Who Are MLB’s REAL Aces? Eno’s Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 21, 2026 · 1H 10M

Who Are MLB’s REAL Aces? Eno’s Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings

from Rates & Barrels: A show about Baseball

Who are the best starting pitchers in baseball right now — and which arms actually belong in the ace tier? Eno Sarris returns with his updated starting pitcher rankings as DVR breaks down some of the toughest calls, biggest risers and most surprising placements on the board.Blake Snell is back in the top 10, landing at No. 10 after another strong stretch, while Drew Rasmussen climbs all the way to No. 11 as his health and consistency continue to change the way we value him. How sustainable are the pitch-mix and process changes that have helped pitchers like Snell and Rasmussen reach another level?Then there’s Bryan Woo at No. 22. Woo has flashed ace-level stretches and was pushed aggressively during fantasy draft season, but familiar home-road splits and questions about sustaining an elite strikeout rate may leave him looking more like a high-end SP2 than a true fantasy ace.Then, one of baseball’s top pitching prospects arrives. Kade Anderson is set to make his MLB debut Saturday against the Chicago Cubs after skipping Triple-A. The Mariners’ left-hander has dominated Double-A pairing elite command with a four-pitch arsenal.Finally, the guys preview the fantasy baseball waiver wire, including Ethan “Tugboat” Holliday, Ethan Pecko’s MLB debut, Jackson Kent’s second look and several pitchers who could matter during the fantasy playoffs.Rates & Barrels with Derek Van Riper and Eno Sarris delivers fantasy baseball strategy, MLB analysis, advanced pitching metrics, prospects, waiver-wire advice and everything you need for the stretch run.Like, Subscribe and drop us a comment!First Pitch Arizona: https://www.baseballhq.com/pricing/first-pitch-arizona-2026Follow DVR on Bluesky: @DVR.bsky.socialFollow Eno on Bluesky: @enosarris.bsky.sociale-mail: [email protected] our Discord: https://discord.gg/FyBa9f3wFeSubscribe to The Athletic: theathletic.com/ratesandbarrelsHosts: Derek VanRiper & Eno SarrisExecutive Producer: McEnroe FrancisEditor: McEnroe FrancisThumbnail Credit: Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(SNELL)Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images(WOO)00:00 Eno’s Updated Starting Pitcher Rankings03:24 Blake Snell Is Back in the Top 1005:16 Drew Rasmussen Keeps Rising09:00 Logan Henderson vs. Kyle Harrison11:48 Managing Pitcher Workloads Down the Stretch12:43 When Will Chase Burns Be Shut Down?14:58 Bryan Woo at No. 22 — Ace or SP2?17:57 Why Is Joey Cantillo Ranked No. 40?20:38 What’s Going Wrong With José Soriano?25:19 Kade Anderson Is Coming to the Majors26:35 What Should We Expect From Kade Anderson?27:37 What Troy Melton Can Teach Us About Anderson31:01 How Historic Is Anderson’s Double-A Dominance?35:14 Does Dominating Double-A Predict MLB Success?36:58 Projecting Kade Anderson in the Majors38:18 Where Would Anderson Rank Right Now?41:10 Should You Add Kade Anderson?42:33 Why Second-Half Stats Can Mislead Us42:52 Pete Crow-Armstrong & the Second-Half Trap43:43 What Brice Turang Tells Us About Recency Bias45:01 Can Second-Half Slumps Create Draft Bargains?51:08 Waiver Wire & Baseball News51:29 A’s Hit Hard By Season-Ending Injuries55:09 Orioles Playing-Time Opportunities57:43 What’s Going On With Ketel Marte?59:09 Jordan Lawlar Gets His Opportunity1:01:31 Rookie Pitchers to Target on Waivers1:01:54 Tugboat, Ethan Pecko & Jackson Kent1:07:00 Ethan Pecko’s Stuff & Role1:07:28 What Happened With Tugboat’s Fastball?#FantasyBaseball #BlakeSnell #BryanWoo #MLB #Pitching #KadeAnderson #RatesAndBarrels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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