RADIO
We're in the second half of August and you need to either maximize the remaining innings in roto leagues or line up the best arms for H2H matchups.
Sadly, this week's edition is a bit bare as I'm dealing with family emergencies and the hospital WiFi isn't so great! I'll hit you with a top-101 table and some notes, but I can't get my usual tables to load. I appreciate you sticking with me for the latest edition of my weekly Starting Pitcher Baller Ranks!
As is tradition, these fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings are geared toward traditional 5x5 leagues. Let's move along with my top-101 SP for the rest of 2022!
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Starting Pitcher Rankings Strategy Analysis
Thanks to my current situation here, I offer some philosophical approach musings in lieu of data-heavy sentences. I imagine the majority of you are playing a rotisserie-style format with an innings limit, such as 1,400 or 1,500 IP for your team.
Do not forget that, at least on Yahoo, you can squeeze as many innings as possible into that final day. Even if you have just one-third of an inning left, the entire day's stats will count. This can be crucial in gaining the wins and strikeouts necessary to edge out opponents.
If you are currently "over" innings and have a +50 or +100 trend then you need to tighten the belt on which matchups you aim for. Try to incorporate sports betting lines if needed to assist you towards more favorable win conditions or strikeout props. Cut lesser starters for bench bats or elite middle-relief guys who can help with ratios and K/9.
Those of you in head-to-head leagues should have a good idea of your team's strengths and weaknesses. Which pitching categories are you routinely winning? How do you stack up against the other top teams in your league?
Be honest with yourself and see if you should be trying to corner arms on teams that win a lot, or who may blow up your ratios but provide strikeouts. If you can't contend in all categories, then you can damn sure take swings at the volume-based ones.
I believe in you, and I don't want you to only have this conversation with yourself when the calendar hits September and others are also honing in on the stretch run. Get those championships!
Top-101 Starting Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball
These are rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings for starting pitchers.
EV = Earned Value via Fangraphs (Last 30 Days), $ = My projected dollar value (think auction), PV = Previous $ Value
| (+/-) | Tier | Player | Rank | EV | $ | PV | Trend | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Jacob deGrom | 1 | $7.40 | 46 | 44 | 2.0 ▲ | Has to be No. 1 when healthy |
| -1 | 1 | Max Scherzer | 2 | $9.60 | 45 | 45 | 0.0 ▬ | Mets have unreal 1-2 punch |
| 0 | 1 | Sandy Alcantara | 3 | $5.90 | 43.5 | 43 | 0.5 ▲ | NL Cy but modest Ks limit fantasy ceiling |
| 0 | 1 | Corbin Burnes | 4 | $3.90 | 43 | 43 | 0.0 ▬ | Walks a bit high but still elite |
| 1 | 1 | Justin Verlander | 5 | $8.90 | 43 | 42 | 1.0 ▲ | Defeated Cease in AL Cy battle |
| 1 | 1 | Gerrit Cole | 6 | $6.50 | 42 | 42 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -2 | 2 | Shane McClanahan | 7 | $2.50 | 42 | 43 | -1.0 ▼ | Still solid but Ks waning |
| 0 | 2 | Shohei Ohtani | 8 | $6.10 | 40 | 40 | 0.0 ▬ | Won't flinch if he wins MVP again |
| 0 | 2 | Zack Wheeler | 9 | $4.70 | 39 | 39 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 1 | 2 | Carlos Rodon | 10 | $4.70 | 38.5 | 37 | 1.5 ▲ | Excellent control yielding dividends |
| 2 | 3 | Aaron Nola | 11 | $6.60 | 36 | 33 | 3.0 ▲ | |
| 3 | 3 | Dylan Cease | 12 | $5.30 | 35 | 31 | 4.0 ▲ | |
| -3 | 3 | Joe Musgrove | 13 | $1.70 | 34 | 38 | -4.0 ▼ | |
| -2 | 3 | Brandon Woodruff | 14 | $5.20 | 33.5 | 36 | -2.5 ▼ | |
| -1 | 3 | Max Fried | 15 | $6.70 | 32 | 32 | 0.0 ▬ | Should return off 7-day IL shortly |
| 1 | 3 | Kevin Gausman | 16 | $5.70 | 30 | 29 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 1 | 3 | Julio Urias | 17 | $11.60 | 29 | 27.5 | 1.5 ▲ | Racking up Ws with LAD |
| 4 | 3 | Luis Castillo | 18 | $4.30 | 28 | 23 | 5.0 ▲ | |
| 0 | 3 | Yu Darvish | 19 | $6.30 | 28 | 26 | 2.0 ▲ | Strikeout rate >30% in last month |
| 0 | 3 | Shane Bieber | 20 | $6.00 | 26 | 24.5 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 3 | Spencer Strider | 21 | $6.70 | 25 | 24 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -6 | 4 | Alek Manoah | 22 | $2.80 | 24.5 | 29.5 | -5.0 ▼ | Only 1 QS in last 4 starts; B2B Ls v. BAL |
| 0 | 4 | Nestor Cortes | 23 | $6.00 | 23 | 22 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 0 | 4 | Logan Webb | 24 | $3.50 | 22.5 | 22 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 4 | Tony Gonsolin | 25 | $2.50 | 20.5 | 19 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 4 | Chris Bassitt | 26 | $6.50 | 20.5 | 19 | 1.5 ▲ | |
| 1 | 4 | Cristian Javier | 27 | $1.80 | 19.5 | 17.5 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| 2 | 4 | Charlie Morton | 28 | $2.70 | 19 | 16.5 | 2.5 ▲ | Elite 12-K drubbing of NYM |
| -2 | 4 | Robbie Ray | 29 | ($0.60) | 18.5 | 18.5 | 0.0 ▬ | Keeps rebounding after HOU games |
| -1 | 5 | Freddy Peralta | 30 | $0.60 | 17.5 | 17 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 5 | Kyle Wright | 31 | ($0.40) | 15.5 | 16 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| 0 | 5 | Frankie Montas | 32 | $0.20 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 0.0 ▬ | Still settling into his pinstripes |
| 0 | 5 | Framber Valdez | 33 | $5.70 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 0 | 5 | Luis Garcia | 34 | $4.50 | 14 | 14 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 5 | Lance McCullers Jr. | 35 | $0.80 | 14 | N/A | N/A | Finding contact off LMC so tough |
| 1 | 5 | Triston McKenzie | 36 | $4.20 | 13 | 13 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 4 | 5 | Zac Gallen | 37 | $9.50 | 13 | 12 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 29 | 5 | Blake Snell | 38 | $10.70 | 13 | 6 | 7.0 ▲ | Pristine form with BBs down, command up |
| 13 | 5 | Reid Detmers | 39 | $5.90 | 12.5 | 9 | 3.5 ▲ | |
| 2 | 5 | Jesus Luzardo | 40 | $4.60 | 12.5 | 12 | 0.5 ▲ | No noticeable lingering effects off IL |
| -6 | 6 | Pablo Lopez | 41 | $2.70 | 12.5 | 13.5 | -1.0 ▼ | |
| -6 | 6 | Andrew Heaney | 42 | $4.60 | 12.5 | 13 | -0.5 ▼ | Hopefully 100% after comebacker |
| 0 | 6 | Tyler Anderson | 43 | $5.70 | 12 | 11.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 6 | Jordan Montgomery | 44 | $4.40 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 6 | Tyler Mahle | 45 | $1.20 | 11 | 10.5 | 0.5 ▲ | Keep thriving away from CIN |
| 2 | 6 | Lance Lynn | 46 | $3.50 | 11 | 10 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -9 | 6 | Nathan Eovaldi | 47 | $2.50 | 11 | 12.5 | -1.5 ▼ | Drop seems harsh but others rising |
| -9 | 6 | Logan Gilbert | 48 | ($0.10) | 11 | 12.5 | -1.5 ▼ | Whiffs down, walks up |
| 0 | 6 | Alex Wood | 49 | $2.00 | 10.5 | 10 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 1 | 6 | George Kirby | 50 | $7.50 | 10.5 | 9.5 | 1.0 ▲ | 1.52 FIP in the last month |
| -6 | 6 | Joe Ryan | 51 | $0.70 | 10 | 10.5 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| 1 | 6 | Jose Urquidy | 52 | $3.10 | 10 | 9 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -13 | 6 | Lucas Giolito | 53 | $3.70 | 10 | 12 | -2.0 ▼ | |
| -4 | 6 | Mike Clevinger | 54 | $1.60 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -1 | 6 | Alex Cobb | 55 | $4.80 | 9 | 8.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 6 | Sonny Gray | 56 | $2.70 | 9 | 8 | 1.0 ▲ | 10 Ks v. KC on Tuesday |
| 3 | 7 | Miles Mikolas | 57 | $3.50 | 7.5 | 7 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 7 | 7 | Merrill Kelly | 58 | $7.40 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 3 | 7 | Braxton Garrett | 59 | $3.70 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 4 | 7 | Adam Wainwright | 60 | $4.10 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 5 | 7 | Edward Cabrera | 61 | $3.10 | 6 | 6 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 12 | 7 | Brady Singer | 62 | $9.10 | 6 | 4 | 2.0 ▲ | |
| -17 | 7 | Jose Berrios | 63 | ($2.90) | 5.5 | 10.5 | -5.0 ▼ | Won't blame anyone for cutting |
| -9 | 8 | Nick Lodolo | 64 | $3.10 | 5.5 | 8 | -2.5 ▼ | Stellar raw stuff, needs refinement |
| -6 | 8 | Taijuan Walker | 65 | ($2.70) | 5.5 | 7.5 | -2.0 ▼ | Struggled, then left w/ back spasms |
| -8 | 8 | Sean Manaea | 66 | ($0.80) | 5.5 | 7.5 | -2.0 ▼ | |
| -4 | 8 | Martin Perez | 67 | $3.70 | 5.5 | 6.5 | -1.0 ▼ | Peripherals around 4.00, hanging in |
| 0 | 8 | Marcus Stroman | 68 | $3.10 | 5 | 5.5 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| 0 | 8 | Patrick Sandoval | 69 | $1.70 | 5 | 5.5 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| 0 | 8 | Aaron Ashby | 70 | $0.60 | 5 | 5.5 | -0.5 ▼ | Remain bullish on whiffs |
| 2 | 8 | Jose Quintana | 71 | $4.90 | 5 | 4.5 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 3 | 8 | Ranger Suarez | 72 | $5.20 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -1 | 8 | Kutter Crawford | 73 | $2.10 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -3 | 8 | Keegan Thompson | 74 | ($1.20) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 1 | 8 | Jose Suarez | 75 | $5.00 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.0 ▲ | New changeups are fiesty |
| 1 | 9 | Michael Kopech | 76 | $1.70 | 4 | 3 | 1.0 ▲ | Nice to see a gem, though it was vs. DET |
| 19 | 9 | Cal Quantrill | 77 | $2.90 | 3.5 | 1 | 2.5 ▲ | Some good luck yes but attacking zone well |
| 4 | 9 | Drew Rasmussen | 78 | $6.60 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 ▲ | So close to history, command sharp as ever |
| 11 | 9 | Justin Steele | 79 | $4.40 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 ▲ | Strong slider equals big Ks |
| 4 | 9 | Jeffrey Springs | 80 | $5.60 | 3 | 2 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -3 | 9 | Nick Pivetta | 81 | $0.50 | 3 | 3 | 0.0 ▬ | 7 scoreless! But it was at PIT |
| -2 | 9 | Josiah Gray | 82 | ($2.90) | 2.5 | 3 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| -2 | 9 | Jameson Taillon | 83 | $0.40 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| -5 | 10 | Noah Syndergaard | 84 | $5.40 | 2.5 | 3 | -0.5 ▼ | Lower Ks, higher WHIP; bad combo |
| -2 | 10 | Eric Lauer | 85 | $0.60 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 10 | Kyle Gibson | 86 | $1.70 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -1 | 10 | Johnny Cueto | 87 | $6.00 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| 1 | 10 | Spenser Watkins | 88 | $2.80 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 ▲ | |
| -4 | 10 | Madison Bumgarner | 89 | $2.70 | 1.5 | 2 | -0.5 ▼ | |
| -3 | 10 | Corey Kluber | 90 | $3.10 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 3 | 10 | Graham Ashcraft | 91 | $2.10 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 10 | Jake Odorizzi | 92 | $1.20 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 ▲ | |
| 0 | 10 | Jakob Junis | 93 | $3.40 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 ▲ | 2.63 FIP last 30D (6.28 ERA); then Tues. gem |
| 5 | 10 | Domingo German | 94 | $0.80 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 10 | Dane Dunning | 95 | $3.30 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| 5 | 10 | Kris Bubic | 96 | $3.80 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| N/A | 10 | Aaron Civale | 97 | $4.20 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| N/A | 10 | JP Sears | 98 | $1.90 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| N/A | 10 | Daniel Lynch | 99 | $2.60 | 1 | N/A | N/A | |
| 0 | 10 | Jordan Lyles | 100 | $2.60 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 ▬ | |
| 2 | 10 | Mitch White | 101 | $4.00 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 ▬ |
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