Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Zack on the Attack

Todd Zola ranks this weeks starting pitcher as Arizona's Zack Greinke continues to mow down batters, posting his highest K/9 in nearly a decade.

Updated on June 24, 2017 1:03PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Zack on the Attack

By:

Todd Zola

Updated on June 24, 2017 1:03PM EST

Weekly Pitcher Rankings

Three make-up games embellish an already busier than normal week, meaning more two-start options to consider.

Minimizing homers are always integral to a pitchers success. However, with more runs than ever being scored directly as a result of a long ball, it's even more important. To wit, it seems like almost every comment cited home run proclivity.

UPDATED Sunday June 25, 11:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. MIN, at TOR	Ten double-digit strikeout games, including last two
2	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. TEX, at DET	Incurring hit rate correction this month
3	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. KC, vs. CLE	Inconsistent, but gets benefit of the doubt with home pair
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TEX	39 K, 4 BB in 28 IP since coming off DL
5	Luis Severino	NYY	at CWS, at HOU	Astros tough, but Minute Maid is a pitcher's park
6	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. NYY	Could jump up based on Saturday's performance coming off DL
7	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. KC	Little concerned, whiffs down, four walks each of last two starts
8	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. OAK, vs. NYY	Just 6 runs, no HR in last 5 starts, covering 31 1/3 innings
9	James Paxton	SEA	vs. PHI	Velocity is back, results should follow
10	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. BAL	Fixed homer issues, back on track
11	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. NYY, vs. TEX	Limiting homers and walks yielding better results
12	Chris Archer	TB	at

Three make-up games embellish an already busier than normal week, meaning more two-start options to consider.

UPDATED Sunday June 25, 11:00 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. MIN, at TOR	Ten double-digit strikeout games, including last two
2	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. TEX, at DET	Incurring hit rate correction this month
3	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. KC, vs. CLE	Inconsistent, but gets benefit of the doubt with home pair
4	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TEX	39 K, 4 BB in 28 IP since coming off DL
5	Luis Severino	NYY	at CWS, at HOU	Astros tough, but Minute Maid is a pitcher's park
6	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. NYY	Could jump up based on Saturday's performance coming off DL
7	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. KC	Little concerned, whiffs down, four walks each of last two starts
8	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. OAK, vs. NYY	Just 6 runs, no HR in last 5 starts, covering 31 1/3 innings
9	James Paxton	SEA	vs. PHI	Velocity is back, results should follow
10	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. BAL	Fixed homer issues, back on track
11	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. NYY, vs. TEX	Limiting homers and walks yielding better results
12	Chris Archer	TB	at PIT	Continues to pitch better than his ERA
13	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BOS, at KC	Showing welcome consistency for a rookie
14	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. BAL	Three homers allowed in consecutive starts
15	Ervin Santana	MIN	at KC	Regression meet Erv. Erv, this is regression.
16	Alex Cobb	TB	at PIT, at BAL	Keeping ball in the yard, ERA will drop
17	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. MIN, at TOR	Better consistency away from taking the next step
18	Jacob Faria	TB	at BAL	Off-the-chart skills to open MLB career
19	Sean Manaea	OAK	at HOU, vs. ATL	Holding it together through rough stretch (just faced HOU and NYY)
20	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. PHI	Solid return from DL, but did give up 2 long balls
21	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. MIN	Continuing to minimize the long ball
22	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. ATL	Making Gray a closer almost as inane as having Freddie Freeman play 3B
23	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at CWS	Still surrendering homers by the bushel
24	Yu Darvish	TEX	at CLE	Tough draw but displayng better control and command lately
25	David Price	BOS	vs. MIN
26	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. BOS
27	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. MIN	Better last time, but let's see it again
28	David Paulino	HOU	vs. OAK	Stretched out, now needs to deliver
29	Cole Hamels	TEX	at CLE, at CWS	Wasn't pitching as well as seemed pre-DL stint
30	Tyson Ross	TEX	at CLE, at CWS
31	Danny Salazar	CLE	at DET
32	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. BAL, vs. BOS	Recent speed bump, but conversion to starter encouraging
33	Michael Pineda	NYY	at HOU	High risk, high reward
34	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. NYY
35	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. OAK
36	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at LAA
37	Matt Strahm	KC	at DET, vs. MIN
38	Ian Kennedy	KC	at DET
39	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TB
40	Luis Cessa	NYY	at CWS
41	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. TEX
42	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. TEX, at DET
43	Jake Odorizzi	TB	at BAL
44	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CLE
45	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. MIN
46	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at DET
47	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at LAA
48	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. LAD
49	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. KC
50	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at LAD, vs. SEA
51	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at CWS, at HOU
52	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at LAD, vs. SEA
53	Blake Snell	TB	at PIT
54	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. TEX
55	Francis Martes	HOU	vs. NYY
56	Doug Fister	BOS	at TOR
57	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. ATL
58	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at CWS
59	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE
60	Austin Bibens-Dirkx	TEX	at CLE
61	Jake Junis	KC	at DET
62	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at LAA
63	James Shields	CWS	vs. TEX
64	Hector Santiago	MIN	at BOS, at KC
65	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at HOU
66	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at TOR, vs. TB
67	David Holmberg	CWS	vs. NYY
68	Parker Bridwell	LAA	vs. SEA
69	Buck Farmer	DET	vs. CLE
70	Wade Miley	BAL	at TOR
71	Alex Meyer	LAA	vs. LAD
72	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. BOS
73	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at TOR
74	Eric Skoglund	KC	vs. MIN
75	Dillon Gee	MIN	at KC
76	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TB
77	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. NYY
78	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at BOS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. CHC, at STL	Deserves more than 8 wins
2	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PHI, vs. COL	Sporting 10.3 K/9, highest mark since 2007
3	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. COL, at PIT	Homer issue helped by power-suppressing venues
4	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at SD	Already allowed career high number of homers
5	Carlos Martinez	STL	at ARI, vs. WAS	Managing to evade gopheritis plaguing so many others
6	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. PHI	Back on track with just 2 ER in last 2 games, spanning 17 innings
7	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC	Only 15 1/3 innings his last three starts
8	Alex Wood	LAD	at LAA	No longer talk of returning to bullpen
9	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. NYM, at MIL	Pitching better on road, not just at home
10	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. LAA, at SD	Still not sharp, but weak lineups in great venues
11	Jeff Hoffman	COL	at SF	Big part of Rockies toting second best road ERA
12	Johnny Cueto	SF	at PIT	Usual solid numbers bloated with homer barrage
13	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. SF	Missing fewer bats lately, but also keeping more balls in the yard
14	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at SD	Skills solid last 3 weeks, benefits from matchup
15	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at OAK	Still a believer but needs to rediscover control
16	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS	Skills fine except serving up more homers
17	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. CHC, at STL	On a roll, 2.77 ERA, .88 WHIP last 3 weeks with 9.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9
18	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. STL, vs. COL
19	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. LAA
20	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. TB	Whiffs on the rise, always nails at home
21	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. STL	3.17 FIP, 3.24 xFIP says Godley isn't a fluke
22	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. PHI	Perfect elixir to cure walks and homer woes
23	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. TB	Back in mid-season form after layoff
24	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at MIA, vs. PHI	Strikeouts missing but helped by matchups, proeed with caution
25	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. COL	Walks creeping back up
26	Julio Teheran	ATL	at OAK	Strikeouts down, but nice park and foe
27	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. TB, vs. SF	Not dominant, home for a pair boosts rank
28	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at SD
29	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at WAS, at CIN	Homers down lately, but more walks and fewer punch outs
30	Steven Matz	NYM	at MIA
31	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at OAK	Controlling the floater very well last few starts
32	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. SF
33	Seth Lugo	NYM	at MIA
34	Tanner Roark	WAS	at STL
35	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at SF
36	Aaron Nola	PHI	at SEA
37	Brandon Finnegan	CIN	at STL
38	German Marquez	COL	at SF
39	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. CHC
40	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	at SD	Not missing bats but getting job done
41	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at LAA	Great matchups
42	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CIN, vs. WAS	Still like as a buy-low, but need to see fewer hits
43	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ARI, at NYM	Impressive, curious to see what happens second time through the league
44	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. MIL, vs. CHC	Below average pitcher with above average K/9
45	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CIN
46	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at CIN
47	Junior Guerra	MIL	at CIN, vs. MIA
48	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. STL
49	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. MIL
50	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. CHC
51	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. MIA
52	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at NYM
53	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. NYM
54	Mike Leake	STL	vs. WAS
55	Ben Lively	PHI	at NYM
56	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at CIN
57	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at MIL
58	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. ATL
59	Matt Moore	SF	at PIT
60	John Lackey	CHC	at WAS
61	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. MIA
62	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at SD
63	Jeff Locke	MIA	vs. NYM
64	Jon Gray	COL	at ARI
65	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	vs. ATL, vs. LAD
66	Mark Leiter	PHI	at SEA
67	Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. ATL
68	Lance Lynn	STL	at ARI
69	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at ARI
70	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIL
71	Ty Blach	SF	vs. COL
72	Eddie Butler	CHC	at WAS, at CIN
73	Christian Friedrich	SD	vs. LAD
74	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. LAD
75	Adam Wainwright	STL	at ARI
76	Matt Cain	SF	vs. COL
76	Justin Nicolino	MIA	at MIL
76	Kyle Freeland	COL	at ARI

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. CHC, at STL	Deserves more than 8 wins
2	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. MIN, at TOR	Ten double-digit strikeout games, including last two
3	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. PHI, vs. COL	Sporting 10.3 K/9, highest mark since 2007
4	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. TEX, at DET	Incurring hit rate correction this month
5	Jeff Samardzija	SF	vs. COL, at PIT	Homer issue helped by power-suppressing venues
6	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at SD	Already allowed career high number of homers
7	Justin Verlander	DET	vs. KC, vs. CLE	Inconsistent, but gets benefit of the doubt with home pair
8	Carlos Martinez	STL	at ARI, vs. WAS	Managing to evade gopheritis plaguing so many others
9	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. TEX	39 K, 4 BB in 28 IP since coming off DL
10	Jacob deGrom	NYM	vs. PHI	Back on track with just 2 ER in last 2 games, spanning 17 innings
11	Luis Severino	NYY	at CWS, at HOU	Astros tough, but Minute Maid is a pitcher's park
12	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. CHC	Only 15 1/3 innings his last three starts
13	Lance McCullers	HOU	vs. NYY	Could jump up based on Saturday's performance coming off DL
14	Alex Wood	LAD	at LAA	No longer talk of returning to bullpen
15	Michael Fulmer	DET	vs. KC	Little concerned, whiffs down, four walks each of last two starts
16	Mike Fiers	HOU	vs. OAK, vs. NYY	Just 6 runs, no HR in last 5 starts, covering 31 1/3 innings
17	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. NYM, at MIL	Pitching better on road, not just at home
18	James Paxton	SEA	vs. PHI	Velocity is back, results should follow
19	J.A. Happ	TOR	vs. BAL	Fixed homer issues, back on track
20	Jose Quintana	CWS	vs. NYY, vs. TEX	Limiting homers and walks yielding better results
21	Chris Archer	TB	at PIT	Continues to pitch better than his ERA
22	Jose Berrios	MIN	at BOS, at KC	Showing welcome consistency for a rookie
23	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. LAA, at SD	Still not sharp, but weak lineups in great venues
24	Marcus Stroman	TOR	vs. BAL	Three homers allowed in consecutive starts
25	Jeff Hoffman	COL	at SF	Big part of Rockies toting second best road ERA
26	Johnny Cueto	SF	at PIT	Usual solid numbers bloated with homer barrage
27	Gerrit Cole	PIT	vs. SF	Missing fewer bats lately, but also keeping more balls in the yard
28	Jaime Garcia	ATL	at SD	Skills solid last 3 weeks, benefits from matchup
29	Mike Foltynewicz	ATL	at OAK	Still a believer but needs to rediscover control
30	Jon Lester	CHC	at WAS	Skills fine except serving up more homers
31	Ervin Santana	MIN	at KC	Regression meet Erv. Erv, this is regression.
32	Alex Cobb	TB	at PIT, at BAL	Keeping ball in the yard, ERA will drop
33	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. MIN, at TOR	Better consistency away from taking the next step
34	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	vs. CHC, at STL	On a roll, 2.77 ERA, .88 WHIP last 3 weeks with 9.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9
35	Jacob Faria	TB	at BAL	Off-the-chart skills to open MLB career
36	Sean Manaea	OAK	at HOU, vs. ATL	Holding it together through rough stretch (just faced HOU and NYY)
37	Felix Hernandez	SEA	vs. PHI	Solid return from DL, but did give up 2 long balls
38	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. MIN	Continuing to minimize the long ball
39	Sonny Gray	OAK	vs. ATL	Making Gray a closer almost as inane as having Freddie Freeman play 3B
40	Taijuan Walker	ARI	vs. STL, vs. COL
41	Kenta Maeda	LAD	vs. LAA
42	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	at CWS	Still surrendering homers by the bushel
43	Yu Darvish	TEX	at CLE	Tough draw but displayng better control and command lately
44	Ivan Nova	PIT	vs. TB	Whiffs on the rise, always nails at home
45	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. STL	3.17 FIP, 3.24 xFIP says Godley isn't a fluke
46	Zack Wheeler	NYM	vs. PHI	Perfect elixir to cure walks and homer woes
47	Jameson Taillon	PIT	vs. TB	Back in mid-season form after layoff
48	Robert Gsellman	NYM	at MIA, vs. PHI	Strikeouts missing but helped by matchups, proeed with caution
49	David Price	BOS	vs. MIN
50	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. COL	Walks creeping back up
51	Julio Teheran	ATL	at OAK	Strikeouts down, but nice park and foe
52	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. TB, vs. SF	Not dominant, home for a pair boosts rank
53	Marco Estrada	TOR	vs. BOS
54	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at SD
55	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at WAS, at CIN	Homers down lately, but more walks and fewer punch outs
56	Steven Matz	NYM	at MIA
57	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. MIN	Better last time, but let's see it again
58	David Paulino	HOU	vs. OAK	Stretched out, now needs to deliver
59	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at OAK	Controlling the floater very well last few starts
60	Cole Hamels	TEX	at CLE, at CWS	Wasn't pitching as well as seemed pre-DL stint
61	Tyson Ross	TEX	at CLE, at CWS
62	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. SF
63	Seth Lugo	NYM	at MIA
64	Tanner Roark	WAS	at STL
65	Antonio Senzatela	COL	at SF
66	Aaron Nola	PHI	at SEA
67	Danny Salazar	CLE	at DET
68	Joe Biagini	TOR	vs. BAL, vs. BOS	Recent speed bump, but conversion to starter encouraging
69	Brandon Finnegan	CIN	at STL
70	Michael Pineda	NYY	at HOU	High risk, high reward
71	Carlos Rodon	CWS	vs. NYY
72	Brad Peacock	HOU	vs. OAK
73	Ariel Miranda	SEA	at LAA
74	German Marquez	COL	at SF
75	Joe Ross	WAS	vs. CHC
76	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	at SD	Not missing bats but getting job done
77	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	at LAA	Great matchups
78	Matt Strahm	KC	at DET, vs. MIN
79	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CIN, vs. WAS	Still like as a buy-low, but need to see fewer hits
80	Ian Kennedy	KC	at DET
81	Nick Pivetta	PHI	at ARI, at NYM	Impressive, curious to see what happens second time through the league
82	Tim Adleman	CIN	vs. MIL, vs. CHC	Below average pitcher with above average K/9
83	Dylan Bundy	BAL	vs. TB
84	Chase Anderson	MIL	at CIN
85	Jimmy Nelson	MIL	at CIN
86	Junior Guerra	MIL	at CIN, vs. MIA
87	Luis Cessa	NYY	at CWS
88	Patrick Corbin	ARI	vs. STL
89	Derek Holland	CWS	vs. TEX
90	Homer Bailey	CIN	vs. MIL
91	Mike Clevinger	CLE	vs. TEX, at DET
92	Jake Odorizzi	TB	at BAL
93	Aaron Sanchez	TOR	vs. CLE
94	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. MIN
95	Scott Feldman	CIN	vs. CHC
96	Josh Tomlin	CLE	at DET
97	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	at LAA
98	JC Ramirez	LAA	vs. LAD
99	Daniel Norris	DET	vs. KC
100	Jesse Chavez	LAA	at LAD, vs. SEA
101	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. MIA
102	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	at CWS, at HOU
103	Jeremy Hellickson	PHI	at NYM
104	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at LAD, vs. SEA
105	Jose Urena	MIA	vs. NYM
106	Mike Leake	STL	vs. WAS
107	Ben Lively	PHI	at NYM
108	Mike Montgomery	CHC	at CIN
109	Edinson Volquez	MIA	at MIL
110	Dinelson Lamet	SD	vs. ATL
111	Blake Snell	TB	at PIT
112	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. TEX
113	Francis Martes	HOU	vs. NYY
114	Doug Fister	BOS	at TOR
115	Matt Moore	SF	at PIT
116	John Lackey	CHC	at WAS
117	Matt Garza	MIL	vs. MIA
118	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. ATL
119	Andrew Cashner	TEX	at CWS
120	Bartolo Colon	ATL	at SD
121	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	vs. CLE
122	Jeff Locke	MIA	vs. NYM
123	Austin Bibens-Dirkx	TEX	at CLE
124	Jon Gray	COL	at ARI
125	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	vs. ATL, vs. LAD
126	Jake Junis	KC	at DET
127	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	at LAA
128	James Shields	CWS	vs. TEX
129	Mark Leiter	PHI	at SEA
130	Luis Perdomo	SD	vs. ATL
131	Hector Santiago	MIN	at BOS, at KC
132	Lance Lynn	STL	at ARI
133	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at HOU
134	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at TOR, vs. TB
135	Tyler Chatwood	COL	at ARI
136	Luis Castillo	CIN	vs. MIL
137	David Holmberg	CWS	vs. NYY
138	Parker Bridwell	LAA	vs. SEA
139	Buck Farmer	DET	vs. CLE
140	Wade Miley	BAL	at TOR
141	Ty Blach	SF	vs. COL
142	Eddie Butler	CHC	at WAS, at CIN
143	Alex Meyer	LAA	vs. LAD
144	Francisco Liriano	TOR	vs. BOS
145	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at TOR
146	Christian Friedrich	SD	vs. LAD
147	Eric Skoglund	KC	vs. MIN
148	Dillon Gee	MIN	at KC
149	Clayton Richard	SD	vs. LAD
150	Adam Wainwright	STL	at ARI
151	Matt Cain	SF	vs. COL
152	Justin Nicolino	MIA	at MIL
153	Kyle Freeland	COL	at ARI
154	Chris Tillman	BAL	vs. TB
155	Mike Pelfrey	CWS	vs. NYY
156	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at BOS