Top 10 starting pitchers in baseball heading into spring training

Greinke took a sizable step backwards in his first year in Arizona, in much part due to a horrendous start (5.50 April ERA) and then being slowed by a back injury that eventually ended his season early. As a result, he posted his worst ERA since 2005 (4.37) and saw his strikeouts drop by over 70.

That dip in performance makes it questionable that he would still be counted among the elite pitchers in the game. And while his 2016 was a far cry from the 19 wins, 200 strikeouts and 1.66 ERA that he posted in his final year in LA the year before, he is worth the benefit of doubt to return back to form. He has been good for 79 wins over the past five years and a 11.6 WAR over the past two. Greinke is one of the most established pitchers in the game and a reasonable rebound candidate to return to the elite ranks of arms this year, if healthy.

9. Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs

Lester delivered on the promise that landed him a $155 million deal before 2015, and was one of the driving forces in helping the Cubs conquer all of baseball. He finished in the top three of National League pitchers in wins (19), win percentage (.792), WHIP (1.02) and ERA (2.44), while reaching 200 innings pitched and nearly 200 strikeouts as well. After the All-Star break, he was particularly dominant, as he went 10-1 with a 1.76 ERA. Tack on his postseason effort, which included a 3-1 record and a 1.93 ERA, and Lester was arguably the most pivotal pitcher of the final four months of the season.

8. David Price, Boston Red Sox

Like Greinke, Price did not totally live up to expectations in his first year with his new club, but he still remained one of the top workhorses in the game. Price successfully became the frontline pitcher the Red Sox desperately needed, as they worked their way from the cellar of the AL East back into the postseason. Price led the AL in innings pitched and finished in the top 5 of the AL in strikeouts for the third straight year. For the second straight year, he stepped up big in the final months of the season, going 8-2 over August and September, with a 16/65 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

7. Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets

In his first full season, Syndergaard affirmed his presence as one of the most overwhelming arms in the game. No pitcher in baseball throws harder more consistently, than Thor, who averaged 98 mph on his fastball. The outcome of this was clear, with his 2.29 FIP figure, which led all of baseball. He also struck out over 10 batters per nine innings, while allowing the fewest home runs per nine as well. While he battled some inconsistency that is typical of a 24-year-old figuring things out, it is fair to say that few (if any) pitchers have more upside than Syndergaard has.

6. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

He was the biggest acquisition of the offseason and cost a fortune for Boston to acquire, but for good reason. Once again, Sale was one of the best players on a bad team in baseball last season, tying his career-high with 17 wins and leading baseball with six complete games. As a result he finished in the top 5 in the AL Cy Young race for the fifth straight year.

Sale will now move into potentially being the final piece for the Red Sox, who are rebounding from a Divisional Series sweep at the hands of the Indians. Paired with David Price and 2016 Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, Sale is perhaps the best part of the best trio of pitching in the game.

5. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants

Somehow, the Giants ace is coming off a year in which he post a career-best 2.74 ERA, along with personal highs in strikeouts (251), innings pitched (226.2) and added yet another classic postseason performance to his resume as well. He shutout the Mets to launch the Giants into the Division Series, where they ultimately succumbed to the Cubs.

At any rate, Mad Bum continued to reaffirm his place as one of the best pitchers in the game. Entering his age-27 season, he has reached 100 wins on his regular season career, and is already in the top 10 for career postseason wins.

4. Corey Kluber, Indians

Before we get too far into looking back at Kluber’s 2016 works as a whole, let’s separate things some to display how on top of his game he is exactly right now. He bounced back from a 2015 dip where he led the AL in losses to finish in the top 10 in the AL in seven different categories. His 149 ERA+ proved his dominance across the board, which accounts for a pitcher’s effectiveness regardless of ballpark played in.

However, it was his postseason debut that truly affirmed his place as one of the great arms in the game. He posted a 1.83 ERA over six games, with four of those runs happening in a single game – which was his third started in nine days during the World Series. Kluber delivered one of the best performances in postseason history for a losing effort, but won 22 games total on the calendar year, while striking out 262 batters.

3. Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs

When an 18-win season is seen as a slump year, it’s safe to say that you’ve been on a roll. And since the start of 2015, Arrieta has posted a .741 win percentage and carried a 2.39 ERA for the Cubs. Over that time period, he has thrown a pair of no-hitters and tossed in a year of a 1.77 ERA in 2015, which won him the NL Cy Young.

Even after his breakout 2015 campaign, Arrieta remained one of the hardest to hit pitchers in the game. He has won 40 games over the past two years, while allowing the fewest hits per nine innings over the same length of time.

2. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

On a given day, Scherzer is the most dominant, unhittable pitcher in the game. En route to winning his second Cy Young Award last year (which gave him one in each league), Scherzer affirmed himself as the most overwhelming arm alive. Mad Max has now led his league in wins in three of the last four years, giving him a total of 73 victories since that first Cy Young in 2013.

Scherzer, who has tossed a pair of no-hitters since joining the Nationals before the 2015 season, had perhaps his most dominant effort of his career last year when he struck out 20 Tigers last May. It was the highlight performance in a year where he led the majors in strikeouts with 284, the fifth straight year he raised his strikeout total on the year. Scherzer is firmly in his prime and, at this rate, could be setting in on a run that makes gets him into future Hall of Fame debates.

1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

The best pitcher of the generation is still the easy call for the game’s top arm. Although an unfortunate back injury interrupted what was on course to be the best season of his career, Kershaw still posted some eye popping outcomes a year ago. His 1.69 ERA marked the third time in four years in which he allowed less than two runs per game. He posted a ridiculous 0.72 WHIP, by allowing only 97 hits and 11 walks over 149 innings, while still striking out 172.

After two months out of action, Kershaw rallied to return from the disabled list and help guide the Dodgers to the postseason, where he picked up victories against both the Nationals and the Cubs, in addition to picking up a series clinching save in the NLDS as well. Soon to be 29, Kershaw is in the midst of one of the greatest pitching runs in baseball history and is head and shoulders above his peers.

Just a bit outside: Justin Verlander, Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Chris Archer

Up & Comer: Carlos Martinez, Cardinals: The 24-year-old flamethrower (his fastball averaged in the neighborhood of 97 mph last year) took the step forward to surpass the long-standing ace in St. Louis, Adam Wainwright, a year ago. The “Tsunami” finished fifth in pitcher’s WAR last year at 5.4, while finishing in the top 10 in wins and ERA as well. He’s on trajectory to become one of the dominant arms in the game shortly.