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buster olney
multiple authors
Spring training camps are underway, which means it’s time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN’s Buster Olney surveyed people from across the industry to help rank the top 10 players at every position as part of his annual positional rankings series.
The aim of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season and not who can be the best in five years or in their careers. We will be releasing one post per day over the next two weeks. Starting with the first pitcher, here’s the rest of the schedule: Relievers (Tuesday), catchers (Wednesday), first basemen (Thursday), second basemen (Friday), third basemen (Feb. 23), shortstops (Feb. 24), corner outfielders (Feb. 25), center fielders (Feb. 26), designated hitters (Feb. 27).
Who are the best players today? See who makes the list at each position.
The question is simple: who is the best pitcher on the planet, tariq skubal Or Paul Skenes?
But early reactions from Major League Baseball industry evaluators suggest extreme brain frying.
“Oh wow …”
“Let us go…”
“You’re asking me?”
“Are you kidding me?”
In our annual top-10 list of players at each position, there are some really good — and funny — debates. would you like juan soto Or aaron judge In the right area? where is it needed mookie bets After surprisingly excellent defensive play last year, join the list of shortstops? Is patrick baileyGenerally considered the best defensive catcher among the top three at this position? Is Nick Kurtz Like the perennial stars have already been left behind bryce harper And freddy freeman Among first basemen?
But the choice between Skubal and Skenes for best starting pitcher in baseball has confused evaluators more than any other discussion, forcing them to dig deep to separate the two generational stars.
You can look at the ERA+: Skenes finished at 217 last year, while Skubal was at 187. If you prefer strikeout rate to assess pure dominance, Skubal would be the guy, striking out 32.2% of the batters he faced last year; Skenes struck out 29.5% of his batters.
If you focus on command, Skubal’s walk percentage was a microscopic 4.4% – but Skane’s was in the same neighborhood at 5.7%. One evaluator opined that perhaps Skenes was the better choice because he controls the running game better – and yes, when Skubal was on the mound. Josh Naylor Stole a base at a crucial moment in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. But over the past two regular seasons, Skubal has allowed only six steals in 13 attempts, while Skenes has allowed only 10 steals in 13 attempts, surprisingly low for a tall, right-handed pitcher.
An AL coach, whose team has faced both pitchers, said that when hitters return to the dugout after facing the skunks or skubbles, there is no pretense or real pretense; He is simply quiet, perhaps because he felt outmatched in the batter’s box.
“You can get something to swing at against a lot of other guys,” the coach said of the other pitchers on the top-10 list. “They can challenge you with a fastball, or hang a secondary pitch. But with [Skubal and Skenes]This is completely different.”
That is why he is on top in this list. But which ace takes the number 1 spot?
Top 10 starting pitchers
1. Tariq Skubal, detroit tigers
If you think the Skanes should be here, there are plenty of people in the big leagues who will agree with you. But Skubal is here for a few reasons.
First, he is left-handed, with one manager saying, “All things being equal, you prefer a left-handed player.”
Second, Skubal has been at the top for longer than Skane, who made his major league debut at the start of the 2024 season. Skubal also has back-to-back Cy Young Awards, something that had not been accomplished by an American League pitcher in nearly a quarter century. Greg Maddux (1993–95) and Randy Johnson (1999–2002) are the only pitchers to win at least three consecutive Cy Young Awards, something Skubal will try to do this season before entering free agency after the 2026 season.
Skubal’s fastball is so good, one staffer said, that even when hitters can anticipate the pitch, they will still swing through it – and of course, that fastball is complemented by Skubal’s extraordinary changeup.
2. Paul Skenes, pittsburgh pirates
Some evaluators who prioritized Skanes at No. 1 on this list believe he has been hit hard by his low start. Last season, he allowed three earned runs or more in only six of his 32 starts, and he allowed five earned runs only once – against St. Louis Cardinals On 8th April.
But Skubal also performed well when measured by this standard – he allowed three earned runs or more in 10 of his 31 starts, and, similar to Skenes, he had only one start in which he allowed five earned runs, in contrast to boston red sox On 14th May.
Skenes’ slash line is slightly better than Skubel’s: hitters hit just .199/.250/.307 against Skenes in 2025, while Skubel was at .199/.240/.319.
3. yoshinobu yamamoto, los angeles dodgers
There’s more than a reasonable statistical argument for Yamamoto being at or near the top of this list, considering how He was very good in the playoffs and World Series. And he compares favorably with Skane and Skubal in how hitters fared against him: opponents batted just .183 against Yamamoto, with a .283 slugging percentage.
To put that last number in perspective, of the 154 hitters who had enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title last year, K’Brian Hayes Had the lowest slugging percentage, at .306. All Hitters against Yamamoto were collectively worse than the worst slugging hitters in the big leagues.
But Yamamoto threw significantly fewer innings than Skenes or Skubel in the regular season because of the Dodgers’ philosophy of trying to keep their pitchers as fresh as possible for the postseason. While the No. 5 pitcher on this list generated 8.0 WAR in the regular season, Yamamoto finished at 5.0 WAR, which was ninth best among qualified starting pitchers. It’s hard to imagine the Dodgers allowing Yamamoto to shoulder the heavy regular season workload the way someone logan webb does for san francisco giants.
4. Garrett Crochetboston red sox
Boston got everything it expected from the left-hander after striking a blockbuster deal with chicago white sox and signing crochet Six-year, $170 million contract. Crockett led the AL in innings pitched (205⅓) and batters faced (814), and led the majors in strikeouts (255). His strikeout rate was 31.3% and ground ball ratio was 48.3%; There wasn’t much for hitters to swing at.
5. christopher sanchez, philadelphia phillies
At the beginning of spring training last March, then-Orioles manager Brandon Hyde started a conversation with some reporters by mentioning Sanchez. “Have you seen him this spring?” Hyde said before detailing Sanchez’s jump in fastball velocity.
Hyde’s text was prophetic; Sanchez was the major breakout pitching star of 2025, combining his disappearing changeup with that fastball and striking out .212 in 202 innings. He is 29 years old, and the Phillies have him under contractual control until 2030, with two option years in 2029 and 2030, as part of a He signed a four-year, $22.5 million deal In the middle of the 2024 season.
6. hunter brown, Houston Astros
Last season, the Astros right-hander posted an ERA+ of 172, while holding opponents to a .201 average.
7. max fried, New York Yankees
Fried’s career ERA+ is 141, 19th all-time. he is tied with chris sale In that category and ahead of Roy Halladay, Whitey Ford and his childhood hero, Sandy Koufax.
8. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
Webb is the type of workhorse starter that is becoming increasingly rare in MLB. At a time when few pitchers reach 200 innings, Webb cares about that milestone, it’s about taking the ball — and keeping it — into the late innings. He has pitched 627⅔ innings over the last three seasons and has led the majors in innings each of the last two years.
9. Chris Sale, atlanta braves
Sale pitched with a 2.58 ERA in 21 appearances before injury derailed his 2024 Cy Young Award season. His Hall of Fame case will look much the same. jacob degromFinally, the dominant season wrapped around an extensive period of injuries.
10. jacob degrom, Texas Rangers
DeGrom held hitters to a .196 average in 30 starts last season, his best performance in years. Given the recent trend in which voters reward candidates for top performances, his eventual election to the Hall of Fame now appears to be a lock. His career ERA+ stands at 151, which is sixth all-time, behind Clayton Kershaw and Pedro Martínez, who are tied at 154.
honorable mentions
blake snellDodgers: There are stretches in each season in which he may be the most dominant pitcher in the big leagues; In his last eight starts of 2025, his ERA was 2.09. But he has been unavailable for several months – he has made 31 starts over the past two seasons, and last year, he pitched only 61⅓ innings.
jack wheelerPhillies, and gerrit coleYankees: The Phillies say Wheeler’s recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome is going well and they believe he will return relatively early in the season. The Yankees are hopeful that Cole can return to the mound for the first half of the season. And once both of those things happen, there’s every reason to believe that this pair will be back in the top 10 of this list.
freddy peralta, New York Mets: : He finished fifth in National League Cy Young voting last season after posting a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts.
brian woo, seattle mariners: : He became the real ace of the Seattle rotation last season.
dialing off, toronto blue jays: : Toronto signed him to a seven-year, $210 million deal last winter because of his power stuff – he has 1,106 strikeouts over the last five seasons.
Andrew Abbott, cincinnati reds: : He produced 5.6 bWAR with a 2.87 ERA in 29 starts for Cincinnati last year. his partner Hunter green Given his tremendous potential, he also has the potential to be a top 10 pick; However, he has been limited to 370 innings in the last three seasons.
carlos rodonYankees: He allowed only 132 hits in 195⅓ innings last season.
kevin gosmanblue Jays: Incredibly consistent over the last five seasons.
cole ragans, kansas city royals: : Kansas City swaps with Rangers for Ravens – impending free agent aroldis chapman – One of the best trades of the last decade.
