Who is the Best Starter in Baseball?
Thursday May 10, 2012
Bryan Sheehan (MLB Writer): It could be said that the starting pitcher is the most important player in the game. A great starter, like Justin Verlander, puts his team in a position to win every time he hits the mound, while a poor starter, like A.J. Burnett, puts pressure on the bullpen when he gets run after just a couple of innings of work. A great starter, or even a mediocre one, can stay in the game for years with consistency (see: Jamie Moyer), but the drop off is steep and a pitcher underperforming is usually the first to be sent down. The best hurlers in the game combine dominance with consistency, rarely ever having a bad appearance. After the jump, we’ll be taking a look at who the best starters are in the game right now, and what makes them so great.
Jered Weaver (5-0, 1.60 ERA): Weaver is off to a great start, already throwing a no-hitter before Mother’s Day. The best of a bad situation out in Los Angeles, Weaver proves that your team can’t lose if you don’t give up any runs: he has held his opponent scoreless in four of seven starts, throwing just one game that is not considered a “quality start”. Unlike other, flash in the pan starters that happen to throw no-nos, like Phil Humber (who currently holds a 6.83 ERA) or Francisco Liriano (lost his starting job after a 0-5 start), Weaver has staying power because of his consistency. Over the past four seasons his average ERA has been 2.93, the seventh best among active players since 2009. He is also fourth on the list in wins since 2009, behind Verlander, Sabathia and Halladay, all pitchers that have more run support per game in that time.
Justin Verlander (3-1, 2.63 ERA): Winning both the Cy Young and MVP in the American League last year, there is no argument that Verlander is one of the best in the game. His 24 wins and 2.40 ERA were both American League bests, as were his 250 strikeouts and 0.920 WHIP. His wild strikeout totals can be attributed mainly to his variation in out pitches: he punched out at least 50 batters with three different pitches, according to Brooks Baseball (see graph, stats do include postseason). All four pitches in his arsenal are “plus,” and while he may be well known for his hard fastball, his curveball is also excellent. He may have not started 2012 as explosively as Jered Weaver, but looking at his charts, he hasn’t lost much velocity or movement. A good sign for the reigning MVP/Cy Young awards winner.
Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 2.56 ERA) The National League Cy Young winner from 2011, Kershaw was one of only two NL hurlers to win at least 20 games (both he and Ian Kennedy won 21). Off to another hot start, Kershaw hasn’t had an ERA of 3.00 or above since the 2008 season, when he was just a 20-year-old rookie. So far in this early season his K/9 numbers are down (9.6 in 2011, 8.1 in 2012) but his control seems better, as his walks per nine have gone from 2.1 in 2011 to 1.8, a pace that would end up being the lowest in his career. His hits per nine are also down from a NL leading 6.7 to 6.3, and he already has four “quality starts” under his belt.
Roy Halladay (3-2, 3.28) Perhaps the biggest workhorse of the MLB, Big Roy has led his league (AL when he was with Toronto, NL with Philadelphia) in complete games every year since 2007, and is consistently near the top of the list in innings pitched. 2012 has been one of the roughest starts in recent memory, though, and his 11 walks in just under 50 innings gives him his worst BB/9 ratio since 2004. Despite a start that ended in eight earned runs in 5.1 innings, Halladay leads the NL in innings pitched and has gone at least seven innings in every other appearance.
Today’s feature was prepared by Baseball Writer, Bryan Sheehan. You can follow Bryan on Twitter (@BaseballHipster), read his interviews with Phillies’ minor league prospects at PhightingOn.com, and catch him writing the occasional article for ThroughTheFenceBaseball.com. Tweet him about this article and give him a follow and he will follow you back!
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Posted on May 10, 2012, in MLB Player Profiles, The Rest: Everything Baseball and tagged baseball, clayton kershaw, jered weaver, justin verlander, mlb, roy halladay, starter, starting pitcher. Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on Who is the Best Starter in Baseball?.
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