Ranking the 10 Best Pitchers in MLB Right Now
by Sam Cox | by Tyler Doty
The top three best pitchers in MLB right now didn’t take much consideration. Beyond that trio, though, there was more debate to be had.
Past performance had to be weighed up against 2026 projections, underlying metrics, and durability. There are at least 20 pitchers with a legitimate case to be included on this list, so narrowing it down to a top 10 and putting them in order was challenging.
10. Bryan Woo
Eighth in pitching+ and coming off a fifth-placed finish for the AL Cy Young Award, Bryan Woo could easily have been ranked a bit higher.
There’s no question Woo is an ace and should become a perennial All-Star. He’s got three great pitches, led by a 114 stuff+ on his fastball.
9. Hunter Brown
Hunter Brown combines two great fastballs with four secondary pitches. The curve, change, slider, and cutter are nothing special from a stuff perspective, but he can throw them for strikes and keep hitters off balance.
Brown was elite in 2025 after entering the season as a Cy Young longshot. He’s a serious contender for the award this time around.
8. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a difficult pitcher to evaluate. His extraordinary postseason made a case for a spot in the top three, but 11 pitchers had a superior pitching+ in the regular season.
The reigning World Series MVP also had a high walk rate and a middling hard-hit rate in 2025. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in 2026 after such a massive workload last year.
7. Chris Sale
Chris Sale has been worth 10.2 bWAR over the last two seasons, including a Triple Crown and Cy Young triumph in 2024. He’s still in the top 10 in pitching+.
Sale’s resurgence in Atlanta is one of MLB’s most remarkable stories. His time as an elite pitcher looked like it was long gone, but the left-hander is back to being one of the top 10 pitchers in the sport.
6. Cole Ragans
It’s three seasons in a row that Cole Ragans has posted elite expected metrics. He was in the 100th percentile in strikeout rate last season.
A big fastball is backed up by two whiffable secondaries in his changeup and slider. There’s Cy Young-winning upside if Ragans can make 30+ starts in 2026.
5. Cristopher Sánchez
Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Cristopher Sánchez was worth 11.8 bWAR with a 2.76 FIP. He’s not a massive strikeout guy, but his sinker, slider, and changeup combination manages to rank well above average in whiffs while generating groundballs at an elite rate.
Sánchez pitches the innings to be a Cy Young winner in 2026 or beyond. He should age well with his movement and command.
4. Logan Webb
Logan Webb has pitched 60 innings more than anyone else since the start of the 2023 season. Webb is third in fWAR over that period and only two pitchers – Sánchez and Framber Valdez – have a higher groundball rate.
In 2025, Webb increased his strikeout rate to move from a fringe top 10 guy to one of the five best pitchers in baseball.
3. Garrett Crochet
Garrett Crochet was unlucky not to win the Cy Young in 2025. Leading the AL in innings and the majors in strikeouts would often be enough to win the honor when paired with a 2.59 ERA.
It’s not far-fetched to suggest Crochet could sit atop these rankings by the All-Star break.
2. Paul Skenes
Heading into the 2026 season, Paul Skenes owned a 1.96 ERA in the majors. The stuff is utterly filthy, plus he has the command to keep walks under control, as shown by his career 2.1 walks per nine innings.
On a Hall of Fame trajectory, Skenes is the only pitcher that has an argument to be ranked ahead of Tarik Skubal.
1. Tarik Skubal
Consecutive Cy Young wins and a stuff+ mark five points ahead of any other pitcher ensures Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball in 2026.
Since returning from injury midway through 2023, Skubal has been worth 15.1 bWAR, while striking out 11 per nine innings and registering a 2.39 FIP.
Honorable mentions: Logan Gilbert, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Max Fried, Joe Ryan, Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Freddy Peralta.
