MLB Power Rankings: Listing the top 5 Starting Pitchers after Week 3
Pitching is the backbone of any good team in baseball, and with injuries up, it's even more important than ever to have good MLB pitchers.
Finding an ace and getting them to pitch consistently well all season can be challenging, but several teams have and their flamethrowers are off to fantastic starts. After Week 3 of the regular season, here's who is on top.
MLB Pitcher Power Rankings in Week 3
5) Luis Castillo
Do not let the 4.40 ERA or the 1-4 record fool anyone, Luis Castillo is still an ace and still one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The Seattle Mariners pitcher's xERA is 2.91, so he's gotten very unlucky to start the season. 11.30 K/9 and a 1.57 BB/9 rates are absolutely excellent, as is his 1.0 fWAR, just barely off the league lead.
4) Reid Detmers
The Los Angeles Angels have been searching for star pitching for a long time, and they might finally have found it.
Reid Detmers has been one of the best hurlers in the game early on, with a 1.0 fWAR and an uber low 1.19 ERA. His 1.64 FIP is also wildly impressive. To pair with those, Detmers has an 11.91 K/9 and has not conceded a home run yet.
3) Cole Ragans
The dark-horse Cy Young contender from the Kansas City Royals is off to a brilliant start.
Cole Ragans has 0.9 fWAR already and an otherworldly 11.88 K/9 rate. He's striking people out and not walking them (2.52 BB/9) and has a 2.07 FIP. His defense has let him down, but he has been great so far.
2) Kutter Crawford
The league leader (tied) in fWAR is Kutter Crawford, which seems almost impossible with all the talented arms in baseball.
Nevertheless, he has been excellent early on, posting a 0.66 ERA and a 2.35 FIP to go along with an astonishing 89.2% left on base rate. The Boston Red Sox found a stud in the making.
1) Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler still leads the league in fWAR at 1.1, and he has a 2.30 ERA to boot.
It's a shame the Philadelphia Phillies have been unable to get him wins, as he is shockingly 1-3 so far. A 10.91 K/9 is excellent, though, and so is his 2.49 FIP. He also has already poured in over 31 innings to start the year.