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The Baller Ranks: Weekly Top 101 Starting Pitcher Rankings

Julio Urias fantasy baseball rankings MLB injury news DFS lineup picks

Rejoice, for we have reached May! Cry, for we've also lost Dustin May. The injuries are rolling over all of us, but we must breathe and try to be grateful that we get to play our little game within a game. Frustration is natural and you have to let yourself vent it out, but then we press forward with my 2021 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take stock of my top 101 SPs moving forward.

You know the deal, as the ranks table below comes with this google sheet that accompanies the table and adds a smattering of stats. 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.

On that sheet, you will find the usual 5x5 categories, strikeout and walk rates, BABIP, and CSW% for now. Do note that other stats and time windows will be added, but I don't want to clog it up with noise while we're this early in the young season. Let's just get onto my Top 101 SPs!

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Top 101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 6

(+/-) Tier Player Rank $ EV $PV Trend Notes
0 1 Jacob deGrom 1 43.0 17.2 43.0 0.0 ▬
0 1 Gerrit Cole 2 39.0 19.1 39.0 0.0 ▬ If you took any of these 3 in Tier 1 then you're happy
0 1 Shane Bieber 3 38.0 10.4 38.0 0.0 ▬
0 2 Trevor Bauer 4 34.0 5.6 34.0 0.0 ▬ You don't need to care about the antics, just the stats
0 2 Yu Darvish 5 33.0 8.1 33.0 0.0 ▬
1 2 Max Scherzer 6 30.0 5.9 29.0 1.0 ▲
-1 2 Aaron Nola 7 29.0 9.8 30.0 -1.0 ▼
0 2 Clayton Kershaw 8 28.0 10.9 28.0 0.0 ▬ No complaints from me if you stuck him up at No. 4
2 2 Brandon Woodruff 9 28.0 10.2 25.0 3.0 ▲
2 2 Tyler Glasnow 10 26.0 13.2 24.0 2.0 ▲ Tier 1-esque whiffs and ratios, can he keep working deep?
2 2 Lance Lynn 11 25.0 6.8 24.0 1.0 ▲
-3 2 Lucas Giolito 12 24.0 2.6 28.0 -4.0 ▼ We know what the ceiling is, though that OF is trouble now
1 2 Walker Buehler 13 24.0 6.4 22.0 2.0 ▲
7 2 Jack Flaherty 14 22.0 5.9 16.5 5.5 ▲
0 3 Jose Berrios 15 22.0 8.4 22.0 0.0 ▬
0 3 Luis Castillo 16 21.0 1.8 21.0 0.0 ▬ One bad April doesn't have me jumping ship
3 3 Zack Wheeler 17 21.0 7.2 19.0 2.0 ▲
7 3 Kevin Gausman 18 19.0 6.5 14.0 5.0 ▲ There's some luck in that BABIP but lots of earned success
0 3 Blake Snell 19 19.0 3.2 19.0 0.0 ▬
2 3 Dylan Bundy 20 19.0 4.3 16.0 3.0 ▲
3 3 Zac Gallen 21 17.0 4.6 14.0 3.0 ▲
-5 4 Joe Musgrove 22 16.0 7.8 21.0 -5.0 ▼ Some sputters but he's earned this; SD strong environment
7 4 Sandy Alcantara 23 15.0 5.6 10.5 4.5 ▲
11 4 Trevor Rogers 24 14.0 7.6 9.0 5.0 ▲ Are you happy now? He's incredible, but it's still 1 month
13 4 Julio Urias 25 14.0 8.4 9.0 5.0 ▲ Southpaw is hitting the afterburners of late
2 4 Ian Anderson 26 13.0 5.1 11.0 2.0 ▲
14 4 Lance McCullers Jr. 27 12.0 3.7 8.5 3.5 ▲ 3 BBs in 4-of-5 starts; season-high 9 Ks, 7 shutout IP on 4/30
3 4 Marcus Stroman 28 11.0 6.6 10.0 1.0 ▲
3 4 Tyler Mahle 29 11.0 4.9 9.5 1.5 ▲
-7 5 Zack Greinke 30 10.5 3.6 15.0 -4.5 ▼
2 5 Zach Eflin 31 10.0 10.6 9.5 0.5 ▲
2 5 Eduardo Rodriguez 32 9.5 3.3 9.5 0.0 ▬
7 5 Charlie Morton 33 9.5 4.8 8.5 1.0 ▲
-- 5 Max Fried 34 9.5 -1.0 0.0 9.5 ▲ Returning from the IL on 5/5; laughable .513 BABIP
4 5 Sonny Gray 35 9.0 1.3 8.5 0.5 ▲ 11-K day at LAD, hopefully that signals the rust is leaving
1 5 Pablo Lopez 36 9.0 6.6 9.0 0.0 ▬
5 5 Aaron Civale 37 9.0 3.0 8.0 1.0 ▲
10 5 John Means 38 9.0 7.1 5.5 3.5 ▲ Continues to succeed within the ALE, respect
14 5 Carlos Rodon 39 8.5 7.3 4.0 4.5 ▲ This is what we've been waiting for, that health needs to hold
5 5 Cristian Javier 40 8.5 6.0 8.0 0.5 ▲ 1 bad inning undid 5/2 start; believe in the rising talent
-15 5 Kenta Maeda 41 8.5 -1.9 13.0 -4.5 ▼
2 6 Freddy Peralta 42 8.0 6.2 8.0 0.0 ▬
26 6 Huascar Ynoa 43 8.0 3.6 2.0 6.0 ▲ Dominated CHC in rematch; whiffs and plus control. Mm-mm
3 6 Michael Pineda 44 8.0 2.4 6.5 1.5 ▲ 4 strong starts, 1 dud - gets TEX at home next
-2 6 Zach Plesac 45 8.0 3.1 8.0 0.0 ▬
27 6 Corey Kluber 46 8.0 2.9 1.5 6.5 ▲ Crushed BAL & DET; is he back or do they stink? A little of both
13 6 Jose Urquidy 47 6.5 4.8 3.5 3.0 ▲
35 6 Danny Duffy 48 5.5 7.5 1.0 4.5 ▲
-20 7 Kyle Hendricks 49 5.0 -5.5 11.0 -6.0 ▼
6 7 Shohei Ohtani 50 4.5 1.4 4.0 0.5 ▲ Scratched from 5/3 start after HBP on elbow; monitor
12 7 Chris Bassitt 51 4.5 3.9 2.5 2.0 ▲ 3 straight QS with at least 8 K in each outing; coming  alive
16 7 Jameson Taillon 52 4.0 2.6 2.0 2.0 ▲ Hasn't worked past 5 IP yet, seems to fade facing LU 2nd time
-1 7 Sean Manaea 53 4.0 4.9 4.0 0.0 ▬
-8 7 Frankie Montas 54 4.0 -0.4 8.0 -4.0 ▼
-5 7 Nathan Eovaldi 55 4.0 9.9 4.5 -0.5 ▼
6 7 Andrew Heaney 56 4.0 2.8 3.0 1.0 ▲
-- 7 Shane McClanahan 57 4.0 0.3 0.0 4.0 ▲
16 7 JT Brubaker 58 4.0 3.0 1.5 2.5 ▲ That slider/sinker combo is looking sharp, PIT limits things
5 7 Brady Singer 59 2.0 3.4 2.5 -0.5 ▼
-6 8 Triston McKenzie 60 3.5 -1.8 4.0 -0.5 ▼ Strikeouts are cool but overall command is inconsistent
0 8 German Marquez 61 3.0 3.9 3.0 0.0 ▬
8 8 Yusei Kikuchi 62 3.0 0.7 1.5 1.5 ▲
22 8 Alex Wood 63 2.5 4.9 1.0 1.5 ▲ Can he walk out of Coors with similar ratios and Ks?
-- 8 Robbie Ray 64 2.5 0.5 0.0 2.5 ▲
-10 8 Jordan Montgomery 65 2.5 0.6 4.0 -1.5 ▼
-7 8 Patrick Corbin 66 2.0 -3.8 2.0 0.0 ▬
20 8 Adam Wainwright 67 2.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 ▲ 7 IP, 10 K on 4/20; CG, 8 K, 2 ER after that; crafty at 39 y.o.
-- 8 Daniel Lynch 68 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 ▲ We lose Junis to the 'pen, but Lynch is very exciting
-4 8 Taijuan Walker 69 2.0 4.9 2.5 -0.5 ▼
-3 9 Steven Matz 70 1.5 2.5 2.0 -0.5 ▼
22 9 Madison Bumgarner 71 1.5 4.2 1.0 0.5 ▲
10 9 Adbert Alzolay 72 1.5 2.8 1.0 0.5 ▲
-2 9 Dallas Keuchel 73 1.5 1.8 1.5 0.0 ▬
2 9 Dylan Cease 74 1.5 4.1 1.5 0.0 ▬ Like Kluber, how excited can you get when crushing DET?
9 9 Kyle Gibson 75 1.5 7.2 1.0 0.5 ▲
4 9 Griffin Canning 76 1.5 -0.6 1.5 0.0 ▬
14 9 David Peterson 77 1.5 1.2 1.0 0.5 ▲ 3 of his last 4 starts have been solid, whiffs picking up
-- 9 Domingo German 78 1.5 1.4 0.0 1.5 ▲
-- 9 Garrett Richards 79 1.5 2.7 0.0 1.5 ▲
-- 9 Kwang-Hyun Kim 80 1.5 4.0 0.0 1.5 ▲ Showing great control despite late start to 2021
-- 9 Carlos Martinez 81 1.0 4.9 0.0 1.0 ▲ You'll take the low K totals if he's commanding the zone
-- 10 Justin Dunn 82 1.0 0.7 0.0 1.0 ▲
-4 10 Anthony DeSclafani 83 1.0 6.6 1.5 -0.5 ▼
-- 10 Rich Hill 84 1.0 0.5 0.0 1.0 ▲ Last 2 starts have been clean; @OAK next is a +stream
4 10 J.A. Happ 85 1.0 1.8 1.0 0.0 ▬ I don't trust this, but veteran does get TEX at home next
9 10 Wade Miley 86 1.0 3.5 1.0 0.0 ▬
-15 10 Ryan Yarbrough 87 1.0 5.0 1.5 -0.5 ▼
-22 10 Dane Dunning 88 1.0 6.0 2.0 -1.0 ▼
5 10 Cole Irvin 89 1.0 3.6 1.0 0.0 ▬ Great control, but I'm often scared of the contact yielded
-- 10 Nick Pivetta 90 1.0 3.0 0.0 1.0 ▲
-- 10 Luis Garcia 91 1.0 0.7 0.0 1.0 ▲
5 10 Mike Minor 92 1.0 -0.3 1.0 0.0 ▬
-16 10 Jon Gray 93 1.0 4.9 1.5 -0.5 ▼ 4.44 SIERA and Coors keeps me away
-6 10 Casey Mize 94 1.0 -0.5 1.0 0.0 ▬
4 10 Jake Arrieta 95 1.0 1.5 1.0 0.0 ▬
-18 10 Alex Cobb 96 1.0 3.9 1.5 -0.5 ▼
-- 10 Jose Urena 97 1.0 6.3 0.0 1.0 ▲ I don't like it, but the results are enough for AL-only's
-- 10 Justus Sheffield 98 1.0 1.7 0.0 1.0 ▲ Maddening with inconsistency
-- 10 Tyler Anderson 99 1.0 4.2 0.0 1.0 ▲
-10 10 Chris Flexen 100 1.0 4.2 1.0 0.0 ▬
0 10 Aaron Sanchez 101 1.0 3.5 1.0 0.0 ▬

 

What about the injured players?

For context's sake, here is the range I'd throw most relevant injured pitchers that aren't dealing with known significant long-term injuries:

-Corbin Burnes, 12-15
-Carlos Carrasco, 18-20
-Hyun-Jin Ryu, 22-25
-Stephen Strasburg, 28-30
-Dinelson Lamet, 34-36
-Jesus Luzardo, 44-48
-Framber Valdez, 46-50
-Chris Paddack, 54-58
-Tony Gonsolin, 68-72
-Marco Gonzales, 76-80

 

Quick Notes on Movers

-After a sketchy six walks over his first 10 1/3 IP, Jack Flaherty has buckled down and issued a mere four free passes across his last four starts combined. He's won his last five outings with four quality starts in that span as well, as the 26/4 K/BB ratio really sticks as a healthy indicator of reliability. The NL Central helps, too.

-Kevin Gausman also rebounded from his own six walks within a two-start stretch by crushing the Marlins and Padres in his last two games. He walked only one in each of those and notched a season-high 11 strikeouts against Miami, which is what he'll need to help offset that .210 BABIP as it crawls back to normalcy.

-Lance McCullers Jr. went from a combined 13 2/3 IP in his first three outings to 13 IP in his last two, twirling a QS against the Halos and Rays in the process. Opponents have only mustered more than three hits against him once, but he lives dangerously by attacking the edges. This is evidenced by his track record and having multiple walks in each start thus far. However, you can get away with that when you throw an incredible amount of breaking and secondary pitches! Just note it makes the line between dominant and painful thinner.

-Julio Urías has a beautiful 2.82 FIP, 3.08 xFIP, and 3.08 SIERA underneath his 2.87 ERA, due in large part to cutting his usual 8% walk rate in half for 2021. He's done so while maintaining his swinging strikes and avoiding an uptick in homers, which is not a given by any means. That 78.1% first-strike rate shows him coming right at hitters and them not being able to execute. It's unclear how many innings they'll squeeze out of him, but with so many other pitchers injured, they may be conservative come summertime.

-Corey Kluber toyed with the Tigers with vintage-Kluber changeups and now we're left wondering how much of the stat line is the Klubot being "back" and how much is Baltimore and Detroit being subpar. As with most "A or B" questions, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. I'll be most interested in how he attacks more disciplined batters moving forward, but I remain encouraged by the lack of loud contact surrendered overall.

-Buy into Huascar Ynoa's slider that he feels comfortable throwing to left- and right-handed batters alike. His Savant page will show you that it's his primary pitch at 44.2% and that his low .163 batting average against isn't driven by four-leaf clovers. No, that paltry .196 xBA is backed by a wicked 41.7% whiff rate that pays the bottom line. As long as the heater can effectively be commanded and touch upper-90s, then I'm in.

-No critical "Fallers" here that haven't already been a theme in past weeks. Kyle Hendricks needs to get it together. I remain hopeful for Frankie Montas, but I understand cutting bait for hot streamers and injury fill-ins. Many of you have likely cut Patrick Corbin already. Triston McKenzie remains unable to consistently hit his spots. I'd still be holding these guys if you believed in them enough to draft, but I respect that needs are needs when it comes to the lower end of the roster.



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