Best Pitchers in Baseball Right Now
a Yourlist ranking · the crowd decides the order
From Cy Young lefties to a rookie who's already unhittable, these are the arms everyone's arguing about at the water cooler. Vote for who you'd actually want on the mound in a must-win game.
What counts: 'Best' blends recent (2023-2024) results — ERA, strikeout rate, WAR, and hardware — with pure present-tense stuff and swing-and-miss ability. All stats are approximate season figures, not exact final tallies, and injury-shortened seasons are noted where relevant.
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Went from a Tommy John afterthought to the best pitcher on the planet, capping it with the 2024 AL Cy Young and a Triple Crown-caliber season. His changeup-fastball combo now looks like the new gold standard for how to attack lineups.
Recent ERA: 2.39K per 9 IP: 11.4Recent WAR: 6.9Cy Youngs Won: 1Stuff/Dominance: 9.5/10
added by IJRTarik Skubal
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The most electric rookie debut in a generation — a 100mph fastball paired with a splinker that makes veteran hitters look silly. He's already an All-Star Game starter before his first full season ended, and the ceiling is genuinely 'best ever.'
Recent ERA: 1.96K per 9 IP: 11.5Recent WAR: 5Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 9.5/10
added by IJRin 3 rankingsPaul Skenes
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Written off after years of injuries in Boston, Sale reinvented himself in Atlanta and won the 2024 NL Cy Young in dominant fashion. The slider is still one of the nastiest pitches in the sport when his body cooperates.
Recent ERA: 2.38K per 9 IP: 11.4Recent WAR: 6.4Cy Youngs Won: 1Stuff/Dominance: 9/10
added by IJRChris Sale
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The most consistently great pitcher nobody talks about enough, quietly stacking elite seasons in Philadelphia year after year. No signature Cy Young yet, but among peers he's often cited as the toughest at-bat in baseball.
Recent ERA: 3.07K per 9 IP: 9.6Recent WAR: 5.7Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8.7/10
added by IJRZack Wheeler
0Won a Cy Young in Milwaukee on the back of a cutter that redefined the pitch, then proved it wasn't a fluke with a big platform season in Baltimore. He's the rare ace who dominates on control and shape rather than raw velocity.
Recent ERA: 2.92K per 9 IP: 9.3Recent WAR: 5.6Cy Youngs Won: 1Stuff/Dominance: 8.8/10
added by IJRCorbin Burnes
0The $324 million ace of the Yankees, coming off a 2023 Cy Young before an elbow injury cost him most of 2024. When healthy, the fastball-slider combo and postseason résumé put him in every 'best pitcher alive' conversation.
Recent ERA: 2.63K per 9 IP: 9.1Recent WAR: 5.8Cy Youngs Won: 1Stuff/Dominance: 8.9/10
added by IJRin 2 rankingsGerrit Cole
0Struck out hitters at a historic rate before a UCL injury wiped out most of his 2024 — the strikeout numbers before that were nearly unprecedented for a starter. If the elbow holds, he's a top-three arm in baseball again.
Recent ERA: 3.86K per 9 IP: 13.5Recent WAR: 4.8Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 9/10
added by IJRSpencer Strider
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Houston's sinker-slider workhorse who quietly leads the league in ground balls and innings eaten every year without much fanfare. He's the postseason rock the Astros lean on when the lights are brightest.
Recent ERA: 2.91K per 9 IP: 7.8Recent WAR: 4.8Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8.3/10
added by IJRFramber Valdez
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San Francisco's ace by default and by talent, leading MLB in innings pitched multiple years running on sinkers and a devastating changeup. Underrated nationally because the Giants haven't been in the spotlight, but peers rank him elite.
Recent ERA: 3.47K per 9 IP: 7.7Recent WAR: 4.5Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8/10
added by IJRLogan Webb
0The steady engine behind Arizona's surprise pennant run, mixing four distinct pitches with pinpoint command. Never the flashiest name, but he's been a top-10 finisher in Cy Young voting multiple times.
Recent ERA: 3.65K per 9 IP: 9Recent WAR: 3.8Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8.1/10
added by IJRZac Gallen
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A former wild-armed prospect who turned into one of the game's premier strikeout artists with a slider that hitters simply can't track. His no-hitter and Cy Young runner-up finish put the league on notice.
Recent ERA: 3.47K per 9 IP: 10.3Recent WAR: 4.3Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8.2/10
added by IJRDylan Cease
0Japan's most dominant pitcher ever signed a record-breaking deal with the Dodgers and, injuries aside, showed flashes of the ace stuff that made him a legend in NPB. The forkball is already one of the best pitches in MLB.
Recent ERA: 3K per 9 IP: 9.5Recent WAR: 2.5Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8.6/10
added by IJRYoshinobu Yamamoto
0A boom-or-bust lefty who won his second Cy Young in 2023 despite constant control issues, then signed a monster deal after a slow-starting 2024 turned dominant. When he's on, almost nobody is more unhittable.
Recent ERA: 3.12K per 9 IP: 11.6Recent WAR: 3Cy Youngs Won: 1Stuff/Dominance: 8.4/10
added by IJRBlake Snell
0Built an entire Hall-of-Fame-caliber peak around one pitch — the splitter — turning it into arguably the single best individual pitch in baseball. Toronto's ace has been remarkably durable while riding that one weapon to stardom.
Recent ERA: 3.83K per 9 IP: 10.3Recent WAR: 3.5Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 8/10
added by IJRKevin Gausman
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Already the best two-way player in a century, Ohtani's return to the mound after Tommy John surgery is one of the most anticipated storylines in the sport. His pre-surgery pitching numbers were ace-level, making this comeback must-watch.
Recent ERA: 3.14K per 9 IP: 11.3Recent WAR: 4Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 9/10
added by IJRin 3 rankingsShohei Ohtani
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Atlanta's other lefty ace, a Gold Glove fielder whose curveball and command have made him one of the most reliable postseason starters of his generation. He rarely gets the headlines Sale does, but the results are nearly as good.
Recent ERA: 3.25K per 9 IP: 7.8Recent WAR: 4.2Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 7.8/10
added by IJRMax Fried
0George Kirby
Seattle's control artist, walking almost nobody while attacking the zone with elite fastball command. He's the pitcher scouts point to as the model for how precision can rival raw velocity.
Recent ERA: 3.53K per 9 IP: 8Recent WAR: 4Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 7.9/10
added by IJR
0A late-career renaissance turned Gray into a Cy Young contender in his late 30s, mixing a sweeping curveball with veteran guile. His journey from journeyman to ace is one of the best redemption arcs in the current pitching landscape.
Recent ERA: 3.84K per 9 IP: 9Recent WAR: 3.5Cy Youngs Won: 0Stuff/Dominance: 7.7/10
added by IJRSonny Gray
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