Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!
I feel like an apology is in order. But, of course, it’s got a bit of a caveat.
Let’s get this out of the way first. Yariel Rodriguez was NOT the answer to your starting pitcher streaming questions.
The Cuban pitcher who shares the name with a certain fishy Disney princess, should, in fact, head back ‘under the sea’ of available free agents on your waiver wire.
I’d run with The Little Mermaid analogy for a bit more here, but I truthfully don’t know how I can draw a comparison of Ariel and Ursula to Yariel Rodriguez and his replacement in the Jays rotation…
Oh, wait.
Jail time or Jays 5th starter? Which whammy would you prefer?
I’m sorry. I’ll wait for you to go wash out your eyeballs after that one.
I SWEAR that I am an Alek Manoah fan. And I’ll although I was also fully prepared to edit this after he threw a great game against the Nationals yesterday…well, let’s just say I didn’t have to edit it too much.
But…as the old adage warns: Fool me once, shame on Manoah…fool me twice…
Of course, I kid. And the title of MarmosDad doesn’t really work that well if I can’t refer to the kid-ding every once in a while.
If you want to see that clip of me not trusting Manoah’s auto-appointment as a rotation piece, and Yariel as a potential replacement you can check out my AL East preview with Keelin here.
Cool story, M.D., but where tee eff am I supposed to look if I want actual information and not just poorly photoshopped Disney memes?
Wow. Straight for the jugular, eh? Ok, then. You’re looking for that Player Rater leaderboard. This is always a great resource to use if you’re doing your own research. A bit of this, and a splash of that goes into the prep-work for our weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers list, too.
Of course, if you’re one of those doubting-your-own-gut-instinct kind of fantasy managers, or just want to use a great resource that will point you in the right direction every week, The Streamonator is here to help you answer those burning questions that we might not be readily available to help you with 24/7.
If you haven’t signed up for it yet, this should be your go-to reference for the entire season. It’s going to save you a lot of time researching on your own, and often includes those “Oh, I never thought about that” into the equation for you. Check the link, yo.
So without further ado, I invite you to relax and pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents: your dinner!
Wait, that’s the wrong Disney film. Oh well. On to the list.
The Top Starting Pitchers for 2024
| RANK
(LAST WEEK) |
Name | TEAM | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corbin Burnes | Orioles | No reason to change this. |
| 2 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | Same. |
| 3 (4) | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | Call me stubborn, but he’s only given up a total of 2 ER over his last 4 starts. |
| 4 (3) | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | Suspended for 5 games…when he pitches every 5 games? Come on. Still elite. |
| 5 | Tyler Glasnow | Dodgers | 6-1. He is cruising with strikeouts and, most importantly, no health issues. |
| 6 (7) | Luis Castillo | Mariners | Don’t let the 3-4 record fool you. He shut out the Braves in his last start. |
| 7 (10) | Pablo Lopez | Twins | Tough game vs CWS. Velo down. |
| 8 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | I’m pretty high (phrasing) on Gilbert, but he hasn’t shown any reason to move him down. |
| 9 | Tarik Skubal | Tigers | Was getting hit a bit at NYY while writing this, but still a top 10 arm. |
| 10 (11) | George Kirby | Mariners | Staying in the top 10 until we hear back about that knee MRI. |
| 11 (15) | Shota Imanaga | Cubs | Aggressive move up again, but tell me he doesn’t deserve it. |
| 12 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Dodgers | Another 6 inning shutout, this time at Arizona. |
| 13 (14) | Max Fried | Braves | Back-to-back shutout starts. Ks will come. |
| 14 (19) | Cole Ragans | Royals | A literal red flag by his name, but KC thinks he’ll make his next start. |
| 15 (13) | Logan Webb | Giants | Got hit a bit at Fenway last week. Still solid. |
| 16 (17) | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | His hamstring is ok. I’d still consider sitting him at Cincy, though. |
| 17 (24) | Jose Berrios | Blue Jays | All hail the oracle of fantasy baseball drafts: The Razzball War Room! |
| 18 (22) | Joe Ryan | Twins | K/IP still great. |
| 19 (23) | Dylan Cease | Padres | Walks are still there. 6th on Player Rater for SPs. |
| 20 (30) | Jared Jones | Pirates | 1-0 shutout with 10 Ks has him moving up once again. |
| 21 (6) | Grayson Rodriguez | Orioles | Slip! 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation. |
| 22 (26) | Ranger Suarez | Phillies | Just keeps on truckin’. |
| 23 (19) | Bryce Miller | Mariners | Overshadowed by his teammates. Still great numbers. |
| 24 (20) | Chris Sale | Braves | Looking like the old Chris Sale (without the scissors). |
| 25 | Justin Verlander | Astros | So far so good. |
| 26 (18) | Zach Eflin | Rays | Back-to-back meh starts. WHIP is still excellent. |
| 27 (16) | Aaron Nola | Phillies | I’m not a fan, and he’s not looking like an ace. |
| 28 | Tanner Houck | Red Sox | Average start. Still looking great.. |
| 29 (27) | Bailey Ober | Twins | Gave up 4 ER against CWS but still picked up the dub. |
| 30 (29) | Sonny Gray | Cardinals | Ace production from a guy with a 131 ADP? Check. |
| 31 | Ronel Blanco | Astros | Some cracks in the armor, but still chugging along. |
| 32 | Framber Valdez | Astros | Pumped by Seattle in his last start. |
| 33 (40) | Kutter Crawford | Red Sox | Steadily moving up. |
| 34 | Bobby Miller | Dodgers | 15-day IL. Threw bullpen last week. |
| 35 | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | Three straight losses. He may be on the way down next week. |
| 36 (39) | Yusei Kikuchi | Blue Jays | The wins aren’t there (2-2), but the other numbers are. |
| 37 (43) | Walker Buehler | Dodgers | Slated to start today. |
| 38 | Joe Musgrove | Padres | Good bounceback from a rough one. (6 IP, 9 K). |
| 39 (41) | Justin Steele | Cubs | Should start today. |
| 40 (48) | Seth Lugo | Royals | Boosted the Ks last week. Pitching great. |
| 41 (37) | Tanner Bibee | Guardians | Followed up a good start with a stinker last week. |
| 42 (36) | Jordan Montgomery | Diamondbacks | The latest victim of the Dodgers’ steamroller. |
| 43 (33) | Reid Detmers | Angels | Three rough outings in a row. |
| 44 | Hunter Greene | Reds | Back-to-back shutout starts. |
| 45 (87) | Kyle Bradish | Orioles | A good first start coming back from elbow soreness. Add, but be careful with that arm. |
| 46 (45) | Jesus Luzardo | Marlins | Should start this week. See above. |
| 47 | Mitch Keller | Pirates | When the IP, H, and ER are all within one of each other…they call that ‘not great’. |
| 48 (42) | Garrett Crochet | White Sox | A good start after a few brutal ones. Seems to be struggling with stamina. |
| 49 (46) | Brayan Bello | Red Sox | Will throw a rehab start this week. At least it’s not an arm injury (lat). |
| 50 | Blake Snell | Giants | Sounds less concerning than originally feared. Mid-May at the earliest. |
| 51 (53) | Nick Lodolo | Reds | Double-digit strikeouts in 7 innings with 99 pitches and just one earned run allowed? Yay! |
| 52 | Brady Singer | Royals | Player Rater loves him (23rd SP). |
| 53 (51) | Nestor Cortes | Yankees | Meh. 9 Ks last game, though. |
| 54 (64) | Javier Assad | Cubs | Might be a bit too high here, but hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in any of his 7 starts. |
| 55 | Michael King | Padres | Nice little bounceback shutout last week. |
| 56 (65) | Reynaldo Lopez | Braves | Looking good so far. Still climbing |
| 57 | Ryan Pepiot | Rays | Got a bit of a scare yesterday at NYY after getting drilled in the leg with a comebacker. X-Ray results were negative. |
| 58 | Bryan Woo | Mariners | Ric Flair’s favorite SP is due back this week! |
| 59 (54) | Hunter Brown | Astros | More BBs again yesterday against SEA. |
| 60 (56) | Carlos Rodon | Yankees | Was ready to move him up with another good start. His last one was…not good. |
| 61 | Charlie Morton | Braves | Still outpitching Father Time…for now. |
| 62 | Nick Pivetta | Red Sox | Should be activated to start this Wednesday. |
| 63 (60) | Max Scherzer | Rangers | Was supposed to be back from injury this week but has a sore thumb. Uh…ok. |
| 64 (63) | MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | Needed 76 pitches to get through 3 innings, but those strikeouts are *chef’s kiss* |
| 65 (67) | Yu Darvish | Padres | He’s back! Needs to string some good starts together before moving up. |
| 66 | Garrett Whitlock | Red Sox | 15-day IL (oblique). |
| 67 (NR) | Kenta Maeda | Tigers | Back on the list! 11 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 10 K in his last two starts. |
| 68 | Cristian Javier | Astros | 15-day IL. Could be back this week. |
| 69 (80) | Paul Skenes | Nationals | Has to be coming up soon, no? |
| 70 (59) | Nathan Eovaldi | Rangers | 15-day IL. Right groin strain. |
| 71 (79) | Triston McKenzie | Guardians | Back up to the 71st spot after a few good outings. |
| 72 (69) | Jon Gray | Rangers | Should probably be higher. Pitching well against KC at the time of writing. |
| 73 (71) | Christopher Sanchez | Phillies | K per inning, but that WHIP isn’t great. |
| 74 (72) | Braxton Garrett | Marlins | Good news: Slated to start today. Bad news: It’s against the Dodgers. |
| 75 | Spencer Strider | Braves | Single tear for redraft leagues |
| 76 (73) | Jordan Hicks | Giants | Sit him this week at Colorado, though. |
| 77 (83) | Luis Gil | Yankees | Player Rater thinks I’m 30 spots too low. |
| 78 (82) | Jose Butto | Mets | Nice bounceback start after two tougher ones. |
| 79 (70) | Aaron Civale | Rays | Ratios. Woof. Again. |
| 80 (49) | Merrill Kelly | Diamondbacks | 60-day IL. Will return in late June at the very earliest. |
| 81 (78) | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | His first bullpen session went well. Mid-June at the earliest. |
| 82 (76) | Marcus Stroman | Yankees | Meh…but the Yankee offense adds value. |
| 83 (78) | Luis Severino | Mets | Take the subway across town. Same Meh results as above. |
| 84 (91) | Casey Mize | Tigers | Last week I said I would like to see more Ks. Then he gave us 6. (But also gave up 5 earned runs). |
| 85 (77) | Lance Lynn | Cardinals | Captan Meh. |
| 86 (74) | Edward Cabrera | Marlins | That first start was great. The next three were pretty bad. |
| 87 (85) | Kyle Harrison | Giants | Strikeouts. Walked 5 last week, though, too. |
| 88 (90) | Simeon Woods-Richardson | Twins | 81 pitches to get through 3.2 innings last week. |
| 89 | Dane Dunning | Rangers | Strikeouts! |
| 90 (93) | Brandon Pfaadt | Diamondbacks | His WHIP is decent. Strikeouts are too. |
| 91 (94) | Zack Littell | Rays | Should move up higher soon. |
| 92 (NR) | Spencer Turnbull | Phillies | Starter? Reliever? Starter? Reliever? Who knows. But he’s been good. |
| 93 (NR) | Jameson Taillon | Cubs | 3-0 with some pretty ratios. |
| 94 (84) | Gavin Williams | Guardians | Cleared to resume a throwing program. It’s going to be a while. |
| 95 (86) | Mitchell Parker | Nationals | Still throwing well. BAL this week. |
| 96 (92) | Keaton Winn | Giants | Hiccup last week. |
| 97 (95) | Reese Olson | Tigers | (0-4), but that record is misleading. ERA ok. Walks are still an issue. |
| 98 (NR) | John Means | Orioles | 7 IP 3H 0ER 8K. We can’t expect much better than that in his first start back from elbow issues. |
| 99 (NR) | Jack Flaherty | Tigers | 14 K vengeance game at St. Louis pushes him back on the list. |
| 100 (88) | Erick Fedde | White Sox | Fedde Wap! |
BIGGEST DUMPERS : With apologies to Cal Raleigh, these are some of the biggest dumpers (in value, not pants size).
Grayson Rodriguez 21 (6) – Grey’s son flew too close to the…uh…nevermind. The lofty expectations for Rodriguez were fine, and he was on his way to meeting them. He got roughed up at LAA two weeks ago, but could be ready to go when eligible.
Zach Eflin 26 (18) – He seems to be coughing up earned runs in every other start. The two games preceding the last two were gems. These last couple of starts? 11.2 innings, 7 ER, 2 HR allowed. He did strike out 10 though.
Aaron Nola 27 (16) – I’m not buying it. Full disclosure, I’ve never been much of a Nola fan. He hasn’t been terrible by any measure, but he’s not that top 10 Ace we used to see drafted as such.
Reid Detmers 43 (33) – Detmers has given up at least four earned runs in each of his last three starts. Woof.
Nathan Eovaldi 70 (59) – Sent to the 15-day IL with a groin strain. This might clear room for the return of Jack Leiter. Will he be better this time around? Al believe it when I see it.
Merrill Kelly 80 (49) – Transferred to the 60-day IL. The D-Backs hope to have him back by July 1st, but he would have to have a clean bill of health with no setbacks for that to happen. I’m no expert in ‘teres major strain’ injuries, but it sounds like a tough road ahead for Kelly.
BIGGEST JUMPERS : Who’s got hops? These are some of the biggest jumpers in value this week.
Shota Imanaga 11 (15) – I wrote him up in this space last week, and dang-nab-it, I’ll do it again! 5-0 now with a 0.78 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP? This guy could win the NL ROY and NY CY when it’s all said and done.
Cole Ragans 14 (19) – I probably waited for too long to finally put Ragans into the Top 20. Now that I’ve said it, though, here’s hoping the wheels don’t fall off. He was removed from his start in Toronto with a leg cramp but was cruising through 6 innings (9 Ks) until then.
Jose Berrios 17 (24) – The AL Pitcher of the Month. He certainly looks like the old Twins version that the Jays had hoped for when they dealt SWR and Austin Martin for him in 2021. he’s registering less than a strikeout per inning, so I get it if you keep your distance, but this is more about him outperforming his draft-day price.
Jared Jones 20 (30) – 52 Ks in 41 IP with just 5 BB? If you’re somehow not a believer yet, check this little tidbit out.
It's been a historic start to Jared Jones' career. ? pic.twitter.com/Nedeluq90Y
— theScore (@theScore) May 5, 2024
Kutter Crawford 33 (30) – ERA is at 1.56, WHIP is at 1.066, BAA is at .201. This spring sleeper list darling is well on his way to posting career highs in everything.
Kyle Bradish 45 (87) – He was a top option on draft day, then dropped like a concrete surfboard in the ocean when the arm injury surfaced. If he can build on a good first start, he could launch up the list quickly. Just be careful to monitor the workload as the arm might not be strong enough to handle 150+ innings.
Paul Skenes 69 (80) – It might be too late to stash him in your league, but I’d double-check the wire. It’s tough to recommend or to get hyped up about these rookie pitchers. But it looks like Skenes could hit the ground running and be the best arm they’ve had in Pittsburgh for a long time.
OOF The following players dropped off the list this week.
Yariel Rodriguez
Jose Soriano
Albert Suarez
Tyler Anderson
Bryce Elder
WHEE! The following players launched into the Top 100 this week.
Kenta Maeda
John Means
Spencer Turnbull
Jameson Taillon
Jack Flaherty
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Next week, I’ll post the Top 100 Starting Pitchers with some write-ups on some of the arms that I think need a bit more attention than others. Then, I’ll try to keep cherry-picking names to highlight throughout the list as we progress through the season.
Drop some comments in the chat if you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here. Have a great week!
Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social
