{"id":62111,"date":"2025-08-12T08:39:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T08:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/62111\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T08:39:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T08:39:14","slug":"paul-skenes-reclaims-no-1-spot-in-major-shakeup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/62111\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Skenes Reclaims No. 1 Spot in Major Shakeup"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s been a major shakeup in Sportsnaut\u2019s MLB Pitcher Power Rankings as five new faces have made the list. A potential NL Cy Young candidate has fallen out of the top five while an under-the-radar free-agent signing has cracked the top 10. Check out where the top pitchers fall in the latest rankings.<\/p>\n

1. Paul Skenes (Previously: 4)<\/p>\n

\"PittsburghCredit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> ace Paul Skenes<\/a> is back to being the best pitcher in baseball. He leads all of MLB in ERA (1.94), ERA+ (219), and home runs per nine (0.438), while topping the NL in hits per nine (6.250) and FIP (2.32). He\u2019s well on his way to capturing his first Cy Young award.<\/p>\n

2. Tarik Skubal (Previously: 2)<\/p>\n

\"DetroitCredit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Unless Tarik Skubal crashes and burns, the Detroit Tigers<\/a> pitcher is winning his second consecutive American League Cy Young award. He leads MLB in WHIP (0.860), walks per nine (1.300), strikeouts per walk (8.905) and FIP (2.13), while topping the AL in bWAR for pitchers (5.4), strikeouts per nine (11.580), and strikeouts (187).<\/p>\n

3. Garrett Crochet (Previously: 6)<\/p>\n

\"BostonCredit: David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

If not for Skubal, Boston Red Sox\u2019s<\/a> Garrett Crochet<\/a> would be the favorite for the AL Cy Young. The southpaw is sporting a 2.24 ERA, 4.8 bWAR, 183 strikeouts, 183 ERA+ and 2.48 FIP.<\/p>\n

4. Nathan Eovaldi (Previously: Not ranked)<\/p>\n

\"TexasCredit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

If Nathan Eovaldi<\/a> had enough innings to qualify, he would lead baseball in ERA (1.38), WHIP (0.838) and ERA+ (269). The Texas Rangers<\/a> right-hander has allowed just 17 earned runs in 111 innings across 19 starts.<\/p>\n

5. Cristopher Sanchez (Previously: Not ranked)<\/p>\n

\"PhiladelphiaCredit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Cristopher Sanchez has overtaken teammate Zack Wheeler<\/a> as the best pitcher on the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a>. In a nationally televised game on ESPN\u2019s \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d on Aug. 3, Sanchez was dominant against one of the best teams in the league \u2014 holding the Tigers scoreless over eight innings, allowing just five hits and striking out six. Last month, he struck out 12 in a complete-game win over the Red Sox. He also leads all of baseball in pitcher bWAR at 6.0.<\/p>\n

6. Zack Wheeler (Previously: 1)<\/p>\n

\"PhiladelphiaCredit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Wheeler has hit a bump recently. In five starts since his complete-game one-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds<\/a>, Wheeler has seen a dip in velocity and struggled with his command. He\u2019s given up 15 earned runs in 28 2\/3 innings. Despite that, he has a 5.1 bWAR, 2.68 ERA, 0.926 WHIP and leads baseball in strikeouts with 189.<\/p>\n

7. Hunter Brown (Previously: 3)<\/p>\n

\"HoustonCredit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Hunter Brown has carried a Houston Astros<\/a> staff that has been beset by injuries this season. The right-hander leads baseball in hits per nine with 6.205, and is sporting a 2.51 ERA, 164 ERA+ and 2.90 FIP. He has a 2.19 ERA in two August starts.<\/p>\n

8. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Previously: Not ranked)<\/p>\n

\"LosCredit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Another staff decimated by injuries, Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> has remained relatively unscathed and is having the best season of his young career. A first-time All-Star, Yamamoto has a 2.51 ERA, 166 ERA+ and 2.90 FIP with a 1.041 WHIP while striking out 10.3 per nine innings. In his last four starts, he\u2019s given up just four earned runs while striking out 30.<\/p>\n

9. Joe Ryan (Previously: Not ranked)<\/p>\n

\"MinnesotaCredit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Joe Ryan remained in Minnesota despite the Twins<\/a> shipping out 11 teammates. He\u2019s emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball, with a 2.79 ERA, 0.922 WHIP, 152 ERA+, and 3.19 FIP.<\/p>\n

10. Matthew Boyd (Previously: Not ranked)<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoCredit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Matthew Boyd<\/a> was a fantastic free-agent signing for the Chicago Cubs<\/a> in the offseason. The left-hander made his first All-Star appearance this year at age 34, posting a 2.45 ERA, 156 ERA+ and 3.13 FIP with a 1.047 WHIP.<\/p>\n

**Pitchers who fell out: Jacob deGrom<\/a>, Max Fried<\/a>, Ranger Suarez<\/a>, Logan Webb and Kris Bubic**<\/p>\n

\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\tMatt Higgins worked in national and local news for 15 years. He started out as an overnight production assistant … More about Matt Higgins<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s been a major shakeup in Sportsnaut\u2019s MLB Pitcher Power Rankings as five new faces have made the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,50098,50099,5147,85],"class_list":["post-62111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-analysis","tag-mlb-power-rankings","tag-paul-skenes","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}