We’re almost at the halfway point of the 2025 MLB season, and today we’re going to look at the best pitchers in the American League this year to give a power ranking based on results.
I based this list heavily on 2025 results (ERA/IP) while taking into account underlying metrics to help decide some tiebreakers where they applied.
The top four pitchers on this list gave me the most trouble in this ranking, and I tried to use metrics like FIP, K%, and xERA to properly separate them , but as with any list, this is subjective and everyone has their own opinions.
It’s not necessarily who I believe has the highest odds of winning the Cy Young either, because that’s a bit too projections heavy and I tried to stay away from that unless I was in a true deadlock with two pitchers.
10. Joe Ryan – Minnesota Twins
After losing Pablo Lopez, the Minnesota Twins have seen their pitching staff crumble, but Joe Ryan has pitched like an ace in his absence. The right-hander has a 2.86 ERA and 29.1% strikeout rate across 91.1 innings pitched this season, as he’s been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Ryan has been a strong middle of the rotation starter in years past, but with an uptick in velocity the last few seasons alongside adding some new weapons to his pitch mix, he’s become a darkhorse Cy Young contender.
9. Drew Rasmussen – Tampa Bay Rays
Drew Rasmussen has responded beautifully from years of injury issues from 2023-2024, sporting a 2.45 ERA with elite-level damage prevention. While he isn’t a swing-and-miss machine like some of the other names on this list, hitters have a 5.7% Barrel% against Rasmussen and he still holds a solid 16.1% K-BB%. What’s holding him back from being higher on this list is the volume, as other pitchers on this list pace for far more innings pitched than he does due to the lack of deep starts he has on the season.
8. Carlos Rodon – New York Yankees
After being considered a complete bust of a signing, Carlos Rodon has become one of the best pitchers in the American League since the All-Star Break of last season. This year, he is 11th in fWAR while also being 11th in ERA, doing so with the fifth-most innings pitched among American League starters. His consistent ability to pitch deep into games and miss plenty of bats makes him one of the best pitchers in the league right now, and the Yankees have been loving that their no. 2 starter is an ace.
7. Framber Valdez – Houston Astros
Is Framber Valdez underrated? It feels like the Houston Astros have flown under the radar this season as one of the best teams in baseball, and that’s in large part because someone like Valdez has been brilliant this year. He has the third-most innings pitched in the AL with a 2.88 ERA, sporting a 60% GB% with elite underlying numbers. The sinkerballer is one of the most reliable aces in the game, and he’s done a brilliant job helping the Astros transition from losing Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander to where they are today.
6. Kris Bubic – Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals have been a disappointment this season, but Kris Bubic has broken out as a true ace with a 2.18 ERA and a 2.52 FIP. The left-hander is top five in both WAR and ERA among American League pitchers, but he misses out on the top five because of the lack of volume compared to each pitcher ranked ahead of him. He only has 15 starts made which is partially because of the Royals’ plan to manage his workload after dealing with injuries for a few seasons. I wouldn’t consider him a likely Cy Young contender because of it, but this could parlay into a 200 IP season in 2026.
5. Jacob deGrom – Texas Rangers
Jacob deGrom is back and he remains one of the most dominant pitchers in the game despite dialing back his fastball velocity from previous seasons. He’s walking just 5.5% of batters faced, a reflection of the elite command that has allowed him to continue overpowering hitters, sporting a 2.08 ERA and 3.02 FIP across 16 starts. The Rangers aren’t completely out of contention thanks to the former Cy Young winner and his efforts on the mound, and if he can keep this up the rest of the way, we could see him add some more hardware in the offseason.
4. Max Fried – New York Yankees
Max Fried has the second-lowest ERA in the American League with the second-most innings pitched, but I gave each of the three pitchers ahead of him the edge because of their high strikeout rates. There’s a bit of projection here, and when we talk about pitchers who are this close in run prevention and volume, numbers like K% start to serve as a tiebreaker for me. I do have some hope that Fried can miss more bats the rest of the way; he’s dialed up the cutter and curveball usage which have resulted in more whiffs, and if that holds up I think Fried could end up taking home the Cy Young Award.
3. Garrett Crochet – Boston Red Sox
I originally ranked Garrett Crochet fourth, then I though about having him second, and now I’ve settled on him being third on this list. It feels like the appropriate place to put an ace who is pitching deep into games while dealing with some of the worst home ballpark disadvantages possible for an American League pitcher. Fenway Park is so run-happy which played a role in my decision to just narrowly rank him ahead of Max Fried, as did his 31.3% K% and top-two WAR on both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.
2. Tarik Skubal – Detroit Tigers
Tarik Skubal is outside of the top five in ERA among American League starters, but I simply cannot ignore that 28.7% K-BB% this season. He leads all American League starters in fWAR despite having one fewer start than both Garrett Crochet and Max Fried while also having a chance to re-take the lead in innings pitched. Skubal would be my bet to win the Cy Young Award this winter despite ranking him second on this list, and that also helped him rank ahead of Crochet and Fried, who you could realistically argue for over the hard-throwing left-hander based on results alone in 2025.
1. Hunter Brown – Houston Astros
Hunter Brown has the best ERA in the American League with excellent volume, I have to rank that first especially when the underlying numbers are brilliant. He has a better K% than Garrett Crochet while having a > 0.50 ERA advantage over Tarik Skubal, if I was voting on the Cy Young Award today this would be my pick without second thought. Will he outlast the others on this list the rest of the way? Maybe not, but over the last calendar year he has the best ERA in the entire American League (2.21) and the second-best FIP (2.85).