1

Jacob Misiorowski

MLW

He was skipped Sunday for some extra rest, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love getting extra rest in July too. Hashtag afternoon naps for the win. He did pitch Tuesday, though: 7 IP, 3 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 11 Ks, ERA at 1.62. I mean, what else is there to say other than “Keep it up!” Maybe be careful looking in your rearview mirror because that Skubal train is a-comin’.

2

Paul Skenes

PIT

Game 1: 6 IP, 2 ER, 9 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.58. Un-Skenes-y Bop! We’ll take the quality start even if it comes with fewer than a half dozen strikeouts. That’s more like it! Game 2: 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.57. Grey mentioned that this might be the time to try to “buy low” on Skenes, and I agree. It’ll still cost you, but it’ll cost you a Top 30 guy instead of a Top 15 one (and that’s me paraphrasing Grey).

3

Cristopher Sanchez

PHI

3 1/3 IP, 9 ER, ERA at 2.62. Oh. Oh my. (Here’s where I was going to add in the Bull Durham clip).

Well, that’s two straight weeks I cursed our second-place finisher in the list rankings. The good news is Cam Schlittler brought a giant chip on his shoulder after his meltdown and annihilated the competition in his next start. Maybe Cris Sanchez does the same thing. Game 2: 7 IP, 2 ER, 10 H(!), 1 BB, 7 Ks. The baserunner total was not good, but the result was.  EDIT: Hopefully, this doesn’t start a flip-flop trend, because his All-Star start was rough, too.

4

Zack Wheeler

PHI

Game 1: 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 14 Ks, ERA at 2.28. The Wheels are back on the bus! Last week’s stinker was an outlier, and if it wasn’t for the Woo-bot, we would’ve had a ZW lede.  Game 2: 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 2.13. Both he and Skenes corrected a couple of duds from the previous week. Wheels is sitting at 34 K’s in his last 17.2 IP. Yep. He’s up today.

5

Chris Sale

ATL

3.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, BB, 5 K. Don’t worry! The only scare here was the weather delay!  He’s up today, and I might have lost a bet if anyone asked if Chris Sale and Shane Bieber were the same age (more on that below).

6

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

LAD

6 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 2.85. Welp! I guess I cursed him last week, too. Down a bit.

7

Dylan Cease

TOR

Let’s stir up the pot a bit today! 8 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 3 BBs, 11 Ks, ERA at 2.56. There are a lot of clips to sift through here, so let’s get this out of the way first: Dylan Cease is having the best season of his career. And Dylan Cease is silencing the critics who snickered when the Jays signed him to the 7-year, $210 million deal this past winter. Guess who gets a big old boost! More below. (SWEET!)

8

Cam Schlittler

NYY

8 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.01. He was pissed off, and there’s a quote directed at the haters who were saying one bad start was the beginning of regression. On the record, it wasn’t me, Cam. I’m still a Schlitt-head! (And if that’s not what his fan club calls themselves, they need to reconsider.) Game 2: 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks. More below. SWEET!

9

Jacob deGrom

TEX

5 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.49. So he just missed a quality start with this one, but had two QS in his previous two. And how many wins did that net him? One. ugh. EDIT: Skip Schumaker said deGrom won’t make his start on Sunday because his bum is bruised (not the actual report terminology), and that he may be placed on the IL. Monitor.

10

Tarik Skubal

DET

Game 1: 5 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.06. He’s back on course, and the collision with The Miz at the top of our mountain is likely to happen shortly after the All-Star Break. Game 2: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.09. I don’t think anyone expected a 9-inning, one-hit shutout every time he toed the rubber, but he’s so good that a 5-inning jobber feels like a letdown. He’s still a superstar arm, though, so he pushes up a bit into that group today.

11

Shohei Ohtani

LAD

7 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.69. Does it bug any of you when you auto-start him as a DH, and he kills it as an SP? No? Ok, then Shohei the money! He missed the All-Star game with “My wife just had a new baby, and I should probably stay home instead of going to Philly to play an extra game for funzies”. Oops, I mean, he missed with “left knee inflammation”.

12

Chase Burns

CIN

5 IP, 3 ER, 3 hits, 6 BBs, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.54. So last Wednesday night was either “take a no-hitter deep into the game” or “walk a half dozen or more dudes”, hey? I know which bet I would’ve made for Burns. And I would’ve lost. He missed the All-Star Game with a “groin injury”, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were magically healed before his regular turn on July 21st.

13

Joe Ryan

MIN

6 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.85. So the Twins are three games back of the AL Central lead AND are tied with the Mariners for the final wild card spot. Does this mean they keep Joe Ryan? I don’t know, but if I were a Twins fan, I’d be upset that they’re setting themselves up for a classic “WTF do we do!?” trade deadline. For the record, I guess that’s better than “We suck so bad, and won’t be good for another decade, WTF do we do?!”.

13

Max Meyer

MIA

There are so many arms that deserve a spot in the “SWEET!” section below that I could have written a separate article about all of them. That said, Max Meyer is one of the best ones we’ve got. And he’s an honorable mention down there just because I was up to 23 pages before my third edit. He’s a stud. (Meyer, not me).

14

Sonny Gray

BOS

6.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 3 K, 11th win. Mister Effing Underrated. “How underrated is he!?” Well, random italicized voice, oh, I don’t know. He has 11 wins and a 2.54 ERA in 17 starts. TWELVE of those were quality starts. Oh, and SONNY GRAY WASN’T AN A.L. ALL-STAR! Ahahahahahaha. Oh boy. Sometimes these things write themselves. But I guess he couldn’t be Mister Underrated if he wasn’t…well, you know. UP!

15

Logan Gilbert

SEA

6 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 11 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.32. Outpitched by Jax. Not apple, or car, or slang-home-runs-term. He was outpitched by Griffin freaking Jax.

16

Logan Webb

SF

7 IP, 5 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.86. This Christmas, can someone send him a 2027 calendar that only has 12 months of “June”, please?

17

Bryan Woo

SEA

5 IP, 3 ER, 10 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.23. And a trade. Plus two Mini-Marmos screaming, “You traded WHO?” when I informed them the morning after the deal was agreed upon. More above.

18

Drew Rasmussen

TB

2 1/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.26. Eep! He sniffed that Top 10 a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t pushed past it. That’s 11 ER in his last 8.1 IP. More like “Nah-Nah–Nahsmussen”. This drops him a few spots today, but maybe the break will do him some good.

19

Hunter Brown

HOU

6.0 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K. If anyone thinks predicting starting pitcher success is easy, explain to me how BrownTown loses this game to Cal friggin’ Quantrill. And for the record, “Because baseball” is an acceptable explanation.

20

Nathan Eovaldi

TEX

6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 10 Ks, and he’s sitting just outside the Top 10 for SP strikeouts. Overall. You have to love it.

21

Jesus Luzardo

PHI

7 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.51. Talk about producing underneath the heat lamp (in Florida). The lizard king is just flicking MLB hitters like crickets into the food dish.

22

Nolan McLean

NYM

6.0 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 6th loss. He suffered the same fate as Shota last week. Pitched a solid game but got bested by a guy who threw an even better one (this one was Sonny Gray). Like Gray, McLean’s up a bit today.

23

Hunter Greene

CIN

7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, BB, 12 K, 1st win. Yes! Cash bringing the Greeeeeeeennnnneeeee!!! If this is any indication of how the second half is going to go, strap in, giddy up, and enjoy the ride. More below in the “Discreet” section (and I promise you it makes sense).

24

Justin Wrobleski

LAD

Last week’s lede from “Top 100 Starting Pitchers – Justin Makes Them Weeble, Wroble(ski), And Fall Down” just kept on going. 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, and an equally impressive All-Star Game showing (2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks). The only reason why he doesn’t get a full write-up in the “SWEET!” section today is that he got it last week. (He’s an honorable mention today).

25

Parker Messick

CLE

6.0 IP, 1 hit, ER, 4 BB, K, 8th win. Meesa thinks Parker gets some Cy Young votes if he can repeat his first half output! EDIT: Messick pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game, too. He’s an HM in the “SWEET” section below. UP

26

Braxton Ashcraft

PIT

5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.49. I’ll take full responsibility for cursing him last week and saying “At least we still have the World of Ashcraft!” Ugh. That said, he’s still in the “SWEET!” section today.

27

Bryce Miller

SEA

5 IP, 4 ER, 13 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.18. One month of otherworldly pitching and he gets roughed up by the Marlins? Miami: A super-offense that strikes fear into opposition pitchers. Yep, just like we expected it to be way back in March. Down a bit today.

28

George Kirby

SEA

6 IP, 2 ER, 8 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.76. Another quality start, another game with no walks, and one more outing with more than half a dozen strikeouts. He’s a top 30 SP at the very worst, and if you don’t like it, trade him to me!

29

Shane McClanahan

TB

6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.83. The 85 pitchers were the second-highest total in his last 10 starts. This made it back-to-back scoreless quality starts, too. (12.1 IP, 0 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks, 2 Ws). UP!

30

Gerrit Cole

NYY

6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.04. His 4th quality start in 9 GS. He’s not his classic, elite self right now, but he’s still much better than average.

31

Gavin Williams

CLE

7 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.81. When he’s on, he’s giving us beauties like this one. When he’s not, we get half a dozen walks and an equal amount of earned runs. There’s a lot of growth here, though, and it makes me glad that I had him as a preseason target two years ago. If the walks get figured out, he’s Drew Rasmussen. Then we’re Gavin a party. And that’s a good thing.

32

Kyle Bradish

BAL

6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.61. I’m in on him for 2026: Part Deux.

33

Payton Tolle

BOS

Game 1: 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.14. This was a heck of a lot better than his 6 ER debacle last week. Regular readers know how much of a MarManCrush I have on this guy, so it goes without saying: Put together an offer for him in dynasty leagues if you don’t already roster him. Game 2: 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and an early exit after throwing 66 pitches. And can I get some credit for not flooding our page with Tolle clips for once? Thank you!

34

Logan Henderson

MLW

He’s back! And guess what’s all healed up! (His back!). 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.18. We had a lot of folks up in arms about this returning arm not getting a spotlight last week. I would’ve said to sit him for Thursday’s return anyway, but it’s giddy-up time now. One more question: Does a 3-game win streak count if your most recent two had a 6-week time lapse?

35

Kevin Gausman

TOR

Game 1: 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 10 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.32. I missed this start because I was coaching my eldest at his ball game. The only question I have is: can I substitute his line of 3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks, and the win for Gausman’s line? Game 2: 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks. Eh. I’d still prefer the kid’s line here, too. Down.

36

Eury Perez

MIA

6 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, and his 7th loss. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This guy is so young that he has plenty of time to figure it out for us dynasty or keeper league players. If you’re in a redraft, though, the risk of him being a solid contributor in the second half is a lot higher.

37

Emerson Hancock

SEA

IT’S NOT BROKEN! Ok, now that that’s out of the way, he left last week’s start after trying to field a comebacker with his hand. That would’ve been done if it were the hand that had the glove on it.

38

Jared Jones

PIT

6 IP, 0 ER, 0 hits, 0 walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.37. It doesn’t get much smoother than this. Well, maybe it would have if John Schneider was managing the Pirates too, and let Jones take a real crack at the no-hitter instead of Don Kelly pulling him after 77 pitches.

39

Kyle Harrison

MLW

4 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 3.01. The official comment was that he has “soreness on the outside of his elbow”. Um…I guess that’s better than soreness on the inside of his elbow? Did he accidentally give a backwards high five to a giant robot in the clubhouse? Either way, he’s averaged 71 pitches in his last two games and is winless in four. Maybe this is an excuse to manage the workload and ease him into the break. EDIT: He was placed on the IL on Saturday and will be replaced on Monday’s list. Sad emoji.

40

Ryan Weathers

NYY

5.1 IP, 6 hits, ER, 6 K. I hate that he’s not sitting at at least a half dozen wins right now. He took it to a pretty sick Washington offense in this one. Is he going to make the list of second-half targets today? No. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try to snag him if he stays in the rotation after Fried returns.

41

Foster Griffin

WSH

7 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.77. Don’t question it. Just embrace it and thank the fantasy gods for blessing you with a waiver wire gem. EDIT: I watched his inning in the All-Star game, and it was pretty sweet, too. More below!

42

Freddy Peralta

NYM

Game 1: 4 2/3 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 4.68. Not much to say here other than ride it out if you can’t find a suitable trade partner who has more faith in a bounce back than I do. Game 2: 4 1/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 4.66. It was a 92-pitch jobber for this one, and it’s been 6 games since our guy finished 6 innings. Woof. More below. YEET!

43

Nick Martinez

TB

5.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, BB, K, 8th win. Are we really going to get 16+ wins out of a dude with a 5.3 K/9? Because if we are, I am here for it. EDIT: You know how I know the American League All-Star pitchers were on fire this week? Nick Martinez pitched a scoreless inning, too, AND struck out one! “SWEET” HM below.

44

Sean Burke

CWS

7.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 9 K, 6th win. More below? In a new section? Intrigue! Dan Pants summed it up well on Saturday: “Burkey has allowed just one run in four of his last five starts and is sporting a pristine 2.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP with a 48/10 K/BB over the past month.” And that’s me quoting an article of clothing that belongs to Dan!

45

Troy Melton

DET

5 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 1.82. A 25-year-old with a 1.82 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, and just 49.1 innings in the first half? And he’s walking just two guys per nine innings? Hitch the wagon here for the second half. It’s a win even if they only give him 80-90 more innings the rest of the way.

46

Sandy Alcantara

MIA

7.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 8 K, 5th L. I know we want a 20-win season (side note – does anyone do that anymore?), but the quality start is still doing us a solid in these roto leagues.

47

Max Fried

NYY

I hope this doesn’t jinx him, but it’s an early return for Max Fried on the Top 100 Starting Pitchers list simply because the reports are good, he’s “likely to throw in a rehab game tomorrow (Friday)” as per Aaron Boone, and I needed a replacement for Woodruff. If he has a smooth rehab game and gets the call to return next week, I’ll move him way up on Monday.

48

Eduardo Rodriguez

ARI

6.0 IP, 7 hits, 2 ER, BB, 5 K, 8th win, ERA at 2.29. This is pretty awesome. That he’s going to his first All-Star Game is also remarkable. But I can’t help see that and wonder what Sonny Gray needs to do to get that same sort of recognition. EDIT: He pitched a scoreless 2nd inning in the ASG, too.

49

Shota Imanaga

CHC

5.0 IP, 7 hits, ER, BB, 5 K, 8th L. Talk about a tough loss. He ran into the Irish Sniper, aka the Hunter (Greene). Shota moves up a bunch today just because I’m betting on a stronger second half than the first.

50

Emmet Sheehan

LAD

5 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.70. I offered him to BDon in Perts last week for Chandler Simpson, but was denied. I want to hold on for the second half, but I get it if you’re out. (Discreet – HM).

51

Jake Bennett

BOS

7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.64. That’s three straight wins and four straight quality starts. And one of them was at COL. Whoa! Let off some steam, Bennett! (And for the fantasy managers, ride this hot streak as long as you can.)

52

Robbie Ray

SF

5.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 6 BB, 4 Ks. The true marvel is how he walks so much while wearing those extra-small pants. More below in the YEET! Section. Down a bunch today.

53

Trey Yesavage

TOR

1 2/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.72. Grey called him “Trey Yergarbage” and it hurt my soul a bit. Just Savage stuff here. But, for the record, it’s warranted. He’s in a section below, and it isn’t the one you’d expect me to put him in! Down.

54

Reid Detmers

ANA

4 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.39. If he gives us many more of these, we’ll be Reid-ing his name in the trade deadline rumors list. He makes the cut as an honorable mention in the “Discreet” section today just because games like this one (and his previous start) still give me the shivers when I think of trading for him.

55

Gage Jump

OAK

5 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.51. We’ll take the youngster’s quality start here. Gage Jump: Not just what you need to do with accuracy when you’re leaping over a volcano filled with fire piranhas.

56

Michael King

SD

6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.41. Not exciting, but usually effective. That sounds like something the world’s least successful agent would say at the negotiating table.

57

Cade Cavalli

WSH

6 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.83. Yep. He’s the kind of under-the-radar guy who could put up some serious numbers in the second half, too. He’s at 98.1 IP, though, so I doubt Washington pushes him too close to that 200-inning mark. (He may have another 60-70 IP in him). Regardless, he’s a “Discreet” honorable mention today and moves way up the list.

58

Trevor Rogers

BAL

6 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.48. This is one of my sells in one league where I’m stacked with starters. As I said above, find someone who could use the innings and make it work.

59

Peter Lambert

HOU

6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.14. I don’t know where this guy finishes the season on our Player Rater, but if he can double his win total (currently at 8) and keep giving us quality starts, wherever he lands is going to surprise people. FWIW, he’s a “SWEET!” honorable mention today, too.

60

Will Warren

NYY

Game 1: 4 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 4.15. Grey said it best on Wednesday morning – “Drop Warren, pick up Seymour.” And that’s me quoting a succinct Grey. Game 2: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. Much better, but I’m still leaning toward following the boss’s advice anyway. Down a bunch today.

61

Jose Soriano

LAA

Game 1: 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 0 Ks, ERA at 3.49. So he only walked two in this game, and it reminded me of what I tell the kids on our 10U ball team when they’re pitching. “Focus on throwing strikes. It doesn’t have to be the hardest you can throw every time. Just focus on hitting the box. If they’re hitting it, that’s a good thing. That means you’re throwing strikes.”

I think it’s sound advice for a 9-year-old. For a 27-year-old Jose Soriano? Uh…can you give us a half dozen punchouts too, please? Game 2: 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.40. See? He limits the walks, and he’s Jo-So good. That’s the good news. The bad news is he’s a “YEET!” today, anyway. More below.

62

Ian Seymour

TB

Game 1: 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 12 Ks, ERA at 4.11. True stories – I had him up around SP40 before a final edit last week and wrote “Too high. More down for now.” Well, I guess that’s that. Also, I saw Joey Cantillo had another solid start, and I felt guilty recommending Seymour over Cantillo last week. After this one…I don’t feel so guilty anymore! Game 2: 3.1 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks. Nope. Scratch that. Still guilty.

63

Griffin Jax

TB

Game 1: 5 IP, 3 ER, 1 hit, 2 walks, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.60. And he didn’t get the win because he ran into the NYY Schlitt-Show. Game 2: 5 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.47. In the (kind of) words of AC/DC…We’ve got the Jax.

64

Taj Bradley

MIN

Game 1: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 10 Ks, ERA at 3.67. Ah, the Bradley-Badly-Gladly cycle continues. I guess we’re doing this dance again. Game 2: 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Now do-si-do and allemande left. (Apologies if that brought back any bad elementary school memories, as it did with me).  He’s not quite as scary as Spencer Arrighetti or Bubba Chandler, but the fear is still there. Dynasty leagues, sure. But be careful in redraft leagues. Up.

65

Joey Cantillo

CLE

Game 1: 5 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.66. Here’s me starting Cantillo every time: “He’s gonna suck, he’s gonna suck, he’s gonna suck, he…didn’t suck, but also, is that start of his actually good?” That one deserved a direct quote from Grey. Game 2: 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks. He’s in a section below, and I’ll give you a hint which one. When I wrote this up, he had the third-worst K/BB rate (4.30) in the league after Robbie Ray’s 4.39.

66

Matthew Boyd

CHC

6 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.50. He’s likely super cheap in leagues and looks like he’s healthy. That’s a recipe for a solid second half add. He’s a “Discreet” honorable mention.

67

Framber Valdez

DET

7 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, zero walks, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.10. I couldn’t guess how many times Grey has been asked about dropping this dude for <insert literally any pitcher here>. There’s a threshold that we would need to hit before I’d start taking Framber over other options, but I’m not sure there are many SP2s or 3s that I’d pass on to pick him up. For this week, double-check the news, too, as he was placed on the bereavement list on Sunday, and that may affect his start date.  More below in the YEET! section.

68

Davis Martin

CWS

4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, and a tough omission from our lists below. A few weeks ago, I had him with that Sean Burke/Foster Griffin group, but he’s fallen off lately. He’s not terrible, but 3 QS in his last 9 GS makes it tough to consider him a “Discreet” add.

69

Nick Lodolo

CIN

5 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.60. He’s w we as removed from this one. I bet you can guess why! I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with the honorific you’d use to address a guy if he were your teacher. Or if he was spraying you with a spread of lightly expelled water. Ugh. EDIT: Guess what! He’s back on the IL! He’ll be removed from the list and sent to the Bumpers on Monday to rest his blistered finger. Again.

70

Andrew Abbott

CIN

Game 1: 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.92. It’s usually MehVille for me here, but if I’m arguing with myself, he has a lot more strikeout upside than the Marshmallow Tossers and has just as good of control as those guys do. That’s the good news. Game 2: 4 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks. So much for that good news. The bad news is he’s a dishonorable mention for the second half in a section below.

71

Shane Drohan

MLW

Here’s the note I had for him: “6 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.97. Someone said to me last week that we’ve been sleeping on the Drohan. I had a bit of pushback and said that he’s been in consideration for a while and nearly cracked the list one week, but gave up 4 ER in 5 IP, so I pivoted. The strikeouts aren’t eye-popping, but if this guy sticks around after Logan Henderson’s activation, he deserves a spot on the list (and your roster) this week.”

Game 2: 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.09. If we have other Brewers youngsters falling apart and this guy throwing well, there’s only one certain thing: Nobody messes with the Drohan. Now that Jyle Harrison is headed to the IL, Drohan looks less likely to ride the minor league option yo-yo than Robert Gasser is, so he’ll stay there (and here) for now.

72

Casey Mize

DET

5.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and his 6th loss. He’s not an ace by any means, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a serviceable arm who should at least double his 77 innings from the first half the rest of the way.

73

Michael McGreevy

STL

6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.01. He’s fine for mixed leagues and money in an NL-only league. As long as he’s giving us clean innings, I’d be rostering in Points leagues too. More below. (HM – “Discreet!”)

74

Brandon Young

BAL

7.0 IP, 8 hits, 3 ER, BB, 5 K. “7-2, 3.42 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 67/31 K/BB”. That’s another Dan Pants pull from Saturday morning. I don’t think anyone who picked Young off waivers is complaining about the beefed-up WHIP. He’s free profit, and he’s been one heck of a fill-in if you needed him to take an injured dude’s spot.

75

Bubba Chandler

PIT

4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.77. GUESS HOW MANY WALKS! (It was ‘only’ three).

76

Shane Baz

BAL

4.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks. Credit where it’s due – the zero walks and nine strikeouts are lovely – but I’m not going anywhere near this guy in the second half. YEET! (Honorable mention)

77

Tanner Bibee

CLE

6.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 Ks. Hyperbole aside, there aren’t many pitchers who needed this kind of solid start more than Bibee did. His first win in 5 GS pushes his total up to 3 dubs on the year.

78

Landen Roupp

SF

8 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.27. Roupp! Roupp! Roupp! When you hear that, it can only mean one of two things. Either the Giants fans are excited, or there’s been a reboot of the Arsenio Hall show.

79

Noah Schultz

CWS

Too many OOFs and not enough WHEE!s mean Schultz gets the add here today. 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks isn’t great, but it’s better than a lot of the guys below him here. I’m gambling on a strong second half.

80

Dustin May

STL

4 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.55. I watched a bit of this game, and May looked pretty good. For some reason, I don’t have faith in him.

81

Mackenzie Gore

TEX

Game 1: 5 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.72. What a nice swan dive directly into that bull’s horn. If only there were a term for that kind of thing. Game 2: 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks on 65 pitches. He dodged the bull-jab in his second game, but still…meh.

82

Connor Prielipp

MIN

Hit the IL with an Ober…I mean a blister. When someone asks you for water, get it from the tap, please, and not from that bubble on your hand. He’s due back on July 26th (next Sunday). DOWN.

83

Brandon Sproat

MLW

3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 5.16. And he threw how many pitches? Take a guess. It can’t be more than 60, right? 70? Nope. It took him 83 pitches to get 9 outs…and to hit three batters and chuck a ball to the wall behind William Contreras. Eekers. Down today.

84

Michael Wacha

KC

4 2/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.77. Yep. That’s your AL-All-Star, Michael Wacha. *stares disapprovingly mimicking Sonny Gray’s body language* I’ve been lucky enough to have enough arms in one league that I’ve dodged Wacha’s blow-ups by streaming him in the good matchups and benching him otherwise. For the record, though, it was pretty cool to see him throw a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game with 2 Ks, a whopping 11 years after his last ASG appearance.

85

Roki Sasaki

LAD

His first quality start in 6 games, and boy did he need it. 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks.

86

Luis Castillo

SEA

5.0 IP, 9 hits, 4 ER, BB, 4 K, ERA at 4.93. Dan Pants mentioned it last Saturday, and I’ve said it a couple of times now too. A Castillo trade made a lot of sense before Emerson Hancock tried to field a comebacker with his bare hand. It still makes a lot of sense now, since the Mariners would just call up Kade Anderson or Ryan Sloan to juice up the second half rotation. I say it in the “Discreet” section, too.

87

Spencer Arrighetti

HOU

4 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 4.50. Who wants to guess the breakdown of the 13 baserunners? I’ll give you a hint: it’s the same problem that he had way back when I first wrote him up two years ago as a prospect to watch in the post-200 SP Player Rater landscape. (7 H, 6 BB).

88

Zebby Matthews

MIN

6 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. After putting together three beautiful quality starts, Zebby hasn’t gotten out of the 5th inning in either of his last two games. Down.

89

Walbert Urena

LAA

4 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 5 BBs, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.88. The Christian Scott truthers are likely wondering why Walbert gets a spot despite not giving us 5-6 innings each start, but Scott doesn’t. It’s tough to justify, but I have more faith that Urena will get stretched out and give us more MLB innings in the second half, so there’s my rationale.

90

Shane Bieber

TOR

4.2 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. I hate to admit it, but seeing these short outings from a young arm coming back from an extended injury would make me want to wait it out. Then I remember that Shane Bieber isn’t one of the old dogs in that Scherzer, Verlander, Kershaw group (he’s only 31 years old). When a pitcher finishes 5 innings just once in 4 GS since returning from injury, and has almost as many earned runs allowed as he does innings pitched? That makes me sad because it makes it easier to lean towards the drop. Crying tears emoji.

91

Javier Assad

CHC

5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks. He’s gone three games without a win, but he’s perfectly fine as a back-end starter to round out your rotation.

92

Anthony Kay

CWS

5.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks. Copy and paste Javier Assad’s note here, too.

93

Jack Flaherty

DET

This was my note for next week’s Stumper section: “6.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 3rd win. Boosting that trade deadline value. What’s the zone between sincerity and sarcasm? Because I think he’s somewhere in there. In all seriousness, he’s been good for 5-7 starts now. He deserves a spot over some others, but I can’t do it…yet.” Well, I guess I’m a liar. I didn’t want to add him, but I can’t argue that he hasn’t been good lately, and we needed a few extra names to fill in some gaps.

94

Janson Junk

MIA

Guess who’s back after a 6-week layoff! 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks and the win were good enough to give him a Top 30 spot on last week’s SP Player Rater rankings, so he gets an open slot here today too.

95

Noah Cameron

KC

Game 1: 5 IP, 1 ER, 11 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.77. I don’t know how a dude swerves through 11 baserunners and only allows one earned run, but at least this was a better start than last week’s. Game 2: I swear these two-start pitcher weeks are enough to make a brain melt. 7 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, and 3 HR allowed. Jeez. There isn’t much room to dump here, but he’s down today anyway.

96

Andre Pallante

STL

5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. Yikes! Down.

97

Merrill Kelly

ARI

7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, and his second straight win. He feels like Jameson Taillon all over again – Either on the list near the bottom or just misses the Top 100. He’s in this week.

98

J.T. Ginn

ATH

4 1/3 IP, 8 ER, ERA at 3.67. Oh. Please tell me we don’t have to do this A-Ginn. Down.

99

Mitch Keller

PIT

3 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 5.14. This guy is about as “Colorado” as a pitcher can get. Time for the Rockies to package Zeke Tovar, Jordan Beck, and Victor Vodnik for him. Oh, and add in Charlie Condon because the Rockies can’t do something that looks like it might make sense without sabotaging something elsewhere at the same time. The Psycho Keller checks in below in the YEET section, too.

100

Kumar Rocker

TEX

5.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Fool me once, shame on you. Food me twice, shame on me. Fool me a dozen times, shame on Kumar Rocker. Down.