Best MLB Pitchers 2026: Ranking 10 Best Starting Pitchers Right Now

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Best MLB Pitchers 2026: Ranking 10 Best Starting Pitchers Right Now

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Tue, Feb 17, 2026 ·

8 min read

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Who is the best pitcher in baseball? Major League Baseball is back, with spring training underway and pitchers getting to work on being ready for Opening Day. As recent contracts have demonstrated, aces are more valuable than ever before and teams with the best pitchers in MLB have an edge each time their workhorse takes the mound.

Let's dive into our list of the 10 best MLB pitchers right now.

1. Tarik Skubal , Detroit Tigers

Best MLB Pitchers 2026 — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball. Over the last two seasons, he boasts the second-best K-BB rate (26.7 percent); Skubal and Garrett Crochet are the only two qualified starters with a K-BB above 25 percent. No other qualified starter has a K-BB rate above 24 percent. Skubal has also surrendered the second-lowest batting average (.199) with the lowest WHIP (0.89), all while limiting opponents to the second-lowest Hard Hit rate (33.4 percent) in the majors with a spectacular 2.30 ERA in 387.2 innings pitched. Coming off consecutive seasons with an AL Cy Young Award, Skubal is on a Hall of Fame pace as one of the best pitchers of his era.

2. Paul Skenes , Pittsburgh Pirates

Paul Skenes is a perfect example of why wins do not carry remotely as much weight as they used to when evaluating starting pitchers. In his first two MLB seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 6-foot-6 righty has allowed four-plus earned runs across only five of his 55 career starts, and he has allowed three-plus earned runs in just 16.4 percent of his major-league career. This past season, when he was the unanimous NL Cy Young Award winner as a 23-year-old, he sported the fourth-best strikeout rate (29.5 percent) and was the only qualified starter with a sub-2.00 ERA. Heading into his age-24 season, Skenes' 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 registered a 1.03 ERA with a 0.65 WHIP across 52.2 innings. Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in just his second season in the majors, was nearly 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 about more than just October. During the regular season, he also surrendered the lowest batting average (.183) among starters with 170-plus innings, all while posting the fourth-best strikeout rate (29.4 percent). As long as he is healthy, he can challenge Paul Skenes for the NL Cy Young Award in 2026.

4. Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox

From 2020–23, Garrett Crochet pitched in just 73 innings with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP as a reliever. It all started to come together when he converted to being a starter in 2024. The Boston Red Sox bought in on the success, hoping the 6-foot-6 southpaw could build off that momentum. What Boston got is the second-best starting pitcher in the American League. Crochet finished the 2025 campaign with the second-highest strikeout rate (31.3 percent) and placed second in Outside Zone Swing rate (35.9 percent), all while limiting 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 in his first two seasons. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, the ace of the San Francisco Giants rotation has registered the third-best ERA (3.19) among starters with 800-plus innings pitched. He has also been a workhorse in the last three seasons, leading the National League in innings pitched in each of those years and the majors in batters faced over the past two seasons. He has been as durable as they come, and at a time when that is so hard to find, Webb's availability stands out just as much as his consistency.

6. Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have done it again. It took some time for everything to click for Cristopher Sanchez, though the signs were increasingly evident 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 reached 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 bargain of a contract, potentially making $51.5 million over the next five seasons, and he will only be receiving 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 just 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 this past season after registering the third-lowest ERA (2.43), the ninth-lowest batting average allowed (.201), and the seventh-highest strikeout rate (28.3 percent) in MLB. 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 this year while cracking 200 innings for the first time in his career.

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 a 1.02 WHIP while twice leading the league in strikeouts. He then made just 56 starts (298.1 innings) over the next five seasons, and entering his age-35 season, an iconic career seemed to be at its tail end. Since then, Sale has won the NL Cy Young Award after winning the Triple Crown and a Gold Glove Award in 2024, and his 2.46 ERA is the third-lowest in the majors among starters with 300-plus innings over the last two seasons. Health is the lingering question heading into the 2026 campaign, but there is no reason to think he cannot challenge for another Cy Young Award as a 37-year-old.

9. Cole Ragans , Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals made out like historic bandits in the Aroldis Chapman trade back in 2023, netting 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 just 64.1 career innings with the Rangers. Landing in Kansas City seemed to change the trajectory of his major-league career. Ragans' numbers in 2025—a 4.67 ERA—are largely a reflection of the fact that he dealt with a rotator cuff strain that eventually landed him on the 60-day injured list. We are of the belief that the starting pitcher who had the ninth-lowest batting average allowed (.212) and the sixth-best strikeout rate (29.3 percent) in 2024 will return to form this season.

10. Hunter Greene , Cincinnati Reds

There are a number of starters worthy of the 10th spot in our rankings. What landed Hunter Greene here are the surrounding factors he pitches through. Last season, the Cincinnati Reds ranked 20th in Defensive Runs Saved and 21st in FanGraphs ' Defensive Rating (-2.6). On top of that, Great American Ball Park ranked as the fourth-most unfriendly ballpark for pitchers with a 103 Park Factor . Greene's battery mate Tyler Stephenson also ranked 50th among catchers in Catcher Framing Runs (-8) and 45th in Shadow Strike rate (40.3 percent).

So, Greene has a lot of factors not working in his favor when he is on the mound. Yet, the 6-foot-5 righty is now coming off his second consecutive season with a sub-2.80 ERA, and he has maintained a career-best 0.94 WHIP over his most recent campaign. The primary knock on Greene at this point is that he has yet to throw 160-plus innings in a season. With that said, his numbers on the mound, even with some bad surrounding circumstances, make him one of the best MLB pitchers right now.

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