Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

Try to avoid weaker two-start selections and stick to the more proven arms.

May 16, 2026

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

By:

May 16, 2026

It's another busy week with 96 games on the docket. This boosts the number of decent two-start options. And for those still hoping to pick up available double-dippers, it's time to reconsider your approach. Using the data included in the Saturday posting (rosterships aren't included in the Sunday update since FAAB has run), only Braxton Garrett lists two starts while also ranked above the 12 and 15-team reliever. To be honest, he's a risk as he's still finding his groove after missing extended time.

Otherwise, the two-start pitchers rostered in fewer than half of the NFBC Main Event and Rotowire Online Championship teams are Jacob Lopez, Erick Fedde, Jose Quintana, Tanner Gordon, Simeon Woods Richardson and Patrick Corbin. BLECH!

J.T. Ginn, Andrew Painter and Matthew Liberatore are covered in over half of Main Event leagues, but fewer than half in the RW OLC.

It's not like there's a lush crop of available one-start selections, though the inventory is slightly more alluring.

Be sure to pop back late Sunday night/Monday morning for the weekly refresh.

Week of May 18-24

Mixed Leagues

RK	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Dylan Cease	TOR	@NYY, PIT
2	Paul Skenes	PIT	@TOR
3	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	@SD, @MIL	May lose second start if someone takes Blake Snell's spot, but LAD off Thursday
4	Chris Sale	ATL	@MIA
5	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	@SD
6

J.T. Ginn, Andrew Painter and Matthew Liberatore are covered in over half of Main Event leagues, but fewer than half in the RW OLC.

It's not like there's a lush crop of available one-start selections, though the inventory is slightly more alluring.

Be sure to pop back late Sunday night/Monday morning for the weekly refresh.

Week of May 18-24

Mixed Leagues

RK	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments	MIX12	MIX15
1	Dylan Cease	TOR	@NYY, PIT
2	Paul Skenes	PIT	@TOR
3	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	@SD, @MIL	May lose second start if someone takes Blake Snell's spot, but LAD off Thursday
4	Chris Sale	ATL	@MIA
5	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	@SD
6	Bryan Woo	SEA	CWS, @KC
7	Zack Wheeler	PHI	CLE
8	Nolan McLean	NYM	@WAS, @MIA
9	Jacob deGrom	TEX	@LAA	Proving doubters wrong… again
10	Chase Burns	CIN	@PHI	Innings pace likely to start slowing down
11	Parker Messick	CLE	@DET, @PHI
12	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	CLE
13	Cole Ragans	KC	SEA	Tentative
14	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@LAA
15	Shota Imanaga	CHC	MIL, HOU	Exhibiting improved command and control
16	Framber Valdez	DET	CLE, @BAL	Generous with the long ball lately
17	Cam Schlittler	NYY	TOR
18	Jacob Misiorowski	MIL	@CHC
19	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	@SD
20	Sonny Gray	BOS	@KC, MIN	Back on track
21	Mitch Keller	PIT	@STL, @TOR	Over his skis, but decent matchups
22	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@KC	Appears that 2025 was the outlier
23	Michael King	SD	LAD, ATH
24	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@NYY
25	MacKenzie Gore	TEX	@COL, @LAA	Walks remain his bugaboo
26	Connelly Early	BOS	@KC
27	Shane McClanahan	TB	BAL, @NYY	Hasn't given up an ER over his last four outings, spanning 21.2 IP
28	Ryne Nelson	ARI	SF, COL	Quietly pitching well of late
29	Spencer Strider	ATL	@MIA	Walks high, but rounding into dominant form
30	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	CIN	Peripherals implore patience
31	Joe Ryan	MIN	HOU
32	Logan Webb	SF	CWS	Good spot to rebound
33	Bailey Ober	MIN	@BOS
34	Gerrit Cole	NYY	TOR	Welcome back!
35	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT	@STL
36	Griffin Jax	TB	BAL	Not quite stretched out yet	44%
37	Eury Perez	MIA	NYM
38	Payton Tolle	BOS	MIN
39	Ranger Suarez	BOS	@KC
40	Kevin Gausman	TOR	PIT	In a rut, but due to bounce back
41	Kyle Bradish	BAL	@TB	Settling back into a groove
42	Carlos Rodon	NYY	TB
43	Freddy Peralta	NYM	@MIA
44	Kris Bubic	KC	BOS
45	Jose Soriano	LAA	ATH
46	Reid Detmers	LAA	ATH, TEX
47	Tyler Mahle	SF	@ARI		42%
48	Ryan Weathers	NYY	TB
49	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	LAD
50	Nick Lodolo	CIN	@PHI, STL
51	Davis Martin	CWS	@SF
52	Will Warren	NYY	TOR, TB
53	Grayson Rodriguez	LAA	TEX		17%
54	Noah Schultz	CWS	@SEA, @SF
55	Nick Martinez	TB	@NYY
56	Justin Wrobleski	LAD	@MIL
57	Ben Brown	CHC	MIL
58	George Kirby	SEA	@KC
59	Robbie Ray	SF	@ARI, CWS
60	Tanner Bibee	CLE	@DET
61	Noah Cameron	KC	SEA		42%
62	Braxton Garrett	MIA	ATL, NYM	Still rusty, candidate for solid second half	13%	25%
63	Trevor Rogers	BAL	@TB, DET
64	Aaron Nola	PHI	CIN
65	Landen Roupp	SF	@ARI
66	Carmen Mlodzinski	PIT	@STL
67	Jeffrey Springs	ATH	@SD
68	Gavin Williams	CLE	@PHI
69	Christian Scott	NYM	@WAS, @MIA
70	Foster Griffin	WAS	NYM, @ATL
71	Elmer Rodriguez	NYY	TOR		1%	2%
72	Kyle Leahy	STL	@CIN		2%
73	Max Meyer	MIA	ATL, NYM	About time MIA took off the kid gloves
74	Emerson Hancock	SEA	CWS
75	Michael Soroka	ARI	COL
76	Logan Henderson	MIL	LAD
77	Grant Holmes	ATL	WAS		40%
78	Andrew Abbott	CIN	@PHI
79	Mix 12 Reliever
80	Luis Castillo	SEA	CWS
81	Edward Cabrera	CHC	MIL
82	Seth Lugo	KC	BOS, SEA
83	Bryce Elder	ATL	WAS
84	JR Ritchie	ATL	@MIA, WAS
85	Trey Yesavage	TOR	@NYY
86	Merrill Kelly	ARI	SF
87	Zac Gallen	ARI	SF, COL
88	Jack Flaherty	DET	@BAL
89	Casey Mize	DET	CLE
90	Joey Cantillo	CLE	@DET
91	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	COL
92	MIX15 Reliever
93	Tatsuya Imai	HOU	@MIN
94	Roki Sasaki	LAD	@MIL
95	Mike Burrows	HOU	@MIN
96	Shane Baz	BAL	@TB
97	Anthony Kay	CWS	@SEA		0%	20%
98	Sean Burke	CWS	@SEA
99	Adrian Houser	SF	CWS		100%	10%
100	Jacob Lopez	ATH	@LAA, @SD		6%	32%
101	Michael Wacha	KC	BOS
102	Aaron Civale	ATH	@LAA		8%
103	Dustin May	STL	PIT
104	Michael McGreevy	STL	PIT
105	Tomoyuki Sugano	COL	@ARI		1%	20%
106	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	ATL
107	Luis Severino	ATH	@LAA		35%
108	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	@CHC
109	J.T. Ginn	ATH	@LAA, @SD		17%
110	Brayan Bello	BOS	MIN		12%	40%
111	Jameson Taillon	CHC	HOU
112	Brandon Young	BAL	DET		2%	13%
113	Martin Perez	ATL	@MIA		3%	20%
114	Zack Littell	WAS	NYM		0%	3%
115	Peter Lambert	HOU	@CHC
116	Bubba Chandler	PIT	@TOR
117	Jack Leiter	TEX	@COL
118	Brady Singer	CIN	STL		27%
119	Zach Thornton	NYM	@WAS		100%	100%
120	Kai-Wei Teng	HOU	@CHC		0%	3%
121	Randy Vasquez	SD	LAD
122	Keider Montero	DET	CLE, @BAL
123	Zebby Matthews	MIN	HOU		5%	27%
124	Jesse Scholtens	TB	BAL		1%	37%
125	Michael Lorenzen	COL	@ARI		0%	3%
126	Andrew Painter	PHI	CIN, CLE		44%
127	Kyle Harrison	MIL	@CHC
128	Matthew Liberatore	STL	PIT, @CIN		21%
129	Erick Fedde	CWS	@SF		7%	47%
130	Slade Cecconi	CLE	@DET, @PHI		5%
131	Jose Quintana	COL	TEX, @ARI		0%	10%
132	Lance McCullers	HOU	@MIN		5%	35%
133	Connor Prielipp	MIN	@BOS
134	David Peterson	NYM	@WAS		6%	27%
135	Andre Pallante	STL	@CIN		7%
136	Tanner Gordon	COL	TEX, @ARI		100%	100%
137	Chris Bassitt	BAL	DET		11%
138	Brandon Sproat	MIL	@CHC, LAD		45%
139	Walbert Urena	LAA	ATH, TEX		8%
140	Jake Irvin	WAS	NYM, @ATL		5%
141	Cade Cavalli	WAS	NYM
142	Spencer Miles	TOR	@NYY		100%	100%
143	Kyle Freeland	COL	TEX		2%	100%
144	Ty Madden	DET	CLE		14%
145	Chris Paddack	CIN	STL		0.00%	2.00%
146	Janson Junk	MIA	ATL
147	Simeon Woods Richardson	MIN	HOU, @BOS		100.00%	3.00%
148	Colin Rea	CHC	HOU
149	Jack Kochanowicz	LAA	ATH		12%
150	Patrick Corbin	TOR	@NYY, PIT		1%	37%
151	Griffin Canning	SD	LAD		11%
152	Kumar Rocker	TEX	@COL		10%
153	Lucas Giolito	SD	ATH		3%	15%
154	Miles Mikolas	WAS	@ATL		0%	5%
155	Walker Buehler	SD	ATH		5%	45%

American League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Dylan Cease	TOR	@NYY, PIT
2	Bryan Woo	SEA	CWS, @KC
3	Jacob deGrom	TEX	@LAA	Proving doubters wrong… again
4	Parker Messick	CLE	@DET, @PHI
5	Cole Ragans	KC	SEA	Tentative
6	Nathan Eovaldi	TEX	@LAA
7	Framber Valdez	DET	CLE, @BAL	Generous with the long ball lately
8	Cam Schlittler	NYY	TOR
9	Sonny Gray	BOS	@KC, MIN	Back on track
10	Logan Gilbert	SEA	@KC	Appears that 2025 was the outlier
11	Drew Rasmussen	TB	@NYY
12	MacKenzie Gore	TEX	@COL, @LAA	Walks remain his bugaboo
13	Connelly Early	BOS	@KC
14	Shane McClanahan	TB	BAL, @NYY	Hasn't given up an ER over his last four outings, spanning 21.2 IP
15	Joe Ryan	MIN	HOU
16	Bailey Ober	MIN	@BOS
17	Gerrit Cole	NYY	TOR	Welcome back!
18	Griffin Jax	TB	BAL	Not quite stretched out yet
19	Payton Tolle	BOS	MIN
20	Ranger Suarez	BOS	@KC
21	Kevin Gausman	TOR	PIT	In a rut, but due to bounce back
22	Kyle Bradish	BAL	@TB	Settling back into a groove
23	Carlos Rodon	NYY	TB
24	Kris Bubic	KC	BOS
25	Jose Soriano	LAA	ATH
26	Reid Detmers	LAA	ATH, TEX
27	Ryan Weathers	NYY	TB
28	Davis Martin	CWS	@SF
29	Will Warren	NYY	TOR, TB
30	Grayson Rodriguez	LAA	TEX
31	Noah Schultz	CWS	@SEA, @SF
32	Nick Martinez	TB	@NYY
33	George Kirby	SEA	@KC
34	Tanner Bibee	CLE	@DET
35	Noah Cameron	KC	SEA
36	Trevor Rogers	BAL	@TB, DET
37	Jeffrey Springs	ATH	@SD
38	Gavin Williams	CLE	@PHI
39	Elmer Rodriguez	NYY	TOR
40	Emerson Hancock	SEA	CWS
41	Luis Castillo	SEA	CWS
42	Seth Lugo	KC	BOS, SEA
43	Trey Yesavage	TOR	@NYY
44	Jack Flaherty	DET	@BAL
45	Casey Mize	DET	CLE
46	Joey Cantillo	CLE	@DET
47	Tatsuya Imai	HOU	@MIN
48	Mike Burrows	HOU	@MIN
49	Shane Baz	BAL	@TB
50	Anthony Kay	CWS	@SEA
51	Sean Burke	CWS	@SEA
52	Jacob Lopez	ATH	@LAA, @SD
53	Michael Wacha	KC	BOS
54	Aaron Civale	ATH	@LAA
55	AL Reliever
56	Luis Severino	ATH	@LAA
57	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	@CHC
58	J.T. Ginn	ATH	@LAA, @SD
59	Brayan Bello	BOS	MIN
60	Brandon Young	BAL	DET
61	Peter Lambert	HOU	@CHC
62	Jack Leiter	TEX	@COL
63	Kai-Wei Teng	HOU	@CHC
64	Keider Montero	DET	CLE, @BAL
65	Zebby Matthews	MIN	HOU
66	Jesse Scholtens	TB	BAL
67	Erick Fedde	CWS	@SF
68	Slade Cecconi	CLE	@DET, @PHI
69	Lance McCullers	HOU	@MIN
70	Connor Prielipp	MIN	@BOS
71	Chris Bassitt	BAL	DET
72	Walbert Urena	LAA	ATH, TEX
73	Spencer Miles	TOR	@NYY
74	Ty Madden	DET	CLE
75	Simeon Woods Richardson	MIN	HOU, @BOS
76	Jack Kochanowicz	LAA	ATH
77	Patrick Corbin	TOR	@NYY, PIT
78	Kumar Rocker	TEX	@COL

National League

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comment
1	Paul Skenes	PIT	@TOR
2	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	@SD, @MIL	May lose second start if someone takes Blake Snell's spot, but LAD off Thursday
3	Chris Sale	ATL	@MIA
4	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	@SD
5	Zack Wheeler	PHI	CLE
6	Nolan McLean	NYM	@WAS, @MIA
7	Chase Burns	CIN	@PHI	Innings pace likely to start slowing down
8	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	CLE
9	Shota Imanaga	CHC	MIL, HOU	Exhibiting improved command and control
10	Jacob Misiorowski	MIL	@CHC
11	Emmet Sheehan	LAD	@SD
12	Mitch Keller	PIT	@STL, @TOR	Over his skis, but decent matchups
13	Michael King	SD	LAD, ATH
14	Ryne Nelson	ARI	SF, COL	Quietly pitching well of late
15	Spencer Strider	ATL	@MIA	Walks high, but rounding into dominant form
16	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	CIN	Peripherals implore patience
17	Logan Webb	SF	CWS	Good spot to rebound
18	Braxton Ashcraft	PIT	@STL
19	Eury Perez	MIA	NYM
20	Freddy Peralta	NYM	@MIA
21	Tyler Mahle	SF	@ARI
22	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	LAD
23	Nick Lodolo	CIN	@PHI, STL
24	Justin Wrobleski	LAD	@MIL
25	Ben Brown	CHC	MIL
26	Robbie Ray	SF	@ARI, CWS
27	Braxton Garrett	MIA	ATL, NYM	Still rusty, candidate for a solid second half
28	Aaron Nola	PHI	CIN
29	Landen Roupp	SF	@ARI
30	Carmen Mlodzinski	PIT	@STL
31	Christian Scott	NYM	@WAS, @MIA
32	Foster Griffin	WAS	NYM, @ATL
33	Kyle Leahy	STL	@CIN
34	Max Meyer	MIA	ATL, NYM	About time MIA took off the kid gloves
35	Michael Soroka	ARI	COL
36	Logan Henderson	MIL	LAD
37	Grant Holmes	ATL	WAS
38	Andrew Abbott	CIN	@PHI
39	Edward Cabrera	CHC	MIL
40	Bryce Elder	ATL	WAS
41	JR Ritchie	ATL	@MIA, WAS
42	Merrill Kelly	ARI	SF
43	Zac Gallen	ARI	SF, COL
44	Eduardo Rodriguez	ARI	COL
45	Roki Sasaki	LAD	@MIL
46	Adrian Houser	SF	CWS
47	Dustin May	STL	PIT
48	Michael McGreevy	STL	PIT
49	Tomoyuki Sugano	COL	@ARI
50	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	ATL
51	NL Reliever
52	Jameson Taillon	CHC	HOU
53	Martin Perez	ATL	@MIA
54	Zack Littell	WAS	NYM
55	Bubba Chandler	PIT	@TOR
56	Brady Singer	CIN	STL
57	Zach Thornton	NYM	@WAS
58	Randy Vasquez	SD	LAD
59	Michael Lorenzen	COL	@ARI
60	Andrew Painter	PHI	CIN, CLE
61	Kyle Harrison	MIL	@CHC
62	Matthew Liberatore	STL	PIT, @CIN
63	Jose Quintana	COL	TEX, @ARI
64	David Peterson	NYM	@WAS
65	Andre Pallante	STL	@CIN
66	Tanner Gordon	COL	TEX, @ARI
67	Brandon Sproat	MIL	@CHC, LAD
68	Jake Irvin	WAS	NYM, @ATL
69	Cade Cavalli	WAS	NYM
70	Kyle Freeland	COL	TEX
71	Chris Paddack	CIN	STL
72	Janson Junk	MIA	ATL
73	Colin Rea	CHC	HOU
74	Griffin Canning	SD	LAD
75	Lucas Giolito	SD	ATH
76	Miles Mikolas	WAS	@ATL
77	Walker Buehler	SD	ATH