Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

Is there any better feeling in the fantasy baseball realm than picking up a Starting Pitcher on draft day that you just know is going to outperform his cost? 

That $1 pick at the end of the auction draft to round out your rotation. Or maybe he’s your 40th-round pick that you had bolded on your draft sheet and sprinkled with little asterisks and pink hearts. 

You knew that other managers would overlook this guy. And you had a great feeling that this was the year that he was going to put it all together.

Then…bam! The injury brings a tear to your eye. These eyes? Oh, they’ve cried.

You gave a promise to me, yeah. And you broke it. You broke it.

Oh no.

 

But mostly those Marmo-tears were because we lost Josh Lowe, Jared Jones, and had Spencer Strider’s comeback cut short.

Casey Mize pitched a gem last week AT COLORADO, going 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks. If you’re like me, you made sure that this lovely start was wasted on your bench because you’re still scared of Coors Field. 

But the season line on Mize is pretty darned impressive. In 42.2 innings, Mize has given up just 12 earned runs and walked 9 batters. His 35 strikeouts might not be as impressive as the totals from Yamamoto or his rotation mate Tarik Skubal, but the 2.53 ERA and 1.00 WHIP are almost as exciting as the 6-1 record.

The good news is it’s a mild hamstring injury and not any kind of arm soreness. This means Mize should be ready to go when eligible for activation on May 24th.

And if you wonder why I can say this with so much conviction, I can tell you that I know someone who had a leg injury that was deemed much worse than a ‘mild’ one, and he turned out just fine.

It technically was a quad tear and three groin tears, but the hamstring got some attention too.

Can we take advantage of this (hopefully) minor setback to float out a trade offer or two for Casey Mize? Does all of this boost him up our list this week, even with the injury news?

Well, before we get to the goods, 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		7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 12 K. There’s a new sheriff in town. No, Canadian steel industry workers. Don’t panic. I said SHERIFF, NOT TARIFF.
2	Garrett Crochet	BOS		7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. Chefs kiss. In a note below, I mention someone who should be in the top 3 Cy Young votes by the end of the year (health permitting). I’ll bet you can guess who another one of them is.
3	Paul Skenes	PIT		6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.77. Back-to-back 4 BB starts knock him off his perch this week.
4	Cole Ragans	KC		The CWS game early last week was a beauty, but that start was more about him proving the groin problems were, uh, behind him. Ragans lost Saturday’s clash of the titans with Crochet, but pulling in 19 Ks this week was a boon for the H2H managers. More below.
5	Max Fried	NYY		7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 1.05. Mmmm. Max Fries. That’s the kind with nacho cheese, melted cheese curds, sour cream, and huge chunks of strikeouts, right?
6	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD		5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 1.80. Getting pumped for 5 ER so your ERA “balloons” to 1.80 is ok by me (unless you roster him in a H2H league).
7	Hunter Brown	HOU		More below.
8	Zack Wheeler	PHI		7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks and took care of business in last night’s start at CLE. The WHIP (0.91) and BAA (.200) are almost as impressive as his 74 Ks in 58 IP.
9	Jacob deGrom	TEX		Won his third consecutive start on Saturday night. He gets HOU at home then faces NYY in Yankee Stadium next, so be aware they’re not exactly cake-walk starts.
10	Joe Ryan	MIN		Another 6-inning, one hit gem from Ryan on Saturday night. 2 ER and 26 Ks in his last 19 IP (3 GS).
11	Michael King	SD		6 IP, 2 ER,3 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.22 Kinger with a stay at the Deuce Drop Inn. Hopefully it’s a short one. Streamonator has him as the top option this week with two starts ($45.1).
12	Hunter Greene	CIN		3 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 2.36. Hunter heads to the IL with a case of Sore Johnson. At least it wasn’t an arm injury? (Dodges unripened discoloured tomato). The report is that it’s a low-grade strain, so he should only miss the minimum. He’s not slipping unless the news turns bad.
13	Shota Imanaga	CHC		I kept Shota and Hunter Greene together in their drop here just because the Cubs’ report is that Imanaga’s mild hamstring strain will keep him out for more than the two week minimum. You’d think MLB doctors would have the same timeline for a mild hamstring strain. Well, unless you ask a NYM doctor who would say a hamstring strain is when you wrap the pig rope too tightly before popping it into the oven.
14	Pablo Lopez	MIN		5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 11 Ks. Way to come through after a boost, Pab-Lo! Seriously, though, this was a home game against Baltimore, and we might need to start asking if the Orioles are as dangerous an offense as we thought they were.
15	Sonny Gray	STL		7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.50. His best start of the year. He’s now 4-1 with a 9.13 K/9. This is as solid as they come.
16	Logan Webb	SF		Tough luck loss in Minny Saturday night. 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. He gets ATH at home this week!
17	MacKenzie Gore	WSH		6.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks vs STL yesterday. Every time I move one of these kids up into the Top 20, they put up a stinker.
18	Bailey Ober	MIN		5 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.50. There was a short period early in the season when you might have been able to make a trade for this guy without paying up. Alas, the time is now Ober.
19	Dylan Cease	SD		More below.
20	Bryan Woo	SEA		Bryan effing Woo – He was the lede last week and I rained so much praise on him that my shoes got wet. Then he went out to Athletic Alley, got his jersey yanked over his head, and was pummelled for 5 ER. Boo-Woo. That’s the Tears of a SacTown Clown. He won’t dump much today, but he slips a little.
21	Freddy Peralta	MLW		He ‘tweaked’ his groin last week but the team thinks he’ll be good to go today at CLE.
22	Kodai Senga	NYM		6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 1.16. All aboard the SengaBus because…we like to party.
23	Nick Pivetta	SD		He gave up a 3-run bomb to Hunter Goodman while I was writing this yesterday. Wasn’t as dominant in his last three as we has in his previous three but that’s just nit-picking. Solid play here.
24	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL		6 IP, 1 ER,5 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.61. Schwell is back!
25	Robbie Ray	SFG		6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.84, and his third straight QS. Is that a Ray-gun in his pants pocket, or was Robbie just happy to see Wrigley Field?
26	Framber Valdez	HOU		7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.94. A welcome bounce-back start after a few less-than-encouraging ones.
27	Jesus Luzardo	PHI		5.1 IP, 2 ER,6 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.11. What? It can’t be a miracle start every week.
28	Carlos Rodon	NYY		He escaped Bing Bong Stadium with a no decision last week, but still got tagged for 2 HR allowed. The 10 Ks were a nice consolation prize.
29	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI		6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.89. This kind of bounce-back from an injury scare is almost too good to believe. Grey mentioned that maybe this guy’s quick return from forearm soreness is a good omen for Dylan Cease’s outlook too. Here’s hoping Cease can return like Sanchez did.
30	Chris Sale	ATL		6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 Ks, ERA at 4.07. Another double-digit strikeout game turns this Sale into a Buy.
31	Logan Gilbert	SEA		Played catch Friday night before the Jays game. He’s eligible to return May 23rd. Monitor for news on his next step (mound work).
32	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX		6 IP, 1 ER,5 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.03. He’s having a Sonny Gray kind of year – dominating on the down low – and is still an afterthought to most. He’s likely too low even here.
33	Corbin Burnes	ARI		He put up a vintage Burnes start on Saturday night. 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. “Oh ya? Probably against the Rockies.” Um…it was at home against the Dodgers. (The Rockies start is this week).
34	Nick Lodolo	CIN		He had such a rough start on May 3rd that he disappeared from the list. More like Lo-D’Oh-lo. The good news is he got the (unintentional) message. 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks in a tough no-decision at ATL. Even better news – he gets CWS this week.
35	Tyler Mahle	CIN		5 IP, 2 ER,4 H, 1 BB, 0 Ks, ERA at 1.48. Is he an ani-Mahle, or is he due to get mauled? Do we truly want a starting pitcher who can post pristine ratios if he does not come with strikeout upside? Do we giggle that his last name sounds like we’re asking our daughter to pick her doll up off the floor? Inquiring minds.
36	Casey Mize	DET		More above!
37	Kris Bubic	KC		7 IP, 0 ER,6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 1.69. Back-to-back shutout outings (stutter!) move Bubic up this week.
38	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI		6.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.28. If you’re chasing wins, hitching your ride to this guy looks like a good choice. He has 6.
39	Drew Rasmussen	TB		4.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 3.09. Honestly, I hope you don’t own him in a QS league.
40	Brady Singer	CIN		6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.66.
41	Jack Flaherty	DET		Saturday night’s meltdown was his third rough start in a row, his fifth loss in a row, and dropped his record to 1-5. The 4 HR allowed were the most out of all 8 starts. I almost recommended sitting him in Toronto this week, and decided to check with The Streamonmator first. At -$4.4, the robot agrees with me.
42	Shane Baz	TB		More below.
43	Luis Castillo	SEA		5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. Got derailed by Barger and Lukes. And, no, that’s not a Legal Firm. It’s a couple of schmotatoes in Canada.
44	Casey Mize	DET		More above!
45	Zac Gallen	ARI		More below.
46	Seth Lugo	KC		6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.84. EDIT: Quality start but a loss yesterday afternoon.
47	Tylor Megill	NYM		Got roughed up a bit by the Cubs on Saturday night (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks). He gets a couple of AL Beast games next (at NYY and at BOS), so tread carefully.
48	David Peterson	NYM		6 IP, 2 ER, 94 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.52. He gets PIT at home today.
49	Aaron Nola	PHI		Beat up in Cleveland last week to drop to 1-6. It hasn’t been good at all. In fairness, his two previous starts to this one weren’t that bad. I just can’t see trusting him to be anything more than a streamer at this point.
50	Kevin Gausman	TOR		5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks. Not too bad. Not too good. Goldilocks Gausman.
51	Clay Holmes	NYM		6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K. He has 5 wins. At this point, it won’t matter if they shut him down just shy of 150 innings because that will be after he records his 16th win (*nods to Mr. Pro-Rater for the assist*).
52	Bryce Miller	SEA		The good news is he returned from the IL last Monday. The bad news is he put up his worst start of the year. At least he didn’t walk anyone.
53	Spencer Strider	ATL		He said he feels good, and he’s eligible to return this Friday. Monitor the news here. I’ll be activating him in my home mixed league because my other options are not good. What’s the worst that can happen? Give us another decent 5 inning start and head back to the IL for another month?
54	Tanner Bibee	CLE		A  tough luck loser vs PHI on Saturday night, Bibee put together 7 strong innings against a tough Phillies offense. He’s allowed just 6 ER total over his last 4 GS (25 IP) after giving up 6 ER in one start on April 17th.
55	Dustin May	LAD		Two straight wins and likely a hasty drop by me in the Perts league last week, but I needed to shake things up and he was on the chopping block.
56	Ryan Pepiot	TB		6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.86. I always feel guilty writing up Pepiot and Taj. It’s not that I don’t like them; I just didn’t think their ADP was justified. They’ll be good. Eventually, really good. I wasn’t convinced they should be drafted around 175-200 overall, which is where I was drafting Shane Baz and Jared Jones instead…ugh.
57	Griffin Canning	NYM		I said it last week. Anyone who had this on their pre-season Bingo card must’ve bought it from WitchesRUs. He won his 5th in a row last week and has allowed just 3 ER in his last 21 IP.
58	Matthew Liberatore	STL		More below.
59	Jackson Jobe	DET		More below.
60	Taj Bradley	TB		See Pepiot’s note above.
61	Tyler Anderson	LAA		6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.68 He outdueled Framber. Because, of course he did.
62	Reese Olson	DET		He was lifted after 4 IP yesterday. 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks.
63	Tony Gonsolin	LAD		5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.09. The best Tony G since the British high-stakes poker player. EDIT: 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks. Second win in three starts.
64	Clarke Schmidt	NYY		6 IP, 2 ER,7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.79. Two decent games with 10 Ks in 11 IP moves him up a bit.
65	Michael Wacha	KC		7 IP, 0 ER,3 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.98. Death, taxes, and good starts from Michael Wacha.
66	Andrew Abbott	CIN		5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.25. Two starts this week, but not a great outlook.
67	Gavin Williams	CLE		5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 8 K. Have you ever rostered a guy that you expected to break out, then after he starts the year in the toilet it’s really difficult to buy back in? This is the problem I’m Gavin…er…havin’ with Williams.
68	Max Meyer	MIA		More below.
69	Ranger Suarez	PHI		7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks means I need to make some space to move him way up from last week’s SP97 spot.
70	Roki Sasaki	LAD		More below.
71	Luis Severino	ATH		Got roughed up last week against SEA at home (6 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks). I wasn’t starting him yesterday against the Yankees. EDIT: 4 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. I guess it was the right call.
72	Matthew Boyd	CHC		6 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks yesterday but no decision. Is the ERA still good? Yeaaaah Boyyyyd!
73	Jose Soriano	LAA		5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.00. Every year, there are a few arms that I like and that I think will take a big step forward, but I don’t want to take the risk that the walk rates or hits allowed could tank my ratios. It’s accepting that I might miss out on a big break out for safety’s sake. This is the story of 2025 Jose Soriano.
74	Chris Bassitt	TOR		6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.35. It may seem Dumb and Dumber to keep running C-Bass out there on your active roster, but he’s walked just 9 guys in 45.2 innings and has posted a career-best 9.66 K/9 over his first 8 starts.
75	Brayan Bello	BOS		4.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 BBs, 1 K, ERA at 2.01. Ugly all over. Similar to Giolito, I wanted this guy back so badly that I didn’t consider that my team ratios might be better off with him on the IL.
76	Jose Quintana	MLW		An underwhelming no-decision at TB Friday night. He’s at CLE this week.
77	Jose Berrios	TOR		6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.86. It was a Jekyll start from the Berried wonder this week. Unless you count the Hyde-like WHIP inflation. I wonder what the next one (home vs TB this week) will look like.
78	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL		7.1 IP, ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K. The strikeouts won’t ever be there in bushels, but we’ll take the pint sized ratios as long as they’re helping him rack up wins and quality starts.
79	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA		6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.83. The West Coast Kuch was riding high in this one. Also, that reminds me – it’s probably time to germinate some seeds this weekend if you’re a backyard farmer.
80	Bowden Francis	TOR		More below.
81	Zach Eflin	BAL		Started against LAA yesterday. Managers have fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that he can get back to that pristine ratio guy we drafted back in March. EDIT: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. Should qualify for the win.
82	Ronel Blanco	HOU		7.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 Ks. Wowie. Not to be confused with my nickname the last time I went to Mexico City, El Blanco Gigante was a giant yesterday vs CIN.
83	Michael Lorenzen	KC		7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K. I nearly added him last week. This start vs the Red Sox sealed the deal. He’s in.
84	AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL		AJSS is back and dealing.
85	Justin Verlander	SFG		5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.50. I mean…I still hit a couple of big flies in our slow-pitch league when I was 42 years old, but still being respectable as a big leaguer at 42 is something. The ratio help isn’t there anymore, and the dominating strikeout totals won’t be back either, but you could do a lot worse. Streamonator likes his two-start week this week, too. ($14.9).
86	Ryan Gusto	HOU		MC Gusto gets another shot at sticking in the rotation with Wesneski hitting the IL. He gets KC at home today.
87	Jack Leiter	TEX		More below.
88	Colin Rea	CHC		5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.43. This one deserves a Grey quote: “ When regression finally comes for Rea, it’s gonna be like a tantric explosion.”
89	Lucas Giolito	BOS		3.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 8.38. Oh gee, oh leave, ( him on the wire), yo. EDIT: He pitched a lot better yesterday and picked up his first win since 2023. 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. He’ll move up next week if he has another start like this one.
90	Andrew Heaney	PIT		Ladies and gentlemen, your SP154 on the Stremonator this week ($-12.1 at PHI).
91	Landen Roupp	SFG		Another underwhelming 5-inning outing yesterday from Roupp. He’s a streamer for now.
92	Sandy Alcantara	MIA		He started against the White Sox yesterday and I didn’t consider it an auto-start. If we can’t start him against the South Side Schlubs, what are we even doing here? EDIT: 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks and his 6th consecutive loss.
93	Lance McCullers	HOU		So I joked about how last Sunday’s start was his first since Biggo and Bagwell were playing. Then I saw a report that some fans were sending death threats after McCullers gave up 7 ER in just 0.1 IP last week. I know it’s not all Astros fans, but saying stuff about someone’s kids after they have a crummy day at work? Maybe it’s time to go watch lawn bowling or marble races instead.
94	Ryan Weathers	MIA		Weathers is back this week and should start Wednesday against CHC. I’m sitting him for this one just to see how he…weathers the storm.
95	Jeffrey Springs	ATH		Two starts this week! At LAD. And SFG. That’s NFG. (I’ll give you a hint. The N stands for NOT and the G stands for GOOD).
96	Will Warren	NYY		7.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K. At Bing Bong stadium? Come on. How does Bryan Woo get blasted there, then Big Willy Style is all in it? This week, Warren is in SEA gettin jiggy wit it. I’d stream him (and I am!).
97	Merrill Kelly	ARI		6.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.09. He won three of his first four starts. He’s also winless in his last four. This is the Merrill Kelly recipe of mediocrity. Streamonator loves him this week.
98	Patrick Corbin	TEX		More below.
99	Mitch Keller	PIT		1-4, 4.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and fewer Ks than IP. He’s the next one to go.
100	Cade Horton	CHC		More below.
101	Erick Fedde	STL		Wait! SP101? You said Top 100 Starting Pitchers! LIAR! Yes, I felt bad about last week’s OOPS in cutting the 33rd and 34th spots somehow, so there’s an extra couple to peek at today.
102	Sean Burke	CWS		6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.35. So if you started him in this one, either you’re a diehard CWS fan (and if that’s the case, I’m sorry) OR you’re in a deeper AL-only league than I am. I sat both him and Mize last week.

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

Cole Ragans – His first start last week was vs CWS, so ‘grain of salt’ type analysis with the 11 strikeouts, but the big news is the groin is all good! I watched Ragans and Crochet Saturday night and wondered how tee eff I was going to rank those guys along with Hunter Brown, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal.

I’d say Yoshi should be Top 5 too, but there’s not enough room after he coughed up 5 ER Thursday night. As far as Ragans is concerned, he gave up 4 ER Saturday night and got tagged with the loss, but he struck out 8.

Hunter Brown – 5.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 9 K, and our lede from two weeks ago. Here’s my note from earlier this week: “He won his 5th in a row and needs to be Top 5 this week. It’s getting downright silly.” I saw someone from the MLB Network ranked him 2nd overall behind Skubal, and I felt guilty for cracking a smile. Sure, it would look even better with zero walks and a dozen strikeouts, but this guy will be Top 3 in Cy Young votes if he keeps this up and can stay healthy. That said, I still went against my “Top 5” instinct and ranked him 7th today.

Zac Gallen – 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.37. One good start is luck? Two good starts are a coincidence? Three good starts are racing to the waiver wire to make sure he didn’t get scooped back up yet? This was his third good start in a row.

Matthew Liberatore – 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.07. That’s five starts in a row with two earned runs (or fewer). The Liberator is giving the goods away for free.

Patrick Corbin – Please. Just stop laughing. Seriously. 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K. He went toe to toe with Skubal and didn’t come out the other end covered in sludge. I couldn’t believe more than one manager put FAAB bids in on him in the AL-only league, but he went for $3 (4 bids) out of $100. Can’t wait for that one to blow up in someone’s face … and I roster Shane Baz and Bowden Francis in that league, so I’m well versed in the science of ratio implosions.

Cade Horton – When reporters asked the Cubs what his MLB debut timeline was, the front office said he’s on the NSYNC plan. Quote: “It’s Gonna Be May”. 

To tell you the truth, I wrote that blurb up when the whispers about a call-up started to waft around the interwebs. I didn’t think it would be this soon, though. 4 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 Ks. He didn’t embarrass himself. That, and the pedigree, boosts him onto the list this week.

Gunnar Hoglund –  5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.38. He doesn’t make the list this week, but his first two big league starts have been solid, so he warrants a mention. I could see picking him up as a flier, but in those competitive leagues, someone else has likely already rolled the FAAB dice on him. And after I saw what Bing Bong stadium did to Bryan Woo last week…I don’t want to start anyone in Not-Oakland. I’d also avoid him on the road this week, too (at LAD).

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

Dylan Cease – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.91. Then left with forearm tightness. Why? An ABUNDANCE of caution? Would it be better if it were an antonym of caution? Let’s call it a tiny bit of caution or an INSIGNIFICANT level of caution. Just to calm the managers who are pulling out their hair. It later changed to ‘cramping’ in his right forearm, and he expects to pitch against LAA at home this week. I’d recommend employing an abundance of caution if you plan on looking at his ratios.

Shane Baz – 3.1 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. ERA at 4.93. BazNatch. I watched the beginning of this game, and Baz looked good until the home run to Trea Turner, then it turned into a Baz-ton massacre the rest of the way. He’s given up 18 earned runs in three of his last four starts (12.1 innings). The 7 inning gem in San Diego is what we’re looking for, but if it’s sandwiched between walkfests and hit parades…he’s gonna be a guy we have to sit for matchups until he shows he can be more consistent.

Jackson Jobe – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 4.88. So last week, I mentioned that Jobe was a hot commodity in draft season, and that the Tigers’ babying of him is not helping fantasy managers. Jobe has pitched into the 6th inning just once in six starts. Maybe they should have only had him pitch 2 innings in Colorado for this one. In the immortal words of the great philosopher Jabba D. Hutt, “Jobe no wanna wanga,” which roughly translates to “Maybe start seeing what others would offer in a trade for Jobe if you’re in a redraft league.”

Other managers watching me reach for Jackson Jobe in preseason drafts.

Max Meyer – 6.1 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks. I saw someone comment in Grey’s post this week that Meyer’s line will look worse than his start did. FWIW, Meyer had only allowed 2 ER until a sac fly, a fielding botch on a safety squeeze, and a bases loaded walk issued by a reliever scored the 5th (inherited) run. The problem is that fantasy managers often don’t ask how the earned runs are scored; they ask how many.

Even after giving up a homer to (never-alleged) power threat Andrew “don’t confuse me with Mo” Vaughn, are we really giving him a free pass here? In his last three starts, he’s thrown 15 1/3 innings, allowed 15 earned runs, 5 home runs, 20 hits, and  9 walks. He struck out 11 batters, but put up a goose egg in that department two starts ago at home vs the A’s. I don’t get enjoyment from pointing out his shortcomings, especially because I roster him in multiple leagues, but I have to be impartial. MarmosDad is a dad of the people.

Roki Sasaki –  4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 K, ERA at 4.72. There’s a joke there about sucking, but let’s be serious (for once). What gives here? I mean, other than giving him a one-way bus ticket to the Oklahoma City Comets’ parking lot.

Bowden Francis – Yes, for whatever kudos I deserve for hitting the Bryan Woo call, let’s now forget how much I also trumpeted so much hype for Bowden Francis. That one has blown up bigger than Dizzy Gillespie’s cheeks. I’ll give you this trivia question answer from the Jays’ MLB beat reporter, Keegan Matheson too.

Jack Leiter – 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 5.09. Leiter lost his second in a row and now has 10 ER in his last 9 IP. Small sample, blah blah, but he might be more of a streamer for now, or at least until he can pitch six complete innings.

Tanner Houck –  4.2 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 6.10. My note for this week was – “Do up a dumper post – put the numbers in.” Houck was dropped in our 10-team AL-only league this past weekend. That should tell you all you need to know without “putting the numbers in”. 

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

JT Ginn

Jake Irvin

Logan Henderson

Miles Mikolas

Zebby Matthews 

Nick Martinez

Zack Littell – he’s close

Tobias Myers 

Shane Smith

Luis L. Ortiz

JP Sears

Ben Lively

Hunter Dobbins

Chris Paddack

Landon Knack

Valente Bellozo

Ben Brown

Dean Kremer

Keider Montero

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 McClanahan

Jared Jones

Brandon Woodruff

Gerrit Cole

Luis Gil

Spencer Arrighetti

Justin Steele

John Means

Shane Bieber

Eury Perez

Blake Snell 

Cody Bradford

Shohei Ohtani (SP)

Richard Fitts

Nestor Cortes

Yu Darvish

George Kirby

Tyler Glasnow

Hayden Wesneski

Walker Buehler

Bubba Chandler

 

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

Ryan Weathers

Michael Lorenzen

AJ Smith-Shawver

Erick Fedde

Cade Horton

Patrick Corbin 

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

Hayden Wesneski

Walker Buehler (due back next Monday…maybe)

Jameson Taillon – almost survived this week but was chopped in a number crunch

Tanner Houck 

Grant Holmes – Our ATL buddy slips off the list this week. Sorry, Holmes.

 

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