00:00Welcome back Tigers fans. As we settle into the rhythm of the 2026 season, it is time once again
00:07to take the temperature of the league's elite arms. While the focus in Detroit remains squarely
00:11on the left hand of our own ace, the landscape of Major League Baseball is filled with remarkable
00:17performances that demand our attention. There is a distinct theme emerging early in this month's
00:22rankings, one that revolves around a particular letter of the alphabet. Let's dive into the
00:27second starting pitcher power rankings of the year. As voted on by a group of MLB.com experts,
00:33all statistics are updated through Tuesday's games unless noted otherwise. We are not simply
00:38discussing strikeouts, though one might assume that's represented by the letter K, rather the
00:43top five pitchers featured in this month's top 10 all share a surname that begins with the letter S,
00:48in the words of the famous college basketball commentator and noted Rays enthusiast Dick Vitale.
00:53These starters are super, scintillating, sensational.
00:581. Tarek Skubal, Tigers' Randy Johnson, 1999-2002, and Greg Maddox, 1992-1995, stand alone as the only
01:08pitchers in history to win three consecutive Cy Young awards, and neither of those legends accomplished
01:14that feat in the American League. The season is still young, but Skubal is off to a strong start in
01:19his pursuit of a third straight Cy Young. Having posted a 2.08 ERA through his first five outings,
01:25there was a minor stumble against the Twins on April 7, during which he allowed four earned runs on
01:30eight hits over four and two-thirds innings. However, Skubal responded emphatically in his next
01:36appearance, carrying a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Marlins before striking out ten Red
01:44Sox batters over six innings in his most recent turn on the mound. 2. Christopher Sanchez,
01:50Phillies generating ground balls remains the foundation of Sanchez's effectiveness.
01:55His ground ball rate has exceeded 55% in all but one season of his career, and his current 59
02:01.2%
02:01rate ranks in the 93rd percentile of Major League Baseball. Yet, the left-hander is now supplementing
02:08those grounders with a significant number of strikeouts. His strikeout rate, which sat at a
02:13modest 20.3% just two years ago, has climbed to 31.7%, the eighth-highest mark among qualified
02:21pitchers. His 159 ERA and 169 FIP currently rank fifth and third in the majors respectively.
02:283. Jose Soriano, Angels. While he occupies the third spot on this list, a compelling argument could be made
02:35that Soriano has been the premier starter in all of baseball at this moment. He delivered five more
02:40scoreless innings on Wednesday against the Blue Jays, lowering his ERA to an astounding 0.24 across
02:47six starts and 37 and two-thirds innings of work. That figure represents the lowest ERA, minimum 30
02:55innings pitched, through a pitcher's first six starts since earned runs became an official statistic in
03:01both leagues in 1913. Furthermore, Soriano is the first pitcher since at least 1900 to allow no more
03:07than one total run across his first six starts of a season, excluding openers. This is quite an achievement
03:13for a right-hander, who posted a 4.26 ERA over 169 innings just last year. 4. Paul Skeens, Pirates
03:23Skeens,
03:24who held the no-one position in our first starting pitcher power rankings of the season, has seen his
03:30ERA improve drastically since opening day. His current 3.27 mark does not accurately reflect the
03:36quality of his recent outings. He was victimized by the Mets and some defensive lapses behind him
03:41on opening day. An outing that resulted in five earned runs, recorded, in just two-thirds of an inning.
03:46In the four starts since that afternoon, Skeens has surrendered a total of three earned runs
03:51on just nine hits across 21 and one-third innings. Good for a 1.25 ERA. The Mets batted
03:58800 against him on opening day. Since then, opponents are hitting a slim 125 against the reigning
04:05National League Cy Young Award winner. 5. Cam Schlittler. Yankees with Garrett Cole and Carlos
04:10Radon working their way back from respective arm injuries. The Yankees required their rotation to step
04:15up early in the season. Schlittler has answered that call by producing a 1.95 ERA and a
04:21microscopic 0.86 FIP through his first five starts. He currently leads all Major League
04:27pitchers in fangraphs pitching war, having struck out 36 batters while issuing just three walks,
04:33his 31.4% strikeout minus walk rate is also the best mark in the big leagues. 6. Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
04:41Dodgers' Yamamoto labored through a difficult three-run first inning on Tuesday against the Giants.
04:46However, one of the defining traits of any elite pitcher is perseverance. And, over the subsequent
04:52six innings Yamamoto did not allow another run and permitted just three base runners. He has once
04:57again been a steady presence for the two-time defending World Series champions, compiling a
05:022.48 ERA over 32 and two-thirds innings. 7. Shohei Otani. Dodgers. Locating Otani on the pitching
05:11leaderboards can be challenging, largely because he typically does not accumulate enough innings to
05:16qualify for rate-statistic titles. Following his gem on Wednesday in San Francisco, his 24 innings
05:22pitched across the Dodgers' 24 games do meet the qualification threshold, at least until Los Angeles
05:27plays its next contest. Regardless, his numbers speak volumes. He has allowed just one earned run and
05:33held opponents to a 141 batting average over those 24 frames. He delivered a dominant 10-strikeout
05:39performance against the Mets on April 15, a rare occasion when he took the mound but was not in the
05:45batting order. Yet, as we all know, he continues to accomplish remarkable feats at the plate and
05:50appears to be somehow reaching an even higher gear in his career. 8. Dylan Cease. Blue Jays' efficiency
05:57may not be his hallmark, but Cease is generating some remarkable statistics early in the season.
06:03Consider his start on Tuesday against the Angels as a prime example. 12 strikeouts recorded
06:09over 5 innings and 110 pitches. That performance pushed his season total to 44 strikeouts in 25
06:16and two-thirds innings and raised his strikeout rate to 39.7 percent, the highest mark among all
06:22qualified starters. Cease has induced a whiff on roughly 40 percent of all swings taken against him,
06:29and he is one of only two pitchers, along with Landon Roop of the Giants, who has not allowed a
06:34barrel this season. Minimum 50 batted balls. 9. Nolan McClain. Mets McClain has emerged as a source
06:43of optimism during what has been a challenging stretch for the Mets. Yes, he surrendered three
06:48runs late in his start on Tuesday against the Twins, a game that marked the club's 12th consecutive
06:54loss. However, the 24-year-old rookie carried a perfect game into the sixth inning and finished
07:00with 10 strikeouts. McClain's 26. Three percent strikeout minus walk rate ranks fourth among
07:06starters, and while his ERA stands at a solid 2.67, his expected ERA, a metric based on quality of
07:14contact, strikeouts and walks, is a stellar 1.94. 10. Max Fried. Yankees had these rankings been
07:21finalized following Fried's start on Wednesday evening at Fenway Park. There is little doubt he
07:26would occupy a higher position on this list. The left-hander has proven to be the workhorse the
07:31Yankees have required this season, a quality that was never more evident than during his eight innings
07:36of scoreless baseball against the Red Sox. With that superb effort, Fried now holds a 2.40 ERA and a
07:420.77 whip across an MLB-leading 41 and one-third innings this season. His, 438. Opponents, OPS,
07:51Trails, only Sorianos, CH-398, among qualified pitchers. Others receiving votes, Brian Wu,
07:58Mariners, Kevin Gaussman, Blue Jays, Jacob DeGrom, Rangers, Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers,
08:06Chris Sale, Red Sox, Gavin Williams Guardians, Shota Imoniga, Cubs, Seth Lugo, Royals, Taj Bradley,
08:14Twins, Parker Messick Guardians, Landon Roop Giants, Michael Wacha, Royals Voters, David Adler,
08:22Jason Catania, Theo DeRosa, Jared Greenspan, Brent McGuire, Brian Murphy, Max Ralph,
08:29Shanthi Sepe Chapuru. As we watch Tarek Skubal navigate the weight of history in pursuit of a
08:34third consecutive Cy Young award, it is clear that the American League path will be anything but a
08:39leisurely stroll. When you look at this list and see the sheer dominance emerging from arms like
08:44Soriano and Skeens, do you believe that Skubal's current pace is enough to separate him from the
08:49pack by season's end? Or are we witnessing the early stages of a historic pitching duel
08:54that will come down to the final weeks of September?
Comments