Ranking the top 20 starting pitchers in MLB entering 2021 season
These days, the starting pitching talent in Major League Baseball is just plain filthy.Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets and Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees rightfully enter the 2021 season as Cy Young award favorites, but there are plenty of worthy options to choose from. Trevor Bauer will look to repeat as the NL Cy Young after signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Shane Bieber will look to do the same with the Cleveland Indians.Which hurlers could give those aces a run for their money? Here are the top 20 starting pitchers in the league heading into the 2021 campaign.
Woodruff has become one of the most underrated pitchers in the game since evolving into a full-time starter in 2019. An All-Star that season, Woodruff was even better in 2020 with a 3.05 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 13 starts. He and Corbin Burnes headline Milwaukee's staff this season, and that's a really solid 1-2 punch.
Tomase: Best- and worst-case scenarios for every Sox starter
Last season didn't go Flaherty's way. He ended with an inflated ERA of 4.91 following a 2019 campaign in which he posted a 2.75. We should see the 25-year-old's numbers return to normal this year as his stuff is simply too good not to produce better results. The Cardinals will need that to happen if they're to have any success in 2021.
Tomase: Hallelujah! Sox rotation won't be unwatchable in 2021
Lamet broke out in a big way for the Friars last season. The 28-year-old righty posted a 2.09 ERA and 0.855 WHIP in 12 starts, leading to a fourth-place NL Cy Young finish.
Health is a concern as Lamet has undergone Tommy John surgery and was forced to miss the latter part of the 2020 campaign due to an elbow injury. If he can stay on the field, he has legit ace potential.
After four years in L.A., Maeda enjoyed a sensational first season in Minnesota. The 32-year-old was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young award thanks to his 2.70 ERA and league-leading 0.75 WHIP. We're likely to see some regression in 2021, but Maeda's stellar performance made him impossible to leave him off this year's top 20.
When thinking about the best pitchers in MLB, Lynn isn't one of the first names to come to mind. But he should be. He placed fifth in AL Cy Young voting two years ago and sixth in 2020. If he can carry that success into this season, the White Sox rotation is going to be pretty scary.
Strasburg pitched only five innings in 2020 due to a nerve issue in his wrist. The season prior, he placed fifth in NL Cy Young voting. The 32-year-old veteran has earned a reputation as one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy, but it's tough to count on his availability. If we're basing this list strictly on talent, go ahead and throw Strasburg into the top 10.
Castillo's upside is tremendous. The 28-year-old's strikeout rate continues to improve with each season (11.4 K/9) as he evolves into a more complete pitcher. Much of that has to do with his changeup, which arguably is the best in the game. Castillo will be counted on to be the ace of the Reds staff with Trevor Bauer headed to L.A.
Giolito sure has come a long way since leading the league in earned runs (118, 6.13 ERA) in 2018. The right-hander has been a legitimate ace for the White Sox over the last two seasons. In 2020, he posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.037 WHIP in 12 starts, one of which resulted in a no-hitter. Giolito is a solid AL Cy Young award candidate in 2021.
Fried is expected to be an elite arm in 2021 after dominating last season for Atlanta. A 2012 first-round draft pick by the Padres, Fried developed into an ace in 2020 going 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. The 27-year-old led all NL pitchers in WAR (2.9) and won the Gold Glove award.
Snell quickly returned to ace form last season after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. The southpaw posted a 3.24 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in the regular season and was rock-solid for Tampa Bay in its playoff run.
The last time we saw Snell, he infamously was pulled in the sixth inning of a dominant start in Game 6 of the World Series. With that unpleasant experience in the rear-view mirror, Snell will get a fresh start with an exciting San Diego Padres club in 2021. He'll be key to their success as they enter the campaign with World Series aspirations.
Nola has ridiculous stuff. The Phillies ace struck out 33 percent of batters faced last season and amassed a 3.28 ERA in 12 starts. If that curveball is working, he's virtually unhittable. Philadelphia will hope Nola produces numbers similar to 2018 when he had a 2.37 ERA and 0.975 WHIP en route to a third-place finish NL Cy Young voting.
After finishing as the Cy Young runner-up in L.A., Ryu went on to enjoy a stellar debut season with the Blue Jays. This time, he played third in Cy Young voting while putting up a 2.69 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He'll be counted on to be the ace of Toronto's staff again in 2021 as the Jays look to compete for an AL East title.
Buehler's number one issue so far in his career has been blisters. Outside of that nagging injury that cost him some starts last season, he's been lights out. In 2021, he'll look to regain the durability he had in 2019 when he was named an NL All-Star and totaled 182 1/3 innings pitched. As long as he stays healthy, the 26-year-old will be one of the game's top arms.
It's been a chaotic MLB career of highs and lows for Darvish, but 2020 with the Chicago Cubs was one of his best. The 34-year-old right-hander placed second in NL Cy Young award voting behind Trevor Bauer with a 2.01 ERA, 0.961 WHIP, and a league-leading 2.23 FIP. He'll look to replicate that performance with San Diego this season.
The former MVP and three-time Cy Young award winner was his usual dominant self last season with a 2.16 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. He also overcame his postseason woes to help the Dodgers finally get over the hump and win a World Series title. In his age 33 season, Kershaw still is among the best in the bigs.
Scherzer's numbers in 2020 weren't where we're accustomed to seeing them, but we're not about to penalize three-time Cy Young award winner for one down year. Prior to that, he had five straight seasons with an ERA below 3.00. Three of those seasons included a WHIP below 1.00. He remains among the league's best until those 2020 stats prove to be a trend rather than an outlier.
The 2020 NL Cy Young award winner will be out to prove his ridiculous numbers were no fluke. Bauer finished with a 1.73 ERA and 0.795 WHIP for the Cincinnati Reds. His only other season with an ERA below 4.00 came in 2018, when he posted a 2.21. The Dodgers will need the 2020 version of Bauer after signing him to a three-year, $102 million contract this offseason.
Bieber broke out in 2019, but he was virtually unhittable in 2020. The 25-year-old right-hander took home the AL Cy Young award after leading the majors in ERA (1.63), strikeouts (122), and FIP (2.07). There likely will be some regression this season, but Bieber still has earned a reputation as one of the elite arms in the game.
Cole's first season in the Bronx was a success. The 30-year-old finished with a 2.84 ERA and stuck out 94 hitters in 73 innings pitched. After a fourth-place finish in the AL Cy Young race, expect Cole to be one of the front runners again in 2021.
A no-brainer for the top spot. All deGrom has done over the last three seasons is win the NL Cy Young award twice and finish third in voting last year. He also struck out a whopping 39 percent of the batters he faced in 2020.
