MLB Pitching Staff Power Rankings for All 30 Teams
While the Los Angeles Dodgers are shelling out all sorts of millions of dollars for what has been barely replacement-level pitching overall, the Houston Astros have made quite the surge in our pitching staff power rankings in spite of a starting rotation that is mostly replacement arms these days.
Teamwide stats including ERA, FIP and K/9 were the driving factor of our ranking of the pitching staffs as we near the midpoint of the 2025 campaign, but injuries, recent momentum and peak performers also played a key role in the process.
The "cWAR" that appears in the pitching lines within is the combined average of each team's wins above replacement, per FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. It's only one of the many data points used, though.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the start of play on Wednesday, June 18.
Nos. 30-26: Rockies, Athletics, Marlins, Angels, Nationals
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30. Colorado Rockies (May Rank: 29)
16-57, 11 saves, 5.63 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 1.57 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 0.9 cWAR
Even the lone beacon of light on this team has taken some lumps as of late, Jake Bird charged with a pair of blown saves in last weekend's series in Atlanta. Still, the middle reliever has easily the best numbers on an otherwise irredeemable Rockies pitching staff.
29. Athletics [May Rank: 21]
30-45, 16 saves, 5.48 ERA, 4.92 FIP, 1.50 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 0.1 cWAR
Last month, the A's narrowly missed ranking in the top 20 by virtue of what had been excellent pitching outside of Sutter Health Park. But now they get shelled regardless of venue, allowing at least eight runs in 13 of their first 20 games after that previous ranking published. Of the 15 Athletics who have logged more than 10 innings pitched, only two have an ERA better than 4.28.
28. Miami Marlins [May Rank: 30]
29-42, 15 saves, 5.00 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 1.7 cWAR
Sandy Alcantara is starting to turn things around, and the recent return of Eury Pérez is cause for at least a semblance of optimism in Miami. It's not likely to make one bit of difference in this year's standings, but it's enough to get them out of last place in the pitching staff rankings. (And if Alcantara continues to pitch well, the Marlins should get a nice haul for him at the trade deadline.)
27. Los Angeles Angels [May Rank: 27]
35-37, 19 saves, 4.67 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 1.47 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 4.5 cWAR
Say this much for the Halos pitching: They've had the luxury of avoiding the injury bug. While the Dodgers have now used 15 different starting pitchers after Shohei Ohtani's debut on Monday, the Angels are the only team that has yet to deploy a sixth unique starter this season. Granted, two of their five starters are providing virtually no wins above replacement, and the bullpen has been a disaster as a whole. But there's at least some value in never needing to use an opener or a spot starter.
26. Washington Nationals [May Rank: 26]
30-43, 19 saves, 4.99 ERA, 4.33 FIP, 1.39 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 4.0 cWAR
MacKenzie Gore has quietly remained one of the best pitchers in all of baseball with 10 quality starts, a 2.89 ERA and an MLB-best 119 strikeouts. But the rest of this staff has been gory, with even Kyle Finnegan starting to fall apart with his fifth blown save of the season on Monday against the Rockies.
Nos. 25-21: Diamondbacks, Orioles, White Sox, Dodgers, Blue Jays
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25. Arizona Diamondbacks [May Rank: 23]
36-36, 22 saves, 4.78 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 3.3 cWAR
The full-team, full-season numbers aren't great, and they get a good bit worse if you remove Corbin Burnes' 2.66 ERA from the mix, which is what Arizona needs to adjust to for the foreseeable future as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez have all struggled in the rotation this season, and with the exception of Shelby Miller, the bullpen has been even worse.
24. Baltimore Orioles [May Rank: 28]
31-41, 17 saves, 4.88 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 1.41 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 2.0 cWAR
Don't look now, but the Orioles have a little something percolating thanks to suddenly improved pitching. Beginning May 30, they held 15 consecutive opponents to five runs or fewer, winning 11 of those 15 games. Through their first 55 games, though, they had a 5.51 ERA with what was at that point arguably the worst staff in baseball. Thus, 24th is as high as we're willing to go on what has been one of the best pitching groups over the past three weeks.
23. Chicago White Sox [May Rank: 25]
23-50, 7 saves, 4.23 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 1.41 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 5.4 cWAR
The overall numbers haven't been stellar, and the fact that they didn't have a single pitcher with multiple saves until the 67th game of the season was quite bizarre. But Shane Smith's rookie campaign remains a revelation, while relievers Mike Vasil and Steven Wilson have both delivered sub-2.00 ERA. Picking up Adrian Houser in late May has turned out to be one heck of an under-the-radar move, too, with a 2.15 ERA through his first five starts in Chicago.
22. Los Angeles Dodgers [May Rank: 14]
45-29, 24 saves, 4.19 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 3.9 cWAR
Couldn't quite justify putting the Dodgers behind the White Sox, even though Baseball-Reference rates the pitching of the 23-win team (6.7 bWAR) a mile ahead of the pitching of the 45-win team (2.2 bWAR). Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie middle relievers/spot starters Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer are just about the only members of this preposterously well-paid pitching staff that have not been disappointments. Maybe the return of Ohtani will spark something, though.
21. Toronto Blue Jays [May Rank: 22]
39-33, 23 saves, 4.21 ERA, 4.28 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 4.1 cWAR
Bowden Francis had a 1.33 ERA over his final eight starts of last season, but he's sitting at a 6.05 ERA with an AL-worst eight losses through 14 starts this year. However, aside from that and the occasional Jeff Hoffman implosion (5.52 ERA), Toronto's pitching hasn't been half bad, sitting in good shape for a trip to the postseason. So, if Francis can turn things around, look out.
Nos. 20-16: Guardians, Mariners, Cardinals, Brewers, Braves
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20. Cleveland Guardians [May Rank: 24]
36-35, 20 saves, 3.96 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.38 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 4.6 cWAR
Cleveland doesn't have a single pitcher who has been worth more than 1.5 WAR on either FanGraphs or Baseball-Reference, but it does have a whole lot of OK pitching. Of the 14 Guardians who have logged at least 12 innings this season, the worst ERA belongs to Luis Ortiz with a 4.64 mark while leading the club in strikeouts. A bullpen led by Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis is keeping this team afloat.
19. Seattle Mariners [May Rank: 16]
37-35, 19 saves, 3.88 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 4.6 cWAR
Logan Gilbert struck out 10 in five innings of work on Monday in his first start in nearly two months, and George Kirby is starting to put together strong outings after his delayed start to the year. Combine that with Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo pitching well all season and Andrés Muñoz thriving at closer, and it's hard to imagine Seattle will be this "mediocrely" ranked for much longer.
18. St. Louis Cardinals [May Rank: 13]
38-35, 17 saves, 3.99 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 1.27 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 7.0 cWAR
Pitching keyed St. Louis' 32-24 start to the season, but it has also been the negative driving force of the Cardinals posting one of the worst records in baseball over the past three weeks. Sonny Gray has had a few gems, but Andre Pallante and Matthew Liberatore have come crashing back to earth, while Ryan Helsley has blown all three of his save chances thus far in June.
17. Milwaukee Brewers [May Rank: 19]
39-35, 19 saves, 3.80 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 6.4 cWAR
The MLB debut of Jacob Misiorowski went about as well as possible, going five no-hit innings against the Cardinals last Thursday. He and Freddy Peralta could be quite the one-two punch atop the Brewers rotation, while Abner Uribe continues his masterful season of middle relief with 19 holds and a 1.31 ERA. Should be getting both Brandon Woodruff and Nestor Cortes back in the mix at some point this summer, too.
16. Atlanta Braves [May Rank: 15]
32-39, 10 saves, 3.75 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 5.2 cWAR
It took six starts and a game against the Rockies to get there, but vintage Spencer Strider was back on display for Atlanta this past weekend for 13 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. If that continues, he, Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach will have the Braves' pitching back in the top 10 by next month. Getting Raisel Iglesias back on track would be huge, too.
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Nos. 15-11: Red Sox, Reds, Rays, Cubs, Pirates
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15. Boston Red Sox [May Rank: 12]
38-37, 20 saves, 3.97 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 6.3 cWAR
Garrett Crochet remains an excellent candidate for the AL Cy Young award, while Aroldis Chapman is showing no signs of slowing down as a likely All-Star closer. But the rest of what Boston is bringing to the mound is, well, the reason it ranks bottom nine in the majors in total runs allowed.
14. Cincinnati Reds [May Rank: 10]
38-35, 20 saves, 3.80 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 8.8 cWAR
When healthy, Cincinnati's dynamic duo of Andrew Abbott and Hunter Greene has been second to none, with a combined ERA of 2.25 in 23 starts. But the latter is on the IL again and unlikely to return any time soon, and the Reds have been just kind of OK across the board beyond those co-aces.
13. Tampa Bay Rays [May Rank: 17]
40-33, 17 saves, 3.44 ERA, 4.16 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 6.1 cWAR
For a team that ranks top-10 in ERA, the Rays sure do give up a ton of home runs. But having one of the lowest WHIPs in the majors has enabled them to keep the damage to a minimum, allowing 65 solo home runs compared to just nine with multiple runners on base. If and when Shane McClanahan is finally ready to return from the IL, an already solid rotation figures to grow even stronger.
12. Chicago Cubs [May Rank: 20]
45-28, 18 saves, 3.57 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 5.7 cWAR
Compared to the mid-May rankings, the Cubs made the biggest leap of any team, entering Wednesday with a 2.87 ERA over their last 30 games played. Most of the rotation has been solid, including rookie Cade Horton. But it's the middle relief of Ryan Pressly, Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar and Chris Flexen putting in serious work. In those 30 games, that quintet combined for 63.2 innings of work with just one earned run allowed. The team's last blown save came a month ago.
11. Pittsburgh Pirates [May Rank: 18]
29-45, 16 saves, 3.74 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 8.8 cWAR
Paul Skenes is doing most of the heavy lifting, of course, but the pitching has been more than just a one-man show for the Pirates. Both Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter have a roughly 3.40 ERA while Mitch Keller is just a bit north of 4.00 for the season. Braxton Ashcraft has been great since making his MLB debut less than a month ago, and Dennis Santana has been an excellent sometimes closer with a 1.74 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Were it not for the lowest scoring offense in the majors, they'd have something brewing.
Nos. 10-6: Twins, Yankees, Royals, Phillies, Padres
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10. Minnesota Twins [May Rank: 5]
36-36, 14 saves, 3.87 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 9.7 cWAR
Two weeks ago, Minnesota was darn near leading the majors for fewest runs allowed. But losing Pablo López for 8-12 weeks in early June seemed to decimate this staff in an instant, allowing 72 runs in the span of eight games while sinking like a lead balloon. Joe Ryan is still dealing as the ace of this staff, but not much else is going even remotely well lately.
9. New York Yankees [May Rank: 11]
42-30, 21 saves, 3.54 ERA, 3.57 FIP, 1.19 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 9.3 cWAR
New York's offense has hopelessly vanished over the past week, but the pitching staff has held eight consecutive opponents to four runs or fewer in continuing to soldier on just fine sans Gerrit Cole. Clarke Schmidt has gone at least six scoreless innings in three of his last four starts, becoming a serious third cog in what had been mostly a Max Fried and Carlos Rodón machine early in the year. They still need to add at least one starter ahead of the trade deadline, though.
8. Kansas City Royals [May Rank: 2]
35-38, 22 saves, 3.40 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 9.5 cWAR
What had been the American League's best pitching staff through the first 40-ish games has taken a bit of a nose dive over the past five weeks—fueled in no small part by injuries to Seth Lugo (since returned) and Cole Ragans (out indefinitely). Michaels Lorenzen and Wacha have both struggled as the Royals have plummeted out of the postseason mix by losing 22 out of 32 games.
7. Philadelphia Phillies [May Rank: 3]
43-30, 22 saves, 3.94 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 11.7 cWAR
Aaron Nola has been on the IL for more than a month now, and Jesús Luzardo recently allowed 20 earned runs in the span of two starts. Still, the Phillies have probably the best rotation in baseball, with even rookie Mick Abel showing some real promise over the past month. Would have a case for No. 1 if there was any good reason to have faith in the bullpen.
6. San Diego Padres [May Rank: 4]
39-33, 24 saves, 3.63 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 9.2 cWAR
Michael King (shoulder) has been out for a month while Yu Darvish (elbow) has yet to make his 2025 debut, this on top of Joe Musgrove (Tommy John) already being out for the year. Yet, the Padres have managed to cobble together a good enough rotation while a bullpen led by Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon has shouldered the load.
Nos. 5-1: Giants, Tigers, Astros, Rangers, Mets
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5. San Francisco Giants [May Rank: 6]
41-32, 21 saves, 3.29 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 8.2 cWAR
The Giants gave up Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to acquire Rafael Devers, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks this pitching staff got any worse in the process. Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have been the anchors in the rotation, while the bullpen has been outrageously good overall. Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers, Erik Miller and Randy Rodriguez have combined for 122 innings pitched with a 1.27 ERA.
4. Detroit Tigers [May Rank: 8]
47-27, 23 saves, 3.39 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, 8.4 cWAR
Tarik Skubal justifiably gets the lion's share of the attention when it comes to Tigers pitching, but he is only responsible for about 14 percent of their innings pitched. They also have two other starters (Casey Mize and Reese Olson) with a sub-3.00 ERA, as well as a bullpen that—though lacking for both household names and a true closer—gets the job done far more often than not. Suffice it to say, they wouldn't have the best record in baseball if it was just Skubal.
3. Houston Astros [May Rank: 7]
42-31, 20 saves, 3.41 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.14 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 11.0 cWAR
Neither Ryan Gusto nor Colton Gordon had pitched in the majors prior to this season, and Brandon Walter previously had just a 23-inning cup of coffee with the Red Sox in 2023. Nevertheless, those three have been regulars as of late in an Astros rotation that is somehow thriving while held together by strings, duct tape, hopes and dreams. Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been awesome, though, as has Josh Hader in his familiar role as maybe the best closer in baseball. Houston is already starting to run away with the AL West, and just wait until the likes of Spencer Arrighetti, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier get back into the pitching mix.
2. Texas Rangers [May Rank: 9]
36-37, 20 saves, 3.19 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.14 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, 8.1 cWAR
Getting bats to show up on any given night has been a season-long struggle, but Texas has certainly pitched like a World Series contender. The law firm of Eovaldi, Mahle and deGrom has been sensational all season, boasting a cumulative 2.05 ERA through 40 starts. And while the Rangers, like Detroit, don't have a true closer, the bullpen has been surprisingly effective for what is presently the MLB leader in runs allowed.
1. New York Mets [May Rank: 1]
45-28, 22 saves, 3.00 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 1.25 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 11.2 cWAR
Losing Kodai Senga's MLB-leading 1.47 ERA to a hamstring strain was a major blow, followed shortly by Tylor Megill hitting the shelf with an elbow strain. It remains to be seen whether those are cracks forming in the foundation or just mild speed bumps on the road to a July in which Senga, Megill, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea all return to a starting rotation with too many options. For the time being, though, New York still has collectively the best ERA in baseball, 13 of its 14 team leaders in innings pitched doing so with a sub-4.00 ERA.
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