As we watch Triston McKenzie head back to the IL and hold our breath that the injury to Shane McClanahan isn’t serious, we are hopeful that the returns of Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias, and Tarik Skubal go as planned. In the meantime, we keep marching along, plugging our rosters as needed for injured stars. Below are our top starters for next week based on ability, matchups, number of scheduled starts, and momentum. The rankings below are for the week beginning Monday, June 26.
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Top 50 Starting Pitcher Rankings: June 26 – July 2
For those new to this column, our planning starts with the rest-of-season Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) and is adjusted based on FantasyPros’ Pitcher Planner, their season-to-date stats, and recent trends. As rotations change frequently, double-check the planner before setting your lineup. The complete top 50 is below, but first, let’s review some of next week’s more intriguing matchups.
Two-Start Starters with Good Matchups Next Week
Ten of our top 14 starters for next week are scheduled for two starts. Of these, Spencer Strider and Nathan Eovaldi have the best matchups on paper. Strider, our top-ranked hurler for the week, gets two home starts against the Twins and Marlins. Eovaldi will also start two games at home, beginning with the offensively-challenged Tigers and ending with the in-state rival Astros, a more challenging task. In addition to these two, Tyler Wells climbed the rankings board this week due to his slated starts against the Reds and Twins at Camden Yards.
Two-Start Starters with Rough Matchups Next Week
Conversely, fantasy managers with Zac Gallen, Framber Valdez, Sandy Alcantara, and Sonny Gray will have to sweat a bit more next week. Gallen will face the Rays at home before traveling to Anaheim to take on Ohtani, Trout, and the Angels. Valdez, Alcantara, and Gray have two road dates ahead of them. Framber hits the road for starts against the Cardinals and Rangers; Sandy will travel to Boston and Atlanta; and Sonny will head to Atlanta and Baltimore.
Solo Starters with Good Matchups Next Week
Several of our Top 50 starters have one good matchup next week. Dylan Cease and Luis Severino have dates against the A’s in Oakland. Jon Gray will take on the Tigers in Detroit. Corbin Burnes, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell head to Pittsburgh, while Shane Bieber and Tony Gonsolin make their way to Kansas City. The Cubbies duo of Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele will host the Guardians, and Charlie Morton and James Paxton will square off against the Marlins at home.
Solo Starters with Rough Matchups Next Week
The list of solo starters with tough matchups is much shorter. Joe Ryan and Jesus Luzardo have dates scheduled against the Braves in Atlanta. George Kirby gets the Rays in Seattle, and Hunter Brown will have the unenviable task of trying to tame the Rangers in Arlington.
| Rank | Player | Matchup(s) |
| 1 | Spencer Strider | MIN, MIA (two starts) |
| 2 | Kevin Gausman (SP – TOR) | SF, BOS (two starts) |
| 3 | Luis Castillo (SP – SEA) | WSH, TB (two starts) |
| 4 | Zac Gallen | TB, @LAA (two starts) |
| 5 | Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD) | @COL, @KC (two starts) |
| 6 | Justin Verlander (SP – NYM) | MIL, SF (two starts) |
| 7 | Framber Valdez | @STL, @TEX (two starts) |
| 8 | Shohei Ohtani (SP, DH – LAA) | CWS |
| 9 | Shane McClanahan | @ARI |
| 10 | Gerrit Cole (SP – NYY) | @STL |
| 11 | Corbin Burnes | @PIT |
| 12 | Nathan Eovaldi | DET, HOU (two starts) |
| 13 | Sandy Alcantara | @BOS, @ATL (two starts) |
| 14 | Yu Darvish (SP – SD) | @PIT, @CIN (two starts) |
| 15 | Zack Wheeler (SP – PHI) | WSH |
| 16 | Max Scherzer (SP – NYM) | SF |
| 17 | Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) | @CHC |
| 18 | Cristian Javier (SP – HOU) | @STL |
| 19 | Joe Ryan | @ATL |
| 20 | Pablo Lopez (SP – MIN) | @BAL |
| 21 | Logan Gilbert (SP – SEA) | WSH |
| 22 | Tyler Glasnow (SP – TB) | @SEA |
| 23 | Logan Webb (SP – SF) | @TOR |
| 24 | George Kirby | TB |
| 25 | Dylan Cease | @OAK |
| 26 | Joe Musgrove | @PIT |
| 27 | Sonny Gray | @ATL, @BAL (two starts) |
| 28 | Freddy Peralta (SP – MIL) | @NYM |
| 29 | Tyler Wells | CIN, MIN (two starts) |
| 30 | Marcus Stroman | CLE |
| 31 | Shane Bieber | @KC |
| 32 | Blake Snell | @PIT |
| 33 | Mitch Keller (SP – PIT) | SD |
| 34 | Lucas Giolito (SP – CWS) | @LAA |
| 35 | Hunter Brown | @TEX |
| 36 | Charlie Morton | MIA |
| 37 | Chris Bassitt (SP – TOR) | SF |
| 38 | Zach Eflin (SP – TB) | @ARI |
| 39 | Luis Severino | @OAK |
| 40 | Merrill Kelly (SP – ARI) | @LAA |
| 41 | Jesus Luzardo | @ATL |
| 42 | Jon Gray | DET |
| 43 | Garrett Whitlock (SP, RP – BOS) | MIA, @TOR (two starts) |
| 44 | Justin Steele | CLE |
| 45 | Michael Kopech (SP – CWS) | @LAA, @OAK (two starts) |
| 46 | Tony Gonsolin | @KC |
| 47 | James Paxton | MIA |
| 48 | Lance Lynn (SP – CWS) | @LAA |
| 49 | Jose Berrios (SP – TOR) | SF |
| 50 | Taj Bradley (SP – TB) | @ARI, @SEA (two starts) |
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