Power Ranking Every MLB Team's Ace Entering 2025 Season
Not all aces are created equal.
Thirty pitchers will get the ball on Opening Day. They are not necessarily the 30 best starting pitchers in baseball. If you wanted to make that list, it would be full of starters from the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. Other teams would be left out.
Still, it's interesting to take a look at where each team stands entering Opening Day with what would be considered their ace. It should be noted that while the best pitcher for each team is likely to get the ball on Opening Day, there are a few cases where we've opted for starters who will start the second or third game of the season to represent their respective teams. Additionally, starters who will not be healthy to begin the season were not considered.
With all that acknowledged, here's a power ranking of each team's ace heading into the 2025 season.
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30. Martín Pérez, Chicago White Sox
Age in 2025: 34
2024 Stats: 5-6, 4.53 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 107 SO, 0.5 WAR, 135 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Nothing against Pérez, who was an All-Star for the Texas Rangers in 2022 and has managed to pitch in the majors for 13 years to this point.
But the White Sox lost a staggering 121 games a season ago, and that was with Garrett Crochet striking out 209 batters over 146 innings. Chicago traded Crochet to the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, which might prove to be the correct long-term move, but further weakens them for 2025.
Part of me feels like the White Sox will win more than the 41 games they did a year ago just by showing up. But when you consider Pérez—who has a 4.44 career ERA—ostensibly replaced Crochet in the rotation, it's hard to be sure the White Sox won't be historically bad again in 2025.
29. Germán Márquez, Colorado Rockies
Age in 2025: 30
2024 Stats: 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 7.92 FIP, 3 SO, minus-0.1 WAR, 4 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Márquez made a lone start for the Rockies last July, his first MLB appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He quickly wound up back on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right elbow that ended his season.
Once upon a time, Márquez appeared to be one of the few pitchers since the Rockies' inception in 1991 that had figured out how to be successful despite his home starts coming at Coors Field. The righty led baseball with 81.2 innings during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and he logged 160 or more innings on four occasions between 2017 and 2021. He was an All-Star in 2021.
If Márquez proves to be healthy this season, he could become a popular trade candidate this summer. He'll make $10 million in 2025, which is a contract year. And while he's been one of the most successful pitchers in Rockies history, he would surely benefit from not making half of his home starts at Coors Field.
28. MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals
Age in 2025: 26
2024 Stats: 10-12, 3.90 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 181 SO, 3.2 WAR, 166.1 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Gore led baseball with 14 wild pitches in 2024 but still put together a pretty productive season over 166.1 innings pitched. There's no replacing Juan Soto, but between Gore, CJ Abrams and James Wood, the Nationals seem to have done about as well as possible when they traded the superstar slugger to the San Diego Padres in August 2022.
Whether Gore proves to be an ace at the MLB level or not, he's clearly a long-term piece in this starting rotation. If Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray reach the ceilings they were thought to have before major elbow injuries, the Nats could end up with a pretty good young rotation in the coming years when you factor in Gore, Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker.
27. Zach Eflin, Baltimore Orioles
Age in 2025: 31
2024 Stats: 10-9, 3.59 ERA, 3.76 FIP, 134 SO, 2.8 WAR, 165.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 21
Corbin Burnes departed for the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency, leaving a void at the top of Baltimore's rotation. The Orioles signed Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, but neither comes close to replacing Burnes. Kyle Bradish had Tommy John surgery last June, so if he pitches at all this season, it won't be until after the All-Star break.
It was a tough call here whether to go with Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez, as both have relatively similar projections for 2025. Each also carries their own injury concerns. Given that Eflin finished sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting with the Tampa Bay Rays two seasons ago, he got the nod here as the ace.
Eflin, though, has never logged more than 177.2 innings in a season. He is more equipped to be the third-best starter on a team with World Series aspirations, even if he's capable of pitching like an ace at times.
26. Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels
Age in 2025: 34
2024 Stats: 9-10, 4.05 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 206 SO, 3.5 WAR, 175.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
The Angels gave Kikuchi a three-year, $63.675 million contract this offseason after he went 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA down the stretch for the division-rival Houston Astros.
Kikuchi has had a strange career. He was an All-Star with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 but then posted a 5.98 ERA in the second half of the season. He wound up getting down-ballot AL Cy Young support last year following a strong finish with the Astros, but he had a 4.75 ERA in 22 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays prior to being traded.
Like many of the names near the bottom of this list, Kikuchi would be better cast as a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. At the same time, he represents a clear upgrade at the top of Ron Washington's rotation and should help the Halos top the 63 wins they posted a year ago.
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25. Kodai Senga, New York Mets
Age in 2025: 32
2024 Stats: 1-0, 3.38 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 9 SO, 0.1 WAR, 5.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 20
Sean Manaea would have been the ace for the Mets, but he'll open the season on the injured list with a right oblique strain. It doesn't sound like he'll miss more than a few starts, but it nonetheless took him out of the running for this list. For what it's worth, he would have been higher than Senga is.
Senga is also capable of placing higher than this, as he did entering last year. In 2023, he posted a 2.98 ERA over 166.1 innings, making the NL All-Star team while finishing seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting and runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year.
However, he made just one start last regular season, limited by a right shoulder strain and a left calf strain. To his credit, he returned to make two postseason appearances for the Mets. But he has to rebuild his stock this season by proving he can stay healthy.
24. Luis Severino, Athletics
Age in 2025: 31
2024 Stats: 11-7, 3.91 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 161 SO, 2.1 WAR, 182 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
After reviving his career with the Mets last season, Severino cashed in during free agency, with the A's giving him a three-year, $67 million deal that allows him to opt out after the 2026 campaign.
Severino was one of the best pitchers in baseball when he made back-to-back All-Star Game appearances for the New York Yankees in 2017 and 2018. But in between those two seasons and reasserting himself a year ago with the Mets, injuries—including Tommy John surgery—limited Severino to just 209.1 innings over a five-year span.
He was a great story last year, but there's a reason no other team was probably willing to sniff the contract that the A's gave Severino. One year doesn't erase half a decade of unavailability.
23. Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
Age in 2025: 26
2024 Stats: 12-8, 3.47 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 187 SO, 3.3 WAR, 173.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
One-time AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber will return at some point in the first half of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. For now, Bibee is unquestionably the ace of what looks like an undermanned starting rotation.
After finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting in 2023, Bibee put together another strong campaign in 2024, which included logging more than 170 innings. It stands to reason he could become someone who consistently logs 180-plus innings a year, something the Guardians badly need.
Led by Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians had one of the greatest bullpens in MLB history a season ago. But they need Bibee and others to take some of the pressure off Stephen Vogt's bullpen in 2025, especially if they hope to lean on the arm barn in the postseason.
22. Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
Age in 2025: 29
2024 Stats: 11-9, 3.68 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 200 SO, 2.3 WAR, 173.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
With Burnes traded and Brandon Woodruff out for the season, Peralta became the ace of the Brewers last season after a few years of being the most overqualified No. 3 starter in the sport. He delivered a performance that suggests he was better off in his prior role.
There's a ton of value in a pitcher that strikes out 200 batters and logs 170-plus innings. But if you thought Peralta would find another level and compete for the NL Cy Young Award in 2024, that didn't happen.
Woodruff is back, but after losing both Willy Adames and Devin Williams, the Brewers could still benefit from Peralta looking more like an ace than he did a season ago.
21. Pablo López, Minnesota Twins
Age in 2025: 29
2024 Stats: 15-10, 4.08 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 198 SO, 3.2 WAR, 185.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 9
After finishing seventh in AL Cy Young Award voting in his first season with the Twins, López regressed to a 4.08 ERA in 2024.
Make no mistake, he was still a really productive pitcher, as he logged 180 innings for the third season in a row. But the Twins don't make a ton of major financial investments, and with López scheduled to make $21.75 million in each of the next three seasons, they will be expecting better results than what he turned in last year.
The good news is that after posting a 5.11 ERA in the first half of the 2024 season, López looked much more like himself after the All-Star break, with a 2.77 ERA over his final 13 starts.
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20. Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
Age in 2025: 34
2024 Stats: 14-11, 3.83 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 162 SO, 2.9 WAR
2024 Ranking: 6
Between 2020 and 2023, Gausman was one of the best pitchers in baseball. FanGraphs says that the 17.1 WAR that Gausman posted over that four-year stretch was third in baseball among all starting pitchers, trailing only those of Zack Wheeler and Burnes.
There was some clear regression a year ago, even if he still pitched two complete games. For example, Gausman struck out 162 batters over 181 innings in 2024. In 2023, he fanned an AL-best 237 hitters across 185 innings. That's a pretty precipitous drop-off.
Gausman saw a slight dip in his average fastball velocity last year, going from 94.7 mph in 2023 to 93.9 mph in 2024. That, though, doesn't explain how the value on his fastball—a pitch he uses about half of the time—went from 17.6 in 2023 to 6.5 in 2024.
Considering how tremendous he was the four prior seasons, it will be interesting to see if Gausman can rebound in 2025.
19. Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs
Age in 2025: 31
2024 Stats: 15-3, 2.91 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 174 SO, 3.0 WAR, 173.1 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
If you polled opposing executives on which pitcher from the Cubs they would most like to have on their own team, the guess is that the overwhelming majority would say Justin Steele. So if you think Steele—who checked in at No. 8 on last year's countdown—should be considered the ace of the Cubs, fair enough.
With that said, Imanaga finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting in his first MLB season and fourth in one of the most crowded NL Rookie of the Year races ever. He was also an All-Star. There's a case to be made that not only should he represent the Cubs on this list, but he should be ranked even higher.
How Imanaga pitches in 2025 will go a great way in determining his financial future considering he and the Cubs have a mutual option for 2026. If Imanaga pitches well enough, the Cubs can pick up an option that will pay Imanaga $57 million from 2026 to 2028 while also giving him a full no-trade clause.
18. Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
Age in 2025: 27
2023 Stats (missed all of 2024): 11-2, 3.29 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 121 SO, 1.9 WAR, 115 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
McClanahan missed the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, which is why he's only No. 18.
With that said, McClanahan was one of the most electric starters in baseball from 2021 to 2023, posting a 3.02 ERA and 10.1 SO/9. He took the ball for the junior circuit in the 2022 All-Star Game, eventually finishing sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting that season.
There tend to be more concerns after a pitcher's second Tommy John surgery than the first, and McClanahan is now a two-time veteran of the procedure. But he's pretty far removed from his second surgery in August 2023, so it would hardly be surprising if he re-emerges as one of the nastiest starters in baseball.
17. Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals
Age in 2025: 35
2024 Stats: 13-9, 3.84 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 203 SO, 3.8 WAR, 166.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 11
Perhaps Gray didn't match his 2023 campaign that saw him finish third in AL Cy Young Award voting as a member of the Twins, but he still fared pretty well in the first season of a three-year, $75 million deal with the Cardinals.
Gray opened the season on the injured list with a right hamstring strain and ended the year with right forearm flexor tendinitis. As he ages, it's mildly concerning that he dealt with those injuries. But neither was a major injury, and he still pitched 166.1 innings. His 3.12 FIP being so much lower than his 3.84 ERA suggests he was a bit unlucky in his first campaign with the Cardinals.
Despite the Cardinals being pretty open about their plans to take a step back in 2025, Gray apparently wasn't interested in waiving his no-trade clause this past offseason. If he changes his mind on that this summer, there will be plenty of teams interested in his services, even if he's probably a better fit for a smaller market.
16. Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers
Age in 2025: 32
2024 Stats: 5-3, 3.12 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 145 SO, 3.1 WAR, 104 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Snell is a very difficult player to evaluate. He's one of seven pitchers in MLB history to win a Cy Young Award in each league. But outside of those two seasons, he's never topped more than 129.1 innings in a season.
Even a year ago, Snell got off to a very slow start with the Giants after signing late, posting a 6.31 ERA over his first eight starts. To his credit, he went 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA over his last 12 starts, a dominant stretch that included a no-hitter. He parlayed that strong finish into a five-year, $182 million deal with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a deal that, of course, included deferred money.
Snell has proved he can be dominant when on the mound, but he hasn't been as durable as some of the other names on this list. He'll also walk his fair share of batters, which makes him a rough watch when he's struggling. Staying healthy and logging 175-plus innings in 2024 would go a long way in improving his stock for next year. Whether he'll get the chance to do that in a rotation that's going to use six starters for large chunks of the season remains to be seen.
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15. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Age in 2025: 25
2024 Stats: 9-5, 2.75 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 169 SO, 3.8 WAR, 150.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 24
In his third MLB season, Greene finally put everything together, making his first All-Star team and finishing eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Unfortunately for Greene, right elbow soreness limited him to 26 starts. He's had at least one stint on the injured list in each of his three MLB seasons, a concerning trend for someone with such a live arm.
If healthy, Greene has a ceiling as a top-five starter. He needs to put together a second consecutive season pitching at the level he did a year ago while staying healthy for the full campaign this time around to increase his ranking.
14. Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers
Age in 2025: 37
2024 Stats: 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 14 SO, 0.4 WAR, 10.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
You could definitely go with Nathan Eovaldi—whom the Rangers re-signed to a three-year, $75 million deal this past offseason—as the ace in Texas. But a healthy deGrom has arguably the greatest arsenal of any pitcher in MLB history. He's entering the season healthy, and while it's fair to be skeptical he'll hold up, deGrom has the highest ceiling of any starter for the Rangers.
Since winning his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award in 2019, deGrom has a minuscule 2.10 ERA. The problem is he's made just 47 starts (265.1 innings) over a five-season stretch. Eventually, availability has to matter.
The four-time All-Star is this high because when he's on the mound, he's almost certainly going to dominate. He returned late last year and had success in three abbreviated starts. He's now almost two years removed from his second Tommy John surgery, so he should be 100 percent.
But if you're willing to bet that deGrom—who will turn 37 in June—is going to stay healthy, you probably have a gambling problem.
13. Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
Age in 2025: 31
2024 Stats: 15-7, 2.91 ERA, 3.25 FIP, 169 SO, 3.6 WAR, 176.1 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Valdez has finished ninth or better in AL Cy Young Award voting in each of the last three seasons, and while elbow discomfort kept him from pitching until late April last year, he still ultimately logged 176.1 innings.
Over the last three seasons, Valdez has pitched 575.2 innings, which is fifth among all starters in baseball. Valdez isn't as durable as Aaron Nola but has a 3.06 ERA over his last 90 starts, meaning he has a higher ceiling. If Valdez is healthy in 2025, he could wind up getting a deal like the seven-year, $172 million contract Nola got from the Phillies in free agency entering his age-31 season.
Valdez's full postseason resume is a mixed bag, but when you consider that he posted a 1.44 ERA during Houston's 2022 World Series run, there figure to be quite a few teams interested in him next winter if he hits free agency.
12. Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres
Age in 2025: 29
2024 Stats: 14-11, 3.47 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 224 SO, 4.8 WAR, 189.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 13
Speaking of pitchers entering their contract years, Cease will also be a free agent after the 2025 season. And a year after getting traded from the White Sox to the Padres in spring training, Cease's name has been mentioned in trade rumors for much of the offseason.
For now, Cease is a Padre. And considering how good Cease pitched in his first year—he tossed a no-hitter in July and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting—it would likely be painful for president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to deal Cease.
Wherever he's pitching, it's hard not to like Cease. He's seventh among all starters in innings pitched since the start of the 2021 season (716) and has finished in the top four in Cy Young Award voting two times in the last three seasons.
11. Sandy Alcántara, Miami Marlins
Age in 2025: 29
2023 Stats (missed all of 2024): 7-12, 4.14 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 151 SO, 3.0 WAR, 184.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
Alcántara missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery, which is why he's not in the top 10, or maybe even the top five.
But in the five seasons prior to his missed campaign, Alcántara logged 858.1 innings, the second-most in baseball. He won the 2022 NL Cy Young Award with a Roy Halladay-esque campaign that saw him pitch six complete games and run away with the league lead in innings pitched at 228.2.
The Marlins would be wise to manage Alcántara's workload, but he had plenty of time to recover from his TJS in October 2023. It wouldn't be surprising to see him back in the NL Cy Young race this year, if he's not traded to an AL team in the summer.
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10. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
Age in 2025: 34
2024 Stats: 8-5, 3.41 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 99 SO, 1.8 WAR, 95 IP
2024 Ranking: 1
Cole was difficult to place. From 2018-2023, he was unquestionably the best pitcher in baseball, winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2023 and finishing runner-up on two other occasions. (And he probably should have won it over his then-teammate Justin Verlander in 2019.)
But he missed the first two-and-a-half months of the 2024 season with right elbow inflammation. Once he came back, his elbow stayed healthy for the rest of the season. However, he had a 5.40 ERA through his first seven starts.
To his credit, Cole rebounded and posted a 2.22 ERA over his final 15 starts of the season, postseason included. Because of that strong finish, Cole edged out some other arms with better seasons than him a year ago.
At the same time, Cole has logged 200 or more innings on six occasions in his career. He's a power pitcher that is now 34 years old. It's fair to have a bit of skepticism, particularly coming off a year where he had an elbow injury, about whether the six-time All-Star is still at the height of his powers.
9. Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals
Age in 2025: 27
2024 Stats: 11-9, 3.14 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 223 SO, 4.9 WAR, 186.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 26
A year ago, we wrote that after a strong finish to the 2023 season, Ragans needed to prove he was for real over a full season. Well, he did that, posting an AL-best 10.8 K/9, netting him an All-Star Game appearance and a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young Award voting.
It's hard to say that the Rangers regret trading Ragans in June 2023, because Aroldis Chapman helped them to win their first World Series title. But from the perspective of the Royals, general manager J.J. Picollo put on a masterclass getting back a young ace for a rental reliever.
Whether they can keep Ragans long-term remains to be seen, but for now he and Seth Lugo make up one of the top one-two rotation punches in baseball.
8. Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
Age in 2025: 28
2024 Stats: 9-12, 3.23 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 220 SO, 4.1 WAR, 208.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
With arguably the best starting rotation in baseball, it was hard to pick only one Mariner. George Kirby, for example, has logged 190 innings in back-to-back seasons and led baseball with a 7.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2024.
Still, it was Gilbert who got the nod here. He was a first-time All-Star in 2024 and wound up leading all of baseball in WHIP (0.887) and innings pitched (208.2). Over the last three seasons, Gilbert is fifth among all pitchers with 56 quality starts.
Gilbert, Kirby, Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo are a World Series-caliber rotation. Whether the Mariners offense can do enough to reach the postseason this year remains to be seen.
7. Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
Age in 2025: 26
2024 Stats: 6-12, 3.58 ERA, 2.69 FIP, 209 SO, 4.7 WAR, 146 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
All Crochet did in his first MLB season as a starting pitcher—and first full campaign back from Tommy John surgery—was post a 12.9 K/9 over 146 innings pitched. That would have led the league if he pitched enough innings to qualify.
The Red Sox made a major trade acquiring Crochet from the lowly White Sox in December. The innings restrictions that kept him from being an AL Cy Young Award contender down the stretch of last season should be gone this year, and while Fenway Park isn't a great place for pitchers, he should get a boost from pitching for an MLB-caliber team.
For a pitcher that averages around 97 mph on his fastball, there's always some risk of another elbow injury. But as long as he's healthy, Crochet has a chance to be one of the best starters in baseball.
6. Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
Age in 2025: 30
2024 Stats: 15-9, 2.92 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 181 SO, 3.7 WAR, 194.1 IP
2024 Ranking: 4
Burnes doesn't strike batters out at the same clip that he once did, as he posted an 8.4 SO/9 with the Orioles last year, as opposed to the MLB-best 12.6 SO/9 when he won the NL Cy Young Award with the Brewers in 2021.
Still, Burnes managed to finish fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting last year, logging more than 190 innings for the third consecutive season and posting a 2.92 ERA. There are those who think his dip in strikeouts means he's eventually going to be a less effective pitcher, but to this point that hasn't happened. And until it does, you have to treat Burnes like one of the game's elite starters.
The Diamondbacks certainly subscribe to that theory, as evidenced by the six-year, $210 million deal they gave to Burnes, which does defer $64 million to 2031 to 2036.
Particularly if the Diamondbacks get a bounce-back year from one of Jordan Montgomery or Eduardo Rodríguez, they should have one of the best starting rotations in baseball led by Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt.
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5. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
Age in 2025: 28
2024 Stats: 13-10, 3.47 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 172 SO, 4.4 WAR, 204.2 IP
2024 Ranking: 7
Webb was finally an All-Star for the first time last year, a long overdue honor for one of the best workhorses in baseball.
Two seasons ago, Webb led the sport with 216 innings pitched, finishing runner-up in the NL Cy Young Award race. He had to settle for the NL lead with 204.2 innings in 2024 and a sixth-place finish in senior circuit Cy Young voting. Over the last three seasons, he leads all starting pitchers with 613 innings pitched. He's second in WAR to only Zack Wheeler.
Webb has been one of the premier pitchers in baseball for mostly mediocre Giants teams since their Cinderella 107-win season in 2021. San Francisco hopes that with the additions of Willy Adames and Justin Verlander, Webb will once again have the opportunity to pitch on the biggest stage in October.
4. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Age in 2025: 23
2024 Stats: 11-3, 1.96 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 170 SO, 4.3 WAR, 133 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
A casual observer of the sport may question whether Skenes is deserving of being at this spot after just one season. The answer is an overwhelming yes.
Despite not making his MLB debut until May 11, Skenes started the All-Star Game, won NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. He did that by posting a 1.96 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 0.947 WHIP and 11.5 K/9 over his first 133 MLB innings.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick should be able to take down more innings this season, and with an arsenal that includes a 99 mph fastball, 94 mph sinker, 85.4 mph slider and a cutter and changeup that are more sparingly used, a healthy Skenes could emerge as the most dominant pitcher in baseball.
3. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
Age in 2025: 36
2024 Stats: 18-3, 2.38 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 225 SO, 6.4 WAR, 177.2 IP
2024 Ranking: Not ranked
When Sale is healthy, he might be the hardest pitcher in baseball to hit. He was finally healthy again in 2024 and led the sport in wins (18), ERA (2.38), FIP (2.09), HR/9 (0.5), K/9 (11.3) and WAR (6.4).
But while Sale put himself back on a Hall of Fame trajectory last season, the eight-time All-Star pitched just 151 innings between 2020 and 2023. He's going to turn 36 the week of Opening Day. Will Sale log 177.2 innings again in 2025? It's fair to wonder.
Still, there's nothing wrong with being No. 3. And if you asked hitters around the league what pitcher they'd least like to face—particularly left-handed ones—Sale would probably be the most popular answer.
2. Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
Age in 2025: 35
2024 Stats: 16-7, 2.57 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 224 SO, 5.4 WAR, 200 IP
2024 Ranking: 2
Since joining the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler is second among all pitchers in innings pitched (829.1) and first in WAR (24.7). He's managed to strike the rare balance between being a power pitcher and a horse.
Wheeler hasn't gotten over the hump to win a NL Cy Young Award, but he finished runner-up for the second time in four seasons last year. Coming up just short may hurt his eventual Hall of Fame case, because believe it or not, when compared to pitchers from his era, Wheeler is going to be someone worth considering. Not only has he been arguably the best regular-season pitcher since 2018, but he has become a great playoff performer with a minuscule 2.18 ERA over 70.1 innings.
Perhaps this will be the year that Wheeler finally captures the NL Cy Young Award, perhaps en route to more postseason success with the Phillies. It will be hard to deny that he's one of the era's best pitchers—and a Cooperstown-worthy ace—if he continues to pitch at this level over the lifetime of his new three-year, $126 million deal.
- Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
Age in 2025: 28
2024 Stats: 18-4, 2.39 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 228 SO, 5.9 WAR, 192 IP
2024 Ranking: 12
Since July 4, 2023, Skubal leads all qualified starting pitchers in wins (25), ERA (2.51), FIP (2.35), strikeouts (330) and WAR (9.1), according to FanGraphs. That level of dominance allowed the lefty to take the top spot on this list entering 2025.
Health had been a concern for Skubal in the past, but he logged 192 innings over 31 regular-season starts last season, alleviating that concern. With slight upticks in velocity on all of his pitches, Skubal led baseball with 228 strikeouts a season ago while posting the best marks among AL starters in wins (18), ERA (2.39), ERA+ (170), FIP (2.49) and WAR (5.9). The power lefty was the unanimous pick for the AL Cy Young Award after his breakout season.
Another year of 200-ish innings would squash durability concerns once and for all with Skubal. What he showed last year is that a healthy version of him is not only the best starter in the sport but also an incredible showman that's as fun to watch as any ace the game has to offer.
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