MLB Top 50 Starting Pitchers For 2025: #30-21
Who is the best pitcher in baseball?
Introduction
This article is a continuation of my Top 50 Starting Pitchers for 2025. Please refer to the first article for more information about my methodology.
Let’s continue the ranking!
30) Cristopher Sánchez
Cristopher Sánchez put it all together in 2024, increasing his velocity by 2.5 MPH while maintaining his strong command he exhibited in 2023. He impressively induced a ton of groundballs which helped limit home runs and post a formidable 3.00 FIP. Amongst starters, his stuff graded out extremely well with his changeup returning a ridiculous +18 RV on the season. His ability to miss barrels and generate chases gives him a strong floor despite a below average strikeout rate.
29) Hunter Brown
After April last season, you would be appalled by Brown’s inclusion on this list, but everything changed after he added his sinker at the beginning of May. From May 5th onward, Brown posted an elite 2.51 ERA and 3.25 FIP across 147.0 IP. His sinker gave him a consistent option against RHH and was effective at generating both chases and weak contact. He essentially became a new pitcher and firmly supplants himself inside the Top 30.
28) Tanner Bibee
Tanner Bibee stepped up last season, tossing an All-Star calibre 173.2 IP for an ailing Cleveland rotation. He possesses plus-command and paired it with a strong arsenal. His 4-Seam Fastball got crushed last season while his cutter and changeup were productive offerings. Bibee started throwing a sinker at the end of the regular season. While the pitch grades out about average, it returned positive results in its short showing in the postseason and gives Bibee yet another arrow in his quiver. I like Bibee’s optics entering 2025 as the ace of Cleveland’s rotation.
27) Grayson Rodriguez
Grayson Rodriguez had his 2024 season cut short in July due to a right lat strain. Prior to that, he struggled to limit hard contact and got crushed on his breaking balls. Despite his tribulations, his stuff graded out wonderfully, which bodes well for the 25-year-old righty. He is fully recovered from his lat strain and exhibited the ability to eat a bunch of innings. I am very bullish on Rodriguez in 2025 and believe he will take a giant leap towards ace-hood.
26) Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani will make his highly anticipated return to the mound in 2025 following TJS, but to what extent remains a mystery. His results in 2023 were great, posting a 3.14 ERA across 132.0 IP while exhibiting a jam-packed arsenal filled with plus-pitches which all ran elite whiff rates. Ohtani starts a stretch of TJS returning pitchers, and although his stuff may be the best, and he is raring to get back to pitching, his usage will be cautiously monitored by the Dodgers.
25) Shane McClanahan
Shane McClanahan continues the stretch of freshly reconstructed elbows with his high 90s fastball and devastating changeup. When healthy, McClanahn was at the top of the pitcher class, where I expect him to return in due time. However, there is always the concern of rough patch following the return from TJS. Additionally, Rays POBO Erik Neander stated that McClanahan is expected to pitch around 150 innings in 2025, which caps his value despite his long-awaited return.
24) Sandy Alcantara
Sandy Alcantara’s calling card is his massive volume and ability to pitch deep into games. His last full season was not as fruitful, but it is difficult to tell how much his damaged UCL impacted his results. With a newly reconstructed elbow, Alcantara should be raring to go in 2025. I would expect results to lean closer to his 2023 numbers than 2022 with enough volume to provide a ton of value to Miami.
23) Hunter Greene
Hunter Greene broke out in 2024, posting an elite 2.75 ERA and 3.47 FIP in 150.1 IP while calling Great American Ball Park his home. His blazing fastball returned excellent results, and he complemented it well with a wicked slider. He was predominantly a 2-pitch pitcher, but he leaned on his splitter against LHH. The extra weapon looked to be enough as it kept hitters on their toes as he mowed through them. An elbow injury caused him to miss just over a month after a dominant stretch in the summer. While there is cause for concern due to his profile, he looked healthy in his pair of September starts and projects to be a workhorse.
22) Joe Ryan
I am treating Bryce Miller as a pair with Joe Ryan. Both pitchers wield elite fastballs and utilized a splitter to produce the best seasons of their respective careers. Ryan slots just underneath Miller due to a few reasons. His season was cut short in August due to a shoulder injury, limiting him to just 135.0 IP. Additionally, the home run issue that plagued him in 2023 (although improved) was still present in 2024. Ryan also does not have the benefit of pitching in T-Mobile Park. All reports about his shoulder have been optimistic and he should be ready to rock at the start of next season.
21) Bryce Miller
Bryce Miller tinkered with his arsenal the instant the 2023 season ended and did not stop. He added in an elite splitter in the winter, then a knuckle curveball in the summer, all while adjusting his usage to better handle opposing batters. His buzzsaw fastball is one of my favourite pitches and he was not afraid to attack hitters with the offering. He struggled away from Seattle in 2024, exhibiting depressed strikeout and walk rates, but his results at home were magnificent. His volume and ability to pound the strike zone and adjust his arsenal on a whim makes me optimistic that Miller will succeed next season despite bearish projections.
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Do you have any sense of whether Bibee’s cutter changed last year throughout the season? It seems like a wide (tall) range of vertical breaks, and I’m wondering if that was tinkering, tiring, inconsistency, etc… also wondering if one of the versions has better stuff if you partition it down the middle