3 Starting Rotations That Have Stood Out To Start 2025
With the first two months of the 2025 MLB season in the books, these three starting rotations have been especially impressive.
The 2025 season has not failed to produce countless memorable storylines already. From breakout sensations to the stars we all know and love continuing to be the stars we all know and love, this season has had it all.
One of the top headlines has been the inspiring performances from so many starters on the mound. And there have been a few teams that have stood above the rest and separated themselves as the marquee rotations to watch this season.
From top to bottom, these three staffs have given us no shortage of quality numbers, from some of the best aces in the game to some of the most respectable back-end starters MLB has to offer.
So, without further ado, here are the three starting rotations that have stood out the most to start 2025.
Stats were taken prior to play on June 2.
Texas Rangers
Through the first two months of the season the Texas Rangers’ rotation has proven to be the cream of the crop.
Their 2.80 ERA leads the major leagues and is one of just two sub-3.00 ERAs in all of baseball. They also lead the league in WHIP at 1.08, sit second in opponent batting average (.212), and rank in the top 10 in both FIP (3.57) and walk rate (7.4%).
While some individual performances within the staff rank better than others, it’s been a top-to-bottom effort from this starting rotation.
Nathan Eovaldi was already a respectable arm before signing his extension with the club this winter, sporting five consecutive sub-4.00 ERA seasons heading into 2025. However, this season he’s taken things to an entirely different level.
The 35-year-old righty is a legitimate Cy Young contender through the first two months of the campaign. His 1.56 ERA is third in all of baseball amongst qualified starters. Likewise, his 2.33 FIP ranks third, his .183 BAA sits second, and his 0.81 WHIP is second only to Tarik Skubal.
As great as Eovaldi has been, he’s not the only sub-2.00 ERA arm in the staff, as Tyler Mahle and his 1.64 ERA gives the Rangers a legitimate two-headed monster leading their rotation.
On top of his shimmering ERA, Mahle also sports equally impressive tallies in both WHIP (1.05) and BAA (.191). He continues to live up to the hype and was considered for one of our top pitchers of the month in April.
Then, there’s Jacob deGrom, who’s dialed back the clock and looks like the dominant Cy Young caliber arm he was back in his prime with the Mets.
Through 11 starts in 2025, he’s pitched to a 2.34 ERA with a WHIP of 0.96 and an opponent batting average of just .202.
Rounding out the starting rotation has been respectable performances from Patrick Corbin — who, with a 3.71 ERA, looks night and day from the struggling arm the Washington Nationals got for virtually the entire duration of his lengthy contract — and rookie Jack Leiter at a 3.66 ERA.
If Kumar rocker is able to return from injury and look even marginally better then the 8.10 ERA arm he was before hitting the shelf, then this Rangers rotation could look even stronger.
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals have continued to defy the odds and find ways to use seemingly a group of misfits to create the spectacular. That has precisely been the story of their rotation for the past two seasons.
So far, the Royals sit third in MLB with a 3.00 ERA and a 3.52 FIP, and they rank sixth in MLB in WHIP (1.15) and opponent batting average (.228).
They’ve managed that success all while their ace, Cole Ragans, wasn’t looking as sharp as he’s looked in years past before he hit the shelf with yet another groin injury.
That being said, he’s had his fair share of good starts this season, and his 14.19 K/9 leads all of Major League Baseball among starters with 40 or more innings pitched this season. So, hopefully when he’s fully healthy, he’ll continue to be the lights-out starter we’ve all become accustomed to seeing.
Despite also spending some time on the IL himself, Seth Lugo has continued to look as strong as he did when he finished runner up in AL Cy Young voting in 2024.
Through nine starts this season, the veteran righty has crafted a 3.45 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and .235 BAA.
Michael Wacha continues to be that veteran sub-3.50-ERA arm he’s been since 2022, crafting a 2.88 ERA, along with serviceable 3.40 FIP and 1.17 WHIP.
Then there’s been arguably the breakout star of all breakout stars in 2025: Kris Bubic. Bubic looks like a legitimate Cy Young contender with a 1.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2.45 FIP an .196 BAA.
Speaking of pleasant surprises, we have Noah Cameron, who, after breaking onto the scene and throwing a no hitter through 6.1 innings of work in his major-league debut, has managed to not only come back up but continue to thrive just as well.
Through four starts, the rookie has thrown to a 1.05 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and .144 BAA.
Rounding out the starting staff is veteran Michael Lorenzen, and if a 4.33 ERA is the production a team is getting from its No. 6 starter, then the rotation is probably in very good shape.
New York Mets
We round off this group with New York Mets, who’ve turned a short-handed group without the likes of Sean Manaea into arguably their greatest strength.
With two months in the books, the Mets sit second in baseball in ERA at 2.91 and fifth in both FIP at 3.57 and BAA at .226.
In Manaea’s absence, it’s been Kodai Senga who has stepped up and lived up to the front-end potential many thought he had when he made the jump from Japan.
Among qualified starters, Senga holds the third-lowest ERA in all of baseball at a blistering 1.60 mark, trailing only the likes of the aforementioned Bubic and Eovaldi.
The Mets then hold a series of arms ranging from the high-2.00 ERAs to mid-3.00 ERAs to support Senga. They have a legitimate case to be considered the most well-rounded starting staff in all of baseball from one to five.
David Peterson is showing that his breakout toward the end of the 2024 campaign was not a fluke, throwing to a 2.69 ERA through 11 starts.
Clay Holmes has comfortably made the transition from back-end reliever to starter, pitching to the tune of 3.07 ERA in 12 outings.
Then, it’s been the shocking rise of Angels and Braves outcast, Griffin Canning, who’s thrown to a 3.23 ERA in 11 starts.
Rounding the rotation off is Tylor Megill, who’s stepped up and been simply remarkable, posting the second-highest fWAR (1.3) among Mets starters.
Through 11 starts, he’s pitched to a more than serviceable 3.52 ERA, 3.10 FIP and .223 BAA. What’s been the most impressive thing about his game though has been his top-notch ability to induce strikeouts, as he currently holds a 12.07 K/9 rate.
When Manaea eventually comes off the IL and makes his return to the staff, this rotation will stand to only get stronger.
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