Who is the best pitcher in baseball? Major League Baseball is back, spring training is underway and pitchers are working on getting ready for Opening Day. As recent signings have demonstrated, aces are more valuable than ever and the teams with the best pitchers in MLB have an edge every time their workhorse takes the mound.
Let's take a look at our list of the 10 best MLB pitchers right now.
Read More: MLB Power Rankings 2026, evaluating all 30 teams
1. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball. Over the past two seasons, he has boasted the second-best K-BB rate (26.7 percent); Skubal and Garrett Crockett are the only two qualified starters with a K-BB over 25 percent. No other qualified starter has a K-BB rate higher than 24 percent. Skubal has also surrendered the second-lowest batting average (.199) with the lowest WHIP (0.89), while limiting opponents to the second-lowest hard-hit rate (33.4 percent) with an impressive 2.30 ERA in 387.2 innings. Coming off back-to-back seasons with the AL Cy Young Award, Skubal is on pace for the Hall of Fame as one of the best pitchers of his era.
RELATED: Teams scared off by Tigers' asking price for Tarik Skubal trade
2. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Paul Skenes is a perfect example of why wins don't matter as much as they used to when evaluating starting pitchers. In his first two MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 6-foot-6 player has allowed more than four earned runs in only five of his 55 career starts, and he has allowed more than three earned runs in only 16.4 percent of his major league career starts. Last season, when he was the unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner at age 23, his strikeout rate (29.5 percent) was fourth and he was the only eligible starter with a sub-2.00 ERA. Heading into his age-24 season, Skane's adjusted ERA+ (215) is better than Jacob deGrom's peak (190) from 2018-19.
3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
In Madison Bumgarner's memorable 2014 postseason run, in which he earned NLCS MVP and World Series MVP, he recorded a 1.03 ERA with a 0.65 WHIP in 52.2 innings. Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in his second season in the majors, was almost as good, posting a 1.45 ERA and 0.77 WHIP in the postseason. Of course, ranking him third among the best MLB pitchers is even more than October. During the regular season, he also gave up the lowest batting average (.183) among starters with over 170 innings, while posting the fourth-best strikeout rate (29.4 percent). As long as he's healthy, he could challenge Paul Skenes for the NL Cy Young Award in 2026.
4. Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
From 2020-23, Garrett Crockett pitched in just 73 innings as a reliever, with a 2.71 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. It all started to come together when he transitioned into a starter in 2024. The Boston Red Sox hit back, hoping the 6-foot-6 southpaw can keep that momentum going. What Boston got is the second-best starting pitcher in the American League. Crockett finished the 2025 campaign with the second-highest strikeout rate (31.3 percent) and second in outside zone swing rate (35.9 percent), while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
5. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
Taken in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft, Logan Webb first reached the majors in 2019 and had a 5.36 ERA with a 1.52 WHIP over his first two seasons. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, the ace of the San Francisco Giants rotation has recorded the third-best ERA (3.19) among starters with over 800 innings. He has also been a workhorse the last three seasons, leading the National League in innings pitched each year and batters faced in the last two seasons. He's been as durable as they come, and at a time when he's so hard to find, the availability of the web is as important as his continuity.
6. Christopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies have done it again. It took some time for everything to click for Christopher Sanchez, although the signs became increasingly clear in 2023. He earned his first All-Star selection in 2024, posting a 3.32 ERA and tying for the major league lead in complete games. Sanchez reaches another stratosphere in 2025. He ranked ninth league-wide in K-BB rate (20.8 percent), fifth in ERA (2.50), and tied Paul Skenes for the lowest HR/9 (0.53) in the majors. He is also on a contract deal that will potentially make him $51.5 million over the next five seasons, and he will only receive a $50,000 bonus for each All-Star selection.
7. Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
The Houston Astros have a remarkable track record when it comes to drafting and developing pitchers. Hunter Brown is the latest success story. Just a few years after being taken in the fifth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, he earned All-MLB Second Team honors after posting the third-lowest ERA (2.43), ninth-lowest batting average (.201), and seventh-highest strikeout rate (28.3 percent) in MLB last season. He has established himself as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball right now, and he has a good shot at a sub-3.00 ERA while pitching 200 innings for the first time in his career this year.
8. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
It has truly been a remarkable major-league career for Chris Sale. From 2012–18, he recorded a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, while leading the league in strikeouts twice. He then made only 56 starts (298.1 innings) over the next five seasons, and entering his age-35 season, a distinguished career seemed to be on its final legs. Since then, Sale has won the NL Cy Young Award after winning the Triple Crown and Gold Glove Award in 2024, and his 2.46 ERA is the third-lowest among starters with more than 300 innings over the past two seasons. Health is a big question heading into the 2026 campaign, but there's no reason to think he can't challenge for another Cy Young Award as a 37-year-old.
9. Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals performed like historic bandits in the 2023 Aroldis Chapman trade and grabbed Cole Ragans from the Texas Rangers. Formerly the 30th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, he held a 5.32 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in only 64.1 career innings with the Rangers. Landing in Kansas City changed the direction of his major-league career. Ragans' numbers in 2025 – a 4.67 ERA – are largely a reflection of the fact that he battled a rotator cuff strain that ultimately landed him on the 60-day injured list. We believe the starting pitcher who had the ninth-lowest batting average (.212) and sixth-best strikeout rate (29.3 percent) in 2024 will return to form this season.
10. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
There are several starters worthy of the 10th spot in our rankings. What brought Hunter Greene here are the surrounding factors through which he operates. Last season, the Cincinnati Reds were 20th in defensive runs saved and 21st in FanGraphs defensive rating (-2.6). On top of this, Great American Ball Park ranked as the fourth most unfriendly ballpark for pitchers with a 103 park factor. Green's battery partner Tyler Stephenson also ranks 50th among catchers in catcher framing run (-8) and 45th in shadow strikeout rate (40.3 percent).
So, there are a lot of factors not working in his favor when Green is on the mound. Still, the 6-foot-5 standout is now coming off his second consecutive season with a sub-2.80 ERA, and he maintained a career-best 0.94 WHIP in his most recent campaign. The primary flaw on Green at this point is that he has yet to pitch more than 160 innings in a season. That said, even with some bad surrounding circumstances, his numbers on the mound make him one of the best MLB pitchers right now.
