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SP RANK Name Team UP / DOWN Notes 1 Tarik Skubal DET 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 1.99. And of course, he’s still here. 2 Garrett Crochet BOS It was a bit of revenge Friday night vs NYY. After getting pumped in New York last week, Crochet took care of the Yankees with 4 H, 1 ER, 7 Ks through 8.1 innings (and somehow didn’t pick up the win). 3 Zack Wheeler PHI The Wheels just keep on spinning. He’s right on Crochet’s heels in the strikeout race. 4 Hunter Brown  HOU He was the SP1 on the Player Rater last week! 5 Max Fried NYY 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 hits, zero walks, 4 Ks, ERA at 1.84. I was kind of surprised that the Player Rater had him ranked 3rd.

There’s been about a half dozen starters who we could argue should be in the number one spot. He’s one of them. Another example of how tough it is to fit a half dozen names into one top position.

6 Paul Skenes PIT It’s blasphemy to push the Allegheny Ace this low, but the lack of run support burns him almost as badly as Bob Nutting has burned the Pirates. 7 Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD It was a big weekend for the Giants. First, they pumped Yoshi for 5 ER and 5 BBs (2 HR) on Friday night, then they traded for Rafael Devers last night. 8 Jacob deGrom TEX Half of his starts have been QS, so he’s giving us innings. The strikeouts are there. And the ratios are almost as pretty as they were in his Mets heyday. Ride the lightning! 9 Joe Ryan MIN Mr War Room keeps churning out beauties. Whoever said don’t trust a guy with two first names must be really bad at fantasy baseball. IRWT (In Rudy We Trust). 10 Bryan Woo SEA 6 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.39. A womp womp from our woo-bot. It’s ok. They can’t all be quality starts! 11 Chris Sale ATL He’s officially in beast mode (another gem Monday night). That’s it. I’m now convinced he’s channelling Julio Franco. 12 Framber Valdez HOU 5 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.10. Ranking him the SP12 today was a nice way to match the strikeout total. Numerology for the win. 13 Spencer Schwellenbach ATL 9 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.11. The amount of people who picked this guy as a preseason sleeper must be amassing one hell of a peacock army right about now. 14 Carlos Rodon NYY It’s a big boost for Rodon today, and the anti-Carlos bias has nearly been shed. He’s the SP3 on the Player Rater, so I figured cracking the Top 20 was overdue. 15 MacKenzie Gore WSH 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.88. Little MacK with 6 Punch-Outs. Not quite a dozen, but a nice opportunity to make an old Nintendo reference just the same. 16 Robbie Ray SFG He’s 8-1 and he escaped COL last week with just 2 ER allowed. Enough said. 17 Kris Bubic KC 4 1/3 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 1.92. Like I said with Woo, it’s not panic time here. The only thing that would make me monitor each rough start with a sharper eye is his stamina history. 18 Logan Webb SF The only thing that doesn’t make sense is his barely above .500 record (6-5). Everything else is fantastic. 19 Pablo Lopez MIN I missed this one when I was writing everything up, so let’s just leave it as a Rest In Peace spot this week. Transferred to the 60-day IL last Wednesday. He’s done for the year. 20 Freddy Peralta MLW This whole pocket of SPs is very similar – great ratios, strikeouts, and reliability. Or two out of three if you spot the injured guys around him.  21 Kodai Senga NYM 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 1 walk, 5 Ks, ERA at 1.47. I was all ready to keep him up here, then I realized I missed the IL placement in the edit. He’s out until after the All-Star break with a hamstring strain. Oof. He’ll be gone next week. 22 Sonny Gray STL 4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.84. Games like this make me want to shift from Mr. Overrated to Mr. Oh, berated. As in, “Man, you sucked.” 23 Cristopher Sanchez PHI There’s not a lot of fanfare here, but he’s been every bit an ace as the other guys in the 20s. He heads to MIA for a nice matchup this week. 24 Drew Rasmussen TB He’s won 5 of his last 6 starts and hasn’t exactly been dominant. Baseball is weird sometimes.  25 Dylan Cease SD 7 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners (5 BBs), 11 Ks, ERA at 4.28. Walks, strikeouts, and taxes. Two of the three are Dylan Cease certainties. 26 Nick Pivetta SD 7 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. He got the start that he needed yesterday at ARI. His last two were rough. 27 Ranger Suarez PHI More below. 28 Andrew Abbott CIN It almost feels like he’s too far up today, but the Player Rater has him at SP16, and it’s hard to argue a boost after his 3-hit complete game shutout.  29 Tyler Mahle TEX “A sore right shoulder” was the report before his scheduled start yesterday. EDIT 30 Jack Flaherty DET It makes sense (unless you look at Saturday’s debacle vs CIN). 31 Logan Gilbert SEA Ranking an unhealthy Gilbert above a “healthy” Kirby is more about the former’s potential than the latter’s current production. 32 George Kirby SEA The 14 Ks two starts ago were a sight for sore eyes. The 3 BBs on Saturday were almost as shocking. The numbers aren’t great but he’s still working through the rust. 33 Luis Castillo SEA Red Sox at home this week. At least he doesn’t have to face Devers! 34 David Peterson NYM See Andrew Abbott above. 9 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.49. Frequent commenter toolshed left this little gem in Grey’s comments on Thursday morning: “David Peterson’s numbers going back to last year…34 games started, 200.2 IP. 15-5, 2.74 era, 1.25 whip, 172 k, 7.7 k/9 with 20 QS.” Wow. 35 Merrill Kelly ARI Back-to-back quality starts and 0 ER in 13 IP moves him into the Top 35. He’s sandwiched between Webb and Peralta on the PR at SP18. 36 Matthew Boyd CHC The next three were tough to figure out. We had a bunch of arms removed above here, and some slid down below, so I had to consult the Player Rater to fill the gap in. He might be boring, but the numbers are good. 37 Casey Mize DET He’s 6-2, and he’s allowed more than 2 ER in just three of his last 10 GS. If that’s not enough, he gets the wet-noodle swinging PIT in Motown this week. 38 Chris Bassitt TOR He’s only had one good start out of his last four, but the guy keeps piling up wins (7), and the ratios are decent, even if they’re a bit underwhelming. I say it below with Gausman, but the Player Rater gets the nod for this one (SP37). 39 Jesus Luzardo PHI There was some chatter about him tipping his pitches. 20 ER in 2 GS means something was way off. Last week’s 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 Ks is a good way to convince people the problem is solved. Monitor!  40 Clay Holmes NYM Holmes gets a big boost this week, too. He’s allowed 8 ER in his last 5 GS. 41 Ryan Pepiot TB Last week’s start at Fenway was the first one he didn’t finish 6 innings in over a month. He gets BAL at home today. 42 Griffin Canning NYM 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.22. Can(Ning) someone please just finish the 6th inning and give us a shot at a QS? (With 4 ER? He sure CAN’t). Grey said this morning that he’s droppable. I am holding out hope that Canning can turn it around. But the more I think about it, I should be flipping him with Grant John Holmes.  43 Spencer Strider ATL Oh. My. Goodness. 13 strikeouts on Saturday in a 6-inning 3 hit shutout? Yes. This is what our fantasy rosters needed. 44 Nick Lodolo CIN 3 1/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.76. The good news is I like Lodolo a lot. The better news (for me) is someone else in every league liked him just a bit more than I did on draft day. 45 Seth Lugo KC 5 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.18. The dreaded 5.2 IP AKA the poop emoji of quality start leagues. 46 Clarke Schmidt NYY 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.60. 47 Zach Eflin BAL 6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.08. Big Zach attacks your fat ratios and shaves them down. 48 Will Warren NYY I took one week off from my list, and some of these guys are thankful that I did. Warren jumps up a bunch today AND has a two-start week ahead of him. I’m starting him everywhere. 49 Chris Paddack MIN Please don’t come at me with the pitchforks! Ranking Paddack in the Top 50 today after his terrible outing in HOU might seem pretty ridiculous, but this is more about believing that he’s more of the pitcher we saw the previous 9 GS than the one we watched last week. 50 Jameson Taillon CHC More below. 51 Bailey Ober MIN He’s certainly not deserving of the SP15 spot I had him in two weeks ago, but he’s not as bad as the 109th ranking on the Player Rater. Split the difference (ish) and hope for improvement. 52 Matthew Liberatore STL 5 IP, 3 ER, 9 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 3.93. 15 ER in his last 14 IP dips him a bit this week. The good news is he’s healthy and not getting sent to the IL pile yet. The better news? Guess which Chicago team he gets this week. Hint: it’s not the good one. 53 Kevin Gausman TOR More below. 54 Michael Wacha KC It’s been a see-saw of 7+ IP with fewer than 2 ER or 5-inning rough ones. If you’re trusting him in TEX this week, you’ve got bigger Wachas than I do. 55 Tanner Bibee CLE He hasn’t won in four starts, and his BBs could use some polish, but the results have been better lately. 56 Gavin Williams CLE Putting Williams right behind Bibee feels right. We don’t know what we;re getting with either guy and I’d be wary starting GW at SF this week. 57 Shane Baz TB I couldn’t bring myself to cut him, and I’m glad that I held on. He’s now won three of his last 5 GS. That said, I’m sitting him vs DET this week. 58 Shane Smith CWS Some of these might cause quite a stir in the comments, but he’s been what we were hoping Sean Burke would be (and it hasn’t been close). Two straight wins, healthy strikeout totals, and some solid ratios give him a boost. He’s a two-start guy this week, too. 59 Landen Roupp SFG Roupp, down, Roupp, down. Now he’s Landen right inside the Top 60. Yesterday’s start was a mess (5 BB, 6 ER, 1.2 IP), but he gets a pass because it was against the Avengers (at LAD). 60 Cade Horton CHC I don’t know why I like him so much. I don’t roster him anywhere, but outside of a hiccup in DET last week, the kid has been FIRE! (At least I think that’s what the kids say). 61 Brady Singer CIN The strikeouts aren’t eye-popping, and the walks aren’t great, but he does have 7 wins and he’s been working at shaving the sides off of some pretty hefty ratios. 62 Tylor Megill NYM The Megill fans seem to be very vocal when things are going well. I don’t want to be mean, but…I haven’t heard from them in a few weeks. 63 Zack Littell TB 6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, (4 HR), 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.84. is anyone a little concerned with the homers? Maybe not. It’s not like he’s Bowden Francis (checks notes to compare). 64 Tomoyuki Sugano BAL Back-to-back starts where he doesn’t get through the 5th inning AND posts a handful of walks too? No sugano tonight in my coffee, no sugano tonight in my tea. 65 Lance McCullers HOU The lede from two weeks ago, McCullers was on a bit of a heater until getting derailed by … *checks notes* THE WHITE SOX? Meh, I’m still starting him everywhere this week for the two starts. 66 Lucas Giolito BOS More below. 67 Jack Leiter TEX 4 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.88. Ugh. Grey mentioned it, and I’ll paraphrase it here but if anyone can tip the balance where there’s more rookie pitchers who are performing well on one side than the ones that have been maddening/injured/downright disappointing, you’d rival Penn and Teller in the magic game. 68 Grant Holmes ATL 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 4.07. I streamed him in an RCL because it’s past the time that I should have bought in. He was in our Top 100 early in the season, then fell off. Now he’s back and should be here to stay as long as he doesn’t fall apart anytime soon. EDIT: Oh my. He struck out 15 Rockies in 6.1 IP yesterday and somehow didn’t get the win. But holy heck did he look awesome (and I don’t just mean the hair). 69 Jose Berrios TOR Don’t look now (I said don’t look!) but the Boo Jays are on a heater. 70 Eury Perez MIA More below. 71 Jose Soriano LAA 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.86. Yes guy! I watched this one and Soriano’s sinker was, um, sinking! He looked great…at least he did until I fell asleep before the end of the 3rd inning. Thanks West Coast start times. 72 Edward Cabrera MIA Tick…tick…tick…tick…(pending bomb emoji). Don’t be sad if you fell for it. I streamed him last week and took it on the chin, too. 73 Noah Cameron KC 5 2/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 2.17. This is a guy I was concerned about getting sent down when KC was healthy. Then I was disappointed I wasn’t fast enough to add him anywhere. After this game? Not so upset anymore. I’d still monitor or even send out a lowball offer if you think the manager that rosters him is impatient. 74 Yusei Kikuchi LAA Yes, he lost yesterday, but that’s not even important. Kuchi Kuchi Koo has finally figured out how to tickle the strike zone and not walk a half dozen hitters in each start. (3 BB in his last 13 IP). The 10 Ks at Baltimore yesterday were also nice to see. 75 Taj Bradley TB I say it all the time. This guy can go 7 perfect innings with double digit strikeouts one week then fill a bag with more crap than a Great Dane on a 2 hour walk in his next start. There is no in between. 76 Luis Severino ATH A nice W last Thursday in KC (as long as you don’t look at the one strikeout). 77 Dustin May LAD I had Grant Holmes here but I had to move him up. MayDay was good enough yesterday to pick up his 4th win. 78 Hayden Birdsong SF 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.79. Setting ratios all a-twitter with the sweet sound of strikeouts. 79 Andrew Heaney PIT A bit of a boost today because we’re running out of options and the Player Rater has him as the SP53, so I figured he was worth a check in. Back-to-back quality starts vs PHI and at CHC justify the ranking for now. I’m not starting him at DET this week, though. 80 David Festa MIN It’s a bit of an homage to his fallen comrade. Dare I mention his Twin from the Minny prospect barn? Ya, probably not. Last week’s game win vs TEX was his first of the year AND his first quality start. Hopefully, he can tick up the Ks next time out. 81 Jacob Misiorowski MLW Our lede gets a modest entry to the list today. It was a phenomenal start, but there were reports that his leg was bothering him, so let’s not get too crazy just yet. More above. 82 Jose Quintana MLW 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks. Ouch. Between that one and the May 3rd implosion vs CHC, the ratios took a bit of a hit. But between those starts, it was smooth sailing. The walks are there, though. He drops a bit today. 83 Tyler Anderson LAA He was SP84 two weeks ago and I’m gonna just set it and forget it for now. 84 Mitch Keller PIT Another quality start last week and another week without a victory. I’d say it’s getting comical if it wasn’t so sad. Four of his last 8 GS have been either 2-1 or 3-2 games. All losses for PIT except for one start that he was brilliant…and the bullpen stole the dub. Smh. 85 Quinn Priester MLW Yesterday’s 4-hit 1 ER gem would’ve been his 5th straight quality start if he had gone one more inning at CIN on June 4th. Either way, this guy has been solid for two months now. And the MLW pitching coaches are due for a second half raise.  86 Brayan Bello BOS Yesterday’s game vs NYY was a glimpse of the Bello we all want to see. 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks. It was right after I said to someone in a trade conversation that Bello is not good. So, you’re welcome if you had him active last week. 87 Patrick Corbin TEX Every time I put his name in here, it reminds me of the meme, “He can’t keep getting away with this!” But somehow he does. And, just like Jesse Pinkman, Corbin cooked his way to another win last week, this time at MIN. 88 Mick Abel PHI Is he able to throw more than 6 innings in a start? Will he be able to push his pitch count past 90? (he threw 89 pitches vs CHC last week.) Will the Phillies be able to keep him in the rotation when they get some healthy bodies back? I’d still start him, but be aware that he might get optioned in a roster crunch. 89 Brandon Pfaadt ARI The good news is he had a much better start last week than he had in his previous two. The bad news? Getting one out would have been better than the start vs WSH. But again, 8 wins is 8 wins, and he’s helping you in that category. 90 Zac Gallen ARI He’s going to have to go on a month-long run of near perfection before I fall for this banana in the tailpipe again. 91 Sawyer-Gipson Long DET I had him slotted in the 70s this week, but pushed him down because there were reports that he was going to work out of the bullpen and follow after Tyler Holton opened. Jobe’s injury should open the door a bit for him, but I have a bad feeling something like the return of Alex Cobb costs him a spot in the rotation. 92 Jeffrey Springs ATH Three straight QS after the unraveling in TOR. I still don’t trust him, but you can do worse. I’d stream him in the right matchup, especially if he’s on the road. 93 Nick Martinez CIN He’s a bit of a seesaw every week, and he was yet another guy to get victimized by the DET offense (yikes), but we’re into the nitty gritty now, and he’s throwing decent innings. He’s at least a streamer in 12-teamers. 94 Clayton Kershaw LAD Just one earned run in his last 12 IP. King Clayton is looking good and averaging more than 80 pitches in his last 4 GS. 95 Bowden Francis TOR 3.2 innings in Philly on Saturday! At least he didn’t give up any home runs!? Ya, that’s the best I’ve got.  96 Erick Fedde STL He’s winless in 7 GS after that complete game shutout at WSH on May 9th. Don’t worry, though. Guess who gets to chuck at CWS this week! 97 Ryne Nelson ARI Last week’s rebound vs SD was a nice little bounceback. And at the spot in the list, we’re just looking for upside and semi-secure rotation spots. 98 Mike Soroka WSH I had a whole list of guys for this spot, but I came down to the Player Rater (SP100) and me refusing to put Walker Buehler back in here this week. 99 Kyle Harrison BOS I got a bit blindsided by the Devers trade news while I was typing this up last night, so I figured I’d slide Harrison in at the end here. If anything, they should give him a long look in the rotation so Bosox fans know what he looks like. Of course, after they’re finished burning their #11 jerseys and screaming random obscenities into the Frog Pond on Boston Common. EDIT: Not long after the deal, the Red Sox announced that Harrison was headed to AAA. Ugh. Feel free to fill this spot with Chad Patrick or Logan Henderson. 100 Slade Cecconi CLE I didn’t want to leave us without an active arm so I snuck this one in and pushed 100 to 101. Plus, I didn’t want to waste the writeup. 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.26. “Ya can I get a lemon gelato? But can I have that In a Slade Cecconi, though? I’m trying to watch my caloric intake. Thanks.” 101 Aaron Civale CWS Nothing like requesting a trade, then getting dealt to the White Sox. That’s like winning a full-service tour of the local sewage treatment plant.