We all know that once you get past T-Ball, star pitchers are likely the most important players on any given team. They say it’s lonely up on that hill … whether you’re a young pup in Babe Ruth, Playing in Summer Legion Leagues or a seasoned MLB pro. No matter what level of play, one thing has stood the test of time: if you have the best pitcher, you’re most likely winning
The subject of who the best pitchers are can be well … assuming the risk of sounding redundant, quite subjective. There are so many factors to consider and different people hold slightly different values on what they believe separates a good starting pitcher from the ‘Kings of the Hill’.
Without getting into the sabermetric calculus used for predicting a pitcher’s near-future performance and who might regress, let’s look at a few different stats to determine who are the top Aces as of now, the midway point of 2017.
Only one of the 2017 season’s top hurlers skipped college. But that’s ok, another 2017 Ace made up for that by attending three different schools! Let’s pop off campus and hop over to the Big Show.
Strike Out Kings
Chris Sale leads the league in strikeouts with 178, followed by Max Scherzer at 173, Clayton Kershaw at 159, then Chris Archer and Robbie Ray at 147 and 141 respectively. This stat is important because it not only shows the pitchers with great command and ball movement but also the guys pitching with power.
No Backlash From a Good WHIP
Walks + Hits per Innings Pitched has replaced the Earned Run Average in many a stats gurus mind and is an indispensable metric for analyzing a pitchers true performance.
- Max Scherzer .779
- Clayton Kershaw .877
- Chris Sale .901
- Corey Kluber.986
- Zack Greinke .997
ERA … Yes, It’s Still a Thing
There are definitely more precise stats like the WHIP and FIP/xFIP, but the Earned Run Average is still something that should be considered. Maybe I’m just a traditionalist –I also believe baseball is a game with belts and love the fact that managers and coaches wear the same uniform as the players. There must be something to it, because we are obviously starting to see a pattern here. Check out the top-5 ERA owners.
- Max Scherzer 2.10
- Clayton Kershaw 2.18
- Jason Vargas 2.62
- Chris Sale 2.75
- Corey Kluber 2.80
No Hits, No Runs
The number of hits allowed stat is pretty self-explanatory. If the other team can’t get on base, it makes it really hard for them score again, we see a couple of the usual suspects leading the league in this department.
- Corey Kluber 68 Hits Allowed
- Max Scherzer 73 Hits Allowed
- Chase Anderson 73 Hits Allowed
- Robbie Ray 77 Hits Allowed
- Lance McCullers Jr. 77 Hits Allowed
No Runs, No Win. It’s a No-Brainer!
There are pitchers who allow very few hits but then have a tendency to start walking batters in later innings. So even though they have a solid Hits Allowed stat, they still let runners on base and create a potential to get scored on. That is why the Runs Allowed stat is important. Here are the top-5 pitchers with fewest Runs Allowed.
- Chase Anderson 31 Runs Allowed
- Corey Kluber 32 Runs Allowed
- Jason Vargas 32 Runs Allowed
- Clayton Kershaw 35 Runs Allowed
- Max Scherzer 36 Runs allowed
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Everyone loves a winner and a starting pitcher who not only pitches shutout baseball but also receives run support from his team is a major factor in the making of an Ace. It’s one of those intangibles … there are certain pitchers who are phenomenal all around, but for some reason … the days they pitch, their team can’t hit, so they take losses. This happened to King Felix last season.
- Clayton Kershaw 14 Wins
- Jason Vargas 12 Wins
- Chris Sale 11 Wins
- Zack Greinke 11 Wins
- Max Scherzer 10 Wins
Standout Pitchers of 2017 at the Allstar Break
- Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers, Highland Park Highschool
- Max Scherzer – Washington Nationals, University of Missouri
- Chris Sale – Boston Red Sox, Florida Gulf Coast
- Corey Kluber – Cleveland Indians, Stetson University
- Jason Vargas – Kansas City Royals, LSU, Cypress, Long Beach State
If you are ready to place some action make sure to check our reputable betting sites and keep an eye on the pitchers who just missed the top-5 for valuable opportunities. It should be noted that this was not easy and there are a few pitchers that could easily be rotated into that #5 position: Zack Greinke, Chase Anderson, Robbie Ray and even Lance McCullers Jr who has an excellent FIP rating. The good thing about this is that you might find these Aces being overlooked, thus, cheaper for your daily fantasy rosters and even better, undervalued on some of their matchups in both Las Vegas and offshore.
