Top 10 starting pitchers in MLB right now

6. Stephen Strasburg

Eight years into his MLB career and the recipient of a seven-year deal worth $175 million, Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is finally fully delivering on the ridiculous hype that accompanied him to the big leagues. He is 30-8 over the past two seasons with a 3.01 ERA in 323 innings with 387 strikeouts. En route to finishing third in the NL Cy Young vote last year, Strasburg led the league in FIP and home runs per nine.

As has always been the case with him, Strasburg continues to be bothered by minor injuries at least once a season. He has only started more than 30 games two times and has only one 200-inning season. Somehow, a pitcher with a career ERA of 3.07 and 10.5 strikeouts per nine leaves something to be desired. That’s how good Strasburg was coming out of San Diego State.

The fact that he is so brittle is the only thing pushing Strasburg down on this list. When he has been able to take the ball, there isn’t much that can be said against the three-time All-Star who is still only 29. Opponents have a .624 OPS in 184 games, the Nationals are 117-67 in his starts and he has a 0.47 ERA in three career postseason starts spanning 19 innings with 24 strikeouts.

When Strasburg burst onto the scene in college, he was viewed as a pitcher who could potentially re-write what was considered possible for a starter — pumping 99 mph deep into games with a devastating changeup that still topped 90. He has dialed the velocity back to stay healthy and pitch deeper into games, but is still highly effective and one of the best in the game.