Just Baseball’s Top 10 Pitcher Power Rankings: August 2024

If you need an idea of how difficult it was to crack this month’s updated pitcher power rankings, Logan Gilbert, Tyler Glasnow, Cristopher Sánchez, Paul Skenes, George Kirby and Garrett Crochet were among those who find themselves on the outside looking in.

With that acknowledged, here’s Just Baseball’s August update of the 10 best pitchers during the 2024 season.

10. Corbin Burnes, Baltimore Orioles

Ranking Last Month: 6

2024 Stats: 12-5, 3.28 ERA, 3.59 FIP and 3.1 fWAR over 153 2/3 innings pitched

Burnes has allowed 13 earned runs over his last two starts, which might have put a nail in the coffin of his AL Cy Young Award case.

With that said, Burnes is still tied for fourth in baseball with 159 1/3 innings pitched, and second in the sport with 19 quality starts. The Orioles have plenty of questions surrounding their pitching —both the starting rotation and bullpen — but should feel confident about having him on the mound in Game 1 of a postseason series.

What is discouraging is that it appears increasingly likely that Burnes is one-and-done in Baltimore. You could make a case given his resume and that he’s still only 29, Burnes is going to be the most attractive starting pitcher to reach free agency since Gerrit Cole in 2020. It sounds as though the Chicago Cubs will be among those hoping to woo Burnes away when he hits the open market.

9. Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox

Ranking Last Month: 4

2024 Stats: 8-8, 3.01 ERA, 3.18 FIP and 3.6 fWAR over 152 2/3 innings pitched

A first-time All-Star in 2024, Houck has had a breakout season for the Red Sox and is one of the primary reasons that manager Alex Cora’s squad is still in the playoff mix as the final month of the season approaches.

Houck’s 0.5 HR/9 stands out, as it’s the top mark among all AL pitchers in 2024. He’s also logged 152 2/3 innings this year, quite the increase over the 106 he logged a year ago.

The 28-year-old can’t become a free agent until after the 2027 season, which may make a long-term contract ideal for both him and the Red Sox in the winter.

8. Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals

Ranking Last Month: 5

2024 Stats: 14-7, 3.02 ERA, 3.44 FIP and 3.6 fWAR over 166 2/3 innings pitched

For much of Lugo’s career, he was a successful reliever with the New York Mets. That makes him successfully proving that not only can he be a starter, but a top-of-the-rotation arm one of the best stories of the last few MLB seasons.

Lugo’s 14 wins lead baseball, and he has the top marks in terms of innings pitched (166 2/3) and batters faced (676) among AL starters.

While the three-year, $45 million deal Lugo signed in the offseason does include a player opt-out after the 2025 season, it’s still tremendously team-friendly given the level Lugo has pitched at in his first campaign with the Royals.

7. Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds

Ranking Last Month: Not Ranked

2024 Stats: 9-4, 2.83 ERA, 3.41 FIP and 3.6 fWAR over 143 1/3 innings pitched

Greene is currently on the injured list with right elbow soreness, but has been dominant enough in a breakout campaign that he could very well post a top-five finish in NL Cy Young Award voting if he returns and pitches well in September.

Among qualified starters, Greene 2.83 ERA is the fourth-best mark. The 25-year-old leads all pitchers in H/9 at 5.8.

Obviously, the Reds would like to see Greene return in the final month of the season and finish out what’s been a special season. But making sure the former No. 2 overall pick heads into the offseason healthy should be the top priority, even if that means shutting him down at some point.

6. Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals:

Ranking Last Month: 7

2024 Stats: 10-8, 3.31 ERA, 3.00 FIP and 4.1 fWAR over 152 1/3 innings pitched

What we forgot to mention about Lugo above? He’s not even the best starter in his own rotation, which is one of the major reasons that the Royals are in position to snap an eight-year postseason drought.

Ragans is fourth among all starting pitchers with 183 strikeouts, and tied for fourth in fWAR at 4.1.

It can’t be said enough times how well general manager J.J. Picollo did to get Ragans — who is 26 and under team control through the 2028 season — back from the Texas Rangers for half a season of Aroldis Chapman last summer.

5. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants

Ranking Last Month: Not Ranked

2024 Stats: 11-8, 3.13 ERA, 2.75 FIP and 4.2 fWAR over 172 2/3 innings pitched

Webb finished runner-up to Blake Snell in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2023, and is on his way to another top-five finish this year.

With 172 2/3 innings pitched, Webb has taken down the most frames of any pitcher in the sport this year. He’s looking to lead baseball in innings pitched for the second season in a row, as he did so with 216 a year ago.

Beyond being a workhorse, Webb’s 2.75 FIP is third among all starters, as is his 4.2 fWAR.

4. Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

Ranking Last Month: Not Ranked

2024 Stats: 12-6, 2.73 ERA, 3.38 FIP and 3.8 fWAR over 154 2/3 innings pitched

Rather than risk him testing free agency after the season, the Phillies rewarded Wheeler with a three-year, $126 million extension back in March. Given that Wheeler is one again in the NL Cy Young Award mix, it was a wise decision for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies to get out ahead of things.

Wheeler’s 0.98 WHIP is fourth among qualified starters, while his 2.73 ERA is third. In close to five seasons with the Phillies, Wheeler has combined dominance with durability, and 2024 isn’t an exception, as the 34-year-old has logged 154 2/3 innings pitched.

In a close race, Wheeler finished runner-up to the aforementioned Burnes for NL Cy Young in 2021. He’ll need a strong closing argument, but perhaps this will be the year Wheeler finally gets over the hump and wins the award.

3. Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians

Ranking Last Month: Not Ranked

2024 Stats: 4-2, 37/40 on saves, 0.61 ERA, 2.24 FIP, 1.8 fWAR over 59 1/3 innings pitched

Scoff at your own peril. The best bullpen in baseball belongs to the Guardians, and when the bullpen door closes behind Clase, it almost never reopens.

Clase has responded to a mixed bag of a 2023 season with one of the most dominant campaigns a reliever has ever turned in. He leads baseball with 37 saves and 53 games finished, and has done that while allowing just four earned runs the entire campaign.

It’s rare for a reliever to finish in the top five in Cy Young Award voting, but Clase absolutely should in 2024.

2. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

Ranking Last Month: 1

2024 Stats: 14-4, 2.49 ERA, 2.66 FIP and 4.5 fWAR over 155 1/3 innings pitched

For just about this entire season, Skubal has been the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award, and nothing has changed to knock him off that pedestal.

The 27-year-old leads all qualified starters in ERA (2.49) and ERA+ (169). He’s tied with the No. 1 name on our list for the most wins at 14. And he has the best marks in the AL in terms of strikeouts (185), FIP (2.66) and fWAR 4.5).

Skubal is aiming to become the first Tiger to win AL Cy Young since Max Scherzer did so in 2013. Skubal will head into the final month of the season as the odds-on favorite.

1. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves

Ranking Last Month: 2

2024 Stats: 14-3, 2.62 ERA, 2.05 FIP and 5.2 fWAR over 140 2/3 innings pitched

The Braves have been devastated by injuries in 2024, which to some degree has overshadowed how amazing Sale has been in his first healthy campaign since at least 2019, if not earlier.

As noted above, Sale’s 14 wins are tied with Skubal for the best mark in baseball. His 187 strikeouts, 2.05 FIP and 5.2 fWAR are the best marks in the sport. And no one in the NL has bested Sale in terms of ERA (2.62), ERA+ (160) and K/9 (12.0).

At one point, Sale seemed to be cruising towards Cooperstown. Half a decade of injury-plagued seasons seemed to derail Sale’s Hall of Fame case. But if he wins NL Cy Young in his first season in Atlanta, it might be time to reopen that discussion.