MLB Midseason Rankings For the Top 10 Pitching Staffs in 2023
Following our recent ranking of Major League Baseball's top 10 offenses in 2023, it's time to give the pitching staffs their due.
And, truth be told, this ranking process was much more challenging.
No, there was no temptation to put Colorado, Kansas City or Oakland in the top 10. But the gap between the fourth-best pitching staff and the 16th-best pitching staff isn't wide, and it can change considerably in the span of a single blowout.
It doesn't help matters that the two go-to sites for WAR (FanGraphs and Baseball Reference) drastically disagree on the value added by pitching.
For team batting WAR, the rankings between the two sites are almost identical. For team pitching WAR, though, we entered Friday with Seattle (No. 3 on FanGraphs; No. 16 on Baseball Reference) and Cincinnati (No. 2 on Baseball Reference; No. 20 on FanGraphs) either elite or below-average, depending on which site you prefer.
But both sites agree that the Phillies have a top five pitching staff right now, and they had the sixth-worst team ERA (4.72) just five weeks ago. So, if you don't like where your team is ranked (or not ranked), that could change in a big way in a few weeks.
We'll list the fWAR for each team in our top 10, but that wasn't one of the main data points we looked at. ERA, WHIP, FIP, K/BB and HR/9 were the biggies, with the top teams ideally having both a starting rotation and a bullpen that scored well in several of those categories.
Statistics current through the start of play Saturday.
Honorable Mentions
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Baltimore Orioles
The bullpen one-two punch of Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista remains the best in baseball, with both of those relievers headed to Seattle for the All-Star Game. But in spite of that eighth and ninth inning dominance, Baltimore has a middle-of-the-road team ERA (4.19) and a starting rotation that isn't scaring anyone in a best-of-five postseason series.
Chicago Cubs
While Baltimore has two great relievers and not much else, the Cubs have two great starters and not much else. Marcus Stroman and Justin Steele are deserving All-Stars who have combined for 18 of Chicago's 41 wins. The rest of the team has about a 4.50 ERA—though Kyle Hendricks has pitched well since his season debut in late May. It's the bullpen that knocked the Cubs out of the top 10 mix.
Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland has respectable overall numbers, especially its teamwide ERA of 3.78. The Guardians have gotten solid production out of rookie starters Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen, as well as from the more veteran arms of Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale. But between their modest strikeout rate, a BABIP (.281) a good bit below the league average (.296) and the lowest HR/FB ratio (10.2 percent) in the majors, they have a 4.43 xFIP that suggests a fair amount of negative regression is coming their way.
Los Angeles Angels
Contrary to popular belief, the Angels are more than just Shohei Ohtani. Reid Detmers is having a productive second full season in the big leagues, and closer Carlos Estévez has gone a perfect 21-for-21 in save opportunities. Things do get a bit ugly in a hurry from there for the Halos pitching staff, though.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants were the toughest omission from the top 10. Logan Webb and Alex Cobb have anchored the starting rotation admirably, while the three-headed force of Taylor Rogers, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval has been darn near impenetrable at the back end of a bullpen that has converted 33-of-40 save opportunities. They are tied for the MLB lead in both most saves and fewest blown saves. But the other three-fifths of the starting rotation has left much to be desired.
Toronto Blue Jays
Kevin Gausman has been maybe the most valuable pitcher dating back to the start of 2020, and he has maintained his dominance this season. He is leading one of the best team K/BB ratios. But as a whole, Toronto needs to do a better job of keeping the ball in the yard. At 1.32 HR/9, the Blue Jays have by far the worst home run rate among teams that were remotely considered.
10. New York Yankees
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2023 Stats: 3.81 ERA, 4.24 FIP, 8.68 K/9, 3.31 BB/9, 1.10 HR/9, 1.25 WHIP, 7.4 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Gerrit Cole (8-2, 109.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 9.7 K/9)
- Clay Holmes (4-2, 10 SV, 35.1 IP, 2.29 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 11.7 K/9)
- Clarke Schmidt (4-6, 87.1 IP, 4.43 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 8.9 K/9)
- Michael King (2-4, 5 SV, 47.0 IP, 2.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 9.6 K/9)
- Domingo Germán (5-5, 85.2 IP, 4.52 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 8.7 K/9)
The Yankees are Exhibit A in how difficult it can be to rank pitching staffs.
For starters, they only have one reliable starter in Gerrit Cole.
Every other Yankee pitcher with at least four starts has both a year-to-date ERA and a year-to-date FIP north of 4.25. (Though, Domingo Germán did toss that perfect game against Oakland.) But Cole is well on his way to a sixth consecutive season earning votes for AL Cy Young and may well finally win one.
Conversely, the bullpen is arguably the best in the majors, albeit without any real hierarchy or household names. Clay Holmes, Michael King, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio each has multiple wins, multiple holds, multiple saves and an ERA of 3.15 or better. (Tommy Kahnle—who has logged 14.2 scoreless innings since making his season debut last month—might also join that club before long.)
Thus, despite a starting rotation that has been four-fifths lackluster at best, the Yankees entered Thursday's game against Baltimore with the fourth-best ERA in the majors (3.70)—only to allow 14 earned runs in a loss that bumped them down several spots in this ranking, as one terrible game on the mound can have a significantly negative impact on a team's overall pitching stats.
At least New York's big offseason acquisition finally made his midseason debut on Friday. If Carlos Rodón can even remotely reharness his 2021-22 form for the rest of this season, there's still time for the Yankees to chase down the Rays for the AL East crown.
9. San Diego Padres
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2023 Stats: 3.83 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 8.68 K/9, 3.29 BB/9, 1.12 HR/9, 1.26 WHIP, 9.8 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Josh Hader (0-1, 20 SV, 32.1 IP, 1.11 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 13.4 K/9)
- Blake Snell (5-7, 92.0 IP, 3.03 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 11.8 K/9)
- Michael Wacha (8-2, 85.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 7.7 K/9)
- Seth Lugo (3-4, 63.2 IP, 3.39 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.3 K/9)
- Joe Musgrove (7-2, 73.1 IP, 3.56 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8.8 K/9)
Strangely enough, of the nine relief pitchers named to an All-Star roster this season, Josh Hader is the only one who pitches for a team that appears in our top 10.
His walk rate (5.3 BB/9) is the worst of his career, and though still impressive by normal standards, his strikeout rate (13.4 K/9) is the worst since his rookie season. However, his ERA (1.11) is better than ever, as he is both inducing ground ball outs and limiting home runs like never before. Hader did blow a few saves in May, but he has been largely unhittable, going three up three down in 14 of his 34 appearances.
Even deadlier as of late has been Blake Snell, posting a 0.64 ERA in seven starts dating back to Memorial Day. In his 11 starts made between May and June, the impending free agent southpaw posted nine quality starts—and may well be the biggest name on the trade block if the 41-47 Padres are still a sub-.500 squad in a few weeks.
Michael Wacha has been every bit as good as Snell since the beginning of May, although he recently landed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. After a rough April, Wacha had a 1.19 ERA over his last 10 starts. San Diego needs him back ASAP after the All-Star Break.
And after spending the past half-decade almost entirely in a relief role, Seth Lugo transitioning back to the starting rotation has gone about as well as San Diego could have dreamed. Take out the start against Kansas City in which he allowed five earned runs before suffering a calf injury and he has made 11 starts with a 2.77 ERA.
Just need to get these solid pitchers some better run support.
8. Miami Marlins
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2023 Stats: 4.09 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 9.55 K/9, 3.09 BB/9, 1.09 HR/9, 1.27 WHIP, 11.0 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Eury Pérez (5-3, 53.1 IP, 2.36 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 10.3 K/9)
- Jesús Luzardo (7-5, 103.0 IP, 3.32 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.5 K/9)
- Braxton Garrett (4-2, 87.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10.1 K/9)
- Tanner Scott (4-2, 17 HLD, 42.1 IP, 2.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 13.4 K/9)
- Steven Okert (3-0, 9 HLD, 31.0 IP, 2.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 11.9 K/9)
Which of these two truths is more ridiculous?
Miami is 12 games above .500 in spite of a negative-11 run differential.
Miami has one of the stingiest pitching staffs at 4.28 runs allowed per game in spite of reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara sitting at 3-7 with a 4.72 ERA.
It's definitely the second one, right?
But in Alcantara's stead, 20-year-old rookie Eury Pérez has been nothing short of sensational.
Among the 143 pitchers who have logged at least 50 innings, Pérez's 2.36 ERA ranks best in the majors. And that's even with the recent outright disaster of a start against Atlanta in which he gave up six earned runs in just 0.1 IP. Take out that dud and his ERA drops by a full run to 1.36.
Both Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett have also helped to pick up Alcantara's slack. Luzardo has made 10 quality starts. And though Garrett has yet to throw more than 90 pitches in an appearance, he has gone at least five full innings and allowed four or fewer earned runs in 13 of his 16 starts.
From there, the bullpen has been some combination of historically clutch and only moderately respectable—historically clutch because of the 21-6 record in one-run games, but only moderately respectable because not a single Miami reliever has a sub-2.60 ERA. The Marlins have still have blown 15 saves in spite of that record in one-run games.
That said, if 2022 Alcantara shows up for the second half of this season, there could be a strong end-of-season argument for Miami as 2023's best pitching staff. And he did have a great outing Friday against Philadelphia, allowing just one run in 6.2 IP...of a game that was later blown and lost by the bullpen.
7. Texas Rangers
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2023 Stats: 3.93 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 8.16 K/9, 2.90 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, 1.20 WHIP, 9.8 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Nathan Eovaldi (10-3, 117.2 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 8.3 K/9)
- Dane Dunning (8-1, 86.1 IP, 2.61 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 5.7 K/9)
- Jon Gray (6-5, 93.0 IP, 3.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.3 K/9)
- Will Smith (1-3, 15 SV, 32.1 IP, 3.06 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 9.7 K/9)
- Andrew Heaney (5-5, 83.0 IP, 4.12 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 9.7 K/9)
Texas is running away with the MLB lead in runs scored, placing five hitters (four of them starters) onto this year's All-Star roster.
But despite losing Jacob deGrom's $185 million arm after just 30.1 innings and despite Martín Pérez coming back to earth from his breakout year in 2022, the pitching staff has been doggone good in its own right.
Dane Dunning has been one of the biggest positive surprises for any team in this entire season. He posted a 4.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 271 innings pitched in 2021 and 2022 and was one of the reasons the Rangers so aggressively pursued free agent pitchers this offseason. He was not supposed to be part of this year's starting rotation. Yet, deGrom's replacement in the rotation is leading the team in ERA.
However, Texas' lone pitching representative in the All-Star Game is Nathan Eovaldi, who from late April through early June made seven starts with a 0.68 ERA, including two complete games (one shutout) and two other starts in which he went at least eight scoreless innings. He is still the only pitcher with multiple complete games this season.
Jon Gray is having a solid second season in Texas, and if you take out Andrew Heaney's Rangers debut in which he got shelled by the Orioles, he has a 3.47 ERA over his last 15 starts.
The bullpen is where things get more than a little shaky, as Texas relievers have a 4.56 ERA with as many blown saves as converted saves (16 of each). But at least Will Smith has been mostly reliable, and the Rangers already traded for one of the best relievers on the market in Aroldis Chapman. Friday's win over Washington in which Chapman pitched a perfect eighth and Smith pitched a perfect ninth is what Texas will be hoping for throughout October.
6. Tampa Bay Rays
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2023 Stats: 3.69 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 9.06 K/9, 3.20 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, 1.20 WHIP, 8.9 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Shane McClanahan (11-1, 96.0 IP, 2.53 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 9.5 K/9)
- Zach Eflin (9-4, 97.1 IP, 3.24 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9.2 K/9)
- Drew Rasmussen (4-2, 44.2 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.5 K/9)
- Tyler Glasnow (2-3, 41.2 IP, 4.10 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 13.8 K/9)
- Pete Fairbanks (0-2, 9 SV, 17.1 IP, 1.56 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 8.8 K/9)
If only the Rays pitching staff could stay healthy...
All five guys in this top five have spent at least some amount of time on the IL this season. Both Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen are currently on that inactive list. Zach Eflin missed two weeks early in the season. Pete Fairbanks twice made brief stays on it. And Tyler Glasnow missed darn near two full years of action before returning in late May to resume striking out everything in his path.
The Rays were also without key reliever Shawn Armstrong until early June, lost breakout star Jeffrey Springs for the year after just three starts and knew before this season began that Shane Baz would not be pitching in 2023.
But with the exception of a 20-1 loss to the Blue Jays in late May, this incessantly short-handed pitching staff has consistently managed to keep things from ever getting too out of hand, ranking among the MLB leaders in total runs allowed.
When the aforementioned starters have been healthy, they've been great—particularly McClanahan, who was emerging as the AL Cy Young favorite prior to his back injury.
A ton of the credit here goes to the middle/long relievers, though.
Per FanGraphs, five Rays—Kevin Kelly, Jason Adam, Yonny Chirinos, Josh Fleming and Colin Poche—have logged at least 30 innings of work in a relief capacity, each doing so with an ERA ranging from 2.18 to 3.12. Both Chirinos and Fleming have done as "second starters," going deep into the game after taking over for an opener. But the other three have been solid one-inning arms in the middle of games.
Per Baseball Reference, Tampa Bay entered Friday with a 3.60 ERA in the sixth inning, a 3.20 ERA in the seventh inning and a 2.80 ERA in the eighth inning, owning the portion of games in which most pitching staffs are the most vulnerable while trying to bridge the gap from their starters to their closers.
5. Houston Astros
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2023 Stats: 3.71 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 9.34 K/9, 3.13 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9, 1.26 WHIP, 10.2 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Framber Valdez (7-6, 105.0 IP, 2.49 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.4 K/9)
- Hunter Brown (6-6, 94.0 IP, 4.12 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 10.6 K/9)
- Hector Neris (4-2, 17 HLD, 36.2 IP, 1.47 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 10.3 K/9)
- Ryan Pressly (2-2, 19 SV, 38.1 IP, 2.58 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 9.9 K/9)
- Cristian Javier (7-1, 91.1 IP, 4.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 8.1 K/9)
Houston's starting rotation only vaguely resembles what it rode to the 2022 World Series.
Justin Verlander is gone. Both Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia are out for the year. José Urquidy hasn't pitched since April. And after a couple of recent duds, Cristian Javier's ERA is nearly two runs higher than the 2.54 mark he posted last year.
But at least Framber Valdez has been stellar yet again, racking up 12 quality starts while leading the AL in ERA. He has been perhaps the best pitcher in all of baseball since the start of last season, and this year he is shining out from behind Verlander's shadow.
The young core of Hunter Brown, J.P. France and Brandon Bielak has more than carried its weight, as well.
France had previously never pitched in the majors while both Brown and Bielak entered this season with fewer than 100 career innings pitched. Nevertheless, they've made a combined 37 starts, each with an ERA in the 3.25-4.15 range. (Of the trio, Brown has been the best by far and should be in the running for AL Rookie of the Year.)
It's the bullpen that pushes Houston over the top as a top-five staff, though.
Well, not the whole bullpen. One year removed from a fantastic campaign with 14 saves and 23 holds, Rafael Montero has been a disaster since the beginning of May, posting a 9.25 ERA over his last 23 appearances.
But this year's core four of Ryan Pressly, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu and Phil Maton has made late deficits against Houston feel insurmountable, combining for 23 saves and 48 holds with a collective ERA of 2.37.
4. Atlanta Braves
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2023 Stats: 3.60 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 9.48 K/9, 3.17 BB/9, 1.06 HR/9, 1.26 WHIP, 10.3 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Bryce Elder (7-1, 102.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 K/9)
- Spencer Strider (10-2, 98.1 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 14.2 K/9)
- Charlie Morton (9-6, 97.0 IP, 3.43 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 10.3 K/9)
- Max Fried (2-1, 26.0 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 8.7 K/9)
- Jesse Chavez (0-0, 12 HLD, 29.0 IP, 1.55 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11.2 K/9)
Since losing both Max Fried and Kyle Wright to the 60-day IL in early May, Atlanta has been cobbling together two-fifths of its starting rotation, currently operating with Kolby Allard and Michael Soroka in those spots after Jared Shuster, Dylan Dodd and AJ Smith-Shawver were unable to lock down a gig.
Moreover, the bullpen has been a substantial letdown—save for Jesse Chavez, who has been on the IL since taking a comebacker off his shin in mid-June. A.J. Minter is the only Atlanta reliever with at least 10 innings of work and an ERA (4.95) north of 4.00, but Chavez and long reliever Michael Tonkin are the only ones with a sub-3.00 ERA.
And yet, only Minnesota has allowed fewer runs this season than Atlanta.
The 24-year-old, thunder-and-lightning tandem of Bryce Elder and Spencer Strider have been leading that charge.
Strider is the flame-thrower generating strikeouts at an historic rate. Atlanta has gone 15-2 in his 17 starts, and he went a combined 12.2 IP with 23 strikeouts and just three earned runs allowed in the two losses. He reasonably could be undefeated if he had gotten any run support in those two May starts.
But despite a whiff rate less than half of Strider's, Elder is the one leading all qualified pitchers in ERA thanks in large part to one of the best ground ball rates in the majors. He rarely tops 91 MPH on the radar gun, but he keeps the ball down in the zone with his steady diet of sinkers, sliders and changeups.
We would be remiss if we didn't shout out Charlie Morton, too. Most starting pitchers over the age of 33 have struggled this season, arguably because you can't teach old dogs new pitch clocks. But 39-year-old Morton hasn't looked one bit bothered by the pace of play. His 3.9 BB/9 rate is a bit brutal, but he has an impressive 3.43 ERA and 3.80 FIP in spite of all those freebies.
3. Philadelphia Phillies
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2023 Stats: 4.03 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 9.41 K/9, 2.91 BB/9, 1.07 HR/9, 1.24 WHIP, 13.5 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Zack Wheeler (7-4, 104.1 IP, 4.05 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 10.3 K/9)
- Aaron Nola (8-5, 113.0 IP, 4.30 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 9.1 K/9)
- Taijuan Walker (10-3, 96.1 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.9 K/9)
- Ranger Suárez (2-3, 56.1 IP, 3.67 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 8.8 K/9)
- Craig Kimbrel (5-1, 14 SV, 37.0 IP, 3.41 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 13.9 K/9)
The Phillies turned a corner right when their pitching finally woke up.
Through June 2, they were 25-32 with a 4.72 ERA.
Both Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola were 4-4 and struggling mightily after several years as arguably the best co-aces in baseball. Taijuan Walker had a 5.65 ERA and looked like a disastrous offseason acquisition. Bailey Falter was 0-7 in eight appearances and sent back to the minors. Ranger Suárez had a 7.13 ERA in his first four starts off the IL. And while he has yet to blow a save this season, Craig Kimbrel had a 5.57 ERA, looking shaky at best for a second consecutive season.
It was all just not very good, and there would have been no credible argument for Philadelphia as a top 10 pitching staff five weeks ago.
But dating back to June 3, the Phillies have gone 23-7 with an MLB-best-by-a-damn-mile 2.80 ERA.
They now have MLB's best year-to-date fWAR.
Walker has won six straight starts with a 1.62 ERA. Suárez isn't far behind him at 2.09 in his six starts. Both Wheeler and Nola have dialed things in. And Kimbrel has allowed just one run while striking out 25 hitters over his last 16 innings of work—while fellow relievers José Alvarado and Andrew Vasquez have continued to pitch well.
Most of Philadelphia's high-priced bats are still under-performing, but this team has stormed back into postseason position on the strength of its arms. (Don't be surprised if they add a starter ahead of the trade deadline, though.)
2. Seattle Mariners
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2023 Stats: 3.78 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 8.91 K/9, 2.60 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9, 1.19 WHIP, 12.4 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- George Kirby (8-7, 107.2 IP, 3.09 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 7.4 K/9)
- Luis Castillo (6-6, 107.1 IP, 2.85 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 9.8 K/9)
- Logan Gilbert (6-5, 101.1 IP, 3.82 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 8.9 K/9)
- Paul Sewald (2-0, 16 SV, 35.1 IP, 3.31 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 12.5 K/9)
- Bryce Miller (5-3, 59.0 IP, 3.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 8.4 K/9)
When Seattle lost Robbie Ray for the year after just one start, "second-best pitching staff through the All-Star break" didn't seem possible—particularly after Ray was replaced in the rotation by Chris Flexen, who went 0-4 with a 10.38 ERA before getting sent back to the bullpen and eventually designated for assignment.
But that opened the door for Bryce Miller to make his MLB debut with five consecutive quality starts.
And when Marco Gonzales landed on the IL in late May, that paved the way for Bryan Woo, who posted a 2.36 ERA in the second through sixth starts of his MLB career after an initial rough outing against the Rangers.
Hopefully the finger blister that recently sent Miller to the IL won't keep him out for terribly long, because those two rookies have joined forces with George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert to form a mighty solid starting five that is keeping Seattle within shouting distance of a playoff spot in spite of its mediocre offense.
Both Kirby and Castillo were named All-Stars, and Gilbert couldn't have missed the cut by much. That trio has combined for 306 strikeouts against just 57 walks and deserves far better than a cumulative record of 20-18.
And with the exception of a slight implosion on July 3 when tasked with pitching on a third consecutive day for the first time since May 2022, Paul Sewald has been an above-average closer and just about the only one in the majors that hasn't suffered at least one loss.
Seattle's luck in one-run and extra-inning games isn't nearly what it was in 2021 and 2022, but it does a good job of protecting late leads when it does get them.
1. Minnesota Twins
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2023 Stats: 3.53 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 9.59 K/9, 2.79 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9, 1.15 WHIP, 13.0 fWAR
Top Five Pitchers
- Sonny Gray (4-2, 93.2 IP, 2.50 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 9.2 K/9)
- Joe Ryan (8-5, 102.2 IP, 3.42 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 10.0 K/9)
- Pablo López (5-5, 111.0 IP, 3.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.2 K/9)
- Bailey Ober (5-4, 82.2 IP, 2.61 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 8.6 K/9)
- Jhoan Durán (2-3, 12 SV, 34.1 IP, 2.10 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 11.8 K/9)
Almost all of this ranking is open to debate, but Minnesota at the top is just about irrefutable.
The Twins are No. 1 in runs allowed and ERA, No. 1 in WHIP and No. 1 in K/BB.
Hard to argue with that.
Fans of the New York Mets won't want to hear this, but what's most fascinating about the Twins having the best pitching staff in the majors is how little they are paying for it.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander?
$43.3 million each.
Minnesota's entire active pitching staff?
Sonny Gray's $12.7 million salary buoys their total a bit, but he is the only Minnesota pitcher making at least $5.5 million this season. And at least he's pulling his weight. The 33-year-old probably won't win the AL Cy Young award, but he is certainly on pace for some votes, averaging better than a strikeout per inning while keeping pace with Framber Valdez and Shane McClanahan for the league's ERA title.
Joe Ryan also deserves some "midseason Cy Young" consideration, averaging 10 K/9 and a staggering 7.13 K/BB. The only other pitcher with at least 50 innings and a ratio north of 6.7 is Seattle's George Kirby, who has walked just 10 batters all season.
Pablo López's ERA isn't great, but his peripherals sure are after a 12-strikeout shutout of the Royals this past Wednesday. He has fanned at least six batters in all but two of his 18 starts and has been potent enough to keep "traded in the offseason for what might be the first .400 hitter in eight decades" from looking like a complete disaster for the Twins.
Meanwhile, Bailey Ober is the only pitcher with at least 60 innings pitched, a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP. And though Kenta Maeda struggled mightily in April, he has allowed just three earned runs across his last three starts.
Best top-to-bottom starting rotation in baseball. Full stop.
Having Durán throwing 105 MPH in the ninth inning is just icing on the cake.
