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SP RANK Name Team UP / DOWN Notes 1 Tarik Skubal DET 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 12 K. There’s a new sheriff in town. No, Canadian steel industry workers. Don’t panic. I said SHERIFF, NOT TARIFF. 2 Garrett Crochet BOS 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. Chefs kiss. In a note below, I mention someone who should be in the top 3 Cy Young votes by the end of the year (health permitting). I’ll bet you can guess who another one of them is. 3 Paul Skenes PIT 6 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.77. Back-to-back 4 BB starts knock him off his perch this week. 4 Cole Ragans KC The CWS game early last week was a beauty, but that start was more about him proving the groin problems were, uh, behind him. Ragans lost Saturday’s clash of the titans with Crochet, but pulling in 19 Ks this week was a boon for the H2H managers. More below. 5 Max Fried NYY 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 1.05. Mmmm. Max Fries. That’s the kind with nacho cheese, melted cheese curds, sour cream, and huge chunks of strikeouts, right? 6 Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD 5 IP, 5 ER, ERA at 1.80. Getting pumped for 5 ER so your ERA “balloons” to 1.80 is ok by me (unless you roster him in a H2H league). 7 Hunter Brown  HOU More below. 8 Zack Wheeler PHI 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks and took care of business in last night’s start at CLE. The WHIP (0.91) and BAA (.200) are almost as impressive as his 74 Ks in 58 IP. 9 Jacob deGrom TEX Won his third consecutive start on Saturday night. He gets HOU at home then faces NYY in Yankee Stadium next, so be aware they’re not exactly cake-walk starts. 10 Joe Ryan MIN Another 6-inning, one hit gem from Ryan on Saturday night. 2 ER and 26 Ks in his last 19 IP (3 GS). 11 Michael King SD 6 IP, 2 ER,3 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, ERA at 2.22 Kinger with a stay at the Deuce Drop Inn. Hopefully it’s a short one. Streamonator has him as the top option this week with two starts ($45.1). 12 Hunter Greene CIN 3 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 2.36. Hunter heads to the IL with a case of Sore Johnson. At least it wasn’t an arm injury? (Dodges unripened discoloured tomato). The report is that it’s a low-grade strain, so he should only miss the minimum. He’s not slipping unless the news turns bad. 13 Shota Imanaga CHC I kept Shota and Hunter Greene together in their drop here just because the Cubs’ report is that Imanaga’s mild hamstring strain will keep him out for more than the two week minimum. You’d think MLB doctors would have the same timeline for a mild hamstring strain. Well, unless you ask a NYM doctor who would say a hamstring strain is when you wrap the pig rope too tightly before popping it into the oven. 14 Pablo Lopez MIN 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 11 Ks. Way to come through after a boost, Pab-Lo! Seriously, though, this was a home game against Baltimore, and we might need to start asking if the Orioles are as dangerous an offense as we thought they were. 15 Sonny Gray STL 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.50. His best start of the year. He’s now 4-1 with a 9.13 K/9. This is as solid as they come. 16 Logan Webb SF Tough luck loss in Minny Saturday night. 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks. He gets ATH at home this week!  17 MacKenzie Gore WSH 6.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks vs STL yesterday. Every time I move one of these kids up into the Top 20, they put up a stinker. 18 Bailey Ober MIN 5 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.50. There was a short period early in the season when you might have been able to make a trade for this guy without paying up. Alas, the time is now Ober. 19 Dylan Cease SD More below. 20 Bryan Woo SEA Bryan effing Woo – He was the lede last week and I rained so much praise on him that my shoes got wet. Then he went out to Athletic Alley, got his jersey yanked over his head, and was pummelled for 5 ER. Boo-Woo. That’s the Tears of a SacTown Clown. He won’t dump much today, but he slips a little. 21 Freddy Peralta MLW He ‘tweaked’ his groin last week but the team thinks he’ll be good to go today at CLE. 22 Kodai Senga NYM 6 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 1.16. All aboard the SengaBus because…we like to party.  23 Nick Pivetta SD He gave up a 3-run bomb to Hunter Goodman while I was writing this yesterday. Wasn’t as dominant in his last three as we has in his previous three but that’s just nit-picking. Solid play here. 24 Spencer Schwellenbach ATL 6 IP, 1 ER,5 H, 2 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.61. Schwell is back! 25 Robbie Ray SFG 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.84, and his third straight QS. Is that a Ray-gun in his pants pocket, or was Robbie just happy to see Wrigley Field? 26 Framber Valdez HOU 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.94. A welcome bounce-back start after a few less-than-encouraging ones. 27 Jesus Luzardo PHI 5.1 IP, 2 ER,6 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.11. What? It can’t be a miracle start every week. 28 Carlos Rodon NYY He escaped Bing Bong Stadium with a no decision last week, but still got tagged for 2 HR allowed. The 10 Ks were a nice consolation prize. 29 Cristopher Sanchez PHI 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.89. This kind of bounce-back from an injury scare is almost too good to believe. Grey mentioned that maybe this guy’s quick return from forearm soreness is a good omen for Dylan Cease’s outlook too. Here’s hoping Cease can return like Sanchez did.  30 Chris Sale ATL 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 10 Ks, ERA at 4.07. Another double-digit strikeout game turns this Sale into a Buy. 31 Logan Gilbert SEA Played catch Friday night before the Jays game. He’s eligible to return May 23rd. Monitor for news on his next step (mound work). 32 Nathan Eovaldi TEX 6 IP, 1 ER,5 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.03. He’s having a Sonny Gray kind of year – dominating on the down low – and is still an afterthought to most. He’s likely too low even here. 33 Corbin Burnes ARI He put up a vintage Burnes start on Saturday night. 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. “Oh ya? Probably against the Rockies.” Um…it was at home against the Dodgers. (The Rockies start is this week). 34 Nick Lodolo CIN He had such a rough start on May 3rd that he disappeared from the list. More like Lo-D’Oh-lo. The good news is he got the (unintentional) message. 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 Ks in a tough no-decision at ATL. Even better news – he gets CWS this week. 35 Tyler Mahle CIN 5 IP, 2 ER,4 H, 1 BB, 0 Ks, ERA at 1.48. Is he an ani-Mahle, or is he due to get mauled? Do we truly want a starting pitcher who can post pristine ratios if he does not come with strikeout upside? Do we giggle that his last name sounds like we’re asking our daughter to pick her doll up off the floor? Inquiring minds. 36 Casey Mize DET More above! 37 Kris Bubic KC 7 IP, 0 ER,6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 1.69. Back-to-back shutout outings (stutter!) move Bubic up this week. 38 Brandon Pfaadt ARI 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.28. If you’re chasing wins, hitching your ride to this guy looks like a good choice. He has 6. 39 Drew Rasmussen TB 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 3.09. Honestly, I hope you don’t own him in a QS league. 40 Brady Singer CIN 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.66. 41 Jack Flaherty DET Saturday night’s meltdown was his third rough start in a row, his fifth loss in a row, and dropped his record to 1-5. The 4 HR allowed were the most out of all 8 starts. I almost recommended sitting him in Toronto this week, and decided to check with The Streamonmator first. At -$4.4, the robot agrees with me. 42 Shane Baz TB More below. 43 Luis Castillo SEA 5 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks. Got derailed by Barger and Lukes. And, no, that’s not a Legal Firm. It’s a couple of schmotatoes in Canada. 44 Casey Mize DET More above! 45 Zac Gallen ARI More below. 46 Seth Lugo KC 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 2.84. EDIT: Quality start but a loss yesterday afternoon. 47 Tylor Megill NYM Got roughed up a bit by the Cubs on Saturday night (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks). He gets a couple of AL Beast games next (at NYY and at BOS), so tread carefully. 48 David Peterson NYM 6 IP, 2 ER, 94 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.52. He gets PIT at home today. 49 Aaron Nola PHI Beat up in Cleveland last week to drop to 1-6. It hasn’t been good at all. In fairness, his two previous starts to this one weren’t that bad. I just can’t see trusting him to be anything more than a streamer at this point. 50 Kevin Gausman TOR 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 3 Ks. Not too bad. Not too good. Goldilocks Gausman. 51 Clay Holmes NYM 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K. He has 5 wins. At this point, it won’t matter if they shut him down just shy of 150 innings because that will be after he records his 16th win (*nods to Mr. Pro-Rater for the assist*). 52 Bryce Miller SEA The good news is he returned from the IL last Monday. The bad news is he put up his worst start of the year. At least he didn’t walk anyone. 53 Spencer Strider ATL He said he feels good, and he’s eligible to return this Friday. Monitor the news here. I’ll be activating him in my home mixed league because my other options are not good. What’s the worst that can happen? Give us another decent 5 inning start and head back to the IL for another month? 54 Tanner Bibee CLE A  tough luck loser vs PHI on Saturday night, Bibee put together 7 strong innings against a tough Phillies offense. He’s allowed just 6 ER total over his last 4 GS (25 IP) after giving up 6 ER in one start on April 17th. 55 Dustin May LAD Two straight wins and likely a hasty drop by me in the Perts league last week, but I needed to shake things up and he was on the chopping block. 56 Ryan Pepiot TB 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.86. I always feel guilty writing up Pepiot and Taj. It’s not that I don’t like them; I just didn’t think their ADP was justified. They’ll be good. Eventually, really good. I wasn’t convinced they should be drafted around 175-200 overall, which is where I was drafting Shane Baz and Jared Jones instead…ugh. 57 Griffin Canning NYM I said it last week. Anyone who had this on their pre-season Bingo card must’ve bought it from WitchesRUs. He won his 5th in a row last week and has allowed just 3 ER in his last 21 IP. 58 Matthew Liberatore STL More below. 59 Jackson Jobe DET More below. 60 Taj Bradley TB See Pepiot’s note above.  61 Tyler Anderson LAA 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.68 He outdueled Framber. Because, of course he did. 62 Reese Olson DET He was lifted after 4 IP yesterday. 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks.  63 Tony Gonsolin LAD 5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 4.09. The best Tony G since the British high-stakes poker player. EDIT: 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks. Second win in three starts. 64 Clarke Schmidt NYY 6 IP, 2 ER,7 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 4.79. Two decent games with 10 Ks in 11 IP moves him up a bit. 65 Michael Wacha KC 7 IP, 0 ER,3 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks, ERA at 2.98. Death, taxes, and good starts from Michael Wacha. 66 Andrew Abbott CIN 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 Ks, ERA at 2.25. Two starts this week, but not a great outlook. 67 Gavin Williams CLE 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 8 K. Have you ever rostered a guy that you expected to break out, then after he starts the year in the toilet it’s really difficult to buy back in? This is the problem I’m Gavin…er…havin’ with Williams. 68 Max Meyer MIA More below. 69 Ranger Suarez PHI 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks means I need to make some space to move him way up from last week’s SP97 spot. 70 Roki Sasaki LAD More below. 71 Luis Severino ATH Got roughed up last week against SEA at home (6 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 Ks). I wasn’t starting him yesterday against the Yankees. EDIT: 4 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks. I guess it was the right call. 72 Matthew Boyd CHC 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks yesterday but no decision. Is the ERA still good? Yeaaaah Boyyyyd!  73 Jose Soriano LAA 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 4 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.00. Every year, there are a few arms that I like and that I think will take a big step forward, but I don’t want to take the risk that the walk rates or hits allowed could tank my ratios. It’s accepting that I might miss out on a big break out for safety’s sake. This is the story of 2025 Jose Soriano. 74 Chris Bassitt TOR 6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.35. It may seem Dumb and Dumber to keep running C-Bass out there on your active roster, but he’s walked just 9 guys in 45.2 innings and has posted a career-best 9.66 K/9 over his first 8 starts. 75 Brayan Bello BOS 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 5 BBs, 1 K, ERA at 2.01. Ugly all over. Similar to Giolito, I wanted this guy back so badly that I didn’t consider that my team ratios might be better off with him on the IL. 76 Jose Quintana MLW An underwhelming no-decision at TB Friday night. He’s at CLE this week.  77 Jose Berrios TOR 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 5 BB, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.86. It was a Jekyll start from the Berried wonder this week. Unless you count the Hyde-like WHIP inflation. I wonder what the next one (home vs TB this week) will look like. 78 Tomoyuki Sugano BAL 7.1 IP, ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K. The strikeouts won’t ever be there in bushels, but we’ll take the pint sized ratios as long as they’re helping him rack up wins and quality starts. 79 Yusei Kikuchi LAA 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.83. The West Coast Kuch was riding high in this one. Also, that reminds me – it’s probably time to germinate some seeds this weekend if you’re a backyard farmer. 80 Bowden Francis TOR More below. 81 Zach Eflin BAL Started against LAA yesterday. Managers have fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that he can get back to that pristine ratio guy we drafted back in March. EDIT: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks. Should qualify for the win. 82 Ronel Blanco HOU 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 Ks. Wowie. Not to be confused with my nickname the last time I went to Mexico City, El Blanco Gigante was a giant yesterday vs CIN. 83 Michael Lorenzen KC 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K. I nearly added him last week. This start vs the Red Sox sealed the deal. He’s in. 84 AJ Smith-Shawver ATL AJSS is back and dealing. 85 Justin Verlander SFG 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 Ks, ERA at 4.50. I mean…I still hit a couple of big flies in our slow-pitch league when I was 42 years old, but still being respectable as a big leaguer at 42 is something. The ratio help isn’t there anymore, and the dominating strikeout totals won’t be back either, but you could do a lot worse. Streamonator likes his two-start week this week, too. ($14.9). 86 Ryan Gusto HOU MC Gusto gets another shot at sticking in the rotation with Wesneski hitting the IL. He gets KC at home today. 87  Jack Leiter TEX More below. 88 Colin Rea CHC 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.43. This one deserves a Grey quote: “ When regression finally comes for Rea, it’s gonna be like a tantric explosion.” 89 Lucas Giolito BOS 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 2 Ks. ERA at 8.38. Oh gee, oh leave, ( him on the wire), yo. EDIT: He pitched a lot better yesterday and picked up his first win since 2023. 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks. He’ll move up next week if he has another start like this one. 90 Andrew Heaney PIT Ladies and gentlemen, your SP154 on the Stremonator this week ($-12.1 at PHI). 91 Landen Roupp SFG Another underwhelming 5-inning outing yesterday from Roupp. He’s a streamer for now. 92 Sandy Alcantara MIA He started against the White Sox yesterday and I didn’t consider it an auto-start. If we can’t start him against the South Side Schlubs, what are we even doing here? EDIT: 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 Ks and his 6th consecutive loss. 93 Lance McCullers HOU So I joked about how last Sunday’s start was his first since Biggo and Bagwell were playing. Then I saw a report that some fans were sending death threats after McCullers gave up 7 ER in just 0.1 IP last week. I know it’s not all Astros fans, but saying stuff about someone’s kids after they have a crummy day at work? Maybe it’s time to go watch lawn bowling or marble races instead. 94 Ryan Weathers MIA Weathers is back this week and should start Wednesday against CHC. I’m sitting him for this one just to see how he…weathers the storm. 95 Jeffrey Springs ATH Two starts this week! At LAD. And SFG. That’s NFG. (I’ll give you a hint. The N stands for NOT and the G stands for GOOD). 96 Will Warren NYY 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K. At Bing Bong stadium? Come on. How does Bryan Woo get blasted there, then Big Willy Style is all in it? This week, Warren is in SEA gettin jiggy wit it. I’d stream him (and I am!). 97 Merrill Kelly ARI 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.09. He won three of his first four starts. He’s also winless in his last four. This is the Merrill Kelly recipe of mediocrity. Streamonator loves him this week. 98 Patrick Corbin TEX More below. 99 Mitch Keller PIT 1-4, 4.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and fewer Ks than IP. He’s the next one to go. 100 Cade Horton CHC More below. 101 Erick Fedde STL Wait! SP101? You said Top 100 Starting Pitchers! LIAR! Yes, I felt bad about last week’s OOPS in cutting the 33rd and 34th spots somehow, so there’s an extra couple to peek at today. 102 Sean Burke CWS 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.35. So if you started him in this one, either you’re a diehard CWS fan (and if that’s the case, I’m sorry) OR you’re in a deeper AL-only league than I am. I sat both him and Mize last week.