Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Weekly Pitcher Leaders
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Top Pitchers This Week

This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.

A piece published in The Athletic last week showed fly balls aren't traveling as far as usual. Here's some specific Statcast data:

YearAEV (mph)HardHit%BABIPAve Distance
202192.344.9%0.125319.1
202291.943.2%0.125315.7
202392.244.3%0.118317.4
202492.143.7%0.117315.6
202592.745.8%0.114314.9

Batters are hitting fly balls harder than the past several seasons, but they aren't getting the same carry. This could be due to the colder-than-usual conditions, yet there's also evidence the seams are wider and that could influence drag (i.e. wind resistance).

Home runs are predictably down. The main takeaway for fantasy purposes is until carry picks up, don't be as fearful streaming in homer-friendly ballparks or worry about high fly ball rates.

This is the time I usually request that rotation questions be addressed to the Probable Pitchers discussion, but it's no longer available so I'll accept rotation queries. And if I don't know the answer, I'll hit up the crew setting them for their input. I'll always know the answer to ranking questions, so please continue to drop those below.

As always, these are preliminary; the final version will be posted around 1 AM ET Monday morning.

Week of June 16 - 22

Mixed League

RankPitcherTMOPPCommentsMIX12MIX15
1Tarik SkubalDETPIT   
2Paul SkenesPIT@DET   
3Kris BubicKC@TEX, @SDWalks edging up  
4Framber ValdezHOU@ATH

A piece published in The Athletic last week showed fly balls aren't traveling as far as usual. Here's some specific Statcast data:

YearAEV (mph)HardHit%BABIPAve Distance
202192.344.9%0.125319.1
202291.943.2%0.125315.7
202392.244.3%0.118317.4
202492.143.7%0.117315.6
202592.745.8%0.114314.9

Batters are hitting fly balls harder than the past several seasons, but they aren't getting the same carry. This could be due to the colder-than-usual conditions, yet there's also evidence the seams are wider and that could influence drag (i.e. wind resistance).

Home runs are predictably down. The main takeaway for fantasy purposes is until carry picks up, don't be as fearful streaming in homer-friendly ballparks or worry about high fly ball rates.

This is the time I usually request that rotation questions be addressed to the Probable Pitchers discussion, but it's no longer available so I'll accept rotation queries. And if I don't know the answer, I'll hit up the crew setting them for their input. I'll always know the answer to ranking questions, so please continue to drop those below.

As always, these are preliminary; the final version will be posted around 1 AM ET Monday morning.

Week of June 16 - 22

Mixed League

RankPitcherTMOPPCommentsMIX12MIX15
1Tarik SkubalDETPIT   
2Paul SkenesPIT@DET   
3Kris BubicKC@TEX, @SDWalks edging up  
4Framber ValdezHOU@ATH   
5Andrew AbbottCINMIN, @STLA little over his skis, but breakthrough is for real  
6Dylan CeaseSD@LAD, KC   
7Garrett CrochetBOS@SEA   
8Chris SaleATL@MIA   
9Max FriedNYYBAL   
10Clarke SchmidtNYYLAA, BALDeserves to be on the All-Star team  
11Logan GilbertSEABOS, @CHC   
12Ryan PepiotTBBAL, DET   
13Zack WheelerPHINYM   
14Jacob deGromTEXKC   
15Nathan EovaldiTEX@PIT   
16Drew RasmussenTBBAL   
17Joe RyanMINMIL   
18Robbie RaySFCLE, BOSWe're getting the Dr. Jekyll version  
19Spencer SchwellenbachATLNYM   
20Shane SmithCWSSTL, @TORMost Rule 5 pitchers spend the season in mop-up, not challenging for ROY  
21Matthew BoydCHCSEA   
22Jack FlahertyDET@TB   
23Yoshinobu YamamotoLADSDPadres roughed him up a bit last week  
24Carlos RodonNYYLAA   
25Bailey OberMIN@CINThis is about the time he went on his stellar run last season  
26Chris PaddackMIN@CINI admit, I was wr… I was wro… I was wrong  
27Zach EflinBAL@TB, @NYY   
28Chris BassittTORARI, CWS   
29Merrill KellyARI@COL   
30Tyler MahleTEX@PITRegression kicking in  
31Kevin GausmanTORARI   
32David PetersonNYM@ATL, @PHISolid ranking considering tough road pair  
33Hunter BrownHOU@LAA   
34Spencer StriderATL@MIA   
35Ben BrownCHCMILChangeup usage up to between 8-10 percent  
36Logan WebbSFBOS   
37Lance McCullersHOU@ATH, @LAA   
38Cristopher SanchezPHI@MIA   
39Shota ImanagaCHCMIL   
40Zac GallenARI@COL   
41Michael WachaKC@TEX   
42Bryan WooSEABOS   
43Seth LugoKC@TEX   
44David FestaMIN@CIN, MILEnough hype, let's see some results41% 
45Jesus LuzardoPHI@MIA, NYMGreat call by 56 percent of managers starting him in NFBC last week  
46Nick LodoloCINMIN   
47Eduardo RodriguezARI@TOR 30% 
48Andre PallanteSTLCIN 4% 
49Nick PivettaSDKCStill solid, but has returned to earth  
50Tanner BibeeCLE@ATH   
51Grant HolmesATLNYM, @MIA   
52Sonny GraySTL@CWS   
53Ranger SuarezPHI@MIA   
54Jameson TaillonCHCMIL   
55Miles MikolasSTLCIN 8% 
56Cade HortonCHCSEA 0%0%
57Landen RouppSFBOS   
58Gavin WilliamsCLE@SF   
59Casey MizeDETPIT, @TBNice pair to snap out of funk  
60Jose SorianoLAA@NYY, HOU   
61Adrian HouserCWS@TOR 0%0%
62Taj BradleyTBBAL   
63Jose BerriosTORCWS   
64Noah CameronKC@SD 0%0%
65Sandy AlcantaraMIAPHI, ATLGreat test to learn if recent uptick was from facing PIT and COL  
66Hayden BirdsongSFCLE   
67Zack LittellTBBAL, DET   
68Jack LeiterTEXKC, @PIT   
69Mitch KellerPITTEX   
70Aaron CivaleCWS@TORNew team, same mediocrity21% 
71Dustin MayLADWAS   
72Tylor MegillNYM@PHI   
73Clayton KershawLADWAS 0%0%
74Brandon PfaadtARI@TOR, @COL   
75Ben CaspariusLADSD, WAS 36% 
76Walker BuehlerBOS@SEA   
77Edward CabreraMIAPHI   
78Ryne NelsonARI@TOR 33% 
79Lucas GiolitoBOS@SEA, @SF 47% 
80Ryan YarbroughNYYLAA 0%0%
81Shane BazTBDET   
82Luis SeverinoATHHOU   
83Michael SorokaWASCOL, @LAD 44% 
84Patrick CorbinTEXKC 6% 
85MacKenzie GoreWAS@LAD   
86Luis CastilloSEABOS   
87Tomoyuki SuganoBAL@TB   
88Dean KremerBAL@TB, @NYY 5% 
89Mitchell ParkerWASCOL 13% 
90Clay HolmesNYM@ATL   
91Erick FeddeSTL@CWS 49% 
92Nick MartinezCINMIN   
93Bailey FalterPIT@DET, TEX 10% 
94Trevor WilliamsWASCOL 0%9%
95Mix 12 Reliever     
96Mitch SpenceATHHOU 0%14%
97Brayan BelloBOS@SF   
98George KirbySEA@CHC   
99Jose QuintanaMIL@MIN 22% 
100Jeffrey SpringsATHCLE   
101Bowden FrancisTORCWS 25%42%
102Keider MonteroDETPIT 0%5%
103Matthew LiberatoreSTL@CWS, CIN   
104Jake IrvinWASCOL, @LAD 33% 
105Freddy PeraltaMIL@CHC   
106Mix 15 Reliever     
107Yusei KikuchiLAAHOU   
108Luis L. OrtizCLE@ATH   
109Chad PatrickMIL@CHC, @MIN   
110Griffin CanningNYM@PHI   
111Justin WrobleskiLADSD 3% 
112Hunter DobbinsBOS@SF 0%0%
113Simeon Woods RichardsonMINMIL 4%25%
114Charlie MortonBAL@TB 17% 
115Michael LorenzenKC@SD 27% 
116Brady SingerCIN@STL   
117Colton GordonHOU@ATH 0%0%
118Sean BurkeCWSSTL 5% 
119Will WarrenNYYLAA, BAL   
120Colin ReaCHCSEA 22% 
121Mick AbelPHI@MIA, NYM 0%0%
122Wade MileyCIN@STL 0%0%
123Eury PerezMIAATL 4%4%
124Davis MartinCWSSTL 2%32%
125Logan AllenCLE@SF 3%30%
126Sawyer Gipson-LongDET@TB 0%0%
127Bryce ElderATLNYM   
128Quinn PriesterMIL@MIN 4% 
129Brandon WalterHOU@LAA 0%0%
130Slade CecconiCLE@SF, @ATH 0%0%
131Justin VerlanderSFCLE 24% 
132Ryan GustoHOU@ATH 6%46%
133Jacob MisiorowskiMIL@CHC 0%0%
134J.T. GinnATHHOU, CLE 3%26%
135Stephen KolekSD@LAD 13% 
136Kyle HendricksLAA@NYY, HOU 0%0%
137Kyle FreelandCOL@WAS, ARI 0%4%
138Valente BellozoMIAPHI 0%0%
139JP SearsATHHOU, CLE 21% 
140Chase DollanderCOL@WAS 5%19%
141Eric LauerTORARI 0%0%
142German MarquezCOL@WAS 0%0%
143Cal QuantrillMIAPHI 3%19%
144Mike BurrowsPITTEX 0%0%
145Paul BlackburnNYM@ATL 0%0%
146Jack KochanowiczLAA@NYY 0%2%
147Emerson HancockSEA@CHC 0%35%
148Randy VasquezSD@LAD, KC 3%26%
149Janson JunkMIAATL 0%0%
150Cade PovichBAL@NYY 46% 
151Andrew HeaneyPIT@DET   
152Tyler AndersonLAA@NYY 29% 
153Ryan BergertSD@LAD 0%0%
154Antonio SenzatelaCOL@WAS, ARI 0%0%
155Austin GomberCOLARI 0%0%
156Matt SauerLADSD 0%0%

American League

RankPitcherTMOPPComment
1Tarik SkubalDETPIT 
2Kris BubicKC@TEX, @SDWalks edging up
3Framber ValdezHOU@ATH 
4Garrett CrochetBOS@SEA 
5Max FriedNYYBAL 
6Clarke SchmidtNYYLAA, BALDeserves to be on the All-Star team
7Logan GilbertSEABOS, @CHC 
8Ryan PepiotTBBAL, DET 
9Jacob deGromTEXKC 
10Nathan EovaldiTEX@PIT 
11Drew RasmussenTBBAL 
12Joe RyanMINMIL 
13Shane SmithCWSSTL, @TORMost Rule 5 pitchers spend the season in mop-up, not challenging for ROY
14Jack FlahertyDET@TB 
15Carlos RodonNYYLAA 
16Bailey OberMIN@CINThis is about the time he went on his stellar run last season
17Chris PaddackMIN@CINI admit, I was wr… I was wro… I was wrong
18Zach EflinBAL@TB, @NYY 
19Chris BassittTORARI, CWS 
20Tyler MahleTEX@PITRegression kicking in
21Kevin GausmanTORARI 
22Hunter BrownHOU@LAA 
23Lance McCullersHOU@ATH, @LAA 
24Michael WachaKC@TEX 
25Bryan WooSEABOS 
26Seth LugoKC@TEX 
27David FestaMIN@CIN, MILEnough hype, let's see some results
28Tanner BibeeCLE@ATH 
29Gavin WilliamsCLE@SF 
30Casey MizeDETPIT, @TBNice pair to snap out of funk
31Jose SorianoLAA@NYY, HOU 
32Adrian HouserCWS@TOR 
33Taj BradleyTBBAL 
34Jose BerriosTORCWS 
35Noah CameronKC@SD 
36Zack LittellTBBAL, DET 
37Jack LeiterTEXKC, @PIT 
38Aaron CivaleCWS@TORNew team, same mediocrity
39Walker BuehlerBOS@SEA 
40Lucas GiolitoBOS@SEA, @SF 
41Ryan YarbroughNYYLAA 
42Shane BazTBDET 
43Luis SeverinoATHHOU 
44Patrick CorbinTEXKC 
45Luis CastilloSEABOS 
46Tomoyuki SuganoBAL@TB 
47Dean KremerBAL@TB, @NYY 
48Mitch SpenceATHHOU 
49Brayan BelloBOS@SF 
50George KirbySEA@CHC 
51Jeffrey SpringsATHCLE 
52Bowden FrancisTORCWS 
53Keider MonteroDETPIT 
54Yusei KikuchiLAAHOU 
55Luis L. OrtizCLE@ATH 
56Hunter DobbinsBOS@SF 
57Simeon Woods RichardsonMINMIL 
58Charlie MortonBAL@TB 
59Michael LorenzenKC@SD 
60Colton GordonHOU@ATH 
61Sean BurkeCWSSTL 
62Will WarrenNYYLAA, BAL 
63AL Reliever   
64Davis MartinCWSSTL 
65Logan AllenCLE@SF 
66Sawyer Gipson-LongDET@TB 
67Brandon WalterHOU@LAA 
68Slade CecconiCLE@SF, @ATH 
69Ryan GustoHOU@ATH 
70J.T. GinnATHHOU, CLE 
71Kyle HendricksLAA@NYY, HOU 
72JP SearsATHHOU, CLE 
73Eric LauerTORARI 
74Jack KochanowiczLAA@NYY 
75Emerson HancockSEA@CHC 
76Cade PovichBAL@NYY 
77Tyler AndersonLAA@NYY 

National League

RankPitcherTMOPPComment
1Paul SkenesPIT@DET 
2Andrew AbbottCINMIN, @STLA little over his skis, but break though is for real
3Dylan CeaseSD@LAD, KC 
4Chris SaleATL@MIA 
5Zack WheelerPHINYM 
6Robbie RaySFCLE, BOSWe're getting the Dr. Jekyll version
7Spencer SchwellenbachATLNYM 
8Matthew BoydCHCSEA 
9Yoshinobu YamamotoLADSDPadres roughed him up a bit last week
10Merrill KellyARI@COL 
11David PetersonNYM@ATL, @PHISolid ranking considering tough road pair
12Spencer StriderATL@MIA 
13Ben BrownCHCMILChangeup usage up to between 8-10 percent
14Logan WebbSFBOS 
15Cristopher SanchezPHI@MIA 
16Shota ImanagaCHCMIL 
17Zac GallenARI@COL 
18Jesus LuzardoPHI@MIA, NYMGreat call by 56 percent of managers starting him in NFBC last week
19Nick LodoloCINMIN 
20Eduardo RodriguezARI@TOR 
21Andre PallanteSTLCIN 
22Nick PivettaSDKCStill solid, but has returned to earth
23Grant HolmesATLNYM, @MIA 
24Sonny GraySTL@CWS 
25Ranger SuarezPHI@MIA 
26Jameson TaillonCHCMIL 
27Miles MikolasSTLCIN 
28Cade HortonCHCSEA 
29Landen RouppSFBOS 
30Sandy AlcantaraMIAPHI, ATLGreat test to learn if recent uptick was from facing PIT and COL
31Hayden BirdsongSFCLE 
32Mitch KellerPITTEX 
33Dustin MayLADWAS 
34Tylor MegillNYM@PHI 
35Clayton KershawLADWAS 
36Brandon PfaadtARI@TOR, @COL 
37Ben CaspariusLADSD, WAS 
38Edward CabreraMIAPHI 
39Ryne NelsonARI@TOR 
40Michael SorokaWASCOL, @LAD 
41MacKenzie GoreWAS@LAD 
42Mitchell ParkerWASCOL 
43Clay HolmesNYM@ATL 
44Erick FeddeSTL@CWS 
45Nick MartinezCINMIN 
46Bailey FalterPIT@DET, TEX 
47Trevor WilliamsWASCOL 
48Jose QuintanaMIL@MIN 
49Matthew LiberatoreSTL@CWS, CIN 
50Jake IrvinWASCOL, @LAD 
51Freddy PeraltaMIL@CHC 
52Chad PatrickMIL@CHC, @MIN 
53Griffin CanningNYM@PHI 
54Justin WrobleskiLADSD 
55Brady SingerCIN@STL 
56NL Reliever   
57Colin ReaCHCSEA 
58Mick AbelPHI@MIA, NYM 
59Wade MileyCIN@STL 
60Eury PerezMIAATL 
61Bryce ElderATLNYM 
62Quinn PriesterMIL@MIN 
63Justin VerlanderSFCLE 
64Jacob MisiorowskiMIL@CHC 
65Stephen KolekSD@LAD 
66Kyle FreelandCOL@WAS, ARI 
67Valente BellozoMIAPHI 
68Chase DollanderCOL@WAS 
69German MarquezCOL@WAS 
70Cal QuantrillMIAPHI 
71Mike BurrowsPITTEX 
72Paul BlackburnNYM@ATL 
73Randy VasquezSD@LAD, KC 
74Janson JunkMIAATL 
75Andrew HeaneyPIT@DET 
76Ryan BergertSD@LAD 
77Antonio SenzatelaCOL@WAS, ARI 
78Austin GomberCOLARI 
79Matt SauerLADSD 

Want to Read More?
Subscribe to RotoWire to see the full article.

We reserve some of our best content for our paid subscribers. Plus, if you choose to subscribe you can discuss this article with the author and the rest of the RotoWire community.

Get Instant Access To This Article Get Access To This Article
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only MLB Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire MLB fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Todd Zola
Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Top Fantasy Baseball Batters to Target
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Top Fantasy Baseball Batters to Target
MLB Picks: Giants at Dodgers and Angels at Orioles
MLB Picks: Giants at Dodgers and Angels at Orioles
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Top Plays and Strategy for Saturday, June 14
MLB DFS Picks: FanDuel Top Plays and Strategy for Saturday, June 14
DFS MLB: DraftKings Picks and Strategies for Saturday, June 14
DFS MLB: DraftKings Picks and Strategies for Saturday, June 14