This continues my series where I rank the top 10 players in MLB, moving on to starting pitchers, which is by far the most difficult list to come up with, given how many unbelievable arms there are in today’s game. If you missed any previous editions to this series, follow the links below.
Top 10 MLB Starting Pitchers
- Jacob deGrom
- Sandy Alcantara
- Max Scherzer
- Justin Verlander
- Corbin Burnes
- Gerrit Cole
- Spencer Strider
- Shohei Ohtani
- Max Fried
- Carlos Rodón
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This list could be re-shuffled from year to year because of how many ridiculous starting pitchers there are, but I really like the way my list came out, even if I wanted to include some guys that are deserving, like Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler from the NL East, for example. Both of them could have made it, but these are the starting pitchers I would want pitching in Game 7 of the World Series if it were tomorrow.
deGrom is the most talented pitcher I’ve ever laid eyes on. Injuries have prevented him from reaching his full potential, but when healthy, there isn’t a more dominant pitcher on the planet, and frankly, it isn’t close. Next.
Someone could have any of the next five pitchers at #2, and I wouldn’t bat an eye, but I went with last year’s NL Cy Young recipient Sandy Alcantara. I’m interested to see if he can follow up his breakout campaign with another stellar season, but as you can see, I am a believer, which is why I have him clocking in second on my list.
The next two spots are players the Braves will face a lot this season. I gave the slight edge to Scherzer, but they are both old men that just don’t seem to be affected by Father Time. Eventually, a drop off is coming, but until I see it, they both belong inside the top-ten pitchers in the game.
The 2021 NL Cy Young winner comes in at #5. Burnes has finished within the top-seven of the NL Cy Young race in each of the last three seasons, owning a combined 2.62 ERA over that stretch.
Gerrit Cole hasn’t been as dominant since the ban of sticky stuff, but let’s not act like he’s chopped liver. Over the past five seasons, Cole hasn’t finished outside the top-nine in the Cy Young race.
At #7, I went with the Braves own Spencer Strider, and I think he will be much higher on this list following this season. He very well might be the most dominant pitcher in the game not named Jacob deGrom, and I’ve already predicted he will win the NL Cy Young in 2023. The career sample size is small, but Strider has had one of the most electric starts for a pitcher in MLB history.
The best player in baseball clocks in at eight. Ohtani was built in a lab, and there will likely never be another player like him. Hopefully, we get an opportunity to see him on the big stage sooner rather than later.
Max Fried is the second Braves pitcher to land on the list. Of all of these pitchers, he’s by far the least dominant, but it’s impossible to ignore the incredible consistency in which he has produced over the last three seasons, owning a 2.68 ERA.
The Yankees newest toy rounds out my top-ten. After a sluggish start to his career, Rodón has become a weapon from the left side, recording a 2.62 and 12.2 K/9 over the last two seasons.
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John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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