The most crucial position in the MLB is the team’s starting pitcher.
Having an ace starting gives a baseball team a major edge, as managers do not have to worry about giving up a lot of runs and can save their best bullpen arms for later in the game.
Last season, Justin Verlander had a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in 28 games started. Now a members of the New York Mets, Verlander won the AL Cy Young Award after helping guide the Houston Astros to another World Series win. He allowed two earned runs or less in 22 out of 28 starts.
When a team makes a deep playoff run or wins the World Series, excellent pitching is often the main reason why.
In the 2014 playoffs, Madison Bumgarner started in six games and appeared in seven games. Bumgarner was dominant during Giants’ World Series run that year, finishing with a 1.03 ERA and 0.65 WHIP.
Below, we will break down the top 10 starting pitchers entering the 2023 MLB season.
The Top 10 Starting Pitchers Entering The 2023 MLB Season
The MLB has a lot of good pitchers but some stand above the rest and are considered ‘aces’.
Some very good starting pitchers just missed out on cracking the top 10 list.
Carlos Rodon, Brandon Woodruff, and Aaron Nola did not make our top 10 list despite being very good starting pitchers.
We analyze the top 10 starting pitchers entering the 2023 MLB season.
10. Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Cole still has elite strikeout ability but he is vulnerable to giving up a lot of runs and getting lit up.
His ERA has gone up in each of the last three years which is why he is lower ranked.
Cole had a 1.02 WHIP last year but had issues allowing home runs.
He allowed 33 home runs in 33 games last season. This was the second most home runs allowed among pitchers last year.
However, his strikeout ability still puts him in the top 10 starting pitchers in the league.
In 33 games started last year, Cole had eight or more strikeouts in 19 games.
He had 11.53 K/9 innings last year.
Cole is still a top-10 starting pitcher in the league and if he can reduce the number of home runs he is allowing and lower his ERA, Cole has the potential to regain top-five status.
9. Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani does everything for the Los Angeles Angels.
He is their second-best hitter and their ace starting pitcher.
Ohtani ranked sixth in ERA with a 2.33 ERA and he ranked 12th in WHIP with a 1.01 WHIP in 28 games started as a pitcher last year.
He can also punch out batters with the best of them. Ohtani had 219 strikeouts last season, which ranked sixth among all pitchers.
Ohtani struck out eight or more batters in half his starts last year.
He had an 11.87 K/9 innings last season.
Opposing batters had a .203 batting average against Ohtani last season. This ranked 10th in the MLB.
He is getting better and better as a pitcher and 2023 will be his best season yet.
Ohtani is a top-10 starting pitcher in the MLB.
8. Spencer Strider
In his first season as a starter, Spencer Strider started 20 games and appeared in 31 games.
Despite only starting 20 games, Strider had 202 strikeouts, which ranked 11th last season.
Strider had 13.81 K/9 innings and 1.83 FIP, which was both the best among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched last season.
He had a 0.99 WHIP and opposing batters had a batting average of .180 against Strider.
Strider is a young pitcher and he will still need to prove he can handle a full workload and keep up the efficiency or even improve.
He has a ton of potential and upside that will make him an ace for a long time.
Strider has the potential to be a top 3-5 pitcher this season.
7. Corbin Burnes
Corbin Burnes took a bit of a step back last season, mostly due to a stretch in the second half of the season when he became more hittable.
If not for that stretch, Burnes would easily be in the top five.
Burnes had a 2.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 243 strikeouts, and opposing batters had a batting average of .197.
His 243 punch-outs ranked second, his WHIP ranked eighth, and his opposing batting average ranked fifth in the MLB.
He showed he can exceed pitching over 200 innings last season. Burnes ranked fourth in innings pitched, with 202.0 innings pitched last year.
He ranked fifth with 10.83 K/9 innings last season.
Burnes is one of the best pitchers in the league and he will once again put up a top-10 performance.
6. Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler was the runner-up in CY Young voting in 2021.
His start to the 2022 MLB season was delayed due to off-season shoulder surgery.
However, Wheeler was able to almost replicate his ratios which made him a CY Young runner-up in 2021.
His velocity to begin the 2022 season was not the same and it took him a bit to warm up.
Wheeler got better as the season went on last year.
Now, he enters the 2023 season healthy and he is a very dependable ace.
Wheeler will once again be one of the better MLB starting pitchers in the league in the 2023 season.
The Top 5 Starting Pitchers Entering The 2023 MLB Season
Now, we get to the elite aces in the MLB.
Sandy Alcantara kicks off the top-five list of starting pitchers entering the 2023 MLB season.
5. Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara is the reigning NL Cy Young winner.
On volume and dependability alone, he makes the top five list.
Alcantara went eight innings or more in 14 out of 32 starts last year.
He was first in the league in innings pitched by 23.2 innings last year.
Alcantara had a 2.28 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He ranked fifth in ERA and ninth in WHIP last season.
He had a modest strikeout rate, which is why he is not higher on the list.
Alcantara had 207 strikeouts last season, which ranked eighth but given the fact he pitched 228.2 innings, this is a modest strikeout rate.
If Alcantara can not improve his strikeout ability, his ERA and WHIP will have some regression this season.
However, if he can improve his strikeout ability, he will be a top 2-3 pitcher this season.
This will be an interesting season for Alcantara, if he can duplicate or improve from last season or if he will have some regression.
Alcantara has the potential to be a top 2-3 pitcher but could also slide down a bit in the rankings. This is why he is ranked fifth on the list and not higher or lower.
4. Shane McClanahan
Shane McClanahan looked like a top pitcher in the first 4.5 months of the season last year before a shoulder injury.
He was not quite as dominant after the shoulder injury and he missed some time.
McClanahan had an excellent whiff rate and elite groundball skills before the injury.
He allowed two or fewer earned runs in 22 out of 28 starts last season.
The four games he allowed four earned runs or more all came at the end of July or later when he was not healthy.
He had five games in which he walked three or more batters last year. Four of those five games came at the end of July or later.
When he was healthy, he was almost unhittable.
McClanahan ranked eighth in K/9 innings.
Despite only pitching 166.1 innings last season, McClanahan ranked 14th with 194 punchouts last year.
Opposing batters had a batting average of just .194 against McClanahan, which ranked fourth in the league last year.
He turns 26 years old in April and he has a ton of upside if he is healthy.
If McClanahan can enter the season healthy and remain healthy throughout the season, he has the potential to be the best pitcher of the 2023 MLB season.
3. Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer was not healthy last season.
He only started in 23 games last year and he missed from mid-May to the beginning of July and missed two weeks in September last season.
When he was healthy though, he was superb.
Scherzer had a 2.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 173 strikeouts in just 145.1 innings pitched.
Opposing batters had a batting average of .207 against Scherzer.
He allowed two earned runs or less in 17 out of 23 starts last season.
Despite being 38 years old, Scherzer is still pitching like one of the best pitchers in the league.
The injuries Scherzer has suffered had nothing to do with his arm, which remains elite even at the age of 38.
If Scherzer can stay healthy this season, he will once again be one of the best pitchers in the MLB and is a top NL Cy Young contender.
The New York Mets have the best starting pitcher duo in the MLB with Scherzer and the next pitcher on the list.
2. Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander won the 2022 AL Cy Young award with the Houston Astros.
He is now on the New York Mets but this will not change his efficiency.
Verlander ranked first in ERA, WHIP, and batting average against among all pitchers in the MLB last season.
He had a 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and a .186 batting average against last year.
In 28 games started, Verlander allowed two earned runs or less in 22 games.
Verlander allowed zero earned runs in 12 out of 28 starts.
When the season starts, Verlander will be 40 years old.
Despite that, he remains dominant.
He did not walk more than three batters in a game last year.
Verlander walked one batter or less in 21 out of 28 starts last season.
Even though he was 39 last season, he went six innings or more in 22 out of 28 starts.
Verlander remains at the top of his game and he will once again be one of the best pitchers in the 2023 MLB season.
1. Jacob deGrom
Putting Jacob deGrom number one on the list is a risky move but a very logical one.
He has not started more than 15 games for two straight years.
However, when deGrom is healthy, he is inning for inning the best pitcher in the MLB.
He finished the season healthy and will enter the season healthy.
deGrom only started 11 games last season but he struck out eight or more batters in nine of 11 starts.
Outside of allowing four walks in one game, he allowed one walk or less in 10 out of 11 starts.
deGrom is second in MLB history in K/BB ratio among all pitchers with at least 1,300 innings pitched.
He was first in the MLB last season in K/9 innings among pitchers with 64 innings or more pitched.
He is no longer with the New York Mets and deGrom will now be the ace of the Texas Rangers.
The change of scenery will not hinder his performance.
The biggest question for deGrom will be if he can stay healthy this upcoming season.
When healthy, deGrom is hands down the best pitcher in baseball.
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