Top 5 MLB pitchers thus far in 2015

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Below are the rankings of the top five pitchers in the MLB thus far this year:

5. Jacob deGrom: I don’t believe there is any surprise that deGrom ends up being on this list with what we saw deGrom accomplish last year, winning the rookie of the year. deGrom has notched a 7-5 win-loss ratio with a 2.34 ERA this season thus far, while also marking 93 whiffs this year in just 92 innings pitched. deGrom’s spectacular performance on May 21 is also worthy of noting for his overall performance, where he struck out 11 on eight innings pitched and only giving up one hit in the process. While the Mets have lost 10 of their last 17, though still remaining second in the NL East, deGrom has been one of the brighter spots on this team, allowing just six runs in his past four starts.

Jacob deGrom in his June 13 match up against the Atlanta Braves.
Photo taken by Jim McIsaac of Getty Images.

4. Chris Sale: Falling to third on the Cy Young voting list last year, Sale is doing just about everything he can for a struggling fifth place Chicago White Sox to win the award and climb out of the rut the team is in. Accumulating 93 of his AL leading 119 strikeouts in his last eight appearances, including five consecutive games of 12+ strikeouts, Sale has been on a dominant stretch only matched by legends Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Sale, as of now, has a 6-3 record, with an impressive 2.74 ERA to top it off. With Sale’s hot streak he is on in recent starts, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up climbing to number one on my list.

Chris Sale in his June 19 match up against the Texas Rangers.
Photo taken by David Banks of Getty Images.

3. Chris Archer: Following David Price’s departure from the Tampa Bay Rays, many pondered who would fill in the void left by him as the pitching ace he was…but not for long. Archer has clearly established himself to be the ace of not just his Rays team, but of the MLB in general, accounting for 116 strikeouts with a 2.18 ERA and an 8-4 record. On top of these respectable accolades, Archer has accounted for three Rays pitching performances this year in which he gave up two hits or less. Archer has been everything the Rays have hoped for, representing as arguably the AL East first place Rays’ MVP thus far this year.

Chris Archer in his match up against the Washington Nationals on June 18.
Photo taken by Rob Carr of Getty Images.

2. Gerrit Cole: The Pirates rank second in the MLB in team ERA, with a 2.78 mark, and in large part, it’s due to the ascendant performance of Gerrit Cole this year thus far. With an 11-2 record and a 1.78 ERA, Cole is clearly on pace for an extraordinary year, as he has already surpassed his career high in wins in a season. Second to only the next guy on our list in ERA, Cole has also proven that batters are in need of their A game if they want to even make contact off of him, having 97 strikeouts on the year in only 91 innings. Playing in what many believe is the most difficult division in the MLB, with the Pirates and two other teams being above .500, Cole has excelled against elite competition in the most unbelievable fashion.

Gerrit Cole against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 13.
Photo taken by Gene J. Puskar of the Associated Press.

1. Max Scherzer: While some consider him to be a late bloomer, reaching his first all-star game in 2013 at age 29, it is apparent Scherzer is becoming more and more of a threat to possibly stand as the best in the game. Scherzer has an 8-5 record with an MLB best 1.76 ERA and an MLB best 123 strikeouts thus far this year and seems to only be improving as the year goes by. Last night validated this when the superstar accounted for 10 strikeouts and a no hitter! What was even more impressive with the performance was his perfect game he carried into the ninth inning with two outs and two strikes. Scherzer has struck out 10+ in 6 of his last ten starts, including striking out 16 in his second to last performance, where he had only allowed one hit with that performance. Leading the NL East leading Washington Nationals, Scherzer has a multitude of accolades that further advocate his status as the best pitcher in the league right now.