Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Season Finale

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Updated on September 23, 2017 11:35AM EST

The last week of the season is easily the most difficult to rank with so many starts in flux. As teams clinch, they'll often rearrange their rotation for optimal playoff order. Teams still in contention will extend their best starters while giving them an early shower next weekend if there's nothing to pitch for. The Cy Young race is a minor consideration for Chris Sale and Corey Kluber, though both have bigger goals in mind.

UPDATED: Sunday September 24, 8:30 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. TOR, vs. HOU
2	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. KC, vs. TOR
3	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
4	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. TB
5	Chris Archer	TB	vs. BAL
6	Justin Verlander	HOU	at TEX
7	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. MIN
8	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TB	Challenging Aaron Judge for club lead in homers
9	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at OAK, at LAA	Good setup to close season strong
10	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at TEX, at BOS	Expecting early weekend exit
11	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. DET
12	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. HOU, vs. OAK
13	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. ARI
14	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Could be pitching for Cy Young, though playoffs take precedence
15	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TOR
16	Garrett Richards	LAA	at CWS	Pitching well, great spot to end season on high note
17	Parker Bridwell	LAA	at CWS, vs. SEA
18	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at PIT
19	Tyler

UPDATED: Sunday September 24, 8:30 PM ET

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. TOR, vs. HOU
2	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. KC, vs. TOR
3	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
4	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. TB
5	Chris Archer	TB	vs. BAL
6	Justin Verlander	HOU	at TEX
7	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. MIN
8	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TB	Challenging Aaron Judge for club lead in homers
9	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at OAK, at LAA	Good setup to close season strong
10	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at TEX, at BOS	Expecting early weekend exit
11	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. DET
12	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. HOU, vs. OAK
13	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. ARI
14	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Could be pitching for Cy Young, though playoffs take precedence
15	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TOR
16	Garrett Richards	LAA	at CWS	Pitching well, great spot to end season on high note
17	Parker Bridwell	LAA	at CWS, vs. SEA
18	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at PIT
19	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. SEA
20	James Paxton	SEA	at OAK	Not especially sharpsince coming off the DL
21	Blake Snell	TB	at NYY, vs. BAL
22	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. BAL
23	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. MIN, vs. CWS	Could be skipped for Danny Salazar
24	Jaime Garcia	NYY	vs. TOR
25	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. TOR
26	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS
27	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at CWS, vs. SEA
28	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	at OAK
29	Ervin Santana	MIN	at CLE
30	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. DET
31	Alex Cobb	TB	at NYY
32	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. OAK
33	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at NYY
34	Mike Leake	SEA	at LAA
35	Jake Junis	KC	at NYY, vs. ARI
36	Bud Norris	LAA	at CWS
37	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. MIN
38	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. SEA
39	Anibal Sanchez	DET	at KC, at MIN	My favorite "break glass in case of emergency" option for streamers
40	Jeremy Hellickson	BAL	at TB
41	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. SEA, at TEX
42	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at PIT
43	Brad Peacock	HOU	at BOS
44	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. HOU, vs. OAK	Sorry, but I refuse to believe he's all of a sudden good
45	Charlie Morton	HOU	at BOS
46	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. SEA, at TEX
47	Lance McCullers	HOU	at BOS
48	Andrew Moore	SEA	at LAA
49	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. DET
50	Wade Miley	BAL	at TB
51	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. HOU
52	Matt Andriese	TB	at NYY
53	J.A. Happ	TOR	at BOS
54	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at TB
55	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. DET
56	Doug Fister	BOS	vs. HOU
57	Collin McHugh	HOU	at TEX
58	Sean Manaea	OAK	at TEX
59	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. LAA
60	Joe Biagini	TOR	at NYY
61	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. DET
62	Miguel Gonzalez	TEX	vs. OAK
63	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at CLE
64	Carson Fulmer	CWS	vs. LAA, at CLE
65	Daniel Norris	DET	at KC
66	James Shields	CWS	vs. LAA, at CLE
67	Marco Estrada	TOR	at BOS
68	Bartolo Colon	MIN	at CLE, vs. DET
69	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. ARI
70	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at TEX
71	Matt Boyd	DET	at MIN
72	Brett Anderson	TOR	at BOS, at NYY
73	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at CLE
74	Buck Farmer	DET	at MIN
75	Nick Martinez	TEX	vs. HOU
76	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. LAA
77	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at KC

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank	Pitcher	TEAM	Opponent(s)	Comments
1	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Weekend start not definite. Could be skipped if wild card clinched.
2	Luke Weaver	STL	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Second start dependent on wild card race
3	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at PHI, vs. PIT	Weekend start will probably end early
4	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. SD, at COL	Could miss COL start, will be short if he goes
5	Yu Darvish	LAD	vs. SD, at COL	COL start in jeopardy
6	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
7	Johnny Cueto	SF	at ARI, vs. SD	21 K but 9 BB in last 3 starts, spanning 17 1/3 IP
8	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SF, at KC
9	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at STL, vs. CIN	Expect truncated second start
10	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SF	Lines up nicely for wild card game
11	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. SD
12	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SF
13	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at PHI
14	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL, vs. CIN	Heading in the wrong direction when he usually excels
15	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at NYM, at MIA
16	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CIN, at STL
17	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. WAS
18	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. PIT	Likely five and fly in last start
19	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. CIN
20	Julio Teheran	ATL	at MIA
21	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. PIT
22	Tanner Roark	WAS	at PHI
23	Seth Lugo	NYM	at PHI, vs. ATL
24	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at STL
25	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at LAD
26	Chase Anderson	MIL	at STL	Early clubhouse leader for being called the 2018 "Zola guy"
27	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. CIN
28	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at NYM
29	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at WAS	Finishing the season strong
30	Ben Lively	PHI	vs. NYM
31	Lucas Sims	ATL	at NYM, at MIA
32	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. ATL
33	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at KC
34	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL	Anticipating just 3 or 4 IP in Coors
35	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. CIN
36	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at ARI
37	Jose Urena	MIA	at COL, vs. ATL	Curious to see how he handles Coors
38	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. BAL
39	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. BAL
40	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CHC
41	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. CHC	Strikeouts steadily declining over the second half
42	Jon Gray	COL	vs. MIA
43	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. SD
44	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. NYM	Strikeout potential intriguing for next season
45	Henderson Alvarez	PHI	vs. NYM
46	A.J. Cole	WAS	at PHI
47	John Lackey	CHC	at STL
48	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at SF
49	Mark Leiter	PHI	vs. WAS
50	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI	Token start, will only be an inning or two
51	Ivan Nova	PIT	at WAS	Extent of second half fall a bit mind-boggling
52	John Gant	STL	vs. MIL
53	Luiz Gohara	ATL	at MIA
54	Luis Perdomo	SD	at SF
55	Sal Romano	CIN	at MIL
56	Homer Bailey	CIN	at MIL	Strikeouts down, but with normal off-season, intriguing flier in 2018
57	Taijuan Walker	ARI	at KC
58	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at WAS
59	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. MIA, vs. LAD
60	German Marquez	COL	vs. LAD
61	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. MIA
62	Robert Gsellman	NYM	vs. ATL
63	Edwin Jackson	WAS	vs. PIT
64	Aaron Wilkerson	MIL	at STL
65	Steven Brault	PIT	at WAS
66	Dillon Peters	MIA	vs. ATL
67	Matt Moore	SF	at ARI
68	Clayton Richard	SD	at LAD
69	Max Fried	ATL	at NYM
70	Deck McGuire	CIN	at MIL, at CHC
71	Chris Flexen	NYM	vs. ATL
72	Travis Wood	SD	at LAD
73	Jake Thompson	PHI	vs. WAS
74	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. LAD
75	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	at COL, vs. ATL
76	Jackson Stephens	CIN	at CHC
77	Robert Stephenson	CIN	at CHC
78	Adam Conley	MIA	at COL
79	Jordan Lyles	SD	at SF
80	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. ATL

MLB

RANK	PITCHER	TEAM	OPPONENT	COMMENT
1	Carlos Martinez	STL	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Weekend start not definite. Could be skipped if wild card clinched.
2	Luke Weaver	STL	vs. CHC, vs. MIL	Second start dependent on wild card race
3	Chris Sale	BOS	vs. TOR, vs. HOU	With division in hand, don't expect much next weekend
4	Gio Gonzalez	WAS	at PHI, vs. PIT	Weekend start will probably end early
5	Alex Wood	LAD	vs. SD, at COL	Could miss COL start, will be short if he goes
6	Drew Pomeranz	BOS	vs. TOR, vs. HOU
7	Yu Darvish	LAD	vs. SD, at COL	COL start in jeopardy
8	CC Sabathia	NYY	vs. KC, vs. TOR
9	Madison Bumgarner	SF	vs. SD
10	Luis Severino	NYY	vs. TB
11	Johnny Cueto	SF	at ARI, vs. SD	21 K but 9 BB in last 3 starts, spanning 17 1/3 IP
12	Zack Godley	ARI	vs. SF, at KC
13	Jake Arrieta	CHC	at STL, vs. CIN	Expect truncated second start
14	Robbie Ray	ARI	vs. SF	Lines up nicely for wild card game
15	Rich Hill	LAD	vs. SD
16	Zack Greinke	ARI	vs. SF
17	Jacob deGrom	NYM	at PHI
18	Sonny Gray	NYY	vs. TB
19	Chris Archer	TB	vs. BAL
20	Justin Verlander	HOU	at TEX
21	Jon Lester	CHC	at STL, vs. CIN	Heading in the wrong direction when he usually excels
22	R.A. Dickey	ATL	at NYM, at MIA
23	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	vs. MIN
24	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	vs. TB	Challenging Aaron Judge for club lead in homers
25	Felix Hernandez	SEA	at OAK, at LAA	Good setup to close season strong
26	Zach Davies	MIL	vs. CIN, at STL
27	Aaron Nola	PHI	vs. WAS
28	Max Scherzer	WAS	vs. PIT	Likely five and fly in last start
29	Jose Quintana	CHC	vs. CIN
30	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	at TEX, at BOS	Expecting early weekend exit
31	Jose Berrios	MIN	vs. DET
32	Julio Teheran	ATL	at MIA
33	Stephen Strasburg	WAS	vs. PIT
34	Cole Hamels	TEX	vs. HOU, vs. OAK
35	Tanner Roark	WAS	at PHI
36	Danny Duffy	KC	vs. ARI
37	Corey Kluber	CLE	vs. CWS	Could be pitching for Cy Young, though playoffs take precedence
38	Rick Porcello	BOS	vs. TOR
39	Garrett Richards	LAA	at CWS	Pitching well, great spot to end season on high note
40	Seth Lugo	NYM	at PHI, vs. ATL
41	Parker Bridwell	LAA	at CWS, vs. SEA
42	Kevin Gausman	BAL	at PIT
43	Tyler Skaggs	LAA	vs. SEA
44	James Paxton	SEA	at OAK	Not especially sharpsince coming off the DL
45	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	at STL
46	Dinelson Lamet	SD	at LAD
47	Chase Anderson	MIL	at STL	Early clubhouse leader for being called the 2018 "Zola guy"
48	Blake Snell	TB	at NYY, vs. BAL
49	Brent Suter	MIL	vs. CIN
50	Jake Odorizzi	TB	vs. BAL
51	Sean Newcomb	ATL	at NYM
52	Josh Tomlin	CLE	vs. MIN, vs. CWS	Could be skipped for Danny Salazar
53	Jaime Garcia	NYY	vs. TOR
54	Gerrit Cole	PIT	at WAS	Finishing the season strong
55	Ben Lively	PHI	vs. NYM
56	Lucas Sims	ATL	at NYM, at MIA
57	Dan Straily	MIA	vs. ATL
58	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	vs. TOR
59	Patrick Corbin	ARI	at KC
60	Trevor Bauer	CLE	vs. CWS
61	Ricky Nolasco	LAA	at CWS, vs. SEA
62	Erasmo Ramirez	SEA	at OAK
63	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	at COL	Anticipating just 3 or 4 IP in Coors
64	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	vs. CIN
65	Ervin Santana	MIN	at CLE
66	Jason Hammel	KC	vs. DET
67	Jeff Samardzija	SF	at ARI
68	Jose Urena	MIA	at COL, vs. ATL	Curious to see how he handles Coors
69	Trevor Williams	PIT	vs. BAL
70	Alex Cobb	TB	at NYY
71	Martin Perez	TEX	vs. OAK
72	Chad Kuhl	PIT	vs. BAL
73	Michael Wacha	STL	vs. CHC
74	Lance Lynn	STL	vs. CHC	Strikeouts steadily declining over the second half
75	Jon Gray	COL	vs. MIA
76	Marcus Stroman	TOR	at NYY
77	Chris Stratton	SF	vs. SD
78	Mike Leake	SEA	at LAA
79	Nick Pivetta	PHI	vs. NYM	Strikeout potential intriguing for next season
80	Henderson Alvarez	PHI	vs. NYM
81	Jake Junis	KC	at NYY, vs. ARI
82	Bud Norris	LAA	at CWS
83	Danny Salazar	CLE	vs. MIN
84	Kendall Graveman	OAK	vs. SEA
85	A.J. Cole	WAS	at PHI
86	John Lackey	CHC	at STL
87	Jhoulys Chacin	SD	at SF
88	Mark Leiter	PHI	vs. WAS
89	Anibal Sanchez	DET	at KC, at MIN	My favorite "break glass in case of emergency" option for streamers
90	Noah Syndergaard	NYM	at PHI	Token start, will only be an inning or two
91	Ivan Nova	PIT	at WAS	Extent of second half fall a bit mind-boggling
92	John Gant	STL	vs. MIL
93	Jeremy Hellickson	BAL	at TB
94	Luiz Gohara	ATL	at MIA
95	Daniel Mengden	OAK	vs. SEA, at TEX
96	Luis Perdomo	SD	at SF
97	Sal Romano	CIN	at MIL
98	Gabriel Ynoa	BAL	at PIT
99	Brad Peacock	HOU	at BOS
100	Andrew Cashner	TEX	vs. HOU, vs. OAK	Sorry, but I refuse to believe he's all of a sudden good
101	Homer Bailey	CIN	at MIL	Strikeouts down, but with normal off-season, intriguing flier in 2018
102	Charlie Morton	HOU	at BOS
103	Daniel Gossett	OAK	vs. SEA, at TEX
104	Lance McCullers	HOU	at BOS
105	Andrew Moore	SEA	at LAA
106	Taijuan Walker	ARI	at KC
107	Jameson Taillon	PIT	at WAS
108	Tyler Chatwood	COL	vs. MIA, vs. LAD
109	Kyle Gibson	MIN	vs. DET
110	German Marquez	COL	vs. LAD
111	Tyler Anderson	COL	vs. MIA
112	Wade Miley	BAL	at TB
113	Eduardo Rodriguez	BOS	vs. HOU
114	Matt Andriese	TB	at NYY
115	J.A. Happ	TOR	at BOS
116	Robert Gsellman	NYM	vs. ATL
117	Edwin Jackson	WAS	vs. PIT
118	Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	at TB
119	Sam Gaviglio	SEA	vs. DET
120	Doug Fister	BOS	vs. HOU
121	Aaron Wilkerson	MIL	at STL
122	Collin McHugh	HOU	at TEX
123	Steven Brault	PIT	at WAS
124	Sean Manaea	OAK	at TEX
125	Reynaldo Lopez	CWS	vs. LAA
126	Dillon Peters	MIA	vs. ATL
127	Matt Moore	SF	at ARI
128	Joe Biagini	TOR	at NYY
129	Jason Vargas	KC	vs. DET
130	Clayton Richard	SD	at LAD
131	Miguel Gonzalez	TEX	vs. OAK
132	Lucas Giolito	CWS	at CLE
133	Carson Fulmer	CWS	vs. LAA, at CLE
134	Max Fried	ATL	at NYM
135	Deck McGuire	CIN	at MIL, at CHC
136	Chris Flexen	NYM	vs. ATL
137	Travis Wood	SD	at LAD
138	Jake Thompson	PHI	vs. WAS
139	Daniel Norris	DET	at KC
140	James Shields	CWS	vs. LAA, at CLE
141	Chad Bettis	COL	vs. LAD
142	Marco Estrada	TOR	at BOS
143	Bartolo Colon	MIN	at CLE, vs. DET
144	Ian Kennedy	KC	vs. ARI
145	Jharel Cotton	OAK	at TEX
146	Odrisamer Despaigne	MIA	at COL, vs. ATL
147	Matt Boyd	DET	at MIN
148	Jackson Stephens	CIN	at CHC
149	Brett Anderson	TOR	at BOS, at NYY
150	Robert Stephenson	CIN	at CHC
151	Adalberto Mejia	MIN	at CLE
152	Buck Farmer	DET	at MIN
153	Adam Conley	MIA	at COL
154	Nick Martinez	TEX	vs. HOU
155	Jordan Lyles	SD	at SF
156	Rafael Montero	NYM	vs. ATL
157	Dylan Covey	CWS	vs. LAA
158	Jordan Zimmermann	DET	at KC