#starting-pitchers

#starting-pitchers

Framber Valdez, 32, SP, 3.8, 18.8: Valdez was impressively consistent for the Astros and should be able to choose between several multi-year offers. His age works against a long-term deal, but Sportrac estimated his AAV at $33.3 million, easily the highest among free-agent pitchers. Ranger Suárez, 30, SP, 4.7, 18.1: The left-handed Suárez is younger than most other free-agent starters and is coming off an excellent season. He has a 1.48 ERA over 11 postseason appearances.

The dust has barely settled on the World Series, but one benefit of being a team like the Blue Jays is that there isn't much downtime between the end of the season and the offseason. Once the Game 7 confetti was swept up off the turf at Rogers Centre, it was go time for the Blue Jays front office. MLB free agency opens up on Thursday, and the Blue Jays have some heavy lifting to do.

The Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitching thus far in the postseason has been dominant. It's one thing to shut down the Cincinnati Reds - a Wild Card team hovering around the .500 mark with an average offense. It's another thing to systematically break down the Philadelphia Phillies on the road in a hostile environment, not to mention limiting the three-headed monster of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper severely thus far.

Kershaw is one of the Dodgers' four starters lined up to start against the Giants in Los Angeles, a series that could decide their season. After avoiding being swept by the Diamondbacks, the Giants begin a four-game set by facing the three starters they saw last week: Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Thursday, Kershaw on Friday and Tyler Glasnow on Saturday. Shohei Ohtani would've been lined up to pitch the series finale after tossing five no-hit innings on Tuesday, but Sunday's start will go to Emmett Sheehan.

The complete game is all but dead -- no pitcher has more than one nine-inning complete game this season. One hundred pitches is now viewed as the top limit for a pitch count, with pitchers rarely exceeding 110 -- Randy Johnson had more 110-pitch outings just in 1993 than every starter combined in 2025. Pitchers get more days off between starts. And the list goes on.

Another winnable game. Another starter pulled early. Another game given up by the bullpen. If you've been watching the Marlins this season, the script is starting to feel all too familiar. A starting pitcher cruises through six innings, and just when he gets into a little bit of trouble, manager Clayton McCullough trots out from the dugout-and hands the game over to the overworked bullpen. The result? More often than not, a narrow lead turns into a frustrating loss, just like Thursday night's 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves are expected to activate ace lefty Chris Sale from the 60-day IL this weekend. The veteran southpaw has been sidelined since June due to a fracture in his ribcage, but prior to that he had been firmly in the conversation to win a second consecutive NL Cy Young award with a 2.52 ERA, a 2.69 FIP, and a 30.8% strikeout rate.

Colton Book's impressive stats don't guarantee a top spot here, as the rankings focus more on current ability rather than pure statistics.