Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

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

Updated on May 18, 2026 1:34AM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

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Updated on May 18, 2026 1:34AM EST

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.

UPDATED: Monday May 18, 1:35 a.m. ET

Week of May 18-24

Mixed Leagues

Rank	Pitcher	TM	OPP	Comments
1	Dylan Cease	TOR	@NYY, PIT
2	Paul Skenes	PIT	@TOR
3	Chris Sale	ATL	@MIA
4	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	@SD, @MIL	May lose second start is someone takes Blake Snell's spot, but LAD off on Thursday
5	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	@SD
6	Bryan Woo	SEA	CWS, @KC
7	Zack Wheeler	PHI	CLE
8	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	CLE

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.

UPDATED: Monday May 18, 1:35 a.m. ET

Week of May 18-24

Mixed Leagues

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

American League

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

National League

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