The Los Angeles Dodgers did not have a starting pitcher ranked by The Shredder among the top 10 heading into the 2024 season, but MLB Network analysts Vince Gennaro, Mike Petriello and Sarah Langs all included newly-acquired Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Tyler Glasnow on their respective lists.
Gennaro ranked Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 4 and Glasnow seventh. Petriello included Yamamoto at seventh on his list, and the MLB Top-10 Starting Pitchers Right Now panel was rounded out by Langs placing Yamamoto at No. 9.
The Dodgers were represented on The Shredder rankings for 2023 by Julio Urías, whose future in MLB very much is in doubt despite felony charges not being filed for his domestic violence incident.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani essentially did not qualify due to right elbow surgery preventing him from pitching until the 2025 season.
Ohtani and Logan Webb are the only pitchers with an ERA+ of at least 130 in each of the past three seasons (minimum 100 innings every year). Furthermore, among pitchers with at least 200 innings, Ohtani has third-lowest opponents’ on-base plus slugging percentage (.593) since start of the 2022 season. Kershaw is fifth-best with .599 opponent OPS.
Kershaw regularly has been ranked by The Shredder and analysts alike, but injuries have led to recent slippage on the annual lists. Kershaw, who remains a free agent, underwent left shoulder surgery this past November and intends to return around the midway point of the 2024 season.
This year’s MLB Top-10 Starting Pitchers Right Now list saw somewhat of a changing of the guard with several veterans no longer appearing.
That created an opportunity for Yamamoto, who is projected to be an ace but has some uncertainty surrounding him with making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Yamamoto joins the Dodgers on the heels of winning both the Pacific League MVP and Eiji Sawamura Award (NPB’s equivalent of a Cy Young) three years in a row.
As for Glasnow, his potential and upside has never been in question, but injuries have largely prevented him from prolonged stretches of success. Glasnow is confident health concerns are behind him and is looking forward to pitching for his hometown team.
The Dodgers signed Glasnow to a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension in conjunction with completing their trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
MLB Top-10 Starting Pitchers Right Now for 2024
| Rank | The Shredder | Mike Petriello | Vince Gennaro | Sarah Langs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerrit Cole (Yankees) | Spencer Strider (Braves) | Spencer Strider (Braves) | Gerrit Cole (Yankees) |
| 2 | Corbin Burnes (Brewers) | Zack Wheeler (Phillies) | Gerrit Cole (Yankees) | Framber Valdez (Astros) |
| 3 | Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks) | Gerrit Cole (Yankees) | Zack Wheeler (Phillies) | Zack Wheeler (Phillies) |
| 4 | Justin Verlander (Astros) | Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers) | Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays) |
| 5 | Blake Snell (free agent) | Logan Webb (Giants) | George Kirby (Mariners) | Logan Webb (Giants) |
| 6 | Zack Wheeler (Phillies) | Corbin Burnes (Brewers) | Logan Webb (Giants) | Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks) |
| 7 | Spencer Strider (Braves) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers) | Tyler Glasnow (Dodgers) | Blake Snell (free agent) |
| 8 | Logan Webb (Giants) | Pablo López (Twins) | Sonny Gray (Cardinals) | Spencer Strider (Braves) |
| 9 | Max Fried (Braves) | Luis Castillo (Mariners) | Pablo López (Twins) | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers) |
| 10 | Sonny Gray (Cardinals) | Blake Snell (free agent) | Corbin Burnes (Brewers) | Corbin Burnes (Brewers) |
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