Ace starting pitchers made quite a splash on the free-agent market this offseason, with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon and Justin Verlander all signing big-money deals with new teams. Now, can they deliver on the high expectations that come with it?
Overall, most of the game’s high-end starters (seven of our top nine) pitch in the National League. However, the American League seems to have greater overall depth.
MLB’s move to a more balanced schedule should, in theory, help pitchers in the toughest divisions because they won’t face those division opponents as often. Go ahead and give a slight boost to pitchers on AL East, NL East and NL West teams, but remember radom variance often overrides everything.
Only eight pitchers reached the 200-inning mark last season, but 11 of them topped 200 strikeouts. Draft-day decisions may come down to a choice of quantity vs. quality.
Corbin Burnes, Brewers NL1
Gerrit Cole, Yankees AL1
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins NL2
Spencer Strider, Braves NL3
Justin Verlander, Mets NL4
Aaron Nola, Phillies NL5
Brandon Woodruff, Brewers NL6
Shane McClanahan, Rays AL2
Max Scherzer, Mets NL7
Jacob deGrom, Rangers AL3
Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays AL4
Shane Bieber, Guardians AL5
Carlos Rodon, Yankees AL6
Dylan Cease, White Sox AL7
Max Fried, Braves NL8
Shohei Ohtani, Angels AL8
Yu Darvish, Padres NL9
Zack Wheeler, Phillies NL10
Alek Manoah, Blue Jays AL9
Julio Urias, Dodgers NL11
Luis Castillo, Mariners AL10
Cristian Javier, Astros AL11
Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks NL12
Framber Valdez, Astros AL12
Triston McKenzie, Guardians AL13
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers NL13
Logan Gilbert, Mariners AL14
Logan Webb, Giants NL14
Blake Snell, Padres NL15
Hunter Greene, Reds NL16
Freddy Peralta, Brewers NL17
Robbie Ray, Mariners AL15
Luis Severino, Yankees AL16
George Kirby, Mariners AL17
Lance Lynn, White Sox AL18
Joe Ryan, Twins AL19
Tyler Glasnow, Rays AL20
Jordan Montgomery, Cardinals NL18
Kyle Wright, Braves NL19
Lucas Giolito, White Sox AL21
Joe Musgrove, Padres NL20
Nestor Cortes, Yankees AL22
Chris Bassitt, Blue Jays AL23
Chris Sale, Red Sox AL24
Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers NL21
Brady Singer, Royals AL25
Reid Detmers, Angels AL26
Kodai Senga, Mets NL22
Sonny Gray, Twins AL27
Dustin May, Dodgers NL23
Jeffrey Springs,…