until you see that he only threw two innings and had 2 Ks. Ah, there it is. The dreaded “innings management” we were waiting for with Rasmussen. He doesn’t drop much today, but he’ll torpedo if this becomes a common thing. The only good news here is for the Joe Boyle stashers – he followed Rasmussen with 5 innings of 0 ER, 2 H, and 7 Ks. Time to go pick him up!
26	Dylan Cease	SD		6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.62. “This is your report card? But it’s all Cs!”. Meh. He gets pushed up a couple of spots because of the two starts this week vs ARI and PHI.
27	Luis Castillo	SEA		A 7-inning, 2-hit shutout gem with no walks and 8 strikeouts pushes Castillo up into the mid-20s today. Two straight beauty starts, but he’ll be tested in DET and vs. SEA in his next two.
28	Ryan Pepiot	TB		6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.34. That’s a lot more peppy than his last one, yo!
29	Seth Lugo	KC		6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.65. He’s a modest $2.3 on SON for this week vs PIT.
30	Nick Lodolo	CIN		Took the loss in Philly Saturday night, but he didn’t pitch all that poorly. 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, and his 10th quality start in 18 GS.
31	Andrew Abbott	CIN		“3.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks and the no-decision. Cincy yanked him after 66 pitches, his shortest outing of the year and the first time he allowed more than one earned run in his last 5 GS.”
32	Casey Mize	DET		He’s won 3 of his last 4 starts, rolled into Cleveland Saturday afternoon, and beat the Guardians like they owed him money. 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and his 9th win to push his record to 9-2. He’s allowed more than 2 ER just twice in his last 10 GS AND gets SEA in Motown this week.
33	Clay Holmes	NYM		5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 1 K, ERA at 2.99. A question for you, keeper leaguers: Clay or Grant? Which Holmes would you prefer? Discuss in the comments. Also, he’s a two-start pitcher this week (at BAL and KC).
34	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW		3 2/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.20. More like MisiorOUCHki. Low five? Ugh. Looks like I need to wait another week before I share my Misiorowski video. I was ready to launch him up into the Top 25 this week, but let’s take it slow. Sad emoji.
35	Jesus Luzardo	PHI		“2 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks. All this bouncing back and forth between life and death is making fantasy managers feel like we’ve got Easter on a continuous loop.” J.F.C. Luzardo, sort this insanity out already.
36	Nick Pivetta	SD		6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.25. I don’t even know anymore. This guy is like the golden yo-yo. Up and down every few starts. That said, he did improve to 9-2 last week and is riding a nice wave of 16 Ks in 13 IP. Two starts this week!
37	Chase Burns	CIN		After getting torched by the Red Sox, there were whispers that Burns was tipping his pitches. I watched him go head-to-head with Zack Wheeler yesterday and after striking out Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, AND Nick Castellanos in the Top of the first inning…he’s not tipping anything other than his cap while he shoos MLB hitters back to the dugout. He gets a big boost today.
38	Kevin Gausman	TOR		Guess who rocked the Angels’ socks off yesterday and has allowed just 4 ER in his last 18.2 IP (3 GS). GIVE IT UP FOR K.G. GIVE IT UP FOR ME! (But you don’t really need to give anything up for me.)
39	Chris Bassitt	TOR		5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 11 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.32, his 8th win, AND, more importantly, the SWEEP of the Yankees to push the Blue Jays into first place in the AL East! Kick his ass, C-Bass!
40	Will Warren	NYY		4 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 5.02. I told a commenter that I was at my own doubleheader when someone told me the Jays had put up 7 ER in Warren’s first inning. After I said he should be fine to start on the road. Oops! Toronto on that “Day After Canada Day” high. I can’t tell you the recipe, but it involves crystallized maple syrup and crumbled ketchup chips.
41	David Peterson	NYM		6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.18. Peterson snapped a stretch of three rough starts with this one and pushed his record up to 6-4.
42	Jack Flaherty	DET		5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.84. This one was at WSH and pushed his winless streak to four games. Two starts this week, too.
43	Matthew Liberatore	STL		Saturday’s no-decision broke a personal 3-game win streak for The Liberator, but 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, and 4 Ks keep the ratios in check.
44	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX		5 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 1.75. Texas has been easing him back into it after the month off. He threw 45 pitches in 3 innings in his first game back and hit 72 pitches last week vs BAL. I’ll put a friendly wager on 85+ either at LAA or HOU this week. He’s trending way up with every increased pitch count.
45	Shane Baz	TB		20 Ks in his last 15 IP with just 3 ER (total). A lot of managers were ready to have this Baz-tarred and feathered. Hopefully, this is the start of a solid run. He gets two big tests at DET and at BOS this week.
46	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA		He missed out on a quality start by one out for the second time in his last 5 GS. Two starts this week vs TEX and ARI.
47	Matthew Boyd	CHC		He was through 5 innings of 3-hit shutout ball last night when I wrote this up, and, looking back at his last 8 GS, I still feel like he’s too low. The fastball isn’t blowing anyone away but there’s something to be said about these older vets that know how to pitch.
48	Merrill Kelly	ARI		It was another solid, if unexciting, start last week vs SF. 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks. Hey, it’s a quality start, even if it’s boring. Two starts this week!
49	Tanner Bibee	CLE		4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.20. Guess how many BBs. It was 4. Five if you count his last name. Two starts this week!
50	Lucas Giolito	BOS		Gio had another great start last week and was one of the guys I wrote up when I filled in for Dan Pants on Saturday morning. Here’s what I wrote, “7.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks. Gio is now 5-1 and methinks he’s gonna move up that Top 100 Starting Pitchers list this Monday for the third straight week.” And guess what? He moved up again.
51	Grant Holmes	ATL		Ok. Go check your league to see who has Holmes rostered. If it isn’t you, send a trade offer asking what the other manager would want for a 4-8 pitcher. Then, enjoy the ridiculousness that is the second coming of Kenny Powers. He lost yesterday to Trevor Rogers and did not pitch like he deserved to lose again.
52	Noah Cameron	KC		4 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. ERA at 2.56. The quality starts aren’t there by definition, but Cameron has given the Royals nothing but quality outings. Cole Ragans’ injury sucks, but Cameron has filled in admirably in his place. A big boost today.
53	Gavin Williams	CLE		It feels like a trap to boost Williams up this high, but he went toe-to-toe with Tarik Skubal yesterday and did not look out of place. 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks is usually more than enough to cruise to a victory…unless your team is facing the best pitcher in baseball.
54	Chris Paddack	MIN		“5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. He didn’t pitch poorly; it was just a low-scoring game, and he ended up with a no-decision.”
55	Jacob Lopez	ATH	N/R	I might regret this depending on how the late game went last night, but it was past time to add Lopez to the list. It was funny, too. After watching Joe Boyle get the call-up yesterday, I couldn’t help but wonder if part of that activation had to do with wanting to remind people they didn’t drop the ball as much as they did with that trade. (Boyle was dealt to Tampa for Springs and Lopez last winter).
56	Cade Horton	CHC		7 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.15. Horton pitching like his rotation spot is threatened. That’s likely because it is! This one was a much-needed bounceback after Horton allowed a total of 10 ER in his last two starts (8.2 IP).
57	Landen Roupp	SFG		4 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks last week at ARI. I was already going to sit him this week vs PHI and LAD, but the walks and inability to get past the 6th inning have been enough to make me question the mid-range matchups too. (He has just two starts with one or more outs after the 6th inning). Good luck to you if you’re running him out there this week!
58	Eury Perez	MIA		6 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.50. I don’t know why there are some guys I’m more patient with than others. Some that come back from injury, I’m willing to jump right back in on, and others I’m much more hesitant to add, trade for, or start. Eury is the latter. And he likely shouldn’t be. He moves up about 15 spots today with his buddy, EdCab.
59	Edward Cabrera	MIA		He started yesterday’s game vs MLW with an HBP on Sal Frelick’s BACK leg (how tee eff does that happen?) and I was a bit worried that he’d give us a stinker. Well, it was much ado about nothing. 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and a tough-luck loss that drops his record down to 3-3.
60	Zack Littell	TB		“6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. ERA at 3.50, WHIP at 1.06. He’s like a tinier version of Zach Eflin. Or just a small version. Ok. Time to get the thesaurus out.” The first of two littles today. (Look way down there for Marcus Stroman)
61	Reese Olson	DET	N/R	“4.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks. It was his first start in nearly two months, so we can forgive the early hook, and it was encouraging to see him almost get to 90 pitches (89).” He’s back on the list and lands right around where he was when he got knocked out with the injury.
62	Jose Soriano	LAA		7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.72. AND we’re back! Jose, can you see?! There’s our lede from June 23rd! Two starts this week vs TEX and ARI.
63	Trevor Rogers	BAL	N/R	This one was a tough one to rank. Part of me wants a bigger sample size to assess the situation. The other part of me wants to rank him ahead of others who have shown us what they are (and they’re not as good). I watched his start yesterday, and he looked really good IN ATL. Monocle at the very least. And if I can somehow go through the season without mixing up Trevor Rogers, Taylor Rogers, Trevor Richards, Taylor Richards, and Tyler Rogers, I should get some kind of Razzball award.
64	Jose Berrios	TOR		4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.64. The first app that I usually check had Berrios recording the win in this one (which he most certainly did not). Berrios is like Pivetta-lite. Do you want a shutout or half a dozen earned runs? Roll the dice. The good news is that his next two are both this week, at CWS and ATH.
65	Michael Wacha	KC		12 ER in his last 15 ER. Uh oh. Wacha Wacha is getting chewed up like a line of Pac-Man power pellets. He gets pushed way down today. He also gets the Mets this week, and I’d reserve him if you can.
66	Jack Leiter	TEX		2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks at the time of writing last night. So far, so good at SD. Hopefully, it doesn’t come unraveled the second time through the lineup.
67	Brady Singer	CIN		I had a bit of a chat in the comments on Saturday about Landen Roupp and Brady Singer’s upcoming two-start weeks. Singer is at home against MIA and COL, but the Marlins have been pretty hot. Daily leaguers are fine, but I’d lean toward sitting him.
68	Quinn Priester	MLW		“4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks. ERA at 3.59, WHIP at 1.27. Three out of four ain’t bad? So Priester’s start last night was a far cry from the 11 K, 7-inning, one-hit shutout from last week. We’ll give him a pass on the road against a surging Miami team and hope for a bounce-back vs WSH next week.” Frequent commenter, alecalamas, mentioned how much the Brewers broadcast crew loves Priester and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.
69	Shohei Ohtani	LAD		Happy Birthday to the unicorn! Shohei turned 31 years old on Saturday and celebrated by striking out 3 Astros in 2 IPs with just one hit allowed. His 31 pitches were the highest total he’s thrown so far this year and he moves up just a bit as he continues to build up stamina.
70	Dustin May	LAD		7 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.52. Fun fact: his last name is also the latest month in the calendar that his ginger head can go outside without being flash-roasted by the sun.
71	Mitch Keller	PIT		7 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.64. AND OH MY GOD HE WON TWO IN A ROW! He’s up to 3-10 now but 12 QS too! He’s going to make a great Blue Jay at the trade deadline!
72	Brayan Bello	BOS		One inning short of his 6th straight quality start vs CIN last week. 5 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks. Two starts this week, too, vs COL and TB.
73	Brandon Walter	HOU		It’s been a flip-flop series of starts with Walter. 5 ER in COL last week. 1 ER the week before that. 7 ER at LAA on June 19. 1 ER vs MIN the week before that one. He gets CLE at home this week, and I’d still take him over McCullers.
74	Eric Lauer	TOR	N/R	“6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks. Even though Chad Green (3-2) was the eventual winner, Lauer showed once again why he’s been such a pleasant surprise in Toronto. He’s appeared in 13 games in 2025 (7 GS) and has allowed more than two earned runs just twice.”
75	David Festa	MIN		6 IP, 4 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 5.48. So let me get this straight. He goes into Motown and mows down the Tigers, then gets pushed around in Miami? Ok. Sure. All I know is I’m not starting him vs CHC or at COL for his next two.
76	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL		4.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. Oh, Sugar. That’s not so sweet.
77	Clayton Kershaw	LAD		6 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.43, and…More below.
78	Lance McCullers	HOU	N/R	Hurt. Not Hurt. Hurt. Not Hurt. Let’s roll with it as long as he’s starting: “ 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 Ks, and his 2nd win. I certainly didn’t have Lance romancing the Dodgers in LA on my bingo card. And the best (or worst) part is that he didn’t need to be nearly this good to get the win because he had this guy (sitting on four phone books) driving the offense…” (I’m sure you can guess that the driver of said offense was Jose Altuve).
79	Shane Smith	CWS		21 ER in his last 4 GS (15.1 IP)? That’s ALL-STAR Shane Smith to you, people! Barf emoji.
80	Taj Bradley	TB		5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks at MIN Saturday. I almost felt bad about this one, but then I checked SON and saw that he’s got a $0.9 for his start this week at BOS. Confirmation bias is real.
81	Jeffrey Springs	ATH		A couple of open spots in the early 80s here, and Jeffrey Springs narrowly ekes out John Cougar Mellencamp. A two-star week at home for the lefty (ATL, TOR)? Sometimes streaming don’t feel like it should. Here’s hoping he makes it hurt so good (if you’re starting him).
82	Charlie Morton	BAL		“5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks in his return to Atlanta, and just how many souls does Charlie Morton have that he’s already sold to the devil? This was his 5th win, and he out-dueled some schmoe with a 3-7 record. Ugh.” If you’re searching for the ‘schmoe’, head back up to the early-20s. Way up today (and until the wheels come shooting off).
83	Adrian Houser	CWS	N/R	I didn’t want to add him. I almost forgot to add him. But here he is and here’s the blurb from Saturday morning: “8 IP, 0 ER, (2 R), 4 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. ERA at 1.60, WHIP at 1.11. And that’s back-to-back shutouts with 8 hits and 11 strikeouts in his last 15 innings. OK, OK, OK! You made your point! I’ll add you to the Top 100 list!”
84	Zac Gallen	ARI		It was a great start on Canada Day (7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks). But was it good enough for you to start him for both games this week (at SD and at LAD)? If you’re starting him in a weekly league, you either have no other options or you have grapefruits in your pants.
85	Slade Cecconi	CLE		“6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and the loss (3-4). He’s not as much of a hard-luck loser as Mitch Keller was in June, but two solo homers were all the Tigers needed with their arms on point last night.” Losing a game and still moving up tells us more about the talent and less about the immediate results.
86	Jose Quintana	MLW		More below.
87	Hayden Birdsong	SF		He slides a bit today based on the recent ER pattern and the fact that he’s finished 6 innings just once in 8 GS. He was throwing the late game last night at ATH. For what it’s worth, 3 of his first 5 outs were strikeouts. EDIT: 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 6 Ks. He won his first in his last 6 starts, but those BBs temper expectations.
88	Mike Soroka	WSH		“4 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Era at 5.40. Oh, man. I know Soroka is Canadian, but that doesn’t mean he has to lay a rotten egg on July 4th. In the nation’s capital, too! He’s now officially the second most hated guy in Washington this week, after Bruce Springsteen.”
89	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI		He won 6 of his first 7 starts…and is now 8-6. The strikeouts are still there, but you’re asking for it if you activate him in leagues where ratios matter.
90	Sandy Alcantara	MIA		More below.
91	Brandon Woodruff	MLW	N/R	6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, and his first win SINCE 2023! Wow. A great comeback start for Woodruff. He gets WSH this week and if he can do this again, he’ll move up very quickly.
92	Justin Verlander	SF		“3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. ERA at 4.84, WHIP at 1.44, and record at 0-6. Another hiccup of a stream for MarmosDad last night. Speaking of hiccups, I wrote this while swatting mosquitoes at the Drive-In last night while we watched “How To Train Your Dragon”. Well, I watched it while the Marmo-lets were fast asleep in the truck bed. Come to think of it, Grandpa Verlander should’ve gone to bed early last night, too.”
93	Ryne Nelson	ARI		He’s put up 5 clean(ish) starts since the 7 ER implosion at CIN. He’s allowed just 5 ER in the last 29.1 IP, and yesterday’s 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, and 5 Ks was his longest start of the year. He’s moving up!
94	Max Scherzer	TOR		More below.
95	Erick Fedde	STL		Fedde walk, walk, walk, walk…ya, seriously, it was four more BBs yesterday. Also, he hasn’t won a game since the May 9th CG SO (10 starts). Yeesh.
96	Andrew Heaney	PIT		He’s on the road in KC and MIN this week. Last week’s shutout came at the right time as Heaney had allowed 14 ER in his previous two starts (total). Are you keeping him active?
97	Nick Martinez	CIN		A two-starter (vs MIA and COL), and the 12th-ranked SP on SON next week? ($22.5) Really?
98	Luis Severino	ATH		4.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and his 4th consecutive loss. Yes, they were tough matchups, but it’s not like the 31-year-old is working through his first taste of major league hitters.
99	Andre Pallante	STL		I was tired of putting Tyler Anderson in here, and yesterday’s loss to the Jays’ juggernauts sealed the deal. A quick check of the Streamonator has a surprising name at SP40 for next week ($7.4). Hello, Andre “Don’t call me Andrew” Pallante. (I had to check his first name 3X). He gets WSH and ATL both at Busch Stadium.
100	Marcus Stroman	NYY		“5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and a no-decision. Guess what his ERA is. Come on. He’s been a lot better since he came back, right? You know you’ve thought about adding him off the waiver wire. It’s 7.45.” I came very close to not including Marcus Stroman this week, but I know how little is on the waiver wire in some leagues and he should get a lot of room now that Clarke Schmidt is cooked. I figured it was fine to take a tiny risk and make a minor move to clear out a teeny-weeny bit of space for him today. Just in case you need the innings.

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

Tarik Skubal – Yes. He can’t be a jumper when he’s already atop the list. But I had to share this clip with you all from last week’s Minnesota start (7 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 13 Ks) because it made me laugh pretty hard.

A little late, but we wanted to revel in the absolute baseball nerdery that is ESPN2's Sunday Night Baseball Statcast Edition pic.twitter.com/bq3V4xo1Dd

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 1, 2025

I think I found Luis Ortiz’s bookies.

The follow-up to that game? Nearly the same line as his Minny one with just 2 more hits and 3 fewer strikeouts. Oh, and he walked none for that one too. In the same number of pitches (93). Yesterday’s start? 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks. You know it’s wild when I can confidently type that he had a good outing before I even check the box score. He ended up with a no-decision, but the point is fairly obvious. We’re witnessing greatness here, folks.

Clayton Kershaw – 6 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.43. Ok, so that kind of line doesn’t warrant a big boost in the rankings today, but recording your 3000th strikeout? That deserves some attention.

Strikeout No. 3,000! Clayton Kershaw becomes the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (Bot) (@dodgersbot.bsky.social) 2025-07-03T03:48:32.000Z

On a side note, there were a few names among the active starters that are “chasing” 3000 Ks. The closest one is Chris Sale at 2528, followed by Gerrit Cole (2251), and I don’t know if you can guess who’s third on that list with 2131 Ks (Hint: he’s in our Top 100 Starting Pitchers rankings!). Drop the guess down in the comments AND let me know if you agree with some of the pundits that we might not see another member of the 3000 K Club ever again!

Max Scherzer – His Highness of Heterochromia has one blue eye, one brown eye (yikes), and one thumb that works. Unfortunately, said thumb is on his pitching hand. Please, Mad Max, for all that is holy and good. Lop that thing off if the Blue Jays are in a playoff race in two months. Speaking of the streaking Blue Jays, check out this clip from Michael Cry…I mean, Kay.

At the start of his Sunday conversation with @NancyNewmanYES, @RealMichaelKay addresses comments aimed in his direction regarding the Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/saBCJ4ARsx

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 6, 2025

Did someone order the expired grapes? And I thought it wasn’t going to find anything more sour than my vinegar-coffee this morning.

Sandy Alcantara – “6 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks. ERA at (you don’t want to know). Alcantara avoided being saddled with his 9th loss, and the walks and zero homers allowed are encouraging, but I was hoping for much better than this when I streamed him in three leagues. And for you masochists out there, saying the 1.44 WHIP is better than the 7.01 ERA is like saying a kick to the groin is better than one to the teeth.” He’s up 9 spots today, but I can’t help but think this is a banana in the tailpipe waiting to happen.

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

Clarke Schmidt – Yankee fans, please forgive me for this one. I wrote it before the TJS announcement. 3 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 3.32. Left with an extra small sweatshirt. At least that’s why I assume he had the forearm tightness. Why? Is there another possibility?

Jose Quintana – The ratios aren’t as pretty as they were before the IL stint, and the lack of strikeouts makes him even tougher to roster. Quickly, someone get that MLW pitching coach to sprinkle some magic on him. Use the jar labelled “Logan Henderson”. It looks like it hasn’t been opened in a while and we need to use it up before it expires.

Mick Abel – 1 2/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 5.04. More like Mick ‘not’ Abel to finish 2 innings? *foot to groin, buckles at waist* He landed in the OOF section below when the Phillies announced they were sending him back to the minors.

Eduardo Rodriguez – Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me more than a dozen times? Well, then you’re Eduardo Rodriguez. “4.1 IP, 8 ER, 12 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks, 3 HR allowed, and WHY do I let you rope me back in and add you to the Top 100 when I know this is going to happen sooner rather than later? (But we know it’ll happen later, too.)”

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

Emmett Sheehan

Jake Irvin

Tobias Myers 

Luis L. Ortiz –  I’m willing to bet that he’s not going to help you anytime soon.

JP Sears – He almost survived the cut this week. I wrote him up on Saturday, too: “6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 H as JP Roebucked his way to his 7th win. The ERA is nasty (4.76), but the WHIP isn’t as bad (1.27). The A’s gave him such a cushion, though, that he didn’t need to be this good anyway.”

Dean Kremer

Keider Montero

Logan Allen

Richard Fitts 

Stephen Kolek

Landon Knack

Ben Casparius

Andre Pallente

Ben Brown

Mitchell Parker

German Marquez

Michael McCreevey 

Janson Junk

Frankie Montas 

Simeon Woods-Richardson

Kumar Rocker

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

Spencer Arrighetti

Justin Steele

John Means

Shane Bieber

Blake Snell 

Grayson Rodriguez

Nestor Cortes

Yu Darvish

Hayden Wesneski

Aaron Nola – rehabbing. Should be back right after the break.

Bryce Miller

Hunter Greene

Michael King

Tyler Mahle

Kodai Senga

Pablo Lopez

Tylor Megill

Chris Sale 

Logan Henderson

Corbin Burnes

Max Meyer

Tyler Glasnow

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

Jacob Lopez

Reese Olson

Lance McCullers

Adrian Houser

Trevor Rogers

Eric Lauer

Brandon Woodruff

Marcus Stroman

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

Spencer Schwellenbach

Bailey Ober

Clarke Schmidt

Mick Abel (sent down)

Jameson Taillon

Sawyer Gipson-Long – IL

Chad Patrick (sent down)

Eduardo Rodriguez

 

Ok. That’ll do for today.  Time to go refill my Vinegar-ccino.

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