In this edition of the weekly pitching outlook, I'll attempt to rank the top 75 starting pitchers for the week, from Monday to Sunday. Use this ranking as a "sit / start" guide. Guys in the top half of the rankings are high-end starts. Guys in the bottom half are more questional but some of them are hidden gems this week and could put up big performances. After the top 75 chart, you can find some analysis about the two-start pitchers you'll want to have in your lineup.
| Rank | Pitcher | 1st Start | 2nd Start |
| 1 | Adam Wainwright | CHC (Samardzija) | TEX (Darvish) |
| 2 | Justin Verlander | BAL (Gausman) | BOS (Buchholz) |
| 3 | Yu Darvish | OAK (Parker) | @STL (Wainwright) |
| 4 | Max Scherzer | BAL (Hammel) | BOS (Aceves) |
| 5 | James Shields | @CLE (Jimenez) | CHW (Axelrod) |
| 6 | Mat Latos | PIT (Morton) | @ARI (Corbin) |
| 7 | Matt Harvey | @ATL (Maholm) | @PHI (Lannan) |
| 8 | Shelby Miller | CHC (Wood) | TEX (Tepesch) |
| 9 | Matt Cain | SD (Volquez) | MIA (Eovaldi) |
| 10 | Clayton Kershaw | @SD (Richard) | N/A |
| 11 | Felix Hernandez | @LAA (Hanson) | N/A |
| 12 | Jeff Samardzija | @STL (Wainwright) | HOU (Lyles) |
| 13 | Madison Bumgarner | SD (Stults) | N/A |
| 14 | Chris Sale | @MIN (Correia) | N/A |
| 15 | Hisashi Iwakuma | OAK (Colon) | N/A |
| 16 | Zack Greinke | @SD (Marquis) | N/A |
| 17 | Cliff Lee | WAS (Detwiler) | N/A |
| 18 | Jered Weaver | PIT (Cole) | N/A |
| 19 | Anibal Sanchez | BOS (Lackey) | N/A |
| 20 | Cole Hamels | NYM (Gee) | N/A |
| 21 | Stephen Strasburg | COL (Chacin) | N/A |
| 22 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | @NYY (Hughes) | @SD (Volquez) |
| 23 | Jordan Zimmermann | COL (Chatwood) | N/A |
| 24 | Clay Buchholz | TB (Archer) | @DET (Verlander) |
| 25 | Johnny Cueto | @ARI (Miley) | N/A |
| 26 | Doug Fister | BOS (Lester) | N/A |
| 27 | Patrick Corbin | MIA (Turner) | CIN (Latos) |
| 28 | Gio Gonzalez | @PHI (Kendrick) | N/A |
| 29 | Matt Moore | @BOS (Dempster) | N/A |
| 30 | Lance Lynn | CHC (Feldman) | N/A |
| 31 | Travis Wood | @STL (Miller) | HOU (Norris) |
| 32 | Dan Straily | @TEX (Tepesch) | @SEA (Harang) |
| 33 | Josh Johnson | COL (De La Rosa) | BAL (Hammel) |
| 34 | Francisco Liriano | @CIN (Leake) | @LAA (Vargas) |
| 35 | Mike Minor | NYM (Niese) | N/A |
| 36 | Andrew Cashner | @SF (Zito) | LAD (Fife) |
| 37 | Jason Vargas | SEA (Harang) | PIT (Liriano) |
| 38 | Homer Bailey | PIT (Cumpton) | N/A |
| 39 | Hiroki Kuroda | LAD (Capuano) | N/A |
| 40 | CC Sabathia | TB (Odorizzi) | N/A |
| 41 | Justin Masterson | KC (Mendoza) | N/A |
| 42 | C.J. Wilson | SEA (Saunders) | N/A |
| 43 | Mike Leake | PIT (Liriano) | @ARI (Kennedy) |
| 44 | Kris Medlen | NYM (Marcum) | N/A |
| 45 | Jon Lester | @DET (Fister) | N/A |
| 46 | Jarrod Parker | @TEX (Darvish) | @SEA (Bonderman) |
| 47 | Andy Pettitte | TB (Cobb) | N/A |
| 48 | Trevor Cahill | MIA (Slowey) | N/A |
| 49 | Tim Hudson | NYM (Gee) | @MIL (Gorzelanny) |
| 50 | Derek Holland | @STL (Lyons) | N/A |
| 51 | Jonathon Niese | @ATL (Minor) | N/A |
| 52 | Paul Maholm | NYM (Harvey) | @MIL (Figaro) |
| 53 | Ross Detwiler | @PHI (Lee) | COL (Francis) |
| 54 | A.J. Griffin | @TEX (Lindblom) | N/A |
| 55 | Bartolo Colon | @SEA (Iwakuma) | N/A |
| 56 | John Lackey | @DET (Sanchez) | N/A |
| 57 | Jose Fernandez | @SF (Gaudin) | N/A |
| 58 | Ryan Dempster | TB (Moore) | N/A |
| 59 | Shaun Marcum | @ATL (Medlen) | N/A |
| 60 | Ubaldo Jimenez | KC (Shields) | MIN (Pelfrey) |
| 61 | Gerrit Cole | @LAA (Weaver) | N/A |
| 62 | Julio Teheran | @MIL (Peralta) | N/A |
| 63 | Brandon Beachy | NYM (Wheeler) | N/A |
| 64 | Matt Garza | HOU (Keuchel) | N/A |
| 65 | R.A. Dickey | BAL (Garcia) | N/A |
| 66 | Dillon Gee | @ATL (Hudson) | @PHI (Hamels) |
| 67 | David Phelps | TB (Hernandez) | |
| 68 | Zack Wheeler | @ATL | |
| 69 | Bud Norris | CHW (Quintana) | @CHC (Wood) |
| 70 | Corey Kluber | MIN (Walters) | |
| 71 | Jose Quintana | @HOU (Norris) | @KC (Davis) |
| 72 | Ervin Santana | @CLE (Carrasco) | N/A |
| 73 | Yovani Gallardo | @HOU (Harrell) | N/A |
| 74 | Nick Tepesch | OAK (Straily) | @STL (Miller) |
| 75 | Jacob Turner | @ARZ (Corbin) | @SF (Zito) |
The No Doubters: You don't really need someone to tell you to start the studs: guys like Verlander, Wainwright, Darvish, Shields, Latos and Harvey should have fantasy managers licking their chops. Basically, anyone in the top 30 of this rankings list should be starting this week. Whether a guy is 35th or 30th means very little - the bottom line is: get him in your lineup!
Here are some less-obvious two-start options:
- Dan Straily: Straily has two road starts @TEX and @SEA, but he has been really good lately. With the exception of a 4 ER outing @CHW, Straily hasn't allowed more than 2 ER in any start since May 21st. One of those came @TEX, so you should feel great about rolling with him this week.
- Mike Leake: Aside from a 3 ER outing, Leake hasn't allowed more than 1 ER in any start since May 8th. That's 6 starts over a month where he's been absolutely dominant, with great control and Ks. If Leake is available in your league, get him in your lineup.
- Jarrod Parker: I know, I know, Parker faces off against Yu Darvish @TEX, which ordinarily would mean he's guaranteed to get blown up and have no chance at the W. Well, Parker hasn't allowed more than 3 ER over his past 8 starts. He hasn't allowed more than 2 ER over his past 4 starts. Oakland has been playing great baseball, and Parker is pitching as well as he was expected to coming into the year. His second start (@SEA vs Bonderman) is as nice as his first is scary, so worst case scenario is one good start and one bad one. The upside is bigger though. Roll the dice with Parker and you'll be rewarded in week 12.
- Tim Hudson: Hudson had a really rough time in April and May, but he's turned it around big time recently. Over his past 3 starts, he's thrown 21.2 IP with 16 Ks and just 2 BBs and 4 ER. He's pitching very well and he gets a struggling Mets offense and a slightly more dangerous Brewers lineup but he's facing Tom Gorzelanny in Milwaukee, every pitchers' dream. Get Hudson active in week 12.
- Dillon Gee: Gee had a rough first two months but he's turned it around recently. Three straight starts where he's allowed 1 ER and he has 26 Ks over 21 IP. He's cruising right now and is seriously underowned for how hot he's been. Two of these starts came away, so it shouldn't concern you that both his week 12 starts are away also. If you play in deep leagues and some of the better two-start options are gone, Gee is a fine option this week.
- Jose Quintana: Quintana has been quite mediocre over the past month, but he has some quality matchups this week facing off @HOU (one of the league's worst offenses) and @KC (a hot team but it's Wade Davis). Like Gee, Quintana is a solid option for those in deep leagues where the the more favorable two-start guys are owned.
And here is my favorite under-the-radar one-star option:
- Corey Kluber: Kluber has a nasty 57:12 K:BB ratio on the year (and that's not including the gem he's throwing right now against WAS while outdueling Strasburg). He has been really sharp over the past month and a matchup at home vs. MIN is one of the most favorable a pitcher could hope for. Get him active, or pick him up and then get him active.
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