Who is the Best Starter Currently in the MLB?

 Who is the Best Starter Currently in the MLB?

There are lots of great starting pitchers in the MLB, but I am here to focus on one; the one who I believe is the best starter in the MLB. You may be surprised by who I chose.

So, who is the best starter in baseball?
Spencer Strider.

Strider is a 6-foot 195 native of Ohio. He soared through the minors extremely quickly, and it only took him 1 season to do so. There are some obvious reasons why.

There are a lot of great qualities about Spencer Strider besides his facial hair. The one thing that jumps out at you most is his strikeout numbers. I mean, this man has struck out an amazing and league-leading 217 batters through 139 ⅓ innings so far this season, and has a league leading 14.0 K/9, with a career K/9 of 13.8! Now, for a man who strikes out more than half of the outs that he gets, he must have a great arsenal, right?

Strider has a 4-seam fastball that can reach 100 MPH. It’s one thing for a closer to throw that fast, but a starter? The slowest fastball that he threw in the 2022 season was 94. Lots of starters don’t even throw that hard. Examples; Dane Dunning, Miles Mikolas. Now, when Strider threw that 94 MPH fastball, he gave up a home run in his only postseason appearance.

Strider also has a wicked slider, which he throws mostly in the mid-80s, and a change-up, which he throws high 80s. A three-pitch arsenal? Yes, the best starter in all of baseball throws three pitches.

Now, along with being a great strikeout pitcher, Strider also has a lot of gas in his tank, averaging 6 innings per start this season. His BAA is .213, with the MLB average being .248, and his hard hit rate is 34.9% this season, 4% lower than the league average. He is also leading the Majors with a 2.94 FIP, and has a career FIP of 2.47.

He also has youth on his side. At only 24 years old, he will probably be in the Majors for a while, making him more valuable than guys such as Justin Verlander, who is already 40, and Jacob deGrom, who is always hurt. (It’s sad to see a pitcher who could be the best being sidelined half of his career with injuries.)

Ah, and I almost forgot about his best quality; his facial hair. I mean, this guy’s mustache itself makes him look intimidating before you see him throwing 100. It’s like a fuzzy caterpillar crawled onto his face. No offense Spencer. I love the mustache.

So, that about wraps it up. Spencer Strider is the best starter in the MLB, and will be for a long time. Well, unless somebody else comes up who can throw harder and strike out more batters. I can’t really see that happening, however.

If you think that there is a starting pitcher better than Spencer Strider, please let me know in the comments.