Happy Monday, Razzball faithful

It’s another trip into the musical time machine for today’s lede.

There lived a certain man in Tampa long ago

He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow

Most people look at him with terror and with fear

But to Tampa chicks, he was such a lovely dear

He could pitch the fastball like a preacher

Full of ecstasy and fire

But he also was the kind of teacher

Women would desire

Whoa. The old German pop-Euro-disco group, Boney M., is getting a little bit spicy on a sunny June afternoon. And please don’t call the cancel police on me for using the term, “chicks”. It’s in the original lyrics, I swear!

Lover of Russians? Nah. Loved BY the Tampa fans, AKA the Rays-ians? 

But of course…“Cancel Police alarm goes off*

No! I said RAYS-ians! Like the Rays! You know! Like Floridians! But not in Russia! In Tampa! 

*MarmosDad getting cuffed and stuffed into the back of the Cancel Police car*

“Someone, please tell them this is a false alarm! And tell Bryan Woo I still love him, even though he sucked last weeeeeeeeeek…”

*Cancel Police car disappears down the street with cherry-red lights flashing and KRS-One’s ‘Whoop Whoop’ echoing in the distance*

Ok, so now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to get to the point. Do you know what ISN’T a false alarm? Drew Rasmussen’s 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 walk, and his dismantling of the scarlet Sawx last Wednesday night. 

Oh, you want more? How’s aboot 13 Ks?! On 97 pitches!

AND you want a graphic? 

The shackles are off! (My Cancel Police ones, AND Drew Rasmussen’s Tampa Bay ones). The good news is it only took four years for Drew to shake off those Ray-cuffs.

So much for the old 5 2/3 IP, and less than 3 ER “Rasmussen and quality start” joke. Our boy, Drew, has back-to-back wins and has thrown 7 innings in THREE of his last four starts.

Even more impressive than the recent success, 6 of his 7 (total) quality starts have come in his last 9 GS. 

I’d say that’s enough data to declare that Ray-Ray-Rasmussen has turned a corner. And this development pushes him up…way up…and even closer to our Top 10.

I’m not going to rehash everything Grey said last Thursday morning when he ran with the same lede in his “Red Sox Forced To Watch Sad Movie On Drew Ray”, but this was such a fantastic outing that it deserved a double-up.

Now, all we still have to do is answer a few pressing questions.

Where is the man who “danced really wunderbar” going to land in this week’s Top 100 Starting Pitchers list?

Is Drew Rasmussen sniffing the Top 100 holy land and cracking the Top 10 today?!

Can I stop playing KRS-One on repeat while I edit this 8500 word beast?

Well, before we get to that, let’s not forget about the Razzball tools. The Razzball subscriptions are well worth the price of admission. This should be your go-to reference for the entire season. That resource that the other “experts” from other sites use as often as they look at Statcast or Fangraphs data? This is it.

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2026

MARMO RANK	Name	Team	Notes
1	Jacob Misiorowski	MLW	JUMPER? Really? How can you jump when you’re already at the SP1 spot? Well, scroll down and see.
2	Paul Skenes	PIT	6 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.84. “Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand. Love letters in the sand, I remember you.” Some strong words from Canadian Poet Laureate, Sebastian Bach, even if it’s a touch hyperbolic (yeah, yeah, I know it’s only been a week since he was at the top). Game 2: 6 IP, 2 ER (2 solo homers allowed), 4 H, BB, 10 Ks. He got outdone by Max Meyer and Miami in this one. It’s all jokes here, and the strikeouts are still great, but *lowers voice to a whisper* He’s winless in his last 6 starts.
3	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	Game 1:  7 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 1.54. “What? What do I have to do to move past these dudes?” That’s Cristopher Sanchez audibly opining his position in the Top 100. Game 2: Well, we found his Kryptonite, and apparently it’s located in Milwaukee. 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, BB, 3 Ks, and the loss. Look for him to come out with a chip on his shoulder this week at home vs NYM.
4	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	8.1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, (solo HR), 0 BB, 7 Ks, and his 7th win. ERA at 2.52. WHIP at 0.84. Some were whispering about being cautious with Yoshi after the Dodgers rode him as badly as they did in the World Series run, but we can safely say that’s not an issue now, right? Up!
5	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 1.06. He homered in this one as well. Then on the way home, he ran into a burning building and saved 28 people. And 15 pets. Including one leopard gecko with a nasty temperament. Oh, and when he got home, he discovered the cure for cancer. All in a day’s work for this unicorn.
6	Chris Sale	ATL	5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.30. Solid and steady. It’s enough to keep him in the Top 10.
7	Cam Schlittler	NYY	7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 7 Ks. “Technically,” a worse line than his opponent (Kevin Gausman), but not by much. One of the kids in my class went to the T-Dot to watch this one, and I told him he’d better get ready for a pitcher’s duel. If that’s what anyone else was hoping for, they weren’t disappointed. Up.
8	Jacob deGrom	TEX	6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and the no-decision. The 3.17 ERA and 0.98 WHIP may not be the best in the business, but he’s healthy, and he’s near the top of this list for a reason.
9	Zack Wheeler	PHI	6 IP, 1 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.22. This one was a beauty of a battle with Dylan Cease. It ended up a no-decision, but if we remove one poor outing on May 29th, he’s gone 5-0 in those other 8 starts with fewer than 3 ER in every start but one.
10	Chase Burns	CIN	5.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks. He’s winless in June (two starts), but that’s a tiny nit to pick. Auto-start him everywhere.
11	Joe Ryan	MIN	Jumper. More below.
12	Drew Rasmussen	TB	Rah-Rah-Rasmussen! More above!
13	Logan Gilbert	SEA	6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.62. When people get a bit worked up over the Top 20 and demand certain players be ranked higher, I always assume it’s at the expense of this guy or one of his rotation mates. It may not always be flashy here, but this guy might be the only one who can make the name Gilbert look strong and sexy. (RIP, Mr. Gottfried). Logan gets BAL again this week (but in SEA).
14	Bryan Woo	SEA	Don’t make me say it. Please. Just don’t. (Dumper – more below). Ouch. That stings.
15	Tarik Skubal	DET	It’s kind of sacrilege to list him as our SP 15, but that’s how it goes when you’re returning from an injury. More below in the JUMPERS.
16	Carlos Rodon	NYY	6 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.19. Another QS makes it three straight and the same total over all 6 GS. Up.
17	Dylan Cease	TOR	JUMPER! More below. UP!
18	Gerrit Cole	NYY	4 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 2.45. “You come to me…on the day of my Top 100 Starting Pitchers list…in front of Kyle Harrison and Braxton Ashcraft…and you give me this?” Ya, that works better if you picture Marlon Brando in the role of MarmosDad, right after Cole’s Tuesday night start last week. Sour sneer optional. (To be honest, this was tough. It could have been Gavin Williams OR Nolan McLean here if they’d had better weeks).
19	Kyle Harrison	MLW	Game 1: 2 1/3 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 2.72. Remember last week when someone said I had Kyle Harrison ranked too low? Because I sure do! Game 2: 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks, and in line for the win vs Cristopher Sanchez. Ok. Let’s call Game 1 a hiccup.
20	Kevin Gausman	TOR	7 IP, 1 ER (solo HR), 1 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks. The Gas Man was dealing on Saturday, but so was Cam Schlittler. After a late Paul Goldschmidt homer, Louis Varland ended up with the loss in this one. I am continuing to auto-start KG.
21	George Kirby	SEA	6 IP, 3 ER, 10 baserunners (3 BBs), 10 Ks, ERA at 4.07. Yes! That’s double-digit Ks for the Kirb-stomper! Boom! Up a bit.
22	Gavin Williams	CLE	5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks last Monday. His start yesterday got washed out, so he should have a two-start week now. Down a bit.
23	Sonny Gray	BOS	6.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, 7 K, 8th win. Mister Underrated is just posting quality starts and taking names. If there’s a better pitcher who shows up with his metal lunch box, puts his solid, sweaty 6+ innings in, wipes his brow with his sleeve, clocks out, and heads home, I’d like to know his name. Up.
24	Nolan McLean	NYM	4.0 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K. I always like to check the pitch count when I see the kids throw one of these baby starts (fewer than 5 innings). He threw 93 pitches on Friday night. And only 55 of those were strikes. Ouch. Down.
25	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT	5.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. I kind of hate seeing the Misiorowski madness, then trying NOT to compare each start to that gem. This one was solid, if unspectacular. But unspectacular doesn’t keep guys in the Top 20. He gets ATH on the road this week.
26	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	Game 1: 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.26. Please don’t be hurt. I don’t even roster him anywhere. He’s just had such terrible luck staying on the field that it’s depressing to think he’s busted again. Game 2: EDIT: He was at BOS in the late game last night, and it was blacked out by that stupid Peacock again. And my radio feed didn’t work. So he gets a 1 IP, 0 ER, 2 K line for my edit, and a push-up because he didn’t get rocked in the first inning (ahem, Connolly Early).
27	Payton Tolle	BOS	JUMPER! Again! More below.
28	Logan Webb	SF	Game 1: 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.88. It’s as good a start as we’re going to get from him (he’s not striking out a dozen anytime soon), and it was pretty awesome. Game 2: EDIT – He was at 4 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks when I wrote this up yesterday. I was fully expecting a dozen Ks after what I said about Game 1 earlier in the week. FINAL LINE: 8 IP, 0 ER, 7 HG, 0 BB, 7 Ks. Webb gem!
29	Max Meyer	MIA	Jumper. More below. He’s up a bunch today.
30	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	5 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners (4 BBs), 8 Ks, ERA at 4.35. That’s the 5th win for our Jesus Lizard. Just be careful when he starts shedding. Up just a bit.
31	Shane McClanahan	TB	4.0 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, BB, 7 K, 4th L. Short innings, a handful of earned runs, even more hits, and a “but the strikeout total was good!” Talk about a back-Mclana-handed compliment. Down.
32	Bryce Miller	SEA	8.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 7 K, 3rd win, ERA at 1.54. If you didn’t add him when we Razzballers told you to add him, it’s probably too late now! He’s up today and one of the most mobile arms we’ve got here. He’s up a bunch of spots today.
33	Freddy Peralta	NYM	Game 1: 6 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.04. Oh. Oh, that’s not good. He’s going to have to bring it next week against a much more dangerous offense (ATL). Game 2: Narrator: “He did, in fact, bring it against a much more dangerous offense yesterday.” 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks, and his 5th win. Down a bit.
34	Framber Valdez	DET	Dumper. More below.
35	Emerson Hancock	SEA	Game 1: 5 IP, 5 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.74. I’d love to know where we see a line like this, and either (a) worry that he’s hurt or (b) are concerned that he’s too young and doesn’t have the stamina. What’s the age cutoff for that kind of stuff from a starting pitcher? 26? Game 2: 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks. So about that “worry that he’s hurt” thing…(DOWN).
36	Trey Yesavage	TOR	5.0 IP, 4 hits, 5 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 3rd win. Don’t worry, folks. That’s 6 walks IN CANADIAN CURRENCY. With the exchange rate, it’s really only 4 BBs. Down today.
37	Will Warren	NYY	Game 1: 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.28. And the no decision. I don’t like that dot in the innings number there because it costs him a chance at a victory. I’d much rather it be a clean 6 IP with a win. Or a W. A Will Warren W with or without the dot. Or WWW. For short. Man, (and women), that took a while to set up). Game 2: 4 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 1 K, and the no-decision. Hey, Will. Just because you’re facing Patrick Corbin, it doesn’t mean you have to pitch like him.
38	Jose Soriano	LAA	5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and his 8th win. That’s more like it. It’s his first “shutout” outing since April 22 (8 starts), and it wasn’t an easy matchup (vs TB). Be careful this week as he’s at ATH. They’re not at Las Vegas Ballpark (their last game there was yesterday), so it’s back to SacTown this week. Up.
39	Michael Soroka	ARI	7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks. This start was actually better than last week’s 7-inning, 6-strikeout win. He got hosed in a tough 2-1 final at CIN, but has two solid games in his last two starts, and hosts MIN at ARI this week. Start him. Up a good bit today.
40	Jared Jones	PIT	4 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 4.73. I mean, it could’ve been worse. And it was just his third start of the season. When the Pirates take the training wheels off, and he starts to top 90 pitches, then it’ll be easier to tell if he’s all the way back. (He’s averaged 75 pitches per start so far this year). Down.
41	Ryan Weathers	NYY	4.1 IP, 5 hits, 6 ER, BB, 2 K, 5th L. This was vs Trey Yesavage in Toronto, and I was pumped to watch it Friday night (until boys’ night plans changed and the kids wanted to watch a movie). I had a feeling one of the starters was going to get pushed around a bit, and despite not wanting to see either guy get roughed up, I’m a tiny bit happier it was Weathers and not Trey. Down a bit.
42	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 8 Ks, and a tough luck loss. He deserved better yesterday. That said, he has lost 3 straight starts and hasn’t won a game since May 14th (6 starts ago). Down.
43	Parker Messick	CLE	5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.68. I sat him for this one in the AL Only, so high fives for me. He’s at MLW next week, and I’m not so sure I’m starting him there either.
44	Ranger Suarez	BOS	5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, and the no-decision. He nearly matched DeGrom pitch for pitch in this one, at Fenway. If we go way back to the preseason, I had Suarez as one of my Red Sox buys in the AL Preview with Jeremy and Mike. The wins aren’t there (he’s 2-3), and he hasn’t pulled in a W in 7 starts, but the rest of the numbers aren’t bad for what he would’ve cost us to roster him on draft day. And this is a guy who has to pitch at Fenway for his home games. I’d be buying low if I thought my fantasy rotation needed a cheap boost.
45	Michael King	SD	6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.46. It’s not terrible, but it’s not the line of an ace (or even a good SP2). Down a bit today.
46	Shota Imanaga	CHC	5 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.44. At COL. Because, of course, that makes sense. Hashtag mountain of sarcasm.
47	Kyle Bradish	BAL	4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.30. So I had this guy AND Bryan Woo active last week. If you need me, I’ll be stacking mattresses outside, beneath Tommen’s window.
48	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	Game 1: 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.21. Game 2: 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, 7 Ks, and the loss at KC. He’s giving us volume and strikeouts, so he should likely be higher. The consistent dishing out of earned runs over his last three starts suppresses his value, though. Up a bit.
49	Nick Lodolo	CIN	5.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, BB, 5 K. He’s like my left-handed Bubba Chandler. So much promise. A ton of faith from your boy, MarmosDad. And nowhere near the payoff. Let’s call him Bubnick Chandolo. On second thought, let’s just call him a tough guy to auto-start for now.
50	Connor Prielipp	MIN	6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and the no-decision. I keep thinking we’re going to get one of those 8-inning shutouts with 10 Ks, but it’s not looking like something that’s happening soon (at ARI this week). He’s down today.
51	Tanner Bibee	CLE	7.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2nd win, ERA at 3.94. After 14 starts without a dub, Bibee picks up two in a row? This line looks like a real live starter’s line, too! Maybe it’s time to add him if he’s floating around on waivers. That said, I don’t feel great about him at MLW this week.
52	Connelly Early	BOS	Game 1: 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 3.30. It looks like the Red Sox pulled him again. On time? Nope…just a little…pinky to mouth…you know what’s coming… Game 2: EDIT: He had the late game vs TEX (at Fenway). I said it in the Eovaldi blurb, but this one was blacked out, so I got annoyed and just put what he had done in the edit. 1.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 Ks might be close to his actual final line if he keeps giving up hits, though.
53	Davis Martin	CWS	6 IP, 0 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.41. Part of me got a bit miffed when I realized I had Davis Martin ranked under Nick Martinez. I blame the CTRL-F search bar for that one.
54	Reid Detmers	ANA	7 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit, zero walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.00. There’s a French joke about “that sea” in here, but I’ll leave it alone and just say that when he’s on, he’s on.
55	Nick Martinez	TB	7 IP, 3 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.43. Shop Smart, Shop NickMart.
56	Troy Melton	DET	5 IP, 4 ER, 8 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.81. If you’re giving up four in fewer than six innings, we’re gonna need more strikeouts. In other words, MORE HIGH CHEESE, MELTON! Down a bit today.
57	Ben Brown	CHC	5 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks, his 3rd win, and his 2nd dub in his last three starts. He’s the same age as Noah Cameron (who pitched into the 5th inning on Saturday, too), but I’d be picking Ben if I had a choice between the two. Yep. That’s what’s going down: Brown. Up today. Confused yet?
58	Justin Wrobleski	LAD	4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 2.95. Wrobbed of almost all the faith I had in this guy as a breakout arm for ROS. He left early with an injury concern, too. UPDATE: It’s a hamstring injury, but Dave Roberts thinks he’ll be fine to start this week.
59	Landen Roupp	SF	Dumper. More below.
60	Bubba Chandler	PIT	5.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 6 Ks, and HE’S FIXED! Oh, wait. He had a no-decision, and his ERA is 4.77. And the WHIP is 1.37. Ok, what’s the word to describe in between “fixed” and “foul”? Fulfillable? Fine? Ya, that’s it. HE’S FINE! (Three cheers for the celebration of mediocrity).
61	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	8.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, BB, 7 K, 6th win. I still don’t trust that he won’t give us the occasional ratio implosion, but if you’re a believer, you’ve been gifted with three straight wins and some solid quality starts. Up a bunch (because of the sludge in front of him underperformed last week).
62	Peter Lambert	HOU	6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.47. Just like the rest of the flock said, “Not baaaaaaaaaad”.
63	Roki Sasaki	LAD	4.1 IP, 7 hits, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 4th L. Aw, come on. I saw Grey say to someone that he thinks Roki has turned a corner, and I wholeheartedly agreed. Then Sasaki gave us the Sa-sucky on Friday night. I’m holding, but understand if your trigger finger feels like it’s been pulling out poison ivy all afternoon. He should drop down, but I’m giving him one more week to prove this was a hiccup.
64	Taj Bradley	MIN	Game 1: 4 1/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.02. It’s probably not a good time to say “I Taj-you so!”, but it’s a good time to remember how there were concerns with his command last year, despite the velocity uptick. Game 2: 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and a no-decision. There are better upside gambles to make than this one. Down.
65	Christian Scott	NYM	4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.10. So not only are these kids not finishing 5 or 6 innings, but now they’re all giving up handfuls of earned runs too. Awesome. Barf emoji.
66	Noah Cameron	KC	4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA at 4.11. WHIP at 1.21. When I see kids going fewer than 5 innings, I always assume it’s because they walked a bunch of guys or they’re on a pitch count. Well, he threw 86 pitches and walked no one, so this must’ve been the other reason. I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with Goop Wee-yo-gee.
67	Randy Vasquez	SD	5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and his 6th win. ERA at 3.63. WHIP at 1.31. Not bad at all, especially on the road at BAL, but I’m still sitting him at TEX this week.
68	Gage Jump	OAK	5.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, BB, 6 K. In our writer discord, JKJ mentioned that Jacob Misiorowski’s stellar game was almost as good as Gage Wood’s 19-strikeout start, and, Oh, Lordy, I nearly had a case of the vapors! Then I double checked and saw it wasn’t Gage Jump, so I could exhale. Still, a pretty decent game from the ATH rookie.
69	Foster Griffin	WSH	6 IP, 1 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.46. Foster the griffin. Adopting eagle/lion hybrids and ripping quality starts all the while with a smile on his face. Up.
70	Ryne Nelson	ARI	4 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 5.19. Just like a dude who is wrestling the Superstar Billy Graham said, “No, I don’t want a full Nelson OR a half Nelson, thank you very much!” Down.
71	Andrew Abbott	CIN	Game 1: 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.10. Every time he goes out, he shaves that crusty outer layer off of his ratios and whittles them down a bit further. I’ll call him the pumice stone. (On second thought, maybe not). Game 2: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks, and ARI at CIN is stuck in a rain delay. Hey, if the delay goes for 5 days, maybe he can come back in and get the save along with the win.
72	Mackenzie Gore	TEX	5 IP, 2 ER, 11 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.18. I know I usually play the HOW MANY WALKS game with Bubba Chandler, but I was curious here, too, so I looked it up. (It was three).
73	Bryce Elder	ATL	4 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and a long-delayed loss (rain). It’s never a good sign when I see a line like this one and let out an audible “Hooooo” of shock. Think the sound that an owl would make after seeing its fantasy baseball ratios spike through the roof. He has one win in his last 6 GS. DOWN.
74	Shane Baz	BAL	5.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, K. Nice! Only 15 more starts like that to catch up to Misiorowski’s strikeout total from last Friday!
75	Dustin May	STL	6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.21. Is Dustin a good start this week vs SD and at KC? May-be! Up a bit.
76	Cade Cavalli	WSH	5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and his 4th win. Three more outs would’ve made this look even better, but, regardless, this gets him a boost today.
77	Zebby Matthews	MIN	6 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 5.20. Zee or Zed? How about Zis-is-not-good?
78	Stephen Kolek	KC	Game 1: 5 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.14. Let’s call him “Wacha-lite”. Not to be confused with Fozzie Bear’s backfiring electricity joke. Game 2: 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks. That’s about as “Wacha” as it gets!
79	Michael McGreevy	STL	6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and a no-decision. He outpitched Taj Bradley (at MIN), so that’s a good thing. He’s also given us three straight quality starts now. If you need more good news…uh…his 6.10 K.9 is better than last year’s 5.46 K/9? Ya, that’s all I’ve got. He can join Stephen Kolek in the Wacha-lite club. Up.
80	Merrill Kelly	ARI	6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K. ERA at 5.46. WHIP at 1.45. To pull back the curtain a bit, I always input my weekly notes here into a Google document before my first edit. Then I scan through to make sure I didn’t miss anyone. This week, I had nothing on Merrill Kelly. That made me chuckle, especially after seeing his underwhelming stat line from last week. Down today.
81	Michael Wacha	KC	7 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.58. So, big Brain MarmosDad sat Wacha last week to avoid the less-than-favorable outing. And, of course, this was the lesser of three evils among himself, Kyle Bradish, and Bryan Woo. Ugh.
82	Griffin Jax	TB	5 IP, 0 ER, (1 R), 5 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks, and his 5th loss. So he allowed ZERO earned runs but still got tagged with the loss? What a boot to the gut. I’m stashing him if I have a deep reserve roster, just in case he can build up stamina and go on a run in July. Up.
83	Javier Assad	CHC	Jumper! (at least jumping onto the list). More below.
84	Mitch Keller	PIT	4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 5.14. Honestly, I don’t know why I want this guy to break out. Heck, even being mildly successful would work. But he seems to go through these ruts of filth every season, and it’s a matter of how deep the ditch becomes (aka how many bad starts does he string together)? FWIW, I cut him in one RCL this week because I had 7 IL’ed guys and needed active bodies.
85	Walbert Urena	LAA	5 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners (5 BBs), 7 Ks, ERA at 2.44. Is it too late to ask Houston’s Peter if his parents will adopt Urena? Because then we’d get…Walbert Lambert? (Crickets. I’ll see myself out).
86	Seth Lugo	KC	Dumper. More Below. Down a bit.
87	Anthony Kay	CWS	5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 7 Ks. It may be a bit of a cheat here to ask this, seeing as Kay has struggled to complete 6-innings in all but two of his 12 starts, but can you guess when he last lost a game? The only hint you get is that it was before May 1st. Up.
88	Edward Cabrera	CHC	5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.86. This guy isn’t exactly in the Aaron Nola group of GTFO, but I honestly can’t think of a lot of names that I’d rather roster him over. That should technically mean he’s our SP100, but I think he has more trade value in a lot of leagues than some of these other guys at the bottom of the list, so he moves up a bit today because of the decent start.
89	Trevor Rogers	BAL	Game 1: 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 6.15. At this point, I’m not even sure a perfect game with 18 Ks would save him from the Marmo-wrath. I don’t trust him. Even with the Rasmussen quality start (5.2 innings and fewer than 3 ER). Game 2: 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and his 7th loss. This one was less about his performance and more about the O’s not being able to touch Walker Buehler and the SD bullpen. Still, he has won just one game in his last 11 starts. Ugh.
90	Brandon Sproat	MLW	6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 5.70. Sproat throws a QS at Bing Bong, and Shota throws a shutout (5 innings) at Colorado. Sounds about as predictable as anything else from the pitching world this season. The real winner here was your guy, MarmosDad, as I resisted adding him in that mixed league FAAB this past weekend. (I can’t make any promises about next week). Up.
91	Sean Burke	CWS	4 IP, 4 ER, (2 HR allowed), 6 H, 5 BB, 6 Ks. For the record, his 3.42 BB/9 is better than his 4.22 mark from last year, but this isn’t an ace for your squad either way. Down today.
92	Casey Mize	DET	Was supposed to pitch yesterday, but the torrential downpour had other plans.
93	Joey Cantillo	CLE	5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, and his 5th win. I was in a bit of a roster crunch in the AL-Only so I chopped this guy in FAAB on Saturday morning so I could add a reliever. Oops. (In my defense, I have too many starters rostered anyway – it’s almost like I research SPs in my spare time).
94	Trevor McDonald	SF	3.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks, and his 4th loss. He hasn’t won a game since May 16th (6 starts ago). This is officially the most upset a McDonald has been since that triggered farmer guy launched an ageism lawsuit and insisted the song be rewritten as “Wise McDonald”.
95	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	2.2 IP, 2 hits, ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 85 pitches. Uh. What? If we take out the walks and add those 5 to the innings total, this looks a heck of a lot better. But we can’t do that, Karen. No matter how much you want the manager to “rectify the situation and make this right”.
96	Patrick Corbin	TOR	3.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks, and the no-decision. He didn’t get annihilated by the Yankees at home, but he did get stuck with a no-decision after the Jays gave Spencer Miles the next 2.2 innings after pulling Corbin.
97	Lucas Giolito	SD	4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 3 Ks on 85 pitches. The good news is he’s only walked 18 hitters this year. The bad news is he’s only pitched 20.2 innings. That 1.74 WHIP is not doing anyone any favors.
98	Jack Leiter	TEX	5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. That’s two straight losses with a total of 9.2 IP, 10 ER, and 14 H. I didn’t drop him this week, but he’s toast in next week’s FAAB if he gets pumped by MIN at home (in TEX).
99	Grant Holmes	ATL	3.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. He was almost turfed instead of David Sandlin. He’s down today and saved from that infamous SP100 appointment by the equally disappointing Griffin Canning.
100	Griffin Canning	SD	5 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 6 Ks. I’m sorry, folks, but Griffin Can’t. He was a late research point, so he stays here for now, but he slides all the way down to the bottom and is out next week unless he pulls off some serious magic at STL this week. I should’ve subbed JT Ginn in for him. Maybe next week. DOWN.

JUMPERS (Players who jumped up the list this week).

Jacob Misiorowski – 9 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 15 Ks, and are you freaking kidding me? This was my note on The Miz from last week: “It’s official: The Miz followed up last week’s ascension to the top of our list with an absolutely incredible outing. If he doesn’t nab Vin’s “Best start of the year” spot, I’m going to call the system busted.” (And before I forget, Vin is an absolute G for all the work he does here. Thanks again, Vin!)

Ok, this is even better. And, yes, he is Vin’s top start of the year, too.

I said it last week in my “Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Make No Miz-take, Jake, There’s A New SP At The Top”, and a lot of others have been drooling about our Brewers beast all week (Dan Pants gave us a full run-down of Friday’s start in his roundup here).

I could do a full story on Miz at this point and call it a day, but I wanted to share a couple of clips in case y’all missed them.

Ok, I’ll admit,  the first thing I thought was “Foul tip? Ok, maybe that’s why it clocked in at 105 MPH.”

Well, this one from Rob Friedman gives us a bit of an idea of just how Filthy McNasty this kid is with or without foul tips.

There should be no doubt who the top dog is in this game right now.

Tarik Skubal – 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 Ks, his 3rd loss, on 80 pitches, and WHO CARES THAT HE LOST?! That last part is for the Tigers fans who were just hoping to see, “…and left with no soreness or setbacks”. Of course, he’s a Jumper this week. When we’ve got (arguably) the best pitcher in baseball returning from an injury WEEKS earlier than he was originally supposed to return…that’s all the news we need to make him a Jumper. 

Dylan Cease – 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.91. You know how we can tell that he’s all good and ready to resume his dominance of the American League? Check that strikeout total. ELEVEN! I’m gonna steal a bit of sparkle from Dan Pants for this one. Let’s call it the “Yoink a meme”. 

Joe Ryan – 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 3 ER, 8 K. On Saturday, Dan pointed out that JR has a 2.87 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 47/3 K/BB over the past month. 

Do you think Joe Ryan sits in his dining room at home, closes his eyes, points a finger on the map of the USA that he has laid out on the table, and sighs when it lands on anywhere but Minnesota?

I’m almost certain the top bidders for Ryan will be LA, ATL, MLW, or maybe even a sneaky return to his “original” squad, Tampa Bay. (The Yankees don’t need another top arm to add to their already filthy rotation). 

Just for kicks, I double checked the Joe Ryan trade because I was worried I messed up after I saw he’d only ever pitched in Minnesota. It was a deadline deal in 2021 that brought Joe Ryan to the Twin Cities. The return? Nelson Cruz and Calvin Faucher. 

Max Meyer – Game 1: 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.85. Funny that he goes by “Max” and has just 4 QS in 14 starts. That’s a nitpick, though. At 6-0 with a 1.08 WHIP and 9.8 K/9, we’ll take what we can get as long as he keeps throwing 90+ pitches in each outing (8 out of his last 10 starts). Game 2: 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 9 Ks, 105 pitches, and his 7th win. This guy is undefeated (7-0), and Sunday’s “No Big Deal” was out-duelling Paul Skenes at PNC. He gets the Giants at home this week. 

Payton Tolle – 6 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.70. Of course, one week after sharing the clip that makes him look like the world’s greatest uncle, he goes out and throws like my grandma. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that bad. My grandma is pretty tough too (and she’s turning 100 in a month!).  Maybe this isn’t necessarily a start that warrants highlighting him in the Jumpers this week, but I can’t get enough of this dude. If there ever was a personification of the Razzball vibe, this guy is it – 100%. No notes needed. 

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Javier Assad – 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, BB, 5 Ks, and his 4th win. This was his first start since April 19th (6 relief appearances since then). I originally had him slotted as a Stumper for this week, but I figured he was good enough to crack the bottom 5 spots. Then I saw what was ahead of him, and he won a few “Would you rather” battles I had in my own head. At the very least, this result should buy him at least one more start while the Cubs regular rotation recovers from injuries. 

DUMPERS (Players who dropped down the list this week).

Bryan Woo – 5 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.28. 

True story alert! One of my youngest son’s closest friends pitched an inning for us last Thursday night for the first time EVER! I warmed him up between innings and told him that I know he gives his best effort every time he plays. If he throws great, then that’s great. If he walks a bunch or gets frustrated, that’s ok too, because we all know you’re doing your best. (And I didn’t want to discourage him). 

We were victims of an inconsistent strike zone called on one side of the field for the whole game, but this kid locked in and struck out THREE after walking two and giving up an unearned run (on an error) in his one inning of work. It was one of those “YES!” moments for sure, and it was great to see the team’s excitement for this kiddo and his successful pitching debut.

Then, when I got to the truck and prepared for the drive home, I saw this Bryan Woo line, and it made me want to drive through the side of the ballpark concession stand.

Because baseball.

Framber Valdez – 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.40. This one is for the half dozen folks who asked me about dropping him last week. Ultimately, that’s up to you. Or, I guess you could try to see if someone wants to gamble on him figuring it out. But if you really want to drop him…well, I’ll defer to a higher power here for that answer… 

Landen Roupp – 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks on 105 pitches. So the good news is the Roupp Dogg made some headlines last week.

“Oh, MarmosDad, was it because of a complete game shutout!?”

Nope!

“I KNOW! He struck out 21 people and tied Tom Cheney’s 1962 single-game strikeout record?”

Um…not exactly.

“Oh. Did he put a bible verse on his hat before a game that somehow, through some weird coincidence, coincided with a Pride month celebration?”

BINGO!

With last week’s loss, the Roupp Dogg has now gone 8 starts without a win. And he has a 4.24 ERA in 14 GS. Apparently, he hasn’t been praying hard enough.

Seth Lugo – This was my quick note for the week before I put more words to it on Sunday: Drilled in the dome by a Brandon Nimmo comebacker.

I know I’m a sucker for real-life emotional interactions, and I probably share too many clips like that, but you have to smile after watching this one.

Warning: Lugo takes a heater right off the bean, but he’s OK. And seeing Brandon Nimmo’s relief that his old Mets buddy isn’t hurt is a pretty cool moment.

Seth Lugo exited the game after taking a line drive off the head from his former Mets teammate Brandon NimmoNimmo immediately ran over to check on Lugo, and Lugo joked that he'd rather Nimmo just hit a home run next time

— Jomboy Media (Unofficial) (@jomboymedia-mirror.bsky.social) 2026-06-11T00:48:27.000Z

The little, “Hit it over the fence next time,” was the icing on the cake, too. 

UPDATE: The CT scan was negative, but the Royals put him on the 7-day concussion list anyway.

Luis Castillo – 5.2 IP, 2 ER, (5 R), 7 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and his 6th loss. You have to think the Mariners are hoping Castillo puts a few gems together so they can flip him out and shore up another position via trade. Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are simmering in Tacoma and should be ready by the All-Star break. If you don’t believe that, here’s some cold, hard data for you to peruse. 

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

Jameson Taillon 

Shane Drohan – 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks, and his 2nd loss. “Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East”. Um…ACKSHUALLY, Gandalf said this about the Battle of Helm’s Deep and not about Drohan! (But, for what it’s worth, the Rohirrim were from Rohan, so give me points for the lengthy pun setup!) 

Kai-Wei Teng – 4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.71. Every week I do a soft prayer that this guy will have the game of his life, just so I can use the pun I’ve been sitting on for a month. Guess what. We’re WEIting at least another week now! Thanks a lot, Kai-Wei!

Kyle Leahy 

Kendry Rojas

Slade Cecconi

Zac Gallen – Here’s a new stumper this week after slipping off the list. 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, and the no-decision. Not bad. Now do it consistently, and we may have something here.

Jacob Lopez

Martin Perez – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, BB, 4 Ks, and his 5th win. The ERA is at 2.90, and the WHIP is at 1.05, but I just can’t do it. Is he better than a bunch of guys in the SP 80-100 spots? Probably. But I can’t help but think this is a trap. That said, he’s won three in a row and hasn’t allowed more than 3 ER since May 19th. You do you, but be careful! 

Chris Bassitt 

David Peterson 

Rhett Lowder – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, and the no-decision. I see this guy’s name on the wire almost everywhere now that he’s back from injury. It looks like everyone is thinking the same thing as me. I don’t know if I want to add him and risk the ratio damage. Lowder! I SAID, I DON’T KNOW IF I WANT TO ADD HIM… 

Andre Pallante

Mike Burrows – 5 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. I mean, I guess he’s ok if you’re in a very deep league, but he’s a streamer at best (and even then it would have to be a cookie of a matchup). 

Tomoyuki Sugano – It’s like the anti- Maroon 5 song. “Sugano…NO THANK YOU”. 4 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, (and he isn’t even out of the game yet as of this edit?). Let’s forget about him for now. (Yes, please!)

Janson Junk 

Kumar Rocker – 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 3.56. Rocker? Like a rocking chair? With 4.2 innings? That line is more like a baby seat in the back of a soccer mom’s SUV. 

Colin Rea

Eric Lauer –  5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 5.47. I think I’m annoyed because I dropped this guy everywhere, and he landed in the best possible situation. Then Grey points out that Lauer is likely suppressing any chance of a Riv Ryan promotion, and I get even more crusty. Grumble. 

Jeffrey Springs – 4 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. I know we could pin this one on the Las Vegas Launchpad that the A’s played in this weekend, but the truth of the matter is…Hope doesn’t really spring eternal here. 

Sean Manaea – 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, and his second loss. The good news is he didn’t follow an opener and gave us a quality start. The bad news is he’s at PHI this week and a see that going well for him. For the record, Streamonator is with me there (-$8.9 as of yesterday afternoon). 

Brandon Young – 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.02. I don’t want to add him anywhere here because I’ve been stung too many times in the past, but this outing means he deserves a Stumper spot for now.

Hurston Waldrep

Jack Flaherty 

Walker Buehler – Game 1: 4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 10 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.33. Game 2: 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. Maybe they’ll take the training wheels off of this rookie at some point, then we can really see what he can do!

Jake Irvin

J.T. Ginn

Matthew Liberatore – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 Ks. He gave up 3 home runs, then left before the end of the 5th inning, so it was a middle reliever who locked down the W. The Liberator is aptly named, since all we want to do is set this guy free after every start. 

Aaron Nola – 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks on 85 pitches, and the no-decision. It’s ok, pal. I get it. Us old guys get tired and have to shut it down early at work sometimes. It’s tough when you’re over 50…oh wait, over 40…oh wait…he’s only 33 years old?! 

Brady Singer – 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 5.61 

Robert Gasser – He graduates from Bumpers to Stumpers this week because it looks like he’s sticking around in the rotation while Logan Henderson prepares for rehab starts.

Keider Montero – 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.61. 

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).

Shane Bieber – Rehab assignment update! 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, BB, 5 Ks with Buffalo. He’ll have one more AAA start this week, then he is likely to be activated next Monday. Go check your waiver wire now!

Joe Musgrove

Max Scherzer –  3 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 3500 Ks! ERA at 10.23. Oh, wait. I’m getting word that the strikeout total was not a single-game one. Apologies. So, he’s back. And it’s not looking great. Reg Dunlop pulled off the player/coach gig, but I’m not so sure Max should be trying to do both right now. (And, yes, that was a deep cut reference for all of you Slapshot fans). 

Justin Steele

Robby Snelling 

Jonah Tong

Brandon Pfaadt

JR Ritchie

Jack Kochanowicz – Out for the year with a torn UCL (TJS soon).

Lance McCullers Jr.

Cristian Javier

Joe Boyle

Hunter Brown – SOUND THE ALARMS. He’s slated to return and start tomorrow vs DET.

Hunter Greene

Spencer Schwellenbach

Zach Eflin

Johan Oviedo

Grayson Rodriguez – Game 1: 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 8.10. I saw him on the free agent list in one of my mixed leagues, prepped a FAAB bid for him, then deleted it 5 minutes later. He may not be at Aaron Nola levels of “Nope”, but he’s close enough to avoid. Game 2: Afternoon game yesterday vs TB. So I was concerned that I’d have to wait around until he pitched deep into this one. NOPE! 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, and lifted after a HBP loaded the bases. His FB was sitting at 97 MPH, but he couldn’t control the offspeed. 47 pitches.

Cody Ponce

Cade Horton

Shane Smith

Quinn Priester

Clarke Schmidt

River Ryan

Corbin Burnes 

Pablo Lopez

Tatsuya Imai – 0.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 ER, BB, K, ERA at 6.43. Bruh. Do you even lift? Because you’re certainly not lifting anything for fantasy managers. Unless you count these skyrocketing ratios. Boom. Roasted. 

Kade Anderson

Nick Pivetta

Andrew Painter 

Thomas White

Ryan Pepiot

Jose Berrios 

Justin Verlander

Reese Olson

Mick Abel

Didier Fuentes

Garrett Crochet – It’s worse than they originally thought, and he’s out until “at least” after the All-Star break. I wouldn’t count on anything until at least August. 

Brandon Woodruff

Tarik Skubal 

Tyler Glasnow

Steven Matz.

Kodai Senga – Scratched from his rehab start with ulnar nerve irritation. Fun fact: ulnar nerve is another term for “People who roster this guy in fantasy baseball”. (Also known as Senga irritation).

Brayan Bello

Matthew Boyd

Braxton Garrett

Yusei Kikuchi

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

Tarik Skubal – Duh.

Javier Assad 

Casey Mize

 

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

Spencer Strider – 3.0 IP, 6 hits, 7 ER, BB, 3 K, 3 HR, and one trip to the IL. Sadness. 

David Sandlin – It was almost Grant Holmes here instead, but CWS optioned Sandlin, so it was an easy pick for our OOF today.

And, OF COURSE, we can’t forget to add the muse for our Ray-Ray-Rasmussen this week. I’ll apologize in advance for the earworm!

 

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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