Happy Monday, Razzball faithful!

What A Gore-geous Opening Week! It’s been chilly in these parts for the past few days, but having baseball back is enough to melt even the frostiest of hearts.

I wrote a lot of this on Saturday afternoon, then edited it last night after my AL-Only home auction draft finished, so early apologies if I missed any Sunday implosions. Our AL-Only draft went for 7 hours and my back is not pleased with sitting in another chair right now.

Today, you’ll see that the Preseason Rankings from Grey have been removed from the list, (but if you’re still looking, you can find them all here). I also removed the rankings from both my TGFBI and  RazzSlam drafts.

This week, it’s just the list, our notes, and our regular JUMPERS and DUMPERS sections from last year. 

You’ll notice some movement in the list based on early news, and, more importantly, injury scares.

Speaking of injuries, R.I.P. to SIX of my Fantasy Teams where I drafted Josh Lowe and his disintegrating obliques.

Me thinking it was a good idea to draft an injury-prone outfielder this year at a discount.

Remember! There won’t be much movement for a while based on performances (good or bad) because I believe in establishing a decent base of data before making any big decisions. I did add quite a few names to the bottom twenty ranks based on Spring numbers and rotation battle winners, but for the most part, this will be our list for a few weeks.

A tiny bit of Fantasy Baseball wisdom after a full-ish week of real-life baseball games…Trust your projections. Listen to your gut. Avoid making any short-sighted or hasty decisions.

It’s tempting to turn over your rosters with that first FAAB run of the year. 

“What if there’s a good pitcher available? I really want to pick up this rookie who broke camp with the team!”

Replacing injured players is one thing, but when it comes to adding or dropping players early, I try to follow one of the many commandments of Fantasy Baseball. 

Give your team some time to play.

If you’re like me, you put in a TON of work preparing for draft season. You likely have a system that you followed. It’s also likely that you drafted players you really like, or at least ones that you believe in as potential breakouts or production is concerned.

The Free Agent pool is full of replacement players. But there’s a reason you didn’t draft them to your active squad. 

Give your guys a chance to prove they should be dropped instead of cutting them loose after their first mound implosion or their first golden sombrero at the plate. (Sorry, Jackson Chourio).

HOWEVER! If you are one of the unlucky managers who drafted a pitcher whose health has already failed him…well, I have a Gore-geous option to consider as a replacement.

MacKenzie Gore blew the doors off of Opening Day last week with an impressive line. 

6 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 13 Ks. When I saw the line, I figured the Nationals must have opened the year in Miami or maybe at home against Colorado.

Nope.

Gore wiped the floor with a potent Phillies lineup and tied Bob Gibson as the only other opening-day pitcher to record 13 Ks, 0 BB, and 0 ER. Pretty impressive indeed.

I’ll admit that MacKenzie Gore is likely not on your waiver wire unless you’re in a shallow league. But if you need to swing a deal, this is the kind of trade I’m ok with if you have a surplus of position players. If you have stat categories you’re well insulated in already AND need a replacement for a Shane McClanahan, Jared Jones, or one of the other sad face emojis you took to help anchor your squad, send out that trade offer.

Where will the “Big MacK” land on today’s list? 

Well, before we get into it, don’t forget to lock in your Razzball Fantasy Baseball Subscription. This should be your go-to reference for the entire season. It will save you a lot of time researching and often includes solutions to those “Oh, I never thought about that” questions that arise throughout the year. The Streamonator is also a helpful resource when making lineup decisions. Rudy’s tools are well worth the price of admission. If you’re serious about improving throughout the season, check the link, yo.

The Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2025

 

SP RANK	Name	Team	UP / DOWN	Notes
1	Paul Skenes	PIT		Skenes brings his river raiders to Steinbrenner Field (at TB).
2	Tarik Skubal	DET		Skubal’s $38.4 is tops on Streamonator this week. Skubs has two projected starts: at SEA on Tuesday and vs CWS on Sunday. Two sweet matchups.
3	Zack Wheeler	PHI		I won’t list all of the Streamonator picks here, (you can have them all if you sign up for Rudy’s tools, though), but you can probably guess if starting at home vs COL is a good play without my help.
4	Logan Gilbert	SEA		All of our top arms had strong debuts last week. Gilbert should be up here in the Top 5 for a long time.
5	Cole Ragans	KC		He only had three strikeouts over 5 IP last week, but I’m still fine with ranking him in the Top 5.
6	Garrett Crochet	BOS		Crochet was my bold prediction in Truss’s write-up last week. I wanted to run a positive one, but the Crochet breakdown was in my head for a while. I don’t WANT to see him get hurt, but the realist in me doesn’t see him producing like the other top arms do this year based on volume (innings) alone.
7	Dylan Cease	SD		Started with a low walk total and a high K one. Check the boxes!
8	Corbin Burnes	ARI		Two starts on the road this week for Burnes. At NYY and WSH.
9	Michael King	SD		Looking to bounce back this week vs CLE after a tough start against the Braves.
10	Framber Valdez	HOU		Another two-starter this week. Framber and HOU host San Francisco on Tuesday then they’re at MIN on Sunday.
11	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD		Five innings against DET last week. 10 of his 15 outs were Ks. Boom!
12	Chris Sale	ATL		I didn’t think about it much until now, but Sale, Schwellenbach, and a healthy Strider are going to be a lethal trio in 2025. Lopez and Shawver at the back end should make the Braves’ rotation a Top 5 very soon (if they aren’t already there).
13	Tyler Glasnow	LAD		Starts his season tonight, and that means two starts this week, too. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and post a career-high in innings.
14	Shota Imanaga	CHC
15	Blake Snell	LAD
16	George Kirby	SEA		I’m going to be stubborn and keep him here. The official word is “shoulder inflammation”, and I want to be optimistic and believe he’s back before May 1st. But I also understand that, realistically, he’s one wrong move away from a lengthy absence.
17	Pablo Lopez	MIN
18	Jacob deGrom	TEX
19	Roki Sasaki	LAD		I wrote this up Saturday afternoon, so it was before Roki’s start against the Tigers. I wanted more shares than the one I got, that’s for sure. Edit: Roki had a rough one on Saturday and had some tears in his eyes when he got pulled after 4 BBs and just 1.2 IP.
20	Bailey Ober	MIN		I’ve said it before, but I love this pocket of arms from SP20-30. Edit: I love Ober…but yesterday’s outing is one to forget. 8 ER in 2n2 IP with 3 BB and 2 HR allowed. Ouch.
21	Bryce Miller	SEA
22	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL
23	Joe Ryan	MIN
24	Sonny Gray	STL
25	Freddy Peralta	MLW
26	Zac Gallen	ARI
27	Hunter Greene	CIN
28	Spencer Strider	ATL
29	Logan Webb	SF
30	Tanner Bibee	CLE		I had to move some guys out of this group (Castillo and Fried) to prove I was being truthful. SP 20-30 is full of strikeout upside.
31	Bryan Woo	SEA		My appreciation for all that is Woo is well documented.
32	Luis Castillo	SEA
33	Kevin Gausman	TOR		I don’t want to get too excited, and this is likely way higher than many other places would rank him. His Spring performance gives me hope that he’ll bounce back in 2025.
34	Max Fried	NYY
35	Aaron Nola	PHI
36	Sandy Alcantara	MIA		Every start he proves he’s healthy and headed back to his former self is a bump upwards. Last week he threw just 4.2 innings. I assume he’ll ramp up sooner rather than later.
37	Hunter Brown	HOU
38	Kodai Senga	NYM		I mentioned this before but I saw people fading Senga this Spring. I like him a lot but didn’t draft him anywhere, likely because I was choosing Woo and Jared Jones instead.
39	Jack Flaherty	DET
40	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA		If he stays healthy, he’s an under-the-radar SP with impressive numbers. Some people say Kikuchi is good enough that the Angels won’t curse him or screw him up. I agree.
41	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI		I thought I had him lower last week and wanted to move him up to this spot. Then I realized he was here all along.
42	Carlos Rodon	NYY
43	Justin Steele	CHC		It was an underwhelming debut last week, but he’s a good arm on your squad for most weeks.
44	Brandon Pfaadt	ARI		This sexy preseason sleeper pick gets Washington this week.
45	Robbie Ray	SFG		Streamonator has him throwing against Seattle this week at home. Not a great matchup, but he should be fine.
46	Mackenzie Gore	WSH		See the intro. It’s not a huge jump, but last week’s season debut warranted a bit of a boost.
47	Reynaldo Lopez	ATL		Rey-Lo tossed five innings Friday night and gave up nine hits. The number that stands out is the single (1) strikeout. I’d sit him this week. (at LAD)
48	Seth Lugo	KC
49	Shane Baz	TB		A part of me is concerned about the Rays’ home park this year, but Grey reassured us that Steinbrenner has the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium. Hopefully, Baz is ready to show he’s ready to go at home vs PIT.
50	Taj Bradley	TB		Same as above. I love the strikeout upside, and I’d be all over him in a keeper league, but I shied away from him in redraft based on his price.
51	Gavin Williams	CLE		It would be easy to say I didn’t want to list three Rays in a row, but I prefer Gavin over Pepiot here anyway.
52	Bowden Francis	TOR		More below.
53	Nick Pivetta	SD
54	Ryan Pepiot	TB		See Taj above. I moved him up already from last week.
55	Zach Eflin	BAL
56	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU		More below.
56	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX		Eovaldi feels a bit like “Kikuchi-lite”. Strikeouts and under-the-radar production.
57	Tanner Houck	BOS		I could see Houck moving up the list quickly if he has another strong first half like last year.
58	Jesus Luzardo	PHI		I may have pitched 100 innings with him in the new MLB The Show game this week. He looked good in there!
59	Ronel Blanco	HOU
60	Jackson Jobe	DET		More below.
61	Nick Lodolo	CIN		A big lefty with strikeout potential? Say no more! But he has trouble staying healthy. I said, “Say no more!” But his home park is a launchpad. “I SAID SAY NO MORE!”
62	Jeffrey Springs	ATH		Springs…uh…springs up a dozen spots from last week as he blanked the M’s in Seattle. I was worried about the minor league home park, but guys like Springs will be good to stream away from home. Don’t forget about the injury history as well.
63	Reese Olson	DET
64	Dustin May	LAD		Ok. Here’s where things start to get a bit dicey. Do I believe in May and am I fully on board for the redemption tour? Yes. Am I having trouble slotting some names in the SP60-100 spots this week? Also, yes.
65	Mitch Keller	PIT		Mitch better have my money! Well, Mitch was money against the Marlins on Friday night. He’s had a nice start to the year.
66	Clay Holmes	NYM		I had him out for a long time because I’m concerned about an innings cap, but I guess the same can be said about the guy with two different colored eyes that I have 10 spots lower.
67	Nestor Cortes	MLW		I’m not sure I trust him more than I trust Berrios, but I went against the hometown bias here.  Edit: I wrote this before he became the human tee for the Yankees on Saturday. Three cheers for confirmation bias and a checkmark for ignoring personal biases.
68	Clarke Schmidt	NYY		I should flip him and Holmes, but lingering back injuries make me hesitate.
69	Jose Berrios	TOR		More below.
70	Michael Wacha	KC		Fozzie Bear’s favorite pitcher will put you to sleep… but you’ll wake up with healthy ratios.
71	Walker Buehler	BOS		Avoiding injury = propelling upward movement in the list. Buehler could be a poster boy for this in 2025.
72	Matthew Boyd	CHC		Copy Michael Wacha. Paste here.
73	David Peterson	NYM		He’s a Razzball darling.
74	Max Meyer	MIA
75	Max Scherzer	TOR		See Clay Holmes above. Like Holmes, I assume that Scherzer isn’t going to throw more than 100-120 innings, but it’s not because he’s transitioning from the bullpen. I don’t trust the back injury history, but he could give us some good innings in the first half.
76	Tomoyuki Sugano	BAL		I might have to start calling him Maroon 5. “Sug-ar? Yes, please.” I know I have him higher than many others, but he’s a veteran in a shaky rotation with a great offense behind him. Check boxes everywhere.
77	Jack Leiter	TEX		The kid had a great first start in his debut vs. a strong Red Sox lineup. Leiter struck out Rafael Devers 3X and was touching 99 MPH with the fastball. He’s a move-up candidate next week.
78	Drew Rasmussen	TB		Yet another pitcher who needs to show he’s healthy before I move him up too much. The talent is there, but working up stamina without re-injuring himself is the next big task.
79	Griffin Canning	NYM		Here’s where I’ll start to plug in some names who were impressive this Spring and/or won jobs in big league rotations. Canning looks like a man possessed in his new home, and with so many itching injuries, the Mets need him to be effective.
80	AJ Smith-Shawver	ATL		Like Sean Burke below, Shawver’s debut was much anticipated. When Atlanta announced that he had seized the 5th starter spot, his ADP jumped.
81	Casey Mize	DET		Here’s a blast from the past. He and Matt Manning seemed to be on the same train to nowhere. The good news for Tigers fans is Mize jumped off that train, rolled into a ball, and exploded in Spring Training with 19 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 8 BB, and 25 Ks. The once highly touted ace prospect is looking good.
82	Chris Paddack	MIN		Another pitcher to secure a rotation spot with a strong Spring. He’s a sneaky add. If anyone remembers how good he was when he started with the Padres, they likely already drafted him.
83	Landen Roupp	SFG		Roupp seized the 5th starter spot after the team sent Hayden Birdsong to the bullpen. SFG? LFG!
84	Will Warren	NYY		I’ll take him over Stroman 10/10 times.
85	Sean Burke	CWS		Some of these new names are interchangeable in the bottom tier of the lit. Burke has the unfortunate disadvantage of relying on the White Sox’s anemic offense and an even worse disadvantage of not being able to face said offense when he pitches. He had a great debut last week, albeit against LAA.
86	Chris Bassitt	TOR
87	Jose Soriano	LAA
88	Brayan Bello	BOS		Similar to Darvish below, Bello was put on the IL with shoulder trouble but is expected back in a few weeks. If he has a setback, I’ll remove him then.
89	Richard Fitts	BOS		Don’t say the joke. Just don’t say the joke. Come on, don’t say the joke… But, if Dick Fitts…Ah, dang it.
90	Kris Bubic	KC		Another quiet sleeper pick.
91	Ben Brown	CHC		Two starts this week! He’s ranked 11th on the Streamonator.
92	Yu Darvish	SD		More below
93	Jameson Taillon	CHC
94	Bubba Chandler	PIT		The Jared Jones injury news almost makes me lose sleep. The fact that I have Bubba Chandler in a few leagues makes it a bit easier to stomach.
95	Kumar Rocker	TEX		Another two-start arm here. He was my final add today, to be honest. It was between Rocker, Tylor Megill, and Brady Singer.
96	Luis Severino	ATH
97	Justin Verlander	SFG		Hit 96.5 MPH at the end of Spring. He should be throwing vs SEA on Friday.
98	Grant Holmes	ATL
99	Hayden Wesneski	HOU
100	Nick Martinez	CIN

 

JUMPERS (The following players jumped up the rankings this week)

Bowden Francis (52) – I’ll admit that this tiny boost was more about me being able to locate the screenshot from Eno Sarris this week than anything else. Bowden had a bit of a rough Spring Training, but I’m a firm believer in the talent and think he might be a good buy-low candidate. Talk up his poor performance in March if you’re thinking of floating out a trade offer, and hope that he shows all of the impressive points that Eno saw here…

Spencer Arrighetti (55) – Arrighetti is a guy who could jump up and down the list each week depending on two factors: Walks and Strikeouts. I have some shares because I love the pitcher, but the command isn’t going to sharpen magically overnight. If you have WHIP help rostered, I’d be more comfortable with Arrighetti on the active squad.

Jackson Jobe (60) – The concern was whether the Tigers would bring him to Detroit or if they’d send him to AAA for more seasoning. Injuries to other starters likely impacted the decision but Jobe forced their hand with a strong Spring. He slots in as the Tigers’ SP3 and a legitimate Rookie-of-the-Year candidate.

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

Jose Berrios (69) – The Blue Jays Opening Day starter was up to his old tricks again, allowing three homers in a 12-2 drubbing vs BAL. The drop here is likely too severe, but I’m invested in multiple leagues and not too happy about it if he doesn’t clean up the gopher balls quickly.

Yu Darvish (92) – It’s a big dump for Yu Darvish this week after the Padres placed him on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation. He stays on the list, though, because he’s back throwing already and is aiming to return by the middle of May.

Ranger Suarez (N/R) – Ranger slides off of the list this week because of the 15-day IL assignment. If it were a different sort of injury, I might have kept him and pushed him down a bit but when a starting pitcher re-injures his back after missing time last season with the same health problems, he’ll need to show he’s feeling fine before we put him back in there.

Ryan Weathers (N/R) – I knew this was coming but I couldn’t bring myself to remove him last week. The official timeline is four to six weeks and the official word is that he’s out with a left flexor muscle strain. Some of us were also flexing muscles when we snuck this pick in during our RazzSlam drafts. Now he’s queued up for the April 8th FAAB drop for me. Sad emoji.

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

Griffin Canning

AJ Smith-Shawver

Casey Mize

Chris Paddack

Landen Roupp

Will Warren

Sean Burke

Richard Fitts

Kris Bubic

Ben Brown

Hayden Wesneski

Nick Martinez

OOF! – These players (along with the ones I listed in the DUMPERS section) fell off the Top 100 list this last week.

Tobias Myers – Oblique strain means we won’t see him for a while.

Merrill Kelly – I ran out of room adding the new names.

Brandon Woodruff – Health, or lack thereof.

Brady Singer

Luis Gil – Out for 3 months.

Cody Bradford – He’s still recovering from injury.

Grayson Rodriguez – It’s not sounding too promising.

Michael Soroka – I thought I had him in here. He’d be one of the next five if we extended the list.

 

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! I hope you all had an EXCELLENT Opening Week and are poised for a strong run at the title in your leagues!

Drop some comments in the chat if you’re feeling extra fired up about some of the names I do (or don’t) have here. Have a great week!

 

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social