MLB Network has Tarik Skubal over Paul Skenes as the starting pitcher for 2026
On Wednesday night, MLB Network revealed “The Shredder’s” top 10 starting pitchers in baseball. Shredder focuses on statistics and data without any bias. Still, he has a way of surprising fans. In fact, the ace of the San Francisco Giants Logan Webb, who is one of the most underrated star pitchers in the MLBhe didn’t even make this year’s top 10 pitchers. Not surprisingly, the aces of the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates Pull Skubal and Paul Skenes were ranked as the best starting pitchers in the game, but who went No. 1 overall?
Here are The Shredder’s top 10 starting pitchers for the 2026 MLB season, via MLB Network:
- Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
- Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Zach Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
- Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
- Christopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
- Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
- Mac Fried, New York Yankees
- Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Skubal, 29, won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in the American League. He led the league in ERA, ERA-plus and FIP in each of the past two seasons. He also recorded at least 228 strikeouts over the past two years.
Skenes is off to a good start to his big league career. The 23-year-old finished third in National League Cy Young Award voting as a rookie in 2024 and took home the award for the first time in 2025. Skenes never posted an ERA above 1.97 in his career and led the NL in ERA, ERA-plus and WHIP in 2025.
Skubal is the best Shredder pitcher in the MLB for good reason, but Skenes is certainly not far behind. While Skenes hopes to lead Pittsburgh for years to come, Skubal is a trade candidate heading into 2026. Whether he spends the ’26 campaign in Detroit or elsewhere, Skubal will enter free agency next offseason and could receive the most lucrative contract for a pitcher in the history of the sport.
2026-01-29 01:41:00
