Starting pitchers dazzle us every day with their unhittable stuff.
The fastballs sizzle, the breaking balls sweep and swoop, and the changeups dive and fade. The workloads may not be what they once were, but the quality of each and every pitch is higher than ever.
So who are the best arms in the game right now? Here come the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings to help answer that question. A panel of MLB.com experts was tasked with analyzing not just raw stuff, of course, but also results -- balancing recent performance with track record.
Here are our very first Starting Pitcher Power Rankings.
1. Gerrit Cole, Yankees
Will this be The Year for Cole? In Cy Young Award voting, he¡¯s finished second twice, fourth twice and fifth once. He¡¯s led his league in wins once, ERA once, FIP once, strikeout-to-walk ratio once and strikeouts twice. So far, it looks like it¡¯s all coming together this season for the 32-year-old. He¡¯s won each of his first four starts -- including a shutout of the Twins in his last outing -- posting a 0.95 ERA and allowing opponents to bat a mere .144/.212/.178.
2. Shohei Ohtani,?Angels
He appeared in both of our first two Hitter Power Rankings this season, and now he places even higher here. Because of course he does. Rainy weather in Boston ended Ohtani¡¯s last start after just two innings, but he¡¯ll take the mound against the Royals on Friday having allowed only two runs on six hits in 21 innings this season. With his sweeper now headlining a diverse and often overpowering arsenal, Ohtani is as dominant as ever.
3. Luis Castillo,?Mariners
Seattle acquired Castillo at last year¡¯s Trade Deadline, and after helping the club snap its postseason drought, the right-hander looks better than ever in his first full season in the Pacific Northwest. Castillo owns a 0.73 ERA, having allowed zero runs and no more than two hits in three of his first four outings. Batters are 2-for-24 (.083) with 13 strikeouts against his four-seam fastball.
4. Shane McClanahan, Rays
The 25-year-old lefty¡¯s ascent continues: A stellar rookie season in 2021, an All-Star Game start and Cy Young Award votes in ¡®22 and now a sensational beginning to ¡®23. McClanahan has gone 4-0 for the 16-3 Rays, walking a few too many batters (11 in 23 innings) but permitting just a .270 slugging percentage.
5. Pablo López, Twins
Solid for the Marlins (3.52 ERA from 2020-22) before an offseason trade to Minnesota, L¨®pez doesn¡¯t look like the same pitcher now. His fastball velocity is up nearly 2 mph, he¡¯s added a sweeper with a 50% whiff rate and he entered Thursday leading the AL in strikeouts. It¡¯s no wonder the Twins are keeping him around long term.
6. Jacob deGrom, Rangers
As always, we hold our breath every time deGrom takes the ball. The 34-year-old exited his last start after four hitless innings because of right wrist soreness, but at this point, he is not expected to miss his next turn. Exhale. Since a wobbly Rangers debut on Opening Day, deGrom has looked typically deGrom-esque, with a 25-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .407 OPS allowed across three starts.
7. Dylan Cease,?White Sox
Cease still hands out a lot of free passes. He¡¯s led the AL in walks in two of the past three seasons and so far this year has walked 12 and hit three batters over 22 1/3 innings. Most pitchers can¡¯t get away with that, but Cease isn¡¯t most pitchers. Opponents are hitting just .145 and slugging .205 against him as he follows up last year¡¯s second-place AL Cy Young Award finish.
8. Spencer Strider, Braves
Pretty much all Strider has done since arriving in the Majors is dominate. In his last start, on the road against an imposing Padres lineup, Strider allowed one hit and struck out nine over six scoreless innings. He entered Thursday leading the Majors in strikeouts (36) and K-rate (40.9%), thanks to a slider that misses bats with the best of them.
9. Julio Urías,?Dodgers
Is Ur¨ªas underrated? The left-hander is still only 26, and his 150 career ERA+ is currently the fourth highest for an AL/NL pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900), with a minimum of 600 innings, behind only teammate Clayton Kershaw, deGrom and Pedro Martinez. He¡¯s at it again this year -- his contract year, by the way -- with a 1.90 ERA and 235 ERA+ through four starts.
10. Sonny Gray, Twins
It¡¯s always nice when your ERA starts with a zero, even after four starts. Gray¡¯s stands at 0.82, and he¡¯s allowed no more than one run in any outing -- highlighted by a 13-strikeout effort against the Astros on April 7. This is Gray¡¯s 11th MLB season, and so far, it looks like it could be his best.
Also receiving votes: Marcus Stroman (Cubs), Framber Valdez (Astros), Zac Gallen (D-backs), Justin Steele (Cubs), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), Logan Gilbert (Mariners), Graham Ashcraft (Reds), Anthony DeSclafani (Giants)
Voters: David Adler, Brett Blueweiss, Paul Casella, Doug Gausepohl, Thomas Harrigan, Sarah Langs, Travis Miller, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Brian Murphy, Sweeny Murti, Manny Randhawa, Efrain Ruiz, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn