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Welcome to the Baller Ranks for the last month or so of the 2021 fantasy baseball season! I know football continues to grab headlines, but stay the course and dominate the stretch run for that sweet, sweet championship. Finish strong with another edition of my weekly Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks!
This google sheet accompanies the table below and adds relevant 5x5 stats, K%, BB%, BABIP, FIP, xFIP, SIERA, ERA-FIP, and CSW% from the second half of the season. Do note that I leave off most injured players, and removing those injured players can give an illusion that others have risen despite mediocre performances. I highly encourage you to click the link. CLICK IT!
As always, these Rest of Season ranks are geared towards traditional 5x5 leagues sans most injured SPs, lest a return is imminent. If 25% of the board is on the IL, then it isn't terribly actionable, and I'll intermittently weave in updates of where I'd throw them in if they were healthy. For now, let's dive into my Top 101 SPs and be sure we've got the best chance at the podium.
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Top 101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 21
| (+/-) | Tier | Player | Rank | EV | $ | $PV | Trend | Notes |
| 0 | 1 | Max Scherzer | 1 | 6.1 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 1 | Walker Buehler | 2 | 14.2 | 41.0 | 41.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Making up for lack of top-end Ks w/ consistency |
| 0 | 1 | Gerrit Cole | 3 | 8.1 | 40.0 | 40.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 1 | Zack Wheeler | 4 | 10.1 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 2 | Robbie Ray | 5 | 9.9 | 37.5 | 31.0 | 6.5 ▲ | |
| -1 | 2 | Brandon Woodruff | 6 | 4.3 | 35.5 | 36.0 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| -1 | 2 | Lance Lynn | 7 | 6.1 | 33.0 | 33.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Hilarious belt antics should be worth points |
| 0 | 2 | Corbin Burnes | 8 | 12.1 | 30.5 | 30.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 1 | 2 | Chris Sale | 9 | 1.6 | 28.0 | 27.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Will he ramp up to 94+ mph on his heat soon? |
| -1 | 2 | Lucas Giolito | 10 | 6.5 | 27.5 | 29.0 | -1.5 ▼ | |
| 0 | 2 | Jack Flaherty | 11 | 2.0 | 27.5 | 27.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 3 | Kevin Gausman | 12 | 3.0 | 25.5 | 27.0 | -1.5 ▼ | Only 1 QS in 7 second-half starts, at least Ks remain |
| 0 | 3 | Luis Castillo | 13 | 5.8 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 0.0 ▬ | He's not perfect but ceiling showing more often |
| 0 | 3 | Charlie Morton | 14 | 9.7 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 4 | Frankie Montas | 15 | 12.8 | 21.0 | 20.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 1 | 4 | Aaron Nola | 16 | 7.7 | 20.0 | 19.0 | 1.0 ▲ | Corner turned? .218 BABIP since ASB is helpful |
| 2 | 4 | Shohei Ohtani | 17 | 9.4 | 19.5 | 19.0 | 0.5 ▲ | Preseason MVP bet looking pretty good |
| 2 | 4 | Max Fried | 18 | 12.6 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 1.0 ▲ | In pristine form, dominant on the bump |
| 10 | 4 | Logan Webb | 19 | 8.3 | 19.0 | 12.0 | 7.0 ▲ | Logan "Gamestop" Webb is rising quickly |
| -4 | 4 | Joe Musgrove | 20 | 6.7 | 19.0 | 20.0 | -1.0 ▼ | |
| N/A | 4 | Yu Darvish | 21 | -0.3 | 18.0 | 0.0 | 18.0 ▲ | Hopefully isn't returning at much less than 100% |
| 2 | 4 | Lance McCullers Jr. | 22 | 7.4 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| -2 | 4 | Jose Berrios | 23 | 2.3 | 15.0 | 17.0 | -2.0 ▼ | |
| N/A | 4 | Julio Urias | 24 | 7.3 | 15.0 | 0.0 | 15.0 ▲ | Imminent return, round in form for playoffs |
| -3 | 4 | Tyler Mahle | 25 | 4.1 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -1 | 4 | Sandy Alcantara | 26 | 3.2 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 1 | 5 | Alek Manoah | 27 | 2.7 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 10 | 5 | Adam Wainwright | 28 | 13.4 | 12.5 | 8.5 | 4.0 ▲ | Curve aging like fine wine; plus ratios and wins |
| -2 | 5 | Luis Garcia | 29 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 5 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | 30 | 10.6 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 5 | Zack Greinke | 31 | 0.2 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 5 | Framber Valdez | 32 | 6.4 | 10.5 | 10.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 5 | Kyle Hendricks | 33 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 5 | Shane McClanahan | 34 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 9.5 | 0.5 ▲ | That .367 BABIP post-ASB should iron out w/ time |
| 0 | 5 | Sean Manaea | 35 | 1.7 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 3 | 5 | Tanner Houck | 36 | 7.7 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 0.5 ▲ | Optioning shenanigans distracting from skill |
| 3 | 5 | Marcus Stroman | 37 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 9 | 5 | Jameson Taillon | 38 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 7.0 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| -3 | 6 | German Marquez | 39 | 3.3 | 8.0 | 9.0 | -1.0 ▼ | Stomach issues get us all, I forgive it |
| 3 | 6 | Dylan Cease | 40 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 ▬ | 32.1% strikeout rate post-ASB, confidence growing |
| 9 | 6 | Triston McKenzie | 41 | 5.2 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| 0 | 6 | Huascar Ynoa | 42 | 1.5 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 6 | 6 | Nathan Eovaldi | 43 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 6 | Elieser Hernandez | 44 | -0.9 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 7 | Edward Cabrera | 45 | #N/A | 6.5 | 0.0 | 6.5 ▲ | MLB debut Wednesday; big heat, sharp slider |
| -1 | 7 | Alex Wood | 46 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 7.0 | -0.5 ▼ | 5.11 ERA in 2nd half burns, but 3.39 FIP, 3.61 SIERA |
| 4 | 7 | Josiah Gray | 47 | -2.3 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 8 | 7 | Jordan Montgomery | 48 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 26 | 7 | Cal Quantrill | 49 | 9.6 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 ▲ | Mixing well, attacking the zone, peripherals sub-3.00 |
| 7 | 7 | Zach Thompson | 50 | 2.0 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 23 | 7 | Marco Gonzales | 51 | 8.0 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 ▲ | Back to ace when Graveman left, did he hate him? |
| -6 | 8 | Wade Miley | 52 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 7.0 | -2.0 ▼ | |
| -1 | 8 | Sonny Gray | 53 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 7 | 8 | Tarik Skubal | 54 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 ▲ | 2.2% walk rate after the break is encouraging |
| 4 | 8 | John Means | 55 | 1.1 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 4 | 8 | Zac Gallen | 56 | 2.2 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -2 | 8 | Blake Snell | 57 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 0.5 ▲ | All 3 ER v. PHI w/ 2 outs in 3rd; trending up, caution |
| 7 | 8 | Tylor Megill | 58 | 6.9 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| N/A | 8 | Kyle Freeland | 59 | 11.1 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 ▲ | Total command, more curveballs = more whiffs |
| -2 | 8 | Casey Mize | 60 | -1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 8 | Austin Gomber | 61 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 8 | Touki Toussaint | 62 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -10 | 8 | Yusei Kikuchi | 63 | -2.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | -1.5 ▼ | More HOU games are not what you want |
| -10 | 8 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 64 | 9.2 | 3.5 | 5.0 | -1.5 ▼ | |
| 2 | 8 | James Kaprielian | 65 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| N/A | 9 | Miles Mikolas | 66 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 ▲ | 5 scoreless v. PIT in return, gets PIT again next |
| -1 | 9 | Jon Gray | 67 | 5.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 9 | Logan Gilbert | 68 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.0 | -0.5 ▼ | Still a 3.77 SIERA behind the 7.56 ERA post-ASB |
| 2 | 9 | Luis Gil | 69 | 5.3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 ▬ | Will miss turn for AAA start, then should be back |
| 3 | 9 | Madison Bumgarner | 70 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 10 | 9 | Carlos Hernandez | 71 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 ▲ | Overperforming a touch, riding fastball to Ws |
| -24 | 9 | Carlos Carrasco | 72 | -0.8 | 2.5 | 6.5 | -4.0 ▼ | 3.91 SIERA, but command rust yields mistakes |
| -3 | 9 | Mike Minor | 73 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 3 | 9 | Taijuan Walker | 74 | -4.9 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 ▲ | Signs of life at 95 mph? He's burned some bridges |
| -6 | 10 | Kyle Gibson | 75 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.5 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| -14 | 10 | Zach Plesac | 76 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 ▼ | Horrid results, but does line up for TEX & KC |
| 6 | 10 | Vladimir Gutierrez | 77 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 ▲ | His schedule makes him a hold down the stretch |
| -2 | 10 | Jake Odorizzi | 78 | -4.7 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -1 | 10 | Nick Pivetta | 79 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -1 | 10 | Cole Irvin | 80 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -1 | 10 | Steven Matz | 81 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 10 | Daniel Lynch | 82 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 ▬ | Looks much better but set to face HOU & CWS |
| 10 | 10 | Nestor Cortes | 83 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 3 | 10 | Eli Morgan | 84 | 5.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 ▲ | Low walk rate and plus strikeouts hooks me |
| 5 | 10 | Tyler Anderson | 85 | 7.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| -14 | 11 | David Price | 86 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.5 | -1.5 ▼ | |
| 4 | 11 | Patrick Corbin | 87 | -0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Sigh, can we trust improved velocity? 94 mph helps |
| -4 | 11 | Chris Flexen | 88 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -4 | 11 | Andrew Heaney | 89 | -0.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 10 | 11 | Luis Patino | 90 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -3 | 11 | Reid Detmers | 91 | -1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Until curve is more reliable it's hard to stream |
| 0 | 11 | Griffin Jax | 92 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 12 | Brad Keller | 93 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 1 | 12 | Bailey Ober | 94 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -6 | 12 | Tyler Gilbert | 95 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 12 | Kris Bubic | 96 | -0.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| N/A | 12 | Ryan Yarbrough | 97 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 3 | 12 | J.A. Happ | 98 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -3 | 12 | Dallas Keuchel | 99 | -2.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -14 | 12 | Jesus Luzardo | 100 | -1.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 ▬ | Pure bench speculation on his regaining command |
| N/A | 12 | Jose Suarez | 101 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 ▲ |
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