20. Mark Buehrle, 214 wins, 117 ERA+, 3,283 1/3 innings, 1,870 strikeouts, 59.3 bWAR
Incredibly, Buehrle was a 38th round selection by the White Sox out of Jefferson College in Missouri in 1998. He moved quickly, getting to the majors already in 2000, and he was already tossing 200+ innings in 2001.
What made Buehrle exceptional and one of the best pitchers of his era was not elite production from year to year, but instead, Buehrle was known for his consistency from season to season. Buehrle never once won 20 games or posted an ERA for a season under 3, but in his final season in 2015, Buehrle fell 1/3 inning short of tossing 200+ innings for 15 consecutive years.
He wasn’t just a mid-rotation control artist type, either. Buehrle had the ability to dial up for velocity, but he chose to work more with control and movement around the zone, with his career high in strikeouts being 165.
Over his career, Buehrle was recognized as one of the best fielding pitchers in the game, winning 4 Gold Glove awards. He was also elected to 5 All-Star games. When he retired after the 2015 season, multiple teams were more than willing to offer him not just a contract, but a multi-year contract, which could have given Buehrle a chance to reach 250 wins, 2,000 strikeouts, and perhaps even 4,000 innings.
He’ll likely not get a ton of Hall of Fame support, but Buehrle was one of the best pitchers in the entire league for 15 seasons in terms of consistency, and that’s something that is definitely of value!
Next: 19. Good Luck Chuck