Top 100 Starting Pitchers: So You Wanna Quintana?

RANK

(LAST WEEK)

Name TEAM NOTES 1 Tarik Skubal Tigers 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 B, 7 Ks. 95 pitches. So much for that ‘load management’ nonsense. 2 Zack Wheeler Phillies 9 straight starts with 2 or fewer earned runs allowed.  3 Chris Sale Braves 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.38. Beast. Yes, he’s a beast built like a praying mantis. But he’s still a beast. 4  Paul Skenes Pirates More below. 5 Jack Flaherty Dodgers 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, and 5 Ks at MIA isn’t an ideal line from your top pitcher. Flaherty is going to have to be at his best when the playoffs start, especially if the other injured rotation-mates aren’t ready to come back yet. 6 George Kirby Mariners 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 4 K. If you could close your eyes next year and point to the Mariners pitching rotation chart for your first three SPs, would you even care which three they were? 7 (8) Shota Imanaga Cubs 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 3.03. Holy Shota! If he keeps throwing beauties like this, he’ll find himself in the Top 5 SP of some 2025 draft rooms. Top 10 for sure? Ok, then. Who ranks ahead of him for next season if you have him at SP11? 8 (9) Blake Snell Giants 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, 2 walks, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.31. Ba-lah-kay with a dozen…uh…Ks. This guy is THE second-half Godzilla. Should he be in the Top 10? Maybe not for 2025 rankings, but for the second half of this year he absolutely is. 9 (10) Gerrit Cole Yankees 9.0 IP, 2 hits, ER, BB, 7 K. Someone is ramping up for a playoff show. 10 (7) Logan Gilbert Mariners 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.24. He and Shota were two of the only good picks I made in TGFBI (unless you count setting the maximum on Corbin Carroll – something I thought was terrible a few months ago). You could argue that LoGi should be below a few of the arms that are below him here, but I’m still calling him a Top 10 SP because of that BB/9. 11 Dylan Cease Padres 8.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.42. This one calls for a Grey quote: More like dealin’ Cease! Dylan Cease is the most “This start is going to be one of the best of the year” or “This will make me regret trusting him.” 12 Cole Ragans Royals 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.24. Real dope here – which guy do you want in a keeper league? Ragans or Gerrit? Would you even need the advantage of a cheaper salary or a later draft round to choose Ragans? 13 (14) Framber Valdez  Astros 7 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.85. WARNING: THE FRAMBER ALERT IS REAL! I just can’t find anyone to bump from the Top 10 for him.  14 (15) Michael King Padres Allowing 2 ER in 7 IP with just 1 BB and 7 Ks is a solid start against HOU, even if you don’t get the win. 15 (16) Corbin Burnes Orioles 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 Ks. If you said Burnes would finish the year with 15 wins and 172 strikeouts in 189 innings, would you still have been disappointed in March? He’s still a top arm, but maybe not the very top.  16 (17) Zach Eflin Orioles 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.53. Grey pointed out that he might get one more start. That one lines up at NYY. And I assume Grey and I aren’t the only two doing the Danny DeVito head shake gif for that one. 17 (13) Pablo Lopez  Twins More below. 18 (20) Jose Berrios Blue Jays 6.0 IP, 6 hits, ER, BB, 6 K. Joe Berries throwing up a half dozen hits on the line here but still with no walks and just one earned run. I said it again this week (in Laura’s comment section this time); Berrios has been the Jays ace this year. 19 (18) Seth Lugo  Royals 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.05. Is Lugo going to up his game for the final two starts – at WSH, at ATL? Yep, you guessed it. KC is on the wild card train! 20 (24) Bailey Ober Twins 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 12 Ks, ERA at 3.84. A dozen strikeouts is a good way to move yourself up the list! 21 (19) Freddy Peralta Brewers 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.69. It’s petty to move him down two spots to make room in the Top 20 for Berrios, but it’s my list so that’s what I’m doing. Ha. 22 (21) Bryce Miller Mariners Bryce Miller – 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners (4 BBs), 8 Ks, ERA at 3.06. He’s walked 10 in his last 4 starts (total), but has still managed to limit the ERs. 23 (32) Yoshinobu Yamamoto Dodgers More below. 24 (23) Aaron Nola Phillies 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 3.54. He gets CHC at home and then is at WSH to finish off the week. 25 (26) Logan Webb Giants 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.58. “Oh what a tangled Webb we weave, when first we practice to deceive…with a 7.66 K/9.” Ya, I think that’s how the quote goes. 26 (27) Ranger Suarez Phillies 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.13. Some guys are coasting the the finish line after a solid season and some are dragging their sore arms behind them while they labor through each step toward the end. Can you guess which kind of SP Suarez is? (Kind of stutter?) 27 (28) Tanner Bibee Guardians Avoided his third consecutive loss last week with a solid game vs MIN. I’d consider starting him at home vs CIN this week. 28 (29) Luis Castillo Mariners He’s not expected back early this week, but he said he’s feeling good. That means he should be good to go later this week when the M’s are at OAK. 29 (30) Max Fried Braves 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.49. He keeps on showing us that he’s not quite fried yet. Maybe a bit sautéed around the edges, but not quite burnt to a crisp. 30 (31) Ronel Blanco Astros I’ll admit to mixing him up with Reynaldo Lopez far more times than I should. Another solid 6-inning start Saturday with 9 Ks. At CLE next weekend. 31 (25) Zac Gallen Diamondbacks 5.0 IP, 7 hits, 4 ER, BB, 5 K. How do we assess other boring, mediocre stars? Meh-gain. 32 (22) Sonny Gray Cardinals 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 9 hits, zero walks, 8 Ks, ERA at 3.84. JKJ mentioned in our Discord that he was surprised Gray had 200 Ks this year. That’s a nice way for him to end the year (The 203 Ks, not the 15-day-IL). 33 Kevin Gausman Blue Jays 5 IP, 0 ER, zero hits, 1 walk, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.91. Another shutout outing out of Gausman. Repetition for the win. I’ll gladly take him as my SP3 next year when everyone else is fading him. Then I’ll pray that he doesn’t entirely collapse before every start. It’s ok. I’m ready for that kind of stress again. EDIT: Speaking of stress, Gausman announced that he plans on making his start this week against BOS despite having back issues. Uh……. 34 Hunter Greene Reds He was activated and started yesterday vs PIT. 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER (HR), 1 BB, 4 Ks in 45 pitches is a good return. I’d start him this week at CHC. 35 Luis Gil Yankees Yesterday’s game was still going on when I checked him. More earned runs, more walks, 5 Ks through 5.1 IP. And he’ll likely secure his 15th win because…Oakland. 36  Cristopher Sanchez  Phillies 5.0 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 5 BB, 7 K. I streamed Mister ‘No H’ in the Perts league last week and it was one of the moves that worked out well for your boy. (Don’t ask about the Bobby Miller one). 37 Bryan Woo Mariners 4 2/3 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 2.85. Bryan Waaaaah. Because he took a giant baby dump straight up the back of my ERA for the week. 38 Bowden Francis Blue Jays 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.47. (Five) Ladies and gentlemen, your 2025 Blue Jays’ SP3. 39 (50) Yusei Kikuchi Astros More below. 39 Justin Steele Cubs 2.2 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 3.03. That’s not a bad return after 3 weeks off. But are you starting him this week at PHI?  40 Spencer Schwellenbach Braves 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.61. He gets the Mets and Royals at home. Both games have playoff implications here, but I’m still starting him. 41 Jared Jones Pirates 5 IP, 6 ER, 2 HR, 3 BB, 5 Ks. I really like Jones a lot so I’ll point out that this one was at CIN, a top hitters’ park. But if you’re not a Jones believer, I’ll give you the ammunition that his last start of the year is at NYY. Ah…no. 42 (47) Shane Baz Rays 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.21. Another MarmoSleeper for 2025. Woo, Baz…sounds like I’m creating a WWE storyline. 43 Nick Pivetta Red Sox 5 innings of zero earned is a nice way to make his previous start look like an outlier (over his last 4). He gets MIN at home but be careful as he’s well over his career high in innings. 44 Tanner Houck Red Sox He’s throwing at TOR today and if you’d have told me in the first half that I’d have Pivetta ranked above Houck at the end of the year I would have passed out from the uncontrollable laughing fit. 45 Robbie Ray Giants He’s “hoping” to be back for the STL series in SF this weekend. If you can afford to gamble on “hope” then activate him. 46 Spencer Arrighetti Astros Cramped up yesterday and left after 6 innings but expects to be back for the CLE series this weekend. 47 (42) Nathan Eovaldi Rangers Giving up 7 earned runs to the Blue Jays should automatically drop you 5 spots no matter what. 48 Sean Manaea Mets 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.26. The same thing in Friday’s start, albeit with 2 more ERs (and 2 HR). *cue the PacMan sound effects* WACHA WACHA WACHA WACHA… 49 Carlos Rodon Yankees I said to Laura that every Rodon start was a “grit my teeth and hope for the best” but I can’t complain about 16-9, 190 Ks in 169 IP, and an ERA below 4.00. 50 (51) Michael Wacha Royals He should be Top 50 for sure.  51 (54) Nick Martinez Reds 6.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. I thought of 2 Live Crew every time I heard his name. But those giggles have subsided and now I’m wondering if Martinez is a late-round dart throw next year that will pay off in a big way. 52 (55) Brady Singer Royals WACHA alert! 53 (56) Tobias Myers Brewers He needed 93 pitches to get through 4 innings last week but he only gave up one earned run and still struck out 5. I’m still running him out at PTI next week. 54 (59) Joe Musgrove Padres 6.0 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 9 K. Maybe he’s not really “sneaky” in the full sense of the term, but would you be surprised if Musgrove sauntered into the playoffs and shut out a team through 8 innings with 10 strikeouts and only a couple of hits allowed? 55 (78) Ryan Pepiot Rays 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 12 Ks. See Bailey Ober above. 56 (58) Nestor Cortes Yankees 6 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.77. Gets BAL at home this week. 57 (60) Luis Severino Mets Quality starts? Check. Strikeouts? Check. Good matchup this week (at ATL)? Uh…2/3 isn’t bad I guess. 58 (61) Brayan Bello Red Sox More below. 59 (62) Joey Cantillo Guardians 4.1 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 4.63. He’s like an anti-Wacha, but 4.1 innings of one earned run allowed is better than what you got from Edward Cabrera last week. 60 (54) Ryne Nelson Arizona Still on the IL but due back Sept. 26th. Daily leaguers keep an eye on him. 61 (65) Gavin Williams Guardians 5 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 5.12. A Guardians loss?! Gavin was not havin’ any of that! (Nailed it! No? Thumbtacked it? I’ll take it!) 62 (66) Hunter Brown Astros 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.57. I don’t even know anymore. I’ll likely avoid him next year and he’ll likely put it all together. 63 (72) Jacob deGrom Rangers 3.0 IP, 3 hits, ER, BB, 5 K. I’m not even a deGrom fan and I want to see him rip off a CG SO before the end of the season. I suppose he has to shed all of those layers of bubble wrap first. 64 (67) Chris Bassitt  Blue Jays 3.2 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 4.16, and six unearned runs. Bro, UNEARNED runs. You can start breathing again. 65 (68) Garrett Crochet White Sox 4.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 8 K. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you’re not in a keeper league or you’re not in a league where you had to manage your innings and still try to pick up strikeouts, why is he still on your roster? 65 (71) Matthew Boyd Guardians 2.2 IP, 2 ER, ERA at 2.52. Oh Boy-d. I was so close to labeling Boyd as a Wacha last week but I figured we’d better not go there yet. Like a soft Wacha. A Washa? Well, he got bounced around a bit on Friday at STL (4 IP, 2 ER, 3 BBs, 6 Ks) and he gets HOU at home this week so be careful. 66 (75) Walker Buehler Dodgers I mentioned last week that despite the 5 BBs he didn’t look bad. Yesterday he had 9 Ks and only one BB. Somehow he still managed to give up 4 ER to COL though so *shrug emoji* 67 (NR) Reese Olson Tigers He’s back! Threw 3 innings of one-hit, one earned with one walk and 3 Ks. Home start vs TB should be fine this week. 68 (76) Brandon Pfaadt Diamondbacks 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 hits, zero walks, 12 Ks, ERA at 4.66. Getting a Pfaadt dozen Ks to confuse us even further about a 2025 outlook. If you read the Bello bit below, I originally had Pfaadt listed in there too. 69 (96) Cody Bradford Rangers 7 IP, 0 ER, 5 hits, zero walks, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.59. The Real Joey Bart wrote him up as a streamer this week and seeing as he’s pitching at OAK, I agree! He flip you for real! 70 (77) Kutter Crawford Red Sox I almost streamed him in Perts yesterday. 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks. No-decision. I guess I didn’t miss out on much. 71 (86) Kumar Rocker Rangers 3 IP, 1 ER, ERA at 2.57. Here he is…Rocker like a hurricane…in Texas. Hammer him into your 2025 starting pitcher sleeper stone, er rock, tablets now. 72 (87) Yariel Rodriguez Blue Jays Streamonator likes Princess Yariel this week. Wait until it hears that Lake Ontario isn’t “Under the Sea”. 72 is too high, but he gets the boost because of the matchup. 73 (83) Yu Darvish Padres 6 IP, 0 ER, 5 baserunners, 3 Ks, ERA at 3.21. I don’t know Yu (that’s the anti-stalker quote of the day) but I imagine he’s the kind of veteran who wants to finish the season strong to salvage some dignity after being sidelined with a few different troubles. Is he going to be the Yu Darvish we saw in Texas all those years ago and dominate the playoffs? Maybe not. But if his arm holds up I’m rostering him the rest of the way. EDIT: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 9 Ks vs CWS yesterday. 74 (NR) Jose Quintana Mets See above. 75 (68) Colin Rea Brewers 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 Ks Friday. He’s losing stamina and I wouldn’t start him if he lines up against NYM this week. 76 (79)  Andrew Heaney Rangers Meh yesterday. Not a great stream.  77 (69) Justin Verlander Astros 4.2 IP, 8 hits, 6 ER, BB, 4 K. Oh. So much for shaking the rust off. 78 (80) David Peterson Mets 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 4 K. Guy got roughed up like most people do when they roll through Philly. A Rocky start, indeed. 79 (100) Frankie Montas Brewers 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 10 Ks, ERA at 4.50. I guess it was the right call to add F-Mont as a flier in our bottom ten. A WACHA with strikeouts? At this point in the season, that’s gold, Jerry. EDIT: He gave up 7 ERin 2.2 IP yesterday against ARI, so… 80 (NR) Ben Lively Guardians You can’t say I don’t revisit the players I dump. Lively was dropped off the list a few weeks ago after a string of nasty starts. Back-to-back wins and just one earned run in his last 12 innings get him another shot here. 81 (84) JP Sears Athletics I had moved him up into the 70s. Then I saw that he got crushed by NYY on Saturday. Oof. 82 (51) Mitch Keller Pirates It’s a huge drop, and maybe it’s just out of frustration, but after Friday’s start, I’ve seen enough. 5 walks? 2 HR? 8 ER? ONE strikeout? No way am I starting him against MLW this week. 83 (53) Grayson Rodriguez  Orioles I hate slotting him this low but when your GM says you “might” be back this week and “might” pitch out of the bullpen to get ready for the playoff games, that’s not a good sign. 84 (85) Clarke Schmidt Yankees 5 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.37. The patience, or your quick waiver wire finger, paid off. 85 (89) Rhett Lowder Reds Five innings of shutout ball in his 5th big league start? This kid (2023 draft pick) is making some noise and should be a nice deep sleeper for 2025. 86 (97) Jameson Taillon Cubs 6.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. Is he a Wacha now? A 2025 Wacha? If this is his new standard, I think so. 87 (70) Albert Suarez Orioles 3.1 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.60. Oh. No. There were a few people pumping Suarez as a start last week. That means the first start stung more than a few peeps. Spoiler – if you were reeling from that first game and close to losing consciousness, yesterday’s start finished the job. 88 (90)  Eduardo Rodriguez Diamondbacks 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 11 Ks, ERA at 5.09. Norman mentioned it last week. I guess the Pitchers at Colorado aren’t doomed to failure every time out because they’re facing a lineup of failure on the other side anyway. Two home starts against the SANs this week (SF and SD). 89 (91) Dean Kremer Orioles 6 IP, 4 ER, 7 hits, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.19. Grey mentioned that Wednesday’s starters could be two-start guys next week. Ober? Pepiot? Kremer? Yep. That could be a nice trio. 90 (88) Charlie Morton Braves If Quintana is 35 years old then Morton must be 84. 91 (NR) Zack Littell Rays 7 IP, 0 ER, 1 hit, zero walks, 7 Ks, ERA at 3.56. That’s an “add him to the list again” for sure. 92 (64) Reynaldo Lopez Braves Started throwing Friday. I don’t know if I’d take a chance on him returning this weekend. 93 (92) Taj Bradley Rays Won his first game in…can you guess? 10 games. It was his first win in 10 games. His last one was on July 25th.  94 MacKenzie Gore Nationals This is not a box of chocolates. But…see the Bello blurb. 95 (NR) Landon Knack Dodgers Knack Knack. Who’s there? A warm body to fill in one of the multiple empty rotation spots in the Dodgers rotation. (This is the worst ever knock-knock joke setup). 96 (95) Merrill Kelly Diamondbacks Removed from Saturday’s game with a calf cramp. I used to hate those when I was going through puberty.  97 (NR) Grant Holmes Braves This spot was tough. I flipped among Fedde, Tyler Anderson, Assad, and Aaron Civale. I decided to head to the FA list in Perts to see who was the most added in Fantrax leagues. Here he is. Two 4-inning starts since moving to the rotation to take over for Reynaldo. 98 David Festa Twins 5.0 IP, 4 hits, ER, 3 BB, 6 K. The Festa-val of Meh. 99 (98) Jake Irvin Nationals 7.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.07. Grey mentioned he was a bit upset about sitting Irvin for his two-start week last week but I don’t blame him. Grey, I mean. I certainly do blame Irvin. You can’t fall apart for 13 ERs in two starts and expect us to think it’s all good. Of course, some will point to his solid game against ATL as a tip that he’d do well last week. I’m steering clear of the visiting PHI this week, though. 100 (81) Reid Detmers Angels More below.