Tarik Skubal is moving … back up into the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings.
This is Skubal’s first appearance in our top 10 since then, and it comes on the heels of what might have been his final start in a Tigers uniform, on Wednesday afternoon against the Orioles at Comerica Park (where he also notched his 1,000th career strikeout).
Note: Our MLB.com voting panel made their selections prior to that start, and all stats mentioned are through Tuesday’s games unless noted otherwise.
2. Cam Schlittler, Yankees (4)
There have been a couple bumps in the road lately for Schlittler, most notably allowing four home runs to the Tigers on June 30. But on July 24 — his most recent start before facing the White Sox on Wednesday night — he tossed seven scoreless innings with no walks and 12 strikeouts against the Phillies. Schlittler leads the AL in ERA (2.07), ERA+ (202), WHIP (0.93) and K-to-BB ratio (6.3). He still looks like the AL Cy frontrunner, though the next pitcher on our list has emerged as a serious challenger.
3. Dylan Cease, Blue Jays (3)
In what’s been a disappointing season in Toronto, the decision to sign Cease as a free agent this past winter has been a bright spot. He’s been everything the team could have expected and more, with a 2.46 ERA over 19 starts, leading the AL with a 2.32 FIP and 13.3 K/9 rate. One season after opponents hit .239 with a .717 OPS against Cease, that’s down to a .186 average and .546 OPS in 2026.
4. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (not ranked)
While Skubal is only getting back into the rankings now, he’s been looking good for a while. The big lefty returned to action on June 13, and while his results in his first few starts back were middling, he dominated in his next five outings heading into Wednesday: a 1.48 ERA and 44-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 30 1/3 innings. Whether the Tigers make a run with him or trade him to a stronger contender, Skubal will be looking to bolster a standout postseason resume that features a 2.04 ERA in six career starts over the past two years. That includes a 14-K game and a 13-K game in the 2025 playoffs.
5. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (not ranked)
The Dodgers acted aggressively to land Yamamoto on a record-breaking contract ahead of the 2024 season, taking a chance on a pitcher making the leap from Japan’s NPB. It’s fair to say they knew what they were doing. Since then, Yamamoto ranks eighth in the Majors in FanGraphs’ version of pitching WAR and fifth among qualifiers in ERA. (And of course, there are his postseason heroics, too.) Yamamoto has been a steady force for the Dodgers’ somewhat chaotic rotation in 2026, making every start and posting a sub-3.00 ERA in all four months thus far.
6. Chris Sale, Braves (6)
In the event Misiorowski fades down the stretch, there’s a chance that Sale could sneak in and capture his second NL Cy in three years, after winning his long-awaited first at age 35 in 2024. Either way, you can’t help but marvel at what Sale has done during this stretch with Atlanta, posting the second-, third- and fifth-best full-season ERA+ figures of what could well be a Hall of Fame career.
7. Jesús Luzardo, Phillies (10)
Acquiring Luzardo from the Marlins in December 2024 (and signing him to an extension this March) is looking like a big win for Dave Dombrowski. Prior to Wednesday afternoon’s disappointing outing back in Miami, Luzardo owned a 3.68 ERA in 53 career starts as a Phillie, and his peripheral numbers suggest he’s actually been better than that. The 28-year-old had a rough time early this year but registered a 2.26 ERA over his next 17 starts, with the Phillies going 13-4 in those games.
8. Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies (5)
From one Phillies left-hander to another. Sánchez has seen his season go in somewhat the opposite direction of Luzardo’s, as he was sensational early on before hitting a somewhat rough patch of late (5.16 ERA over his past eight starts). Even then, he ranks either first or second in MLB in pitching WAR this season, depending on whether you look at Baseball-Reference or FanGraphs.
9. Parker Messick, Guardians (not ranked)
If you look at a leaderboard of individual pitch types to accrue the highest run value this season, you get Misiorowski’s 100.6 mph four-seam fastball at No. 2 on the list (plus-21 runs). The only pitch that ranks higher? That would be Messick’s four-seamer (plus-23 runs), which comes in at a pedestrian-for-2026 average of 94.1 mph. Batters still can’t touch it, though. They have a .146 average and .216 SLG against it, with 64 strikeouts.
10. Zack Wheeler, Phillies (8)
We finish our list with our third Phillies pitcher in the last four slots. Wheeler had been on a roll ever since making his season debut on April 25, posting a 2.16 ERA over his first 16 starts. That was rudely interrupted on Monday in Miami, where Wheeler allowed five runs in three innings in his shortest outing in more than four years. Wheeler’s fastball velo was also down noticeably, which inspired concern, but he insisted afterward it was, “Just one of those days.” Assuming that’s true, Wheeler could be climbing back up this list in no time.
Others receiving votes: Chase Burns (Reds), Sean Burke (White Sox), Drew Rasmussen (Rays), Gavin Williams (Guardians), Nolan McLean (Mets), Paul Skenes (Pirates), Foster Griffin (Nationals), Nick Martinez (Rays), Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Roki Sasaki (Dodgers), Justin Wrobleski (Dodgers), Troy Melton (Tigers), Trevor Rogers (Orioles), Jake Bennett (Red Sox)
Voters: David Adler, Theo DeRosa, Jared Greenspan, Brent Maguire, Max Ralph, Manny Randhawa, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon
