Ranking the 30 best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball for 2016 – CBSSports.com

Over the last half-decade, Kershaw has won three Cy Youngs, finished runner-up one other time, and finished third in his “worst” season. He has command of four-plus pitches, and he’s coming off a 2015 season in which he struck out 301 batters. Only once in his seven qualifying seasons has he failed to make at least 30 starts. Heading into his age-28 season, Kershaw should still be in his prime.

Not for nothing did the Sox make Price a $200 million pitcher this offseason. He owns a career ERA+ of 126, and over the last three seasons he’s put up a K/BB ratio of 5.78. Price, now 30, is a five-time All-Star.

Since he joined the Cubs, Arrieta has gravitated more toward a sinker-slider approach, and that’s part of the reason he’s become a true ace. He’s coming off a dominant Cy Young campaign, and he also pitched at a high level in 2014.

The former Cy Young winner is coming off perhaps his finest season when it comes to run prevention. No, he’s not a 1.66-ERA guy moving forward, but Greinke’s a reliable 200-inning pitcher who’s capable of sub-.300 ERAs and excellent command indicators for the next handful of seasons.

Scherzer’s career took off when he developed a curve prior to the 2012 season and began swapping out a few four-seamers in favor of the platoon-busting breaking ball. Over the past three seasons, he’s run an ERA of 2.94 while allowing a total of just 10 unearned runs. That he regularly logs about five times as many strikeouts as walks and still hits the mid-90s bodes well for 2016 and beyond.

It’s only some low-grade durability concerns that keep Sale from being even higher on this list. He’s utterly thrived despite pitching his home game in a hitter’s park and working in front of some generally poor defenses. Sale’s one of the elite bat-missers in the game today.

Keuchel was good in 2014 and genuinely great in 2015. Keuchel doesn’t impress the radar gun, but he’s got a historic knack for the groundball (he induced almost 400 grounders in 2015). Keuchel’s also a tremendous fielder, which is useful when you’ve got so many grounders headed your way.

King Felix has been an ace for almost a decade, and he’s still not even 30 years of age. He’s also coped with velocity loss better than almost anyone, as he’s fleshed out his repertoire and ramped up his command over the years. We may have seem some signs of decline in 2015, but for now Hernandez has earned the benefit of the doubt.

The postseason colossus is also a darn good pitcher in the regular season. Still just 26, Bumgarner’s ripped off five straight 200-inning seasons, posted an ERA+ of 118, and shown steadily improving K/BB ratios.

Hernandez worked his way back from Tommy John surgery and last season and looked like his vintage self in 11 starts last season. The further he gets from the procedure, the better results you may see. For his career, he owns an incredible ERA+ of 160. Insofar as this list is concerned, Fernandez is trending upward.

Kluber suffered some bad luck on batted balls last season, but everything else is intact from his Cy Young season of 2014. With an improved defense behind him in Cleveland, Kluber’s poised for a big year.

Harvey’s first season back from Tommy John went swimmingly for the most part. The stuff remains frontline, and his command improved as he went deeper into the season. It says here that 2016 occasions Harvey’s first 200-inning season.

DeGrom always had excellent velocity, but a tightened-up slider helped him reach the next level. Last season, he pitched to a 2.54 ERA and 5.39 K/BB ratio in 30 starts. For much of the year, he was the Mets’ best starter, and heading into his age-28 season he should keep it up for the time being.

Archer’s simplified fastball-slider-changeup approach in 2015 paid off big, as he made 34 starts, made the All-Star team for the first time, and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young balloting. Archer also struck out 29.0 percent of opposing hitters, which ranked fifth among all qualifiers.

Cole’s stuff has been exceptional since long before the Pirates made him the top pick of the top overall pick of the 2011 draft. Last season, though, the results rose to meet the press clippings. In 208 innings, Cole pitched to a 2.60 ERA and logged a career-best 4.59 K/BB ratio. When you master the strike zone to such an extent while also averaging 97 with your fastball, good things happen.

Gray’s a deep-repertoire guy (he threw six different pitches in 2016) who keeps the ball on the ground and has done nothing but thrive at the highest level. He’s also put the stamina concerns to rest, as he’s tallied 427 innings over the last two seasons.

The lefty changeup artist turned in another characteristic season in 2015. Look over his career, and you’re likely to be struck by the consistency of it all: 200-inning season after 200-inning season, sub-4.00 FIP after sub-4.00 FIP. There’s much to be said for the relentless very goodness of Hamels.

Hazarding an estimation of Cueto in 2016 means indulging in some guesswork. From 2011-14, Cueto put up an ERA of 2.48 (156 ERA+) while averaging a qualifying number of innings per season. Last season, though, his performance degraded badly as the season deepened, and he was anything but his usual self after the trade to KC. Injury? Age-related decline? Temporary aberration? Each is possible, of course. For now, though, we’ll bet on the larger body of work and the Giants’ due diligence prior to signing him to a big contract.

Lester’s a reliable purveyor of 30-plus starts per season, and for his career he’s registered an ERA+ of 121. He’s also made impressive strides with his K/BB ratio over the last two seasons. From 2006-13, Lester ran a K/BB of 2.49. Since 2014, though, that figure has improved to 4.49.

Obviously, Syndergaard’s ceiling is such that he’ll one day be higher on this list, provided he stays generally healthy. He was quite impressive in his rookie campaign: 150 IP, 3.55 ERA, 166 K, 29 unintentional walks. That he averages 98 with his fastball and sinker and while also commanding a full repertoire is very much in his favor.

Carrasco’s case is simple: He throws hard, has a five-pitch mix, keeps the ball on the ground, and last season ranked fourth in all of baseball when it comes to strikeouts as a percentage of batters faced. Expect more of the same in his age-29 season.

Wainwright of course missed that vast majority of 2015 because of an early-season Achilles’ injury. Obviously, there’s no assailing his body of work, as his sinker-cutter-curve approach has yielded exceptional results over the years. When healthy, he keeps the ball in the park and limits walks. Consider this a conservative ranking because of Wainwright’s age (34) and injury history. Vintage Wainwright is a top-10 pitcher.

The chronically underrated Quintana has logged three consecutive 200-inning seasons to go with a career ERA+ of 116. Last season, the left-hander walked just 40 batters unintentionally in 206 1/3 innings. Ace? No. Consistently durable and effective No. 2? Absolutely.

Strasburg’s fastball-curve-changeup mix is truly nasty, and at times he’s pitched like an ace of aces. However, also at times the results haven’t matched the stuff, and he’s had arm troubles at various points. Still, this is a pitcher who’s still just 27 and boasts a career ERA+ of 126 while striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings. Strasburg’s heading into his walk year.

When healthy, Darvish has been a true dominator, as evinced by his impossibly lofty career K% of 30.1. He also averaged a tick more than 200 innings per season from 2012-13. However, in his young career he’s dealt with neck, shoulder, and elbow problems, and he missed all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Will his command suffer in his first season back?

On a rate basis, Tanaka’s been excellent since making the leap stateside: 123 ERA+ and a K% of 24.3 versus a BB% of 4.2. However, that same splitter that teases out so many swings and misses from opposing hitters may have taken a toll on his arm. He’s been on the DL twice in two years and averaged less than 150 innings per season over that span. As well, he underwent arthroscopic elbow in October. The stuff and the results are there, but what about the health? This ranking takes the uncertainty surrounding Tanaka into account.

Liriano’s Pittsburgh renaissance continues apace. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2006, Liriano, despite his early promise, pitched to an 88 ERA+ for the Twins and White Sox. Since joining pitching coach Ray Searage and Pirates prior to the 2013 season, he’s run an ERA+ of 113. He’s 32 — post-prime, but not deep decline — so why not more of the same in 2016?

Stroman missed almost all of 2015 thanks to a spring knee injury, but he returned in time to help stabilize the Jays’ stretch drive and playoff rotation. He’s got a stuffed repertoire fronted by a hard sinker and more than enough secondary pitches to neutralize the opposite side and keep hitters off balance. Now that David Price is in Boston, Stroman’s the unquestioned ace in Toronto.

Richards pitched like an ace before shredding his knee late in the 2014 season. He came back last year to pitch solidly in the course of making 32 starts. The hope for the Angels is that in 2016, he gets back to wielding the kind of dominance he showed two seasons ago. As the season wore on in 2015, he showed something closer to his customary velocity, which is a good sign moving forward.

Ross boasts one of the best sliders in the game, and he uses to good effect. While he suffers from occasional lapses in his control, Ross misses bats and keeps the ball in the park. He’s flirted with 200 innings in each of the past two seasons and posted an ERA+ of 116 over that span.