Justin Mason’s SP Ranks- June 27th, 2020
With baseball officially inching closer to an actual season, it is time to update draft ranks for those of you that are like me and still have leagues that still need to draft. I will likely be updating each set of ranks I release once or twice before opening day as news of the schedule, players opting out of the season, and other information could shake things up tremendously. However, here are my current starting pitcher ranks as of now. (Beginning of tiers are highlighted in blue)
Justin Mason’s SP Ranks- June 27th, 2020
| Rank | Player | Team | Change | Last Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walker Buehler | LAD | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | -2 | 1 |
| 4 | Max Scherzer | WAS | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Mike Clevinger | CLE | 10 | 15 |
| 6 | Jack Flaherty | STL | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | Justin Verlander | HOU | -4 | 3 |
| 8 | Shane Bieber | CLE | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Lucas Giolito | CWS | 7 | 17 |
| 11 | Patrick Corbin | WAS | 0 | 11 |
| 12 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | 1 | 13 |
| 13 | Blake Snell | TB | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Luis Castillo | CIN | -4 | 10 |
| 15 | Chris Paddack | SD | 1 | 16 |
| 16 | Charlie Morton | TB | 2 | 18 |
| 17 | Yu Darvish | CHC | 4 | 21 |
| 18 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | 6 | 24 |
| 19 | Aaron Nola | PHI | -5 | 14 |
| 20 | José Berríos | MIN | 2 | 22 |
| 21 | Zack Greinke | HOU | -1 | 20 |
| 22 | Lance Lynn | TEX | 3 | 25 |
| 23 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | 16 | 39 |
| 24 | Tyler Glasnow | TB | 3 | 27 |
| 25 | James Paxton | NYY | 28 | 53 |
| 26 | Sonny Gray | CIN | 0 | 26 |
| 27 | Frankie Montas | OAK | 4 | 31 |
| 28 | Max Fried | ATL | 4 | 32 |
| 29 | Jesus Luzardo | OAK | 4 | 33 |
| 30 | Zac Gallen | ARZ | 0 | 30 |
| 31 | Kenta Maeda | MIN | 5 | 36 |
| 32 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | 14 | 46 |
| 33 | David Price | BOS | 15 | 48 |
| 34 | Julio Urías | LAD | 15 | 49 |
| 35 | Matthew Boyd | DET | 10 | 45 |
| 36 | Trevor Bauer | CIN | -8 | 28 |
| 37 | Carlos Martinez | STL | 15 | 52 |
| 38 | Mike Minor | TEX | -3 | 35 |
| 39 | Andrew Heaney | LAA | 5 | 44 |
| 40 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | -6 | 34 |
| 41 | Joe Musgrove | PIT | 14 | 55 |
| 42 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | TOR | -4 | 38 |
| 43 | Mitch Keller | PIT | 14 | 57 |
| 44 | Mike Soroka | ATL | -21 | 23 |
| 45 | Corey Kluber | TEX | -3 | 42 |
| 46 | Luke Weaver | ARZ | 5 | 51 |
| 47 | Garrett Richards | SD | 15 | 62 |
| 48 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | -11 | 37 |
| 49 | Sean Manaea | OAK | -2 | 47 |
| 50 | A.J. Puk | OAK | 0 | 50 |
| 51 | Mike Foltynewicz | ATL | 3 | 54 |
| 52 | Kyle Gibson | TEX | 11 | 63 |
| 53 | Jake Odorizzi | MIN | 13 | 66 |
| 54 | Jose Urquidy | HOU | 19 | 73 |
| 55 | Dylan Cease | CWS | 6 | 61 |
| 56 | Lance McCullers Jr. | HOU | 2 | 58 |
| 57 | Adrian Houser | MIL | 18 | 75 |
| 58 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | 11 | 69 |
| 59 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | 11 | 70 |
| 60 | Robbie Ray | ARZ | -17 | 43 |
| 61 | German Márquez | COL | -5 | 56 |
| 62 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | -33 | 29 |
| 63 | Yonny Chirinos | TB | 35 | 98 |
| 64 | MacKenzie Gore | SD | -4 | 60 |
| 65 | Madison Bumgarner | ARZ | -25 | 40 |
| 66 | Wade Miley | CIN | 8 | 74 |
| 67 | Nate Pearson | TOR | 42 | 109 |
| 68 | Michael Kopech | CWS | -3 | 65 |
| 69 | Joshua James | HOU | 7 | 76 |
| 70 | Ryan Yarbrough | TB | 43 | 113 |
| 71 | Dinelson Lamet | SD | -12 | 59 |
| 72 | Anthony DeSclafani | CIN | 13 | 85 |
| 73 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | 7 | 80 |
| 74 | Yusei Kikuchi | SEA | 14 | 88 |
| 75 | Spencer Turnbull | DET | 12 | 87 |
| 76 | Aaron Civale | CLE | 34 | 110 |
| 77 | Marco Gonzales | SEA | 5 | 82 |
| 78 | Marcus Stroman | NYM | -6 | 72 |
| 79 | Rich Hill | MIN | 72 | 151 |
| 80 | Nathan Eovaldi | BOS | 1 | 81 |
| 81 | Caleb Smith | MIA | 9 | 90 |
| 82 | Matt Shoemaker | TOR | 35 | 117 |
| 83 | Josh Lindblom | MLW | 68 | 151 |
| 84 | John Means | BAL | 8 | 92 |
| 85 | Dylan Bundy | LAA | 38 | 123 |
| 86 | Griffin Canning | LAA | -22 | 64 |
| 87 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | 7 | 94 |
| 88 | Jon Gray | COL | -21 | 67 |
| 89 | Steven Matz | NYM | 11 | 100 |
| 90 | Reynaldo López | CWS | 5 | 95 |
| 91 | Jordan Lyles | TEX | 10 | 101 |
| 92 | Johnny Cueto | SF | -13 | 79 |
| 93 | Chris Bassitt | OAK | -16 | 77 |
| 94 | Homer Bailey | MIN | 14 | 108 |
| 95 | Cole Hamels | ATL | 14 | 109 |
| 96 | Ross Stripling | LAD | -25 | 71 |
| 97 | Joey Lucchesi | SD | -29 | 68 |
| 98 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | 9 | 107 |
| 99 | Kevin Gausman | SF | -15 | 84 |
| 100 | Spencer Howard | PHI | 2 | 102 |
| 101 | Dallas Keuchel | CWS | -12 | 89 |
| 102 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | 49 | 151 |
| 103 | Brad Peacock | HOU | -10 | 93 |
| 104 | Zach Eflin | PHI | 47 | 151 |
| 105 | Alex Wood | LAD | 46 | 151 |
| 106 | Dustin May | LAD | -10 | 96 |
| 107 | Jose Quintana | CHC | -4 | 103 |
| 108 | Deivi Garcia | NYY | 43 | 151 |
| 109 | Dakota Hudson | STL | -10 | 99 |
| 110 | Sixto Sachez | MIA | 15 | 125 |
| 111 | Adam Wainwright | STL | 40 | 151 |
| 112 | Jon Lester | CHC | 9 | 121 |
| 113 | Miles Mikolas | STL | 5 | 118 |
| 114 | Julio Teheran | LAA | 8 | 122 |
| 115 | Anibal Sanchez | WAS | 9 | 124 |
| 116 | Zach Davies | SD | -14 | 102 |
| 117 | Jake Arrieta | PHI | 34 | 151 |
| 118 | Danny Duffy | KC | -14 | 104 |
| 119 | Mike Fiers | OAK | -14 | 105 |
| 120 | Daniel Ponce de Leon | STL | 31 | 151 |
| 121 | Justin Dunn | SEA | -10 | 111 |
| 122 | Justus Sheffield | SEA | -10 | 112 |
| 123 | Kyle Wright | ATL | -9 | 114 |
| 124 | Nick Pivetta | PHI | -8 | 116 |
| 125 | Trent Thornton | TOR | 26 | 151 |
| 126 | Brendan McKay | TB | 25 | 151 |
| 127 | Zach Plesac | CLE | 24 | 151 |
| 128 | Taijuan Walker | ARZ | 23 | 151 |
| 129 | Freddy Peralta | MLW | 22 | 151 |
| 130 | Michael Fulmer | DET | 21 | 151 |
| 131 | J.A. Happ | NYY | 20 | 151 |
| 132 | Michael Wacha | NYM | 19 | 151 |
| 133 | Jonathan Loaisiga | NYY | 18 | 151 |
| 134 | Austin Voth | WAS | 17 | 151 |
| 135 | Daniel Norris | DET | 16 | 151 |
| 136 | Trevor Williams | PIT | 15 | 151 |
| 137 | Derek Holland | PIT | 14 | 151 |
| 138 | Sean Newcomb | ATL | 13 | 151 |
| 139 | Tony Gonsolin | LAD | 12 | 151 |
| 140 | Brad Keller | KC | 11 | 151 |
| 141 | Jordan Yamamoto | MIA | 10 | 151 |
| 142 | Chase Anderson | TOR | 9 | 151 |
| 143 | Martin Perez | BOS | 8 | 151 |
| 144 | Gio Gonzalez | CWS | 7 | 151 |
| 145 | Eric Lauer | MLW | 6 | 151 |
| 146 | Vince Velasquez | PHI | 5 | 151 |
| 147 | Jakob Junis | KC | 4 | 151 |
| 148 | Cal Quantrill | SD | 3 | 151 |
| 149 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | -29 | 120 |
| 150 | Aaron Sanchez | FA | 1 | 151 |
Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.
Curious if he’s willing to bet Buehler ends at 1 (+800 for NL cy young) or if he’s just trying to be that analyst that looks back and strokes himself. Meaning he’s willing to risk much worse than 8 to 1 odds. Bet me! Haha
Why would anyone brag about getting a call right that’s so minimal? I get taking a victory lap on a guy that you were really high/low, but a 2-4 spot difference from consensus in the same tier is silly.
Because there won’t be another fantasy analyst that has him #1.
I know for a fact that is not correct
I really don’t care if he strokes himself as long as he washes afterwards.
Sure would like to know the rationale for these change. I could speculate that Soroka loses big because he’ll face DHs rather than pitchers, and will pitch vs. East division teams. And Hendricks gains because he is in the Central Division, as do Musgrove and Martinez. But Castillo in the same division goes down … is that because of his mediocre (1st) spring training)? Wonder what Mason’s reasoning is.
You nailed it on Soroka. As far as Hendricks goes, it’s the division opponents, increased velocity in the spring, the fact his strike rate vs pitchers was not massive compared to other NL pitchers. He offers safety in a small sample season that could have massive swings. Castillo dropped in part because I just moved other guys up and because I think the addition of the DH hurts him a lot. Just moved four spots though
Musgrove and Keller stand out. What is the rationale? Both are above Erod…
Love both Musgrove and Keller. Both benefit from the added games versus the weaker parts of the ALC and I think the change in philosophy in Pittsburgh really helps Musgrove especially. ERod was a tough one to rank. He’s in that Beast East and I worry about his injury history in a season where injuries can kill you.
You seem kinda low on Greinke, who strikes me as the ultimate “safety” pick. He’s been incredibly consistent, and pitchers who don’t rely on big velo tend to age better. Plus, the ‘Stros have a great offense and bullpen, and solid defense. Are there factors other than age and low strikeout totals that are pushing him down?
I actually like Greinke. Definitely a guy you want to pair with a strong K guy. I’ll reevaluate if he should move up into the top 20.
Justin,
Just curious why McCullers ranked well below other “perts”?
Injury history and how he looked in spring. Just too worried about the volatility
No question, injury issues never feel good, but…….
Just a little confused on the “how he looked in spring” comment….. I thought he was looking good; heard he was throwing mid-90’s. How did he look bad? Also, let’s say on the 2nd spring the mid-90’s hold and his stuff is back fully, where would he rank?
THANKS!!!
Not criticizing, but seems low on Wheeler. Tough division or other concerns?