May Starter Rankings
Welcome to the May starter rankings. Players are ranked based on how I believe they will perform in 5x5 leagues over the remainder of the season. Along with the position rankings, you'll soon find a fully updated top 300 list.
Click to see other May rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH
Starting pitcher Rankings
Dropping off: Gavin Floyd (No. 70), Matt Harrison (No. 79), Chad Billingsley (No. 90), Clayton Richard (No. 109), Mike Fiers (No. 110), Henderson Alvarez (No. 112), Ubaldo Jimenez (No. 123), Jacob Turner (No. 135), Joe Saunders (No. 136), Zach Britton (No. 140), Brett Myers (No. 142), Jake Arrieta (No. 143), Jeff Niemann (No. 144)
I would have ranked Buchholz higher before the cheating allegations, not because I see much evidence of him benefitting from any sort of ball doctoring going on, but because it's just the kind of thing that could get into his head. Buchholz has always had some quirks and question marks about his mental toughness -- he had some particularly odd issues when it came to throwing to first base in his first couple of years in the league -- and I just wonder how he'll deal with this new-found spotlight.
Having Anibal Sanchez so high makes a little nervous, especially given that he's already topped 110 pitches four times. His two high pitch counts last year were 119 and 112. This year, he's already reached 121, 115, 114 and 113. Of course, the 121 -- his 17-strikeout game against the Braves -- might have been the most dominant outing anyone has had this season. Since Sanchez has gone three straight seasons without any arm issues, maybe I shouldn't worry. The Marlins let him rack up a whole bunch of 110+ pitch counts in 2011 without incident. It's just that his history of shoulder problems is hard to forget.
Yes, their ERAs are over 6.00, but I'm still quite confident in Brett Anderson and Edwin Jackson. Anderson, serving what figures to be a brief DL stint because of a ankle injury, has struck out 29 and allowed three homers in 29 innings. Jackson has 39 strikeouts and two homers allowed in 38 innings.
While I have Teheran tumbling here, I'd give him a few more starts before I'd consider dropping him in a mixed league. If not for the likelihood that Beachy (Tommy John surgery) will come back and take his rotation spot in late June or early July, I'd still have Teheran in the 60s.
I'd have Jose Fernandez ranked around No. 50 for May alone, but since he'll be worthless in September, if not earlier, because of his innings limit, he comes in at No. 75. He'll drop each month from here.
Oddly enough, Brandon McCarthy's velocity is better than ever, though he has a 7.22 ERA to show for it. There's surely some bad luck tied up in that mark, but it's imperative that he find his curveball if he's going to be successful for the Diamondbacks.
Rank | Starting Pitcher | Team | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 1 |
2 | Justin Verlander | Tigers | 2 |
3 | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | 8 |
4 | Cole Hamels | Phillies | 4 |
5 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 10 |
6 | Madison Bumgarner | Giants | 13 |
7 | Yu Darvish | Rangers | 16 |
8 | Stephen Strasburg | Nationals | 3 |
9 | Cliff Lee | Phillies | 6 |
10 | Gio Gonzalez | Nationals | 9 |
11 | David Price | Rays | 5 |
12 | Matt Cain | Giants | 7 |
13 | Matt Moore | Rays | 22 |
14 | James Shields | Royals | 12 |
15 | Max Scherzer | Tigers | 23 |
16 | Jon Lester | Red Sox | 20 |
17 | Matt Harvey | Mets | 44 |
18 | Mat Latos | Reds | 25 |
19 | Jordan Zimmermann | Nationals | 24 |
20 | Anibal Sanchez | Tigers | 53 |
21 | CC Sabathia | Yankees | 17 |
22 | Jeff Samardzija | Cubs | 29 |
23 | Kris Medlen | Braves | 18 |
24 | Chris Sale | White Sox | 19 |
25 | R.A. Dickey | Blue Jays | 15 |
26 | Clay Buchholz | Red Sox | 52 |
27 | Hiroki Kuroda | Yankees | 32 |
28 | Alex Cobb | Rays | 38 |
29 | Zack Greinke | Dodgers | 14 |
30 | Yovani Gallardo | Brewers | 30 |
31 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | Dodgers | 31 |
32 | Mike Minor | Braves | 42 |
33 | Jered Weaver | Angels | 11 |
34 | Lance Lynn | Cardinals | 41 |
35 | Jake Peavy | White Sox | 37 |
36 | Tommy Milone | Athletics | 33 |
37 | Johnny Cueto | Reds | 21 |
38 | Dan Haren | Nationals | 35 |
39 | Jeremy Hellickson | Rays | 34 |
40 | Brett Anderson | Athletics | 28 |
41 | Matt Garza | Cubs | 45 |
42 | A.J. Burnett | Pirates | 50 |
43 | Shelby Miller | Cardinals | 78 |
44 | Homer Bailey | Reds | 48 |
45 | Tony Cingrani | Reds | 105 RP |
46 | Doug Fister | Tigers | 63 |
47 | C.J. Wilson | Angels | 27 |
48 | Alexi Ogando | Rangers | 49 |
49 | Jaime Garcia | Cardinals | 54 |
50 | Trevor Cahill | Diamondbacks | 58 |
51 | Ian Kennedy | Diamondbacks | 39 |
52 | Derek Holland | Rangers | 72 |
53 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Mariners | 74 |
54 | Edwin Jackson | Cubs | 46 |
55 | Ervin Santana | Royals | 97 |
56 | Tim Lincecum | Giants | 47 |
57 | Kyle Lohse | Brewers | 60 |
58 | Brandon Morrow | Blue Jays | 40 |
59 | Josh Johnson | Blue Jays | 36 |
60 | Paul Maholm | Braves | 94 |
61 | Tim Hudson | Braves | 62 |
62 | Patrick Corbin | Diamondbacks | 129 |
63 | Ryan Dempster | Red Sox | 82 |
64 | Jason Vargas | Angels | 55 |
65 | Andy Pettitte | Yankees | 57 |
66 | Jose Quintana | White Sox | 69 |
67 | Phil Hughes | Yankees | 73 |
68 | Wandy Rodriguez | Pirates | 71 |
69 | Wade Miley | Diamondbacks | 66 |
70 | Jon Niese | Mets | 59 |
71 | Andrew Cashner | Padres | 75 |
72 | Ross Detwiler | Nationals | 77 |
73 | Jhoulys Chacin | Rockies | 93 |
74 | Julio Teheran | Braves | 51 |
75 | Jose Fernandez | Marlins | 86 |
76 | Jason Hammel | Orioles | 65 |
77 | A.J. Griffin | Athletics | 83 |
78 | Jarrod Parker | Athletics | 43 |
79 | Chris Capuano | Dodgers | 76 |
80 | Ryan Vogelsong | Giants | 67 |
81 | Josh Beckett | Dodgers | 56 |
82 | Francisco Liriano | Pirates | 91 |
83 | Carlos Villanueva | Cubs | 103 |
84 | Justin Masterson | Indians | 89 |
85 | Jeremy Guthrie | Royals | 95 |
86 | Roy Halladay | Phillies | 26 |
87 | Brandon McCarthy | Diamondbacks | 61 |
88 | Wei-Yin Chen | Orioles | 80 |
89 | Chris Tillman | Orioles | 99 |
90 | Erasmo Ramirez | Mariners | 64 |
91 | Drew Smyly | Tigers | 151 |
92 | Kyle Kendrick | Phillies | 108 |
93 | Jake Westbrook | Cardinals | 126 |
94 | Scott Feldman | Cubs | 100 |
95 | Bartolo Colon | Athletics | 124 |
96 | Bronson Arroyo | Reds | 119 |
97 | Wade Davis | Royals | 87 |
98 | Travis Wood | Cubs | 158 |
99 | James McDonald | Pirates | 85 |
100 | Kevin Slowey | Marlins | 154 |
101 | Marco Estrada | Brewers | 81 |
102 | Ted Lilly | Dodgers | 98 |
103 | John Danks | White Sox | 114 |
104 | Mike Leake | Reds | 88 |
105 | Colby Lewis | Rangers | 122 |
106 | Rick Porcello | Tigers | 68 |
107 | Brandon Beachy | Braves | 133 |
108 | Dan Straily | Athletics | 139 |
109 | Ricky Nolasco | Marlins | 116 |
110 | Felix Doubront | Red Sox | 115 |
111 | Chris Archer | Rays | 127 |
112 | Justin Grimm | Rangers | 234 |
113 | Roy Oswalt | Rockies | 102 |
114 | Miguel Gonzalez | Orioles | 117 |
115 | Scott Diamond | Twins | 105 |
116 | Gerrit Cole | Pirates | 120 |
117 | Barry Zito | Giants | 155 |
118 | Jorge De La Rosa | Rockies | 131 |
119 | J.A. Happ | Blue Jays | 130 |
120 | Trevor Bauer | Indians | 150 |
121 | Tommy Hanson | Angels | 101 |
122 | Kevin Gausman | Orioles | 152 |
123 | Cory Luebke | Padres | 132 |
124 | John Lackey | Red Sox | 145 |
125 | Nick Tepesch | Rangers | 232 |
126 | David Phelps | Yankees | 146 |
127 | Hector Santiago | White Sox | 121 |
128 | Shaun Marcum | Mets | 92 |
129 | Michael Pineda | Yankees | 149 |
130 | Michael Wacha | Cardinals | 148 |
131 | Scott Baker | Cubs | 137 |
132 | Zach McAllister | Indians | 159 |
133 | Zack Wheeler | Mets | 160 |
134 | Joe Blanton | Angels | 84 |
135 | Anthony Bass | Padres | 147 |
136 | Tyson Ross | Padres | 104 |
137 | Juan Nicasio | Rockies | 118 |
138 | Roberto Hernandez | Rays | 141 |
139 | Mark Buehrle | Blue Jays | 111 |
140 | Dylan Bundy | Orioles | 107 |
141 | Ricky Romero | Blue Jays | 138 |
142 | Jeff Karstens | Pirates | 113 |
143 | Wily Peralta | Brewers | 134 |
144 | Dillon Gee | Mets | 96 |
145 | Vance Worley | Twins | 106 |
146 | Jeremy Hefner | Mets | 153 |
147 | Brandon Maurer | Mariners | 128 |
148 | Edinson Volquez | Padres | 125 |
149 | Bud Norris | Astros | 171 |
150 | Jeff Locke | Pirates | 164 |
