We will be compiling a list of the top three players at each position including designated hitter leading into Spring Training. These MLB best lists are based on career stats/accomplishments, 2018 statistics, and especially their projections going into 2019. Today we continue with the final position which is the Starting Pitchers.
Yesterday I wrote about the best relievers in the game , an today we move to perhaps the most important position in terms of marketing, the starting pitcher.
Without further ado, there are only three spots on the list, so let’s go through the catchers that were just short:
Just Missed
Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies)
I am a huge fan of Aaron Nola. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting last year, posting a 2.37 ERA in 212 innings with his first All Star Game appearance.
The Phillies did the right thing, and locked up Nola for another four years, paying him $45 million to be their ace for many years to come.
I can’t put him on the list though because there are Cy Young winners ahead of him.
Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indians)
Corey Kluber had another great season, also finishing third in the Cy Young vote, with a 2.89 ERA in over 200 innings for the fifth straight season.
Last year he made it to his third straight All Star Game, and marked his third straight season of finishing in at least the top three in the Cy Young voting (won it 2014 and 2017).
I am not putting Kluber on the list because the past two seasons, he has an ERA of over 7 in the postseason, and in 2018 he had an ERA north of 12, which is not a top three pitcher in the game.
Justin Verlander (Houston Astros)
Justin Verlander got traded from the Tigers to the Astros, and went and won them a championship in 2017, putting him back at Hall of Fame status as a starting pitcher.
In 2018, he led the American League in games started, strikeouts, and strikeouts per win, so he showed his dominance in his first full season in Houston, but is not making my list because that ALCS against Boston is still in the back of my head. in those two starts he gave up two home runs, six earned runs, and walked six, which you can’t do in the playoffs.
Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Clayton Kershaw is one of the best pitchers in MLB history, but he has been sidelined with back injuries the last couple years, and that does concern me especially when he isn’t getting any younger.
The Dodgers have faith in him though, signing him to a three year extension, to keep him as the ace of that staff for the next few seasons.
I can’t put him anywhere near the top of the list because he can’t pitch well in October. In the World Series last season against the Red Sox, he was 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings. In those eleven innings, he gave up 14 hits with nine earned runs and three home runs.
I am sorry, but I can;t be putting someone on the list that can’t pitch in October.
Now let’s get to the three pitchers on the list, starting at #3. He was the opposing pitcher against Clayton Kershaw in the postseason last year…