30 Days of MLB Rankings: Top Ten Starting Pitchers

What a crazy month it’s been. When I began this list, I figured by around day 15, it would be apparent if the season was happening or not. It’s been a month, and next to no progress has been made. Here are my top 10 starting pitchers in MLB on the 30th and final day of my 30 Days of MLB Rankings Series. Enjoy!

Check out my previous rankings from this series:

Catchers 30-21 | Catchers 20-11  | Catchers 10-1  | First Base 30-21 | First Basemen 20-11 | First Basemen 10-1 | Second Basemen 30-21 | Second Basemen 20-11 | Second Basemen 10-1 | Third Basemen 30-21 | Third Basemen 20-11 | Third Basemen 10-1 | Shortstop 30-21 | Shortstops 20-11 | Shortstop 10-1  | Left Field 30-21 | Left Field 20-11 | Left Field 10-1  |Center Field 30-21 | Center Field 20-11  | Center Field 10-1  | Right Field 30-21 | Right Field 20-11  | Right Field 10-1 | Designated Hitter 15-1 | Relief Pitcher 30-16 | Relief Pitcher 15-1| Starting Pitchers 30-21  | Starting Pitchers 20-11

Also, it’s worth mentioning that this list is simply the best pitcher on each team and not the top thirty starting pitchers. Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin are arguably top-ten pitchers, but because Max Scherzer is on the Nationals, neither of those two will appear on this ranking. 

10. Corey Kluber, Texas Rangers

2019: 7 games, 35.2 IP, 2-3 Record, 5.80 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 38 Strikeouts

Corey Kluber’s 2019 season was a complete disaster. After struggling in the beginning of the year, he suffered a season-ending broken arm after being hit by a line drive. However, despite the struggles, Core Kluber remains one of the best pitchers in MLB. Kluber finished in the top three in voting for the AL Cy Young Award in four out of five seasons from 2014-2018. It will be interesting to see how he performs with his new team in 2020.  

9. Mike Clevinger, Cleveland Indians

2019: 21 games, 126.0 IP, 13-4 Record, 2.71 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 169 Strikeouts

Picking between Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber of the Indians was easily the toughest decision I had to make. Both Clevinger and Bieber are arguably top-ten pitchers in MLB; however, I ultimately went with Clevinger. He does a great job at forcing swing-and-misses, while also keeping the ball in the park; he only allowed ten home runs in 2019.  

8. Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays

2019: 33 games, 194.2 IP, 16-6 Record, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 240 Strikeouts

At age 36, Charlie Morton is showing no signs of slowing down. Morton finished third in the AL Cy Young race while earning his second all-star nod. He put up career-best numbers across the board. The biggest change in Morton’s career has been his curveball. 2018 Cy Young, Blake Snell, is another great pitcher but took a small step back last year.  

7. Jack Flaherty, St.Louis Cardinals

2019: 33 games, 196.1 IP, 11-8 Record, 2.75 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 231 Strikeouts

At age 23, Jack Flaherty had a breakout year and established himself as a dominant pitcher in 2019. Flaherty is extremely tough to hit as he led the NL in WHIP and H/9 last year. He also forces a ton of swing-and-misses, striking out 231 batters last year. If he can continue on this path, he’ll be a Cy Young candidate down the road.  

6. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

2019: 29 games, 178.1 IP, 16-5 Record, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 189 Strikeouts

While he is no longer the best pitcher in MLB, Clayton Kershaw is still an elite pitcher. He doesn’t strike out over 200 batters in a year anymore, but his 12-6 curveball still draws a ton of swing-and-misses. Unfortunately, his regular-season success has never translated to the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Walker Buehler takes over as the Dodgers’ ace in 2020.  

5. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Toronto Blue Jays

2019: 29 starts, 182.2 IP, 14-5 Record, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 163 Strikeouts

This ranking is going to upset some people, and that’s okay. At age 32, Hyun-Jin Ryu performed like one of the best pitchers in the league last season, leading MLB with an ERA of 2.32. While he won’t blow hitters away or strikeout over 170 batters, his ability to force ground balls makes him elite. Now with a new team, the former KBO star should continue to flourish in 2020.  

4. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees

2019: 33 games, 212.1 IP, 20-5 Record, 2.50 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 326 Strikeouts

Now we get to the final four on my ranking. All four of these pitchers are in a class of their own and could have earned the top spot. Strikeout machine Gerrit Cole comes at the number four spot for this ranking. His 326 strikeouts were far and away a league-leading mark. However, he struggles with keeping the ball in the park as he allowed 29 home runs last year. After signing a massive deal with the Yankees, the pressure will be on Cole to perform well.  

3. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

2019: 34 games, 223.0 IP, 21-6 Record, 2.58 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 300 Strikeouts

Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole have very similar numbers. Like Cole, Verlander struggled at keeping the ball in the park as he allowed a whopping 36 long balls in 2019. However, Verlander rarely gives up base-runners outside of home runs and led MLB with a WHIP of 0.80. He also struck out 300 hitters for the first time in his career. Incredibly, he’ll be 37 next year, as Verlander has shown no signs of slowing down!  

2. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

2019: 32 games, 204.0 IP, 11-8 Record, 2.43 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 255 Strikeouts

As if I haven’t pissed off the Mets community enough, this isn’t going to do me any favors, Despite earning his second consecutive Cy Young award in 2019, Jacob deGrom comes in at second on my ranking. deGrom is an elite, special talent who doesn’t blow away hitters the way that Scherzer does. While deGrom did lead the NL in strikeouts, he also made five more starts than Scherzer. At age 32, deGrom should continue to be one of the best pitchers in MLB in 2020.  

1. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

2019: 27 games, 172.1 IP, 11-7 Record, 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 243 Strikeouts

Based off of 2019 alone, Max Scherzer would not earn the top spot on this list. However, I looked at the past few seasons of players’ careers while making these rankings. Since 2013, Scherzer has finished in the top five of the Cy Young voting every year. His two-seam fastball and changeup combination is nearly impossible to hit when it’s on. Scherzer’s ability to strike hitters out consistently earns him the top spot on this list. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin both crack my top ten starting pitchers, but can’t make this list with Scherzer at number one. 

Thank you for following along my 30 Days of MLB Rankings series this past month!

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