Ranking MLB's Best Pitchers

Today marks an important day for baseball fans, the first official practices of the 2023 MLB season, with Pitchers and Catchers reporting to camps today. In honor of this Holy Day I have decided to compile a totally unbiased list of the best Starting Pitchers in the MLB today.

• 10. Spencer Strider

  • This Braves rookie took the league by storm in 2022, posting a 2.67 ERA, and 202 K’s in 131.2 innings. Obviously if he can even come close to that production in 2023 along with a few more starts than 20, he will put himself in a position to be the face of the NL pitching scene for the next decade or so.

• 9. Nestor Cortes Jr.

  • “Nasty’’ Nestor Cortes’ wild motions and windups are the perfect example of how wild his story has been. Being both sold away and returned to the Yankees twice before the age of 26, Nestor was not a highly regarded pitcher in his first 3 MLB seasons with an ERA above 6.50. However, in 2021 he showed a glimpse of what he could become, posting an ERA of 2.90 in 14 starts. His 2022 campaign showed that it wasn’t no fluke either, 28 starts, 158 innings and an ERA of 2.44, an insane season for a guy who had an ERA of 15.26 just 2 seasons prior

• 8. Shohei Ohtani

  • The 2021 AL MVP followed up his breakout campaign with an underachieving year offensively, but a stunning year on the mound with a 2.33 ERA. Increasing his number of starts from 23 to 28 and throwing 36 more innings Ohtani showed that can be elite on both ends

• 7. Carlos Rodon

  • Now I will admit that I thought that 2021 Rodon was an outlier, and that he would eventually fall back into the depths of the high 3’s or 4’s in terms of ERA. However 2022 proved to be quite the opposite of that, 178 innings, 2.88 ERA and an MLB leading 2.25 FIP.

• 6. Shane McClanahan

  • Shane had a great rookie year in 2021, and showed 0 signs of a sophomore slump in 2022. 28 starts, 2.54 ERA, and FIP of 3.00, against the loaded lineups of the AL East is no small feat. Entering his 3rd season in 2023, at 26 years old, Shane has shown that he can and will be a force to be reckoned with in the A.L. for years to come.

• 5. Gerrit Cole

  • Now I know that Gerrit isn't quite as dominant as he was with the Astros in 2019, however, he is still one of the best pitchers in the MLB. Throwing 200 innings with an ERA of 3.50 in 2022. Cole may not have the best ERA in the game, but he sure is reliable. Gerrit led the league in 2022 with 257 K’s, along with 21 out of 33 starts being deemed a quality start. Cole’s decade-long tenure in the MLB to this point is another factor as to exactly why he's on this list.

• 4. Jacob DeGrom

  • Another veteran pitcher who has been written off after an unexpected 2022. A lot of people have written off Jacob Degrom because of his injuries the past few years which is just absolutely nuts. This is the same man who 20 months ago had a 1.05 ERA in his first 15 starts before getting injured. That's just clinically insane numbers right there, even for a 2 time CY-Young winner. I expect a fully healthy Degrom to start 2023 off where he left off in 2021, by dominating the MLB

• #3 Juilo Urias

  • This 26 year old has been in the league for roughly 4.5 years since making his debut at the age of 19. From 2019 to 2022 he’s made 81 starts, with a record of 44-13, and an ERA sub-3. Urias has really been the class of the NL the past few years, and he's still not even 27.

• #2 Sandy Alcantara

  • Not much needs to be said about the 2022 NL Cy Young winner other than, “dominance”. 32, starts 228 innings, a 2.28 ERA, and a sub-1.000 WHIP. Sandy had been showing signs of just how great of a young pitcher he was the past few seasons, but his 2022 season really was a work of art. 228 innings pitched is not an easy feat in this reliever-heavy era of baseball, where most Ace pitchers rarely eclipse even 200 innings.

• #1 Justin Verlander

  • JV usually stands for Junior Varsity, but not here. A likely first ballot Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander has been absolutely nails for the Astros and Tigers. Throughout his career he's amassed over 3000 innings, over 3000 strikeouts, and 244 wins, paired with 3 Cy Young’s, and an MVP award. Justin’s 3rd Cy Young came this past year in 2022, his age 39 season, where he hurled 175 innings, an insane 1.75 ERA, and 18 wins. Oh yeah I forgot to mention, after getting Tommy John and missing all of 2021. Justin’s 2022 was pure GOAT status as he cemented his legacy as one of the best pitchers of our generation, if not all time

• Honorable Mentions

  • Framber Valdez, Christian Javier, Max Fried, Aaron Nola, Alec Manoah, Dylan Cease

Stay tuned for more baseball rankings and content as we move towards 2023 Spring Training!