Here is the May edition of my rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300 for 5x5 leagues. As you might have noticed, the weekly Strike Zone is off the menu for load management reasons this year. However, I plan to continue to present monthly rankings updates in this spot.
As always, players are ranked by position and then combined into an overall top 300 list.
Click to see other May rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C
Starting pitcher rankings
| May | Starting pitchers | Team | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerrit Cole | Yankees | 1 |
| 2 | Shane McClanahan | Rays | 4 |
| 3 | Corbin Burnes | Brewers | 2 |
| 4 | Spencer Strider | Braves | 9 |
| 5 | Max Fried | Braves | 6 |
| 6 | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | 11 |
| 7 | Max Scherzer | Mets | 5 |
| 8 | Sandy Alcantara | Marlins | 8 |
| 9 | Justin Verlander | Mets | 15 |
| 10 | Jacob deGrom | Rangers | 3 |
| 11 | Logan Gilbert | Mariners | 10 |
| 12 | Kevin Gausman | Blue Jays | 14 |
| 13 | Luis Castillo | Mariners | 13 |
| 14 | Zac Gallen | Diamondbacks | 23 |
| 15 | Zack Wheeler | Phillies | 24 |
| 16 | Framber Valdez | Astros | 26 |
| 17 | Aaron Nola | Phillies | 16 |
| 18 | Cristian Javier | Astros | 18 |
| 19 | Dylan Cease | White Sox | 19 |
| 20 | Joe Ryan | Twins | 22 |
| 21 | Julio Urías | Dodgers | 12 |
| 22 | Yu Darvish | Padres | 20 |
| 23 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 25 |
| 24 | Joe Musgrove | Padres | 27 |
| 25 | Shane Bieber | Guardians | 21 |
| 26 | Tyler Glasnow | Rays | 28 |
| 27 | Pablo López | Twins | 31 |
| 28 | George Kirby | Mariners | 29 |
| 29 | Alek Manoah | Blue Jays | 17 |
| 30 | Hunter Greene | Reds | 33 |
| 31 | Freddy Peralta | Brewers | 44 |
| 32 | Sonny Gray | Twins | 54 |
| 33 | Jordan Montgomery | Cardinals | 34 |
| 34 | Jesús Luzardo | Marlins | 36 |
| 35 | Drew Rasmussen | Rays | 43 |
| 36 | Dustin May | Dodgers | 37 |
| 37 | Hunter Brown | Astros | 66 |
| 38 | Nestor Cortes | Yankees | 32 |
| 39 | Logan Webb | Giants | 41 |
| 40 | Carlos Rodón | Yankees | 30 |
| 41 | Tony Gonsolin | Dodgers | 50 |
| 42 | Nathan Eovaldi | Rangers | 53 |
| 43 | Chris Sale | Red Sox | 38 |
| 44 | Alex Cobb | Giants | 56 |
| 45 | Nick Lodolo | Reds | 48 |
| 46 | Marcus Stroman | Cubs | 63 |
| 47 | Luis Severino | Yankees | 55 |
| 48 | Lucas Giolito | White Sox | 46 |
| 49 | Tanner Bibee | Guardians | 213 |
| 50 | Reid Detmers | Angels | 47 |
| 51 | Brandon Woodruff | Brewers | 7 |
| 52 | Chris Bassitt | Blue Jays | 49 |
| 53 | Charlie Morton | Braves | 52 |
| 54 | Zach Eflin | Rays | 58 |
| 55 | Triston McKenzie | Guardians | 64 |
| 56 | José Berríos | Blue Jays | 68 |
| 57 | Blake Snell | Padres | 39 |
| 58 | Luis Garcia | Astros | 42 |
| 59 | Justin Steele | Cubs | 110 |
| 60 | Mitch Keller | Pirates | 72 |
| 61 | Patrick Sandoval | Angels | 61 |
| 62 | Lance Lynn | White Sox | 35 |
| 63 | Bailey Ober | Twins | 75 |
| 64 | Brandon Pfaadt | Diamondbacks | 136 |
| 65 | Grayson Rodriguez | Orioles | 85 |
| 66 | Sean Manaea | Giants | 59 |
| 67 | Andrew Heaney | Rangers | 69 |
| 68 | Taj Bradley | Rays | 149 |
| 69 | Logan Allen | Guardians | 147 |
| 70 | Drew Smyly | Cubs | 123 |
| 71 | Kyle Wright | Braves | 57 |
| 72 | Matthew Liberatore | Cardinals | 153 |
| 73 | Kodai Senga | Mets | 82 |
| 74 | Anthony DeSclafani | Giants | 108 |
| 75 | MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | 89 |
| 76 | Jameson Taillon | Cubs | 65 |
| 77 | Mason Miller | Athletics | NR |
| 78 | Jon Gray | Rangers | 60 |
| 79 | Yusei Kikuchi | Blue Jays | 105 |
| 80 | Lance McCullers | Astros | 84 |
| 81 | Tyler Wells | Orioles | 98 |
| 82 | Seth Lugo | Padres | 87 |
| 83 | Matthew Boyd | Tigers | 70 |
| 84 | Ranger Suárez | Phillies | 81 |
| 85 | Graham Ashcraft | Reds | 112 |
| 86 | Josiah Gray | Nationals | 117 |
| 87 | Edward Cabrera | Marlins | 86 |
| 88 | Jose Urquidy | Astros | 51 |
| 89 | Eduardo Rodriguez | Tigers | 93 |
| 90 | Mike Soroka | Braves | 102 |
| 91 | Roansy Contreras | Pirates | 101 |
| 92 | Taijuan Walker | Phillies | 94 |
| 93 | Gavin Stone | Dodgers | 167 |
| 94 | Aaron Civale | Guardians | 91 |
| 95 | Garrett Whitlock | Red Sox | 67 |
| 96 | Steven Matz | Cardinals | 74 |
| 97 | Brady Singer | Royals | 62 |
| 98 | Tanner Houck | Red Sox | 116 |
| 99 | Merrill Kelly | Diamondbacks | 104 |
| 100 | Hayden Wesneski | Cubs | 73 |
| 101 | Noah Syndergaard | Dodgers | 78 |
| 102 | Matt Strahm | Phillies | 113 RP |
| 103 | Jack Flaherty | Cardinals | 77 |
| 104 | Ross Stripling | Giants | 92 |
| 105 | Louie Varland | Twins | NR |
| 106 | Clarke Schmidt | Yankees | 76 |
| 107 | Bailey Falter | Phillies | 90 |
| 108 | Mike Clevinger | White Sox | 96 |
| 109 | Kyle Bradish | Orioles | 115 |
| 110 | Tarik Skubal | Tigers | 120 |
| 111 | Martín Pérez | Rangers | 126 |
| 112 | Braxton Garrett | Marlins | 142 |
| 113 | Johan Oviedo | Pirates | 158 |
| 114 | Bryce Elder | Braves | 164 |
| 115 | Tylor Megill | Mets | 114 |
| 116 | Nick Martinez | Padres | 107 |
| 117 | David Peterson | Mets | 71 |
| 118 | Domingo Germán | Yankees | 128 |
| 119 | Brayan Bello | Red Sox | 119 |
| 120 | Bobby Miller | Dodgers | 124 |
| 121 | Tyler Anderson | Angels | 100 |
| 122 | Miles Mikolas | Cardinals | 95 |
| 123 | James Paxton | Red Sox | 127 |
| 124 | Kenta Maeda | Twins | 103 |
| 125 | Bryce Miller | Mariners | NR |
| 126 | Kyle Hendricks | Cubs | 145 |
| 127 | Drey Jameson | Diamondbacks | 113 |
| 128 | Trevor Rogers | Marlins | 80 |
| 129 | Tyler Mahle | Twins | 83 |
| 130 | Joey Lucchesi | Mets | 171 |
| 131 | Alex Wood | Giants | 99 |
| 132 | Eric Lauer | Brewers | 79 |
| 133 | Michael Wacha | Padres | 121 |
| 134 | Carlos Carrasco | Mets | 88 |
| 135 | Dean Kremer | Orioles | 133 |
| 136 | Yonny Chirinos | Rays | 131 |
| 137 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 138 |
| 138 | Cal Quantrill | Guardians | 109 |
| 139 | Kyle Gibson | Orioles | 151 |
| 140 | Kutter Crawford | Red Sox | 173 |
| 141 | Gavin Williams | Guardians | NR |
| 142 | John Means | Orioles | 152 |
| 143 | Joey Wentz | Tigers | 130 |
| 144 | Ryne Nelson | Diamondbacks | 141 |
| 145 | Andrew Painter | Phillies | 154 |
| 146 | Michael Kopech | White Sox | 111 |
| 147 | Spencer Turnbull | Tigers | 122 |
| 148 | Griffin Canning | Angels | 170 |
| 149 | Wade Miley | Brewers | 172 |
| 150 | JP Sears | Athletics | 175 |
Dropping off: Jeffrey Springs (40th), Robbie Ray (45th), Jared Shuster (97th), Aaron Ashby (106th), Ken Waldichuk (118th), James Kaprielian (125th), Kyle Muller (129th), Cody Morris (132nd), José Suarez (134th), Zack Greinke (135th), Shintaro Fujinami (137th)
- Brandon Pfaadt comes in at No. 64 in advance of his debut Wednesday. I don’t think he has immediate top-30 upside, but I think he’s one of the safer prospect pickups in recent memory, especially with Arizona’s strong defense behind him.
- I didn’t intend to drop Hayden Wesneski as far as I did, but he could be forced from the Cubs rotation if both Jameson Taillon (groin) and Kyle Hendricks (shoulder) return in the coming weeks. I’m not all that discouraged by his disappointing start, and I’d have him about 20 spots higher if his rotation status wasn’t in question.
- The Twins will give Louie Varland another look with Tyler Mahle (elbow) joining Kenta Maeda (triceps) on the injured list. I have him at No. 106 for now, but with his velocity up nicely from last year, he’d be a good 25-30 spots higher with a permanent rotation spot.
- That the Mariners called up Bryce Miller after a four-start run in Double-A in which he posted a 6.41 ERA was pretty surprising, but he did impress this spring. Also, the experimental tacky baseball they’re playing with in the Southern League might have had some effect on his numbers. I don’t think immediate mixed-league value is all that likely, but he’s another young arm to watch.
- No Andrew Abbott. If he played for one of 28 others teams, he’d probably be in the top 125 following his scorching start in the minors. Reds pitchers get a big penalty here, though.
