Ranking the staff ace of every NL team

5. LHP Carlos Rodón (San Francisco Giants)

Carlos Rodón, 29, was coming off of two straight dreadful seasons with the Chicago White Sox when he was non-tendered heading into the 2021 season.

The Sox elected to bring him back for one more season on a low-risk one-year, $3MM contract. That move could not have worked out better for Chicago, as Rodón went on to go 13-5, striking out 12.6 batters per-nine innings, making his first career All-Star Game, finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young voting and – above all – throwing his first career no-hitter.

A free agent at season’s end, the Giants swooped in and signed Rodón as soon as the MLB lockout was lifted, banking on him replicating his performance from the year before. So far, he has done just that.

Through eight starts on the season, Rodón has a 3.43 ERA and a sparkling 2.13 FIP, a mark that leads the National League at present. The big lefty is also leading the NL in SO/9 with a 12.5 mark and looks well on his way to a second All-Star Game selection. He is by far the best pitcher on this Giants club and will likely be its ace through the remainder of his contract.

4. LHP Max Fried (Atlanta Braves)

Max Fried’s career will undoubtedly be highlighted by his winning of the 2021 Silver Slugger Award for NL pitchers in the last season before the universal-DH was implemented. Well, not exactly.

Fried has looked utterly dominant in every full season he’s thrown in the big leagues, finishing 2019 with a 17-6 record and a 4.02 ERA/114 ERA+, 2020 with a 7-0 record, 2.25 ERA and a 208 ERA+ and then 2021 with a 14-7 record, 3.04 ERA and 147 ERA+. Point blank, he is near the top of the list when it comes to left-handed starting pitchers in not only the National League, but Major League Baseball as a whole.

Through nine starts this season, Fried has a 3.27 ERA and leads the NL in BB/9 with a 1.3 rate, walking only eight batters in 55 innings so far. He has also allowed just four home runs, good for a 0.7 HR/9. Fried is a lock to limit home runs and walks and to strikeout a lot of batters while also going deep into ballgames. He is the ace of this Braves staff now and he will remain its ace for many, many more years.

3. RHP Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins)

There may not be a better example out there of “a pitcher’s win-loss record does not best indicate his success” than Sandy Alcantara. Still just 26-years of age, Alcantara owns a 24-36 lifetime record with all of his decisions coming as a member of the Marlins rotation. He has been a part of some bad, bad teams but still owns a 3.34 career ERA with a 127 career ERA+.

Alcantara, a 2019 All-Star, has continuously been one of the stronger right-handed pitchers in the game while largely remaining an under-the-radar ace. Virtually the only negative aspect to his game this season has been the fact that he’s walking 3.3 batters per-nine innings. Other than that, he has a 2.11 ERA, leads the NL in innings pitched with 59.2, has an ERA+ of 194 and has only allowed four home runs so far in his nine starts.

With these consistent strong performances, Alcantara will only be an under-the-radar pitcher for so much longer. He is the real deal and he is here to stay, remember the name.

2. RHP Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers)

The face of dominance, Walker Buehler has been ridiculously good since coming up to the big leagues in 2017 for the Dodgers. He owns a career 2.90 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 0.9 HR/9 and 46-14 record. No matter what way you slice it, Buehler is one of the very best this game has to offer.

Last year, the 27-year-old righty won 16 games for the Dodgers, making all 33 starts and striking out 212 batters, just three shy of his career-high from two seasons prior. He also managed to top the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career and seems destined for greatness as the years go by. This year, he has made nine starts and owns a 2.91 ERA and a 141 ERA+. He has only allowed three home runs and has continued his utter dominance from the year before.

It is truly shocking that Buehler has not won a Cy Young Award yet but he has two top-nine finishes in the voting and will likely finish his career with at least one of these prestigious awards on his trophy shelf.

1. RHP Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee Brewers)

The owner of one of the most incredible cutters in recent memory, Corbin Burnes, unlike Buehler does have a Cy Young Award under his belt already. After a 2019 season in which he was arguably the very worst pitcher in the major leagues, Burnes rebounded in 2020 and then completely took off last season.

In his Cy Young-winning campaign last year, Burnes led the major leagues in ERA (2.43), ERA+ (174), FIP (1.63), HR/9 (0.4) and SO/9 (12.6). The fact that he has continued to be the best of the best so far this season, he has earned the No. 1 spot in these rankings.

Through nine starts, Burnes has a 2.18 ERA with a 187 ERA+ and a National League-leading 67 strikeouts against just 10 walks. It would not be an outlandish observation to say that Burnes may very well win his second consecutive trophy this season if he is able to keep this up. At the age of 27, Burnes still has many years ahead of him and is still under club control for three more seasons with the Brewers.