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Welcome to the first iteration of my 2021 Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks, where we take a weekly peek at my top 101 SPs moving forward.
Since this is the first version of the year, it won't be "full" because much of the punch hinges on movement from the prior week and a reliable set of stats. For now, enjoy my early Top 101 SPs with notes on many of these arms. Do note that I leave off most injured players.
Beginning next week, we'll also have enough stats to go off for a proper Baller Ranks spreadsheet with the usual 5x5 categories, strikeout rates, Called + Swinging Strike rates, xwOBA and more. Many of those stats are simply too noisy/small-sampleish this early, it'll just weigh us down. You can check out 2020's final article in the series here for reference.
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Top 101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 3
| Tier | Player | Rank | $ | Notes |
| 1 | Jacob deGrom | 1 | 43.0 | Run support memes continue but he remains No. 1 |
| 1 | Shane Bieber | 2 | 39.0 | 24 K's in 12 1/3 IP balances early HR bumps |
| 1 | Gerrit Cole | 3 | 38.0 | No complaints here, 2 ER through 2 turns w/ 21 K's |
| 2 | Trevor Bauer | 4 | 34.0 | Only getting beat by longball...& maybe MLB investigation |
| 2 | Lucas Giolito | 5 | 33.0 | Yet to pitch six innings but still looks stellar, SP1 trust |
| 2 | Yu Darvish | 6 | 30.0 | Bumpy first outing but rebounded against SF. PIT next |
| 2 | Aaron Nola | 7 | 29.0 | |
| 2 | Max Scherzer | 8 | 28.0 | Lower velo in 2nd start, but held LAD to 1 run |
| 2 | Luis Castillo | 9 | 28.0 | Erase that 1st freezing start, 2nd outing much more in line |
| 2 | Clayton Kershaw | 10 | 26.0 | A bad Coors start followed by two gems, sensible |
| 2 | Walker Buehler | 11 | 25.0 | 2 QS to begin, but 8 K's in 12 IP isn't meeting the bar |
| 3 | Brandon Woodruff | 12 | 24.0 | |
| 3 | Lance Lynn | 13 | 24.0 | Nothing like a CGSHO to silence the doubters |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | 14 | 22.0 | Pair of 1-hit gems to open '21, how long can he sustain this? |
| 3 | Blake Snell | 15 | 22.0 | |
| 3 | Kenta Maeda | 16 | 21.0 | |
| 3 | Tyler Glasnow | 17 | 21.0 | 2 QS with steady whiffs, no wins; TEX next is juicy |
| 3 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | 18 | 19.0 | |
| 4 | Jose Berrios | 19 | 19.0 | Has he unlocked the next gear for big strikeouts? |
| 4 | Zack Wheeler | 20 | 17.5 | |
| 4 | Stephen Strasburg | 21 | 16.5 | Went 6 scoreless in 2021 debut, hope health holds |
| 4 | Joe Musgrove | 22 | 16.0 | First no-hitter in SD history, first of '21; Take a bow, Joe |
| 4 | Jack Flaherty | 23 | 15.0 | Carved up MIA after poor CIN start; past last year's woes? |
| 4 | Max Fried | 24 | 14.0 | Left 2nd start after comebacker, rough turns but MIA next |
| 4 | Kyle Hendricks | 25 | 14.0 | |
| 4 | Dylan Bundy | 26 | 13.0 | |
| 4 | Zack Greinke | 27 | 12.0 | Low K's can be tolerated alongside low ratios. DET next |
| 5 | Zac Gallen | 28 | 11.0 | May return for April 13 start against OAK |
| 5 | Kevin Gausman | 29 | 11.0 | |
| 5 | Jesus Luzardo | 30 | 10.0 | Hit hard in 1st start, poor control in 2nd. Consistency! |
| 5 | Ian Anderson | 31 | 9.5 | Held PHI to 1 run in '21 debut, yielded 4 ER in rematch |
| 5 | Sonny Gray | 32 | 9.5 | Threw simulated game on April 10; may return this week |
| 5 | Zach Plesac | 33 | 9.5 | |
| 5 | Charlie Morton | 34 | 9.5 | QS in second outing of '21 with 7 K's |
| 5 | Lance McCullers Jr. | 35 | 9.0 | Only 5 IP in each start, but he looks sharp when out there |
| 5 | Frankie Montas | 36 | 9.0 | Unraveled in '21 debut vs. LAD but sharp QS at HOU after |
| 5 | Pablo Lopez | 37 | 9.0 | |
| 5 | Marcus Stroman | 38 | 8.5 | W & QS with 6 innings of 1-run ball in return |
| 5 | Sandy Alcantara | 39 | 8.5 | |
| 5 | Chris Paddack | 40 | 8.5 | 2 ugly 4-IP outings to begin '21, missing command. PIT next |
| 5 | Zach Eflin | 41 | 8.5 | |
| 6 | Triston McKenzie | 42 | 8.0 | Can induce whiffs, needs better control. CWS next = big test |
| 6 | Marco Gonzales | 43 | 8.0 | Hit very hard in each start, where is the command? |
| 6 | Patrick Corbin | 44 | 8.0 | |
| 6 | Tyler Mahle | 45 | 8.0 | Only 9 IP thus far, but 15 K's & 2 ER has a lot to offer |
| 6 | Eduardo Rodriguez | 46 | 8.0 | His arm looked live w/ 7 K's over 5 IP, MIN tough test next |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani | 47 | 6.5 | Exciting 7 K's in 1st start, 2nd delayed by blister but I'm ready |
| 7 | Aaron Civale | 48 | 5.5 | Dominated Detroit twice; can he do the same against CWS? |
| 7 | Julio Urias | 49 | 5.0 | |
| 7 | Freddy Peralta | 50 | 4.5 | 7 scoreless IP, 14 K's highlights his potential |
| 7 | Cristian Javier | 51 | 4.5 | Don't mind the Alt-Site assignment, he needs more stamina |
| 7 | Michael Pineda | 52 | 4.0 | |
| 7 | Jordan Montgomery | 53 | 4.0 | |
| 7 | German Marquez | 54 | 4.0 | 7 K's in first road start but SF still tagged him. Coors looms |
| 7 | Jose Urquidy | 55 | 4.0 | |
| 7 | Jameson Taillon | 56 | 4.0 | Strong 7 K's over 4 2/3 IP in return to bump, gotta love it |
| 7 | Dustin May | 57 | 4.0 | 8 K's across 6 shutout frames, road Rockies upcoming |
| 7 | Trevor Rogers | 58 | 4.0 | Went toe-to-toe with deGrom; early NL RoY candidate? |
| 7 | Yusei Kikuchi | 59 | 2.0 | Handled MIN lineup well, 2 QS with 16 K's through 12 IP |
| 8 | Dallas Keuchel | 60 | 3.5 | Hasn't found paintstrokes on edge of zone yet, wait it out |
| 8 | John Means | 61 | 3.0 | |
| 8 | Chris Bassitt | 62 | 3.0 | |
| 8 | Dinelson Lamet | 63 | 2.5 | SD may activate him next week after 3 2/3 IP sim game |
| 8 | Drew Smyly | 64 | 2.5 | |
| 8 | Zach Davies | 65 | 2.5 | |
| 8 | Andrew Heaney | 66 | 2.0 | |
| 8 | Nathan Eovaldi | 67 | 2.0 | |
| 8 | Sean Manaea | 68 | 2.0 | Ugly opener vs. HOU but QS in the rematch, DET next |
| 8 | Brady Singer | 69 | 2.0 | |
| 9 | Corey Kluber | 70 | 1.5 | Some flashes of old, but control isn't there yet |
| 9 | Ryan Yarbrough | 71 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Taijuan Walker | 72 | 1.5 | Continued his strong 2020 with QS in 2021 debut vs. MIA |
| 9 | Dane Dunning | 73 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Matthew Boyd | 74 | 1.5 | Loud contact will occur but nice to see 8 K's in 2nd start |
| 9 | Dylan Cease | 75 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Jake Odorizzi | 76 | 1.5 | Has built up his arm more, should debut against DET |
| 9 | Tarik Skubal | 77 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Casey Mize | 78 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Griffin Canning | 79 | 1.5 | |
| 9 | Matt Shoemaker | 80 | 1.5 | Tagged for 2 HRs late vs. SEA, but 12/1 K/BB ratio early |
| 10 | Brad Keller | 81 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Adbert Alzolay | 82 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Logan Webb | 83 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Alex Cobb | 84 | 1.0 | 7 K's in 1st start is intriguing; blister pushed 2nd outing |
| 10 | Adam Wainwright | 85 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Carlos Rodon | 86 | 1.0 | 9 K's, 3 BB's in 5 shutout IP; classic. 95 mph is new, though |
| 10 | Justin Dunn | 87 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | J.A. Happ | 88 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Deivi Garcia | 89 | 1.0 | His time may be coming after Germán was optioned |
| 10 | Tanner Houck | 90 | 1.0 | I know, waiting stinks but that is a fragile rotation |
| 10 | Tony Gonsolin | 91 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Steven Matz | 92 | 1.0 | Can he keep the ball in the smaller ALE parks long-term? |
| 10 | Rich Hill | 93 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Jakob Junis | 94 | 1.0 | How far can 2 pitches (FB/SL) go? Slider velo up 3 mph |
| 10 | Mike Minor | 95 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Chris Flexen | 96 | 1.0 | Misses 4-game BAL series; can he earn streamer status? |
| 10 | Justus Sheffield | 97 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Jon Gray | 98 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Danny Duffy | 99 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Johnny Cueto | 100 | 1.0 | |
| 10 | Mitch Keller | 101 | 1.0 | 5 IP, 7 K's, 1 ER on April 10; can he build off of that? |
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