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SP RANK Name Team UP / DOWN Notes 1 Tarik Skubal DET 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, and his 13th win over Martin Perez and the CWS. ERA at 2.10. If you placed a bet on Martin Perez in this one, just send me the money next time instead. It’ll be a better outcome for all of us. 2 Paul Skenes PIT 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 1.98. With Wheeler on the shelf, no one is going to challenge the Allegheny Ace for the Cy Young Award (sorry, Cris Sanchez). 3 Garrett Crochet BOS 6 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 2.67. We saw the double stinkers Skubal posted a few weeks ago, and maybe Garrett wanted to make him feel better about it. What a good dude. The Red Sox rallied late and still won the game. They look like one of those scary Red Sox teams now that could do some serious damage if they sneak into the playoffs. 7 ER is enough to push Skenes above him this week just for S’s and G’s. 4 Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 10 Ks, and the no decision!?!?! Yoshi was cruising and on his way to no-hitter history until Jackson Holliday hit a bomb with one out to go. Even worse, the O’s rallied off of Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott and stole Yamamoto’s W. A game like this reminds me how close he is to the triumvirate of greatness above him. 5 Freddy Peralta MLW 5 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.50. 25 consecutive scoreless innings. The guy is a Top 10 starter, easily, and likely wasn’t drafted as one in your league. We can call him Wal-Mart because that’s Great Value. I’ll get some flak for ranking him above the next few guys, but he’s been unbelievable. 6 Hunter Brown HOU 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks, and his 11th win. ERA at 2.25. This one was at TEX vs Jacob deGrom. I know one thing. I don’t want to see my favorite team facing this dude in the first game of a playoff series. 7 Bryan Woo SEA 25 straight 6-inning starts, then two back-to-back where he throws 5(ish)? It’s not a big deal because he didn’t get rocked, but his 3 Ks tied a season low. When you set the bar as high as this guy did, anything below that is disappointing. 8 Jacob deGrom TEX 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, and his 7th loss. ERA at 2.78. Not a bad outing by deGrom, and the 97 pitches were reassuring after not throwing more than 90 in his last four starts. 9 Cristopher Sanchez PHI One from Dan Pants to sum up C-San today: “7.0 IP, 6 hits, ER, BB, 5 K, 12th win, ERA at 2.60. Since June 1, Cris ranks first in the majors in almost all the pitching categories that matter: ERA, innings, and fWAR. Just a reminder, this guy did not make the All-Star team.” 10 Blake Snell LAD 5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 3.19. Speaking of the Allegheny, this start against the Pirates was worse than pulling a half-dead fish out of the river, putting it in a bag, and forgetting it’s in the back of the truck. Snelly. 11 Joe Ryan MIN 2 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks, and his 8th win. “You can’t record a win, or a quality start when you only last 2 innings as a starter, kids. Try to limit your walks, and stay in school.” That’s G.I. Joe Ryan’s public service announcement. Because he knows. And knowing is half the battle. 12 Logan Gilbert SEA 6.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 7 K. Six innings and seven strikeouts? Siiiiixxxx Seeeeveeeennnn. (If you’re around any kid between the ages of 9 and 19, don’t say that one out loud.) 13 Logan Webb SF 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, and his 13th win. He’s won 3 of his last 4 starts and gets ARI at home this week. 14 Trevor Rogers BAL 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, and a 1.51 ERA. As great as he’s been, I would have understood if any of you sat him against The Avengers on Saturday night. When your opponent has allowed 0 H through 8.2 IP, it’s tough to steal a win, no matter how well you’re throwing. 15 Max Fried NYY 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.98. Two big cats at it last week as Fried and the Jankees headed to HOU for a pitching duel with Framber. The only problem was that someone forgot to tell Framber it was a pitching duel, and he brought a wet noodle instead of a sword. 16 Nick Pivetta SD 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 5th L, ERA at 2.85. The Crazy Canuck Keeps Crusin’. (Forget the L) 17 Tyler Glasnow LAD Scratched from Friday’s start with “back tightness” but will start early this week. This could mean two starts! Or it could mean another trip to the IL! In other words, monitor closely before your roster move deadline. 18 George Kirby SEA 2 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.47. Oh no. No tending the rabbits tonight, George. 19 Carlos Rodon NYY 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.12. 109 pitches. I still don’t think he’s an ace, but if you managed to secure this guy as your SP2 or even SP3, and your arms ahead of him are still healthy? Congrats on at least still being in the hunt for that league title. 20 Hunter Greene CIN 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and the no-decision. ERA at 2.70. Hunter put in some work on Labor Day. That’s the good news. The bad? He has just one win in his last 8 GS. 21 Chris Sale ATL 6.2 IP, ER, 4 H, 9 K, ERA at 2.38. Yes, the guy is built like a paperclip, but his line since returning two weeks ago makes it look like he didn’t miss a step in 2.5 months on the IL: 12.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 18 Ks. 22 Framber Valdez HOU More below. 23 Brandon Woodruff MLW 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, and his 6th win. ERA at 3.32. What a beauty of a bounce-back by Woody. His first QS in 5 starts and a nice way to clean up his streak of poor showings (3 GS, 14.1 IP, 13 ER). Up we go again. 24 Shota Imanaga CHC 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.15. 3:15? One shy of the stone cold? Let’s call him stone lukewarm. 25 Cade Horton CHC More below. 26 Ranger Suarez PHI 6 IP, 0 ER, 8 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.89. Dynamite. 27 Sonny Gray STL Remember last week when I said navigating Gray’s starts is like a game of duck, duck, goose? And that last week wasn’t the goose? Last Monday? HONK and RUN! 28 Robbie Ray SF 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, and the no-decision. The low walk total and solid strikeouts make this less of a gut punch, but it was at COL. And he’s given up 13 ER in his last three starts (14 IP). 29 Noah McLean NYM More above! 30 Drew Rasmussen TB 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 hits, zero walks, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.74. Good job at shortening those outings, Tampa. 31 Kyle Bradish BAL I got too excited by the 10-strikeout return performance two weeks ago. 4 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks at SD (on 84 pitches) was more of what we should have expected anyway. Baltimore doesn’t have anything to make a run at, so easing Bradish back in slowly without the pressure of a playoff race is the right call. 32 Merrill Kelly TEX 7.0 IP, 5 hits, ER, BB, 7 K, ERA at 3.16. Whether I’m a fan or not is irrelevant. He’s been a beast all year and even more so since the deadline. 33 Pablo Lopez MIN N/R 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 4 K, 4th L. The news here is a healthy start, and a quality one to boot. It’s a modest ranking after his first game back, but he’ll jump quickly with positive results. 34 Lucas Giolito BOS 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks, and his 3rd loss. ERA at 3.38. Gio was another tough luck loser on Saturday as the Sox ran into the Brandon Pfaadt buzzsaw (stop laughing, it’s true!). I said it with Hunter Brown, and it’s worth repeating with Giolito. I wouldn’t want my favorite team facing this guy in Game 1 of a playoff round either. 35 Quinn Priester MLW 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K. And that’s a dozen Quinns, er, wins for Priester. 36 Ryan Pepiot TB 5 IP, 0 ER, 0 hits, 2 walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.59. This one feels like more of an enigma to me than it should. A solid start, but not 6 innings. Is he getting pushed way up draft lists like he was last preseason, or is he going to be a bargain buy in 2026? If that ERA doesn’t balloon a bit more the rest of the way, I assume it’s the former. 37 Jesus Luzardo PHI 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 8 Ks, and his 13th win. ERA at 4.01. Luzardo’s ERA is only a tenth lower than Yusei Kikuchi’s, and I still know who I’d rather roster by a long shot. 38 Brayan Bello BOS 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks, (on 100 pitches) vs CLE. It wasn’t a quality start, but it was enough to snag him his third win in four starts. 39 Nick Lodolo CIN Scratched with an illness. What? He couldn’t schedule this sickness during his IL stint? Oof. Hold here for now. 40 Kevin Gausman TOR 8.0 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K, 9th win, ERA at 3.63. The goose is loose! He’s allowed 2 ER in his last two starts (15 IP), with 13 Ks, and has given up more than two earned just once in his last half a dozen starts. He’s looking like a guy who’s primed and ready to start a playoff series. 41 Eury Perez MIA 4 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.66. One month ago in the comments: “Eury is way too low. Guy is a Cy Young-caliber pitcher. You’re crazy. What a joke.” Right now in the comments: “*crickets*”. 42 Dylan Cease SD My only note for Cease this week was: “FFS”. He’s completed 6 innings just twice in his last 10 GS. 43 Cam Schlittler NYY 1.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 3rd L. He rarely gives us a Schlitty start like this one, but this was by far his worst in 10 GS. He gets a free pass this week. 44 Jonah Tong NYM 6 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, and his first loss. The 3 HR allowed certainly didn’t help matters. It was a rough weekend for the Tolle/Tong enthusiasts. 45 Jacob Misiorowski MLW 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks on 73 pitches. This was the 6th straight start that he didn’t finish 6 innings, and I wonder if he gets “extra rest” soon before the Brewers head into the playoffs. 46 Ryan Bergert KC 5 IP, 1 ER, 1 hit, 3 walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.61. Bergert Time responding nicely after he was our lede last Monday. 47 Shane Bieber TOR 6 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 4.15. Uh…that’s not the Shane Bieber any of us were waiting for. 48 Matthew Boyd CHC 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks, and his 8th loss. ERA at 2.92. There were a bunch of tough luck losers Saturday night, and Boyd made that list of “unenviables”. 49 Shohei Ohtani LAD 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K on 70 pitches. Shohei topped out at … 101.5 MPH on Friday night? Um, what? I suppose that at this point, we shouldn’t be surprised anymore. If you’re wondering if he’s fully healthy, I don’t think you’ve to wonder anymore. 50 Will Warren NYY 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.28. It feels like he lost some of the sheen that had people scrambling to pick him up two months ago. 51 Gavin Williams CLE 7.0 IP, ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 10th win. Sonofa! It’s a good thing I benched him last week, too. Smh. 52 Noah Cameron KC 5 IP, 3 ER, 10 baserunners (5 BBs), 5 Ks, ERA at 3.03. I said two weeks ago that I hope he’s not hitting a wall. The line could have been worse, and the ER count is fine, especially if he’s giving up almost a half dozen walks, but it’s not like he’s the Kool-Aid Man still blasting through concrete like he was earlier in the season. 53 Max Scherzer TOR Last week’s 4 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 1 K outing vs MIL was a tough one. 8 ER in his last 10 IP before yesterday’s series finale at NYY. 54 Casey Mize DET 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.87. After the Mets humbled the Marlins’ starting rotation, I was gunshy about starting Mize. Sonofabench! 55 Spencer Strider ATL 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K, and the no-decision. ERA at 4.97. At least it wasn’t a loss? (He broke a personal 4-game losing skid). Ya, that’s not too convincing. That’s like breaking both legs and your non-dominant arm. “At least you can still sign your name?” Ugh. 56 Jack Flaherty DET 4.1 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 4.85. And a 7-13 record? Yuck. 57 Luis Castillo SEA His last 4 starts have been a minefield of hits, earned runs, and homers. He was scheduled to go at ATL yesterday, but I wouldn’t have started him. 58 Payton Tolle BOS 3.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K. Uh. For whom the bell tolles? It sounds cynical, but if he can put up 3 more of these the rest of the way, he’ll be dirt cheap next draft season and plant the seeds of a new Marmo Mancrush. 59 Mitch Keller PIT 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 Ks, and his 17th (!) quality start. He lost again, of course (14th), and now has just one win in his last six games. He’s up too high today, but the next 10 SPs were worse, so here we are.  60 Yu Darvish SD 4 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 5.75. Why didn’t Yu tell me not to stream him!? 61 Clayton Kershaw LAD 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.28. He didn’t pitch all that poorly. A couple of bad luck hits and a duck snort single was most of the damage. 62 Luis Gil NYY 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 K, and his 3rd win. ERA at 3.31. Can you guess how many walks? Must be a good number if he had this great a start and beat a guy who threw 5 innings with zero earned runs, right? Well, Gil walked four. 63 Brady Singer CIN 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks, and his … guess how many wins? If I didn’t write this up every week, I wouldn’t even be close. He’s tied with eight starters for 5th place with 13 wins. 64 Ryne Nelson ARI 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, and the no-decision. ERA at 3.57. He has 7 wins in 19 starts, so that’s not exactly ideal, but if you’re looking for a hot hand to stream in a shallower league, Nelson has decent strikeout totals and three straight quality starts. 65 Luis Severino ATH N/R 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.65. You think Yankee fans are still rooting for this guy? 66 Luis Morales ATH N/R More below. 67 Hurston Waldrep ATL More below. 68 Jack Leiter TEX 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.74. That’s three beauties in a row. He gets a good boost today. 69 David Peterson NYM 5.1 IP, 7 hits, 4 ER, BB, 4 K, 9th win. The win potential is still there, but the 25 ER in his last 30.1 IP isn’t something to pin your head-to-head playoff hopes on. I’d sit him at Philly this week. 70 Emmett Sheehan LAD 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 3.59. His new name is Hokey Pokey because, as far as the rotation is concerned, one minute he’s in and the next minute he’s out. 71 Zac Gallen ARI 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.77. You might not know it by looking at the ERA, but this was his 4th straight QS, and 6th in his last 7 games. It’s past time that he escapes the bottom 10 and heads into the 70s. 72 Justin Verlander SF 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, and the no-decision. ERA at 4.09. Vintage Verlander vexed by the lack of run support. 73 Clay Holmes NYM 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 3.61 on how many pitches? (It was 85). 74 Jose Berrios TOR Torched at CIN last week for 6 R in 2 IP. The positive is that only two were earned, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. 75 Jose Soriano LAA 2.1 IP, 8 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 4 K. So I say Jose last week, too. What’s the opposite of a sonofabench? Something like dodging a ratio landmine field? I hope you sat him in your H2H playoffs. 76 Yusei Kikuchi LAA 2 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 1 K, ERA at 4.18. Yusei…I can’t even pitch well against the A’s if I want to. 77 Aaron Nola PHI 5 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 6.78. Insert the GIF of Danny Devito shaking his head, “No”. 78 Sandy Alcantara MIA 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, and his 12th loss. ERA at 5.67. Sandy was shaving big points off those ratios over his last 5 GS. He was due for a face-plant kind of game. 79 Chris Bassitt TOR 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks, and his 8th loss. ERA at 3.97. Some talk radio folks were floating the idea about moving Bassitt into the closer role for the playoffs. I assume the callers were Eric Lauer’s brother and grandmother. 80 Zebby Matthews MIN 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.73. I have him nowhere, so the ups and downs have been fine by me, but the upside is great. 81 Jason Alexander HOU 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.68. “Is anyone here a marine biologist?!” 82 Tanner Bibee CLE 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks, and the no-decision. ERA at 4.69. Nope. I’m not falling for this football yank again. 83 Andrew Abbott CIN 4.2 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, and his 5th loss in his last 6 starts. Forget high school, it’s looking like it’s time to send Abbott back to Elementary. 84 Braxton Ashcraft PIT More below. 85 Zack Littell CIN 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks against the Jays’ Juggernaut (The Jay-gernaut?) last week. His 4 HR allowed sunk him in this one, and he’s given up 7 big flies in his last 14.1 IP (3 GS).  86 Michael Wacha KC 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, and back in the win column (9th) after back-to-back hiccups to finish August. 87 Bryce Miller SEA 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. ERA at 5.53. It wasn’t a quality start, but it was CLOSE! Horseshoes, hand grenades, and a solid Bryce Miller start. What is: Close enough? 88 Brandon Pfaadt ARI More below. 89 Jeffrey Springs ATH His first quality start in 5 GS, and a tough no-decision at STL. 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks is a fine line, but he still hasn’t recorded a win since July 30th. 90 Sean Manaea NYM More below. 91 Jose Quintana MLW Snapped a 4-game personal winless streak with an acceptable start vs PHI last Wednesday. 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks. ERA at 3.72. He’s slated to throw at TEX today. 92 Shane Baz TB N/R 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks. ERA at 4.94. I said to myself after posting last Monday that if Baz can escape both starts last week intact, I’d have to re-add him to the list. I was tempted to make it 120 deep this week just to be safe. 93 Michael McGreevy STL Two weeks ago, he threw a beauty at CIN. Then he took a step back again on Friday night vs SF. 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 Ks on 75 pitches. He should pitch at SEA in the middle of this week. 94 Cade Cavalli WSH 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.85. It doesn’t feel like a good one to rely on here, but if the league is super deep…and the matchup is ok…well, I’d probably still pass. 95 Adrian Houser TB 7 IP, 4 ER, 5 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.01. This is the kind of start I expect every time out, but with fewer innings and strikeouts. 96 Parker Messick CLE Labor Day was a toughie for Parker at Fenway – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks on 82 pitches. He was scheduled to go in Tampa yesterday.  97 Cristian Javier HOU 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 4.43. Now cross your eyes and read that line again. This one had more 4s and 3s than that bargain dating app, “BrownBagger”. 98 Charlie Morton DET 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 Ks last week vs NYM. The walks are back up. He’s allowed 13 ER in his last 3 GS (14.2 IP). Hopefully, for the sake of Tigers fans, he didn’t get pumped again yesterday. (at home vs CWS). 99 Bailey Ober MIN 13 ER in his last 21 IP, and 4 GS since he last completed 6 innings. He missed all of July, so this stat is a bit misleading, but he hasn’t won a game since May 3rd. At least it was May 2025? Ya, that’s all I’ve got. 100 Shane Smith CWS N/R He’s 20th on the last 30-day Player Rater, just ahead of Sandy Alcantara and some other eye-poppers (Webb, deGrom, Pivetta). That’s good enough to get him back on the list.