Latest Pitcher Power Rankings welcomes an unhittable ace

Much of the talk leading up to Tuesday’s Trade Deadline was about whether two ace AL Central left-handers -- Tarik Skubal of the Tigers and Garrett Crochet of the White Sox -- would be dealt. In the end, both stayed put.

And both remained in our latest edition of the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings as well. Yet while those two didn’t move, three new pitchers jumped into our top 10 -- one coming off a no-hitter and two others riding impressive hot streaks.

Here are the latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, voted on by our MLB.com panel, which as always factored in a combination of career track record, 2024 success and recent performance. (All stats through Tuesday’s games unless otherwise noted.)

1. Paul Skenes, Pirates (Last poll: 1)

Just 13 starts into his Major League tenure, Skenes is only the second pitcher this season to lead back-to-back polls (Zack Wheeler, April 25-May 9). If you set the qualifying standard at 80 innings, Skenes ranks first in the Majors in ERA (1.90), WHIP (0.90) and strikeout rate (33.3%), and fourth in FIP (2.64). This is a fully formed ace operating at an extremely high level.

2. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (2)

It would have been understandable if the Deadline noise had thrown Skubal off his game a bit, but it didn’t. In July, he averaged 6.6 innings per start, with a 2.45 ERA and 2.25 FIP, while batters managed only a .531 OPS against him. The AL Cy Young Award is his to lose.

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3. Chris Sale, Braves (3)

After Wednesday afternoon’s outing at Milwaukee, Sale has now surrendered no more than two runs for the 17th time in 20 starts this season, and the ninth in a row. He’s been an absolute rock for a Braves team that, beset by injuries, has not been able to count on many of its big names.

4. Dylan Cease, Padres (not ranked)

Cease’s no-hitter last Thursday at Washington -- the second no-no in Padres history -- is obviously the headline here. But it shouldn’t be overlooked that it was his third straight start of at least six innings pitched, no more than one hit allowed and at least nine strikeouts.

5. Corbin Burnes, Orioles (4)

A constant in the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, Burnes has been the epitome of consistency in 2024. He’s taken every turn in the rotation, completing at least six innings 19 of 22 times and leading the Majors with 18 quality starts. The Orioles are 15-7 in his outings.

6. Zack Wheeler, Phillies (7)

Wheeler was knocked around a bit on Monday against the Yankees, giving up seven earned runs and three homers over five innings. It was a rare hiccup for Wheeler, who still owns an ERA under 3.00 for the season. The main concern for the Phillies at this point appears to be having him fresh and ready to go for Game 1 of the NLDS.

7. George Kirby, Mariners (not ranked)

Kirby continues to be an incredibly proficient strike thrower early in his career. Last season, he led the Majors by wide margins in walk rate (2.5%) and K-to-BB ratio (9.1). This season, he is tied with Zach Eflin for the MLB lead in walk rate (2.7%) and once again holds a considerable lead in K-to-BB ratio (9.2). Including Wednesday afternoon’s outing at Fenway Park, Kirby has gone an MLB-high 54 consecutive starts since the beginning of 2023 without walking more than two batters.

8. Garrett Crochet, White Sox (5)

The lefty is still a member of the White Sox, post-Deadline, and it will be interesting to see how much the team pushes him the rest of the way (and how he performs). He only threw 13 innings across four starts in July as Chicago managed his workload around the All-Star break, and he posted a 4.85 ERA in that limited sample.

9. Hunter Greene, Reds (not ranked)

The No. 2 pick in the 2017 Draft, Greene has not traveled the smoothest road early in his Major League career. But now, with his 25th birthday coming up on Aug. 6, he has arrived. The first-time All-Star was overwhelming in July, allowing one run in 27 innings across four starts, while batters slashed .103/.204/.138 against him. That pushed his season ERA below 3.00 for the first time.

10. Seth Lugo, Royals (6)

It’s worth emphasizing that Lugo, a pitcher who worked almost exclusively in relief from 2018-22, entered Wednesday as the MLB leader in innings pitched this season (142 1/3). A key question now, given the Royals’ playoff hopes: Can he finish strong? He threw a one-run complete game against the White Sox on July 21 but bookended that with two starts in which he allowed 11 earned runs over 11 1/3 innings.

Others receiving votes: Taj Bradley (Rays), Michael King (Padres), Logan Gilbert (Mariners), Jack Flaherty (Dodgers), Cole Ragans (Royals), Brady Singer (Royals), Ronel Blanco (Astros)

Voters: Jason Catania, Theo DeRosa, Daniel Feldman, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Tom Vourtsis, Andy Werle