00:00Alright Detroit Tigers fans, buckle up, because we've got some huge news to break down, and
00:06it puts our boys right at the center of the baseball universe this offseason.
00:10This past Wednesday the Detroit Tigers made an unexpected and massive splash, agreeing
00:15with star left-hander Frambois Valdez on a three-year, $115 million contract.
00:21This is a monumental move for a club with sky-high expectations, especially after that crushing
00:26postseason exit last October.
00:28Let's talk about what this means on paper, pairing Valdez with our ace, Tarek Skubal,
00:34gives the Tigers what could be one of the most lethal 1-2 punches in all of baseball, but
00:39the question is, is it the best?
00:41Well, according to Fangraph's depth chart projections for 2026, the answer is a resounding yes, they
00:47project Skubal for 6.3 war and Valdez for 3.6 war, combining for a total of 9.9 war, that
00:55is the highest projected combined war of any two starting pitchers sharing a rotation this
00:59upcoming season.
01:01Now, of course, there are other absolutely formidable duos out there, some are highly
01:06regarded by these projections, while others are more of a dark horse, let's take a look
01:11at the top projected 1-2 punches for the 2026 season.
01:141. Detroit Tigers, Tarek Skubal and Frambois Valdez, 9.9 war.
01:21We were always going to be near the top of this list because Tarek Skubal is just that
01:26good, the two-time defending AL Cy Young award winner led all pitchers with 6.6 war last season,
01:34and he was even better in 2025 than he was in 2024, lowering his ERA and FIP while increasing
01:41his strikeout rate, but the addition of Valdez is the real story. Since 2022, only four pitchers
01:47have tallied more way R than him. Over that four-year span, he's pitched the second-most
01:52innings and posted a top-20 ERA, 3.21, and FIP, 329, relying on that heavy sinker that keeps
02:00the ball on the ground. This duo is as battle-tested as they come, with Valdez bringing a ton of
02:06postseason pedigree from his 16 career playoff starts, 2. Boston Red Sox, Garrett Crochet and
02:12Sonny Gray, 9.5 war. Crochet is a bona fide ace. Last season, he led the majors with 255 strikeouts
02:21and finished second with two on 5.1 innings pitched. He's considered the best pitcher in
02:25baseball not named Skubal or Paul Skeens. The Red Sox paired him with the veteran Sonny Gray,
02:30a 13-year MLB vet with a 7-pitch mix and consecutive 200 strikeout seasons. They also
02:36added Ranger Suarez on a 5-year $130 million deal, who is a compelling argument for this spot himself
02:42after a career-best four-war season in 2025. 3. Philadelphia Phillies, Christopher Sanchez
02:49and Jesus Luzardo, 8.3 WAR. These two lefties headline a consistently great rotation. Sanchez finished
02:57as the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award last season. Luzardo's first year in Philly exceeded
03:03all expectations, as a new arm slot helped him avoid injuries and set career highs in strikeouts,
03:102.16, and innings, 182.2. The wild card here is Zach Wheeler, whose status is unclear after thoracic
03:19outlet surgery. The projections are cautious with him, which is why he trails Luzardo in the pecking
03:24order for this list. 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skeens and Mitch Keller, 7.7 WAR. Skeens does the
03:31heavy lifting here, projected for 5.4 WAR after winning the NL Cy Young. The 6-foot-6 righty had
03:38a 1.97 ERA last year, the lowest by any Pirates pitcher in the live ball era, and he's still just
03:4523 years old. Keller is a quality, durable arm behind him. 5. Atlanta Braves, Chris Sale and Spencer
03:52Schwellenbach, 7.2 WAR. Even at age 37, Sale is an unquestioned ace. Behind him, projections see
03:59Schwellenbach edging past Spencer Strider as Atlanta's number two starter thanks to his versatile mix and a
04:05velocity bump last season. 6T. Toronto Blue Jays, Dylan Cease, and D. Kevin Gaussman, 6.8 WAR.
04:14Toronto signed Cease, to a seven-year, $210 million deal in November. Together, Cease and Gaussman are
04:23two of the four most valuable pitchers in baseball over the last five years. Gaussman showed he still
04:29has plenty left during Toronto's postseason run, last October. 6T. Seattle Mariners, Brian Wu and
04:36George Kirby, 6.8 WAR. Seattle's young arms are incredible. Wu led the way last year with a 2.94 ERA
04:44in 186.2 innings. Kirby, with his elite command, is projected just ahead of the also-talented Logan
04:52Gilbert, one Kansas City Royals, Cole Reagans and Chris Bubik, 6.7 WAR. A healthy Reagans is a Cy Young
05:00contender, as he was in 2024. Bubik, a former high draft pick, put it all together in a surprising
05:06all-star campaign last season, before a rotator cuff strain ended his year in July. If both lefties
05:12are healthy, this is an elite duo. 2. Texas Rangers, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi,
05:20Mackenzie Gore, 6.6 WAR. DeGrom, now 37, is still elite, throwing 172.2 innings with a 2.97 ERA
05:29last year. Behind him, Eovaldi, coming off a season with a 1.73 ERA, and the newly acquired
05:35Gore are both projected for 2.9 WAR. 9T. Los Angeles Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell,
05:436.5 WAR. The defending champs have a stacked rotation, but their projections are limited by
05:48innings. The Dodgers are known for managing workloads for the postseason, which is why their
05:54top arms have good, but not league-leading WAR totals here. For example, Shohei Ohtani is
06:00projected for just 116 pitching innings in his return, 9T, Cincinnati Reds, Hunter Green, and
06:07Andrew Abbott, 6.5 Vite, WWAR. When healthy, Green is the hardest-throwing starter in baseball.
06:14The bigger story is Abbott's leap to frontline starter status, slashing his ERA from 3.72 in 2024
06:21to 2.87 in 2025. Now, as a bonus, let's look at three dark horse duos, not in the top 10 who could
06:29break out in 2026. 1. Baltimore Orioles, Trevor Rodgers and Kyle Braddish, 5.5 WAR. From July 1st
06:38through the end of last season, Rodgers had a lower ERA than even Paul Skeens. Braddish is back from
06:43Tommy John surgery. This is a sneaky duo with major upside. 2. New York Mets, Freddie Peralta and Clay
06:49Holmes, 4.9 WAR. Peralta gives them the ace they missed. The real intrigue is rookie Nolan McClain,
06:57MLB Pipeline's No. 8 overall prospect, who could far exceed his 1.9 Wayar projection and make this
07:04a duo others envy. 3. Miami Marlins, Sandy Alcantara and Yuri Perez, 4.9 WAR. Alcantara is another year
07:14removed from Tommy John, and looked like his old Cy Young self late last year, the 6'8 Perez,
07:20still just 22, showed elite stuff in his own return. This could be a scary pairing if they
07:25both click. So, Tigers fans, that's the landscape. We're sitting at the very top, according to the
07:31projections, with Scubal and the new guy, Framber Valdez, leading the charge. It's an exciting time,
07:37but what do you think? Are we looking at the best top of the rotation duo in baseball heading into
07:422026, or is there another pair out there that worries you more? Let me know your thoughts.
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