AL Central: Who is the top starting pitcher?
Aug 30, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The AL Central has three of the best starting pitchers in the game in Corey Kluber, Chris Sale and David Price. It has great potential in Anibal Sanchez, Carlos Carrasco, Jeff Samardzija, Jose Quintana, Shane Greene, Trevor Bauer and Yordano Ventura.
There also is a plethora of experience when talking about Ervin Santana, Justin Verlander and Phil Hughes. The list will be ranked as whom I believe is the best pitcher entering this year. Stats, mainly wins and losses are deceptive when looking at pitcher.
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You could lose 15 games but it’s not your fault if your team doesn’t score any runs and you lose games 1-0 or 2-1. I factored in the following stats; WHIP, ERA., K’s per 9, and quality starts. I used those stats as base and used the eye test as well.
Before I unveil the list I must say that it was very difficult to pick who is 1-3. The three pitchers at the top of this list are great pitchers and it really came down to who’d I want to start Game 7 of the World Series in theory and that was the deciding factor.
Lastly feel free to comment on who you think should have been No. 1 or was ranked wrong.
Next: The best of the rest
The Honorable Mentions (In No Particular Order)
Aug 31, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Verlander – May have been one of the most dominant pitchers over a two-year period.
Phil Hughes – Unbelievable low walk rate, but does not wow in anything else.
Trevor Bauer – High upside pitcher who battles himself more than anything and has yet to put a full season of results in.
Ervin Santana – He’s shown flashes of greatness, but is consistently inconsistent.
Jose Quintana – He’s gone from being an unknown to a fixture in the White Sox rotation.
Shane Greene – Could be the future ace in Detroit.
Yordano Ventura – The expected ace of the Royals. He throws hard, but only one year of experience under his belt.
Carlos Carrasco – Came on really strong at the end of last year, can he carry that over to this year?
Next: No. 5: A familiar face in Chicago
5. Jeff Samardzija (Chicago White Sox)
Mar 17, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija against the Seattle Mariners at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2014 Stats
WHIP: 1.07
ERA: 2.99
K/9: 8.28
Quality Starts: 23
The Shark played for the Cubs and A’s last year, as he posted a career low ERA as a full time starter and the move from the NL to the AL didn’t affect him as much as many thought it may. He’s pitching for a free agent contract and stands a good chance to best his career high in wins of nine.
I know the White Sox have talked about signing a contract extension with Samardzija, but if he posts solid numbers he may pitch himself out of Chicago yet again. We have yet to see his best I believe, but he may always be one of those fringe guys who is a solid pitcher but never a true ace.
Next: No. 4: Health is the issue
4. Anibal Sanchez (Detroit Tigers)
Mar 19, 2015; Melbourne, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during spring training at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
2014 Stats
WHIP: 1.10
ERA: 3.43
K/9: 7.29
Quality Starts: 10
Sanchez was limited to 126 innings last year due to injuries and still managed to win eight games for the Tigers. He had the makings of an ace when he was in Florida and is still relatively young at age 31. He’s never pitched more than 200 innings in his career and that has limited his upside.
He may not ever have a sub 3.00 ERA like he did in 2013, but pitching for the Tigers has it perks, mainly in the number of wins he could get.
If he can get over that 200 inning hump, I would imagine Tiger fans would be quite happy because it shows that he’s healthy and more than likely resulting in more wins.
Next: No. 3: The pending free agent
3. David Price (Detroit Tigers)
Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price (14) pitches in the first inning during game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
2014 Stats
WHIP: 1.08
ERA: 3.26
K/9: 9.8
Quality Starts: 24
Price is 1 of 2 pitchers on this list that owns a Cy Young award. He was traded to the Tigers last year in a blockbuster deal and is expected to counteract the loss of Max Scherzer in free agency.
Like Scherzer last year Price is entering his free agent year and is expected to command a contract of similar size and nature, minus the deferred money.
Price has been dominant for two of the five years he’s been a full time starter. He’s been good for another one and slightly above average in the other two. He falls to No. 3 because frankly I don’t think his best is going to beat the other two guys at their best as his best season in 2012 falls short of what Kluber did last season.
Next: No. 2: The reigning Cy Young winner
2. Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indians)
Sep 21, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) pitches in the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Cleveland Indians win 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
2014 Stats
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WHIP: 1.09
ERA: 2.44
K/9: 10.27
Quality Starts: 26
Kluber is the reigning Cy Young award winner, but he comes in at No. 2 on this list. He had a great year in 2014, but he’s only been a starter for a one full year. The lack of experience is the only thing holding him back from being No. 1.
In 2015, I expect some regression. The ERA will probably rise slightly and I expect the K rate of Kluber to remain stable. He threw a lot of innings last year, and I’d expect that the Indians may want to bring that down just a bit in order to protect him and themselves.
Next: No. 1 is on the Southside
1. Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox)
Sep 17, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale (49) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
WHIP: 0.97
ERA: 2.17
K/9: 10.76
Quality Starts: 21
You can call me biased with Sale as the No. 1 pitcher in the division, but the stats don’t lie that when he is on the mound he is better than the other two.
In each of his three years as a starter Sale has averaged over nine K/9. His only concern have been injury related and while he hasn’t had anything of great significance he has only pitched over 200 innings once, and has never started more than 30 games.
Sale is already injured this year, but should not miss more than one or two starts. While he’s never won a Cy Young he’s been a contender in all three years as a starter finishing sixth, fifth and third respectively over the past three seasons.
Next: White Sox contract extension candidates