Looking at the scenes of Major League Baseball and talking about the frontline stud pitchers, some conditions may bounce back and sound interchangeable. Most notably, “Ace” or “No. 1 Starter” may appear.
For a long time, I have kept in mind that, given that there are 30 teams, the first starter meant one of the top 30 pitchers in baseball. If you divide all the pitchers side by side and evenly, it’s the first starter by literal definition. The word “ace” comes from a deck of cards, and they are “1”.
However, sports terminology has evolved, and it appears that many people want to separate the first starter from the recent “true ace.”
What is a true ace? Well, some of it feels. Looking back on last season, let’s put Taric Scuball at zero. Al Cy Young winner Skubal made it 18-4 with 2.39 ERA, 0.92 whips and 228 strikeouts against 35 walks in 192 innings. No one who knows anything about baseball disputes that he is the number one starter. I think some people will try to argue because he didn’t get to 200 innings or that he wasn’t a real ace. It was his first full season since 2021 and he suffered a major injury there.
Watch Skubal in the playoffs. This is where the “feeling” factor emerged. The true mark of Ace, whose term has become known, is that he feels absolutely necessary to ensure that the opponent breaks right. Defeat this pitcher.
Sure enough, the Tigers scored the first two starts of the playoffs, but did not allow one run in 13 innings. They were teams of the whole team, but the aces lifted them and they won. Things were unraveled for him in Game 5, but not until the fifth time after four scoreless frames. He began his postseason career in 17 innings.
That’s a true ace.
There shouldn’t be much to dispute that, but if we’re going to portray a distinction, let’s take a look at the top 30 starting pitchers in last season’s Fangraphs War. Yes, we know that we have to do this every time war is mentioned, but let’s be clear. I’m not saying that war is the only statistic, even the most important thing for pitchers. This is the easiest way to sort by overall value.
No last year. Looking at 26-30 you will find Brandon Pfaadt, Hunter Brown, Shoda Imanaga, Bailey Ober and Kevin Gausman. Gaussmann fought speed issues early in the season and was an ace in the past, but there are many possibilities for the rest of the group, but Tarik Skuval as ace and Brandon Pfeid, who is not ace. I think I can tell the difference. .
Regarding baseball references, the starting pitcher wars number 26-30 were Lewis Gill, Tyler Anderson, Jack Flaherty, Brady Singer and Imanaga.
Again, you can call some of these names frontline starters and sit in the top 30. By definition it is the “No. 1 starter”, but I think everyone can safely distinguish it. The group and the true ace.
How many aces do baseball have now? It’s slim picking. Certainly not near 30. Find the true ace of 2025.
True Ace
Taric Scubale, Tigers
There’s no need to say anything more. He is my number one ace that will enter 2025.
Zach Wheeler, Phillies
Two years ago, Jerit Cole finally broke and after getting closer several times he won Cy Young. Last year it was Chris Sale’s turn. Is Wheeler next? He doesn’t make as many close calls as the others, but he probably has the best remaining pedigree among pitchers who have never won hardware. He finished twice last year, including when he was 16-7 with 2.57, 0.96 whips and 224 strikeouts in 200 innings.
Paul Skenneth, Pirates
Perhaps it’s a controversial choice given that he only has 23 career starts, but it shouldn’t. He’s already a solid ace. He was 11-3 with an ERA of 1.96, 0.95 whips and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings.
Corbin Burns, Diamondbacks
Burns won CY Young in 2021 and has worked at least 190 innings in each of the next three regular seasons. He won 15 games with the Orioles last year with an ERA of 2.92 and is now on NL West. I hope he sets an ace level year for D-back.
Chris Sale, Braves
The sale was absolutely ace last year and was for many of his careers. My only concern now is his age. He turns 36 before the season begins, and his left arm has plenty of mileage on his spinning frame. But he deserves to be here thanks to his 2024 performance.
Cole Laganns, Royals
In his first full season with the Royals, the Laganns were a popular breakout pick, but later in the season, he felt overlooked, if any. With a 32 start, he had a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 186 innings. He is now 27 years old and finishes fourth in the Al Cy Young poll.
Logan Webb, Giants
Reliable Webb led the NL in the innings, pitching each of the last two seasons in the innings. He finished second and then sixth in the Cy Young poll. In his last four seasons, he posted a 3.18 ERA (126 ERA+) and a 1.14 WHIP. He sometimes doesn’t feel like a 2025 ace because he pitches not to hit everyone but to get in contact, but fan 172 last year.
Dylan stopped, Padres
Walks will always be a slight concern, but I’m not too worried now as he’s sold well around them. He currently ranks 2nd in the Cy Young poll in AL (2022) and 4th in the NL (last season). He averaged 223 strikeouts in the past four years 223 times a season, during which he pitched 3.52 ERA (120 ERA+).
Framer Valdez, Astros
I wrestled with Valdes and stopped a lot about whether they belong to the top tier here. Over the past three years, Valdez has gone 44-24 with an ERA 3.06 (131 ERA+), 1.13 whips, averaging 192 innings and 188 strikeouts per season. He won the World Series and was the frontline starter for a team that plays the annual playoffs. He finished fifth, seventh and nineth in Cy Young’s polls. He is an ace.
Probably a true ace, probably not
Spencer Strider, Braves
Strider is 100% true ace, unless he compromised. It’s unclear when he’ll return from major surgery, and how long the training wheel will stay early in the season.
Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
Similar feelings from Alcantara. He’s a true ace when it works perfectly, but after having Tommy John’s surgery he missed everything from last season. However, he is ahead of the Strider, who has completed his rehabilitation and is the starter for the Marlins’ first day.
Hunter Green, Reds
I’ve already messed around with putting the green on top as a true ace. He broke through the All-Star season in 2024, recording a sparkling 2.75 ERA (160 ERA+), but earned a career in just 150 innings. Before we declare him in the top tier, we need to see more.
Gerit Cole, Yankees
The 2023 Cy Young winner has been heading to the top of the ACE list for many years, but he dealt with injuries in the first part of last season and fought the inconsistencies when he returned. He watched the Game 5 part of the World Series before the entire team fell apart in five innings, but it’s no surprise to see him return to true ace levels.
Shane McClanahan, Rays
Over his three-year career, McClanahan is 33-16 with ERA 3.02 and 1.11 whip. He was a complete ace entering 2023, but had to undergo Tommy John surgery in late August. But he’s back now.
Garrett Crochet, Red Sox
The 6-foot-6 left-hander was a former round pick and saw a lot of parts last season. He also only worked 146 innings, with his previous career high at 54 years old. He pitched 38 innings after last year’s All-Star break and posted a 5.12 ERA. The talent is there, and that’s why the Red Sox traded for him, but there are questions to answer before we consider him an ace.
George Kirby, Mariners
Kirby is a good candidate to move the next leap to Acedom. Maybe this move has thrown that many strikes? He could be the best control artist in the majors, walking only 64 batters in 511 career innings. He also led the AL in last season’s AL due to too much predictability when it comes to pitching within the strike zone.
Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers
Glasnow looks like an ace of 100% long stretches and has the talent of Cy Young, but he has never been pitched more than 134 innings last season and was injured throughout the playoffs. That’s what keeps him at bay.
Aaron Nora, Phillies
On the other side of Glasnow, Nora was the inning eater of his career. He has surpassed 200 innings three times and 190 innings twice. At this point, his implementing prevention is not as reliable as calling him an ace. He had a 4.46 ERA in 2023 and dropped to 3.57 last year, but that’s still a 114 ERA+. That’s good, but not that good. It’s enough to say he’s more of the mainstay than the ace, as two of the past four years have fallen below average.
Seth Lugo, Royals
Lugo was the authentic ace of last season. He was runner-up in the CY Young poll in AL with 3.00 ERA, 1.09 whips and 181 strikeouts in the 206 innings. He is 34 years old and has never been an ace before, so he is not listed as a true ace. It’s difficult to repeat. It is perfectly possible for him to do so.
Reynaldo Lopez, Braves
As shown in his 1.99 ERA, Lopez was certainly an ace when he was on the mound last year. However, he managed only 135 innings, and never became an ace before. He is 31 now. It’s stupid to leave him off this list, but it might be stupid to assume he’s on the top line.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
Last year, we got a glimpse into Yamamoto’s ace-like skill in both the regular season and the World Series. I only saw it in 90 innings of regular season work. He’s a better bet than many on this part of the list, but he still can’t call an unfair true ace for now.
Dodgers, Saga roki
He has the potential to be an ace, that’s certainly true. He is also a beginner.
Blake Snell, the Dodgers
Which Snells will appear? Has anyone had a 2018 CY Young winner or 4.06 ERA (101 ERA+) in the next three seasons? Who won the 2023 Cy Young or who started last season with a 5.40 ERA from nine Starts? Or the guy who went 13-3 with a 1.20 ERA in the final 23rd start?
I think it’s likely that Snell is an ace, but it has proven he’s not certain for quite some time.
Logan Gilbert, Mariners
Gilbert led the majors in the innings and whips (0.89!) last season, earning 220 in the 208 innings with a 3.23 ERA. He’s close to ace level, but given his pitcher-friendly home ballpark, we probably need to see more domination. For example, he only had 113 ERA+.
Max Fried, Yankees
Southpaw was undoubtedly the ace from 2020-22, and injuries kept him in a 14-acce-like start in 2023. Is he compromised? He took a step back in 2024, but was still a frontline starter who worked 174 innings. It would not be shocking at least to see him throw like an ace this year.
Michael King, Padres
It must happen over a long period of time, but King was a stretch grandeur. He went 9-5 with an ERA 2.24 in the last 20 regular-season games last year. He dominated the start of his first playoffs and was knocked by the Dodgers in his next Dodgers.
Jacob DeGrom, Rangers
Though it may feel like a long shot due to his history of injury, DeGrom has returned from Tommy John’s surgery to get his three starts last year. He was held in 10 innings, but hit 14 against one walk with an ERA of 1.69. If he can somehow summon something like 175 innings this season, the chances of him being a true ace will be overwhelming.
Christopher Sanchez, Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Pablo Lopez, Tanner Hook, Ranger Suarez, Grayson Rodriguez, Yusei Kikuchi, Hunter Brown: Some other things that can jump up to the true ace
Some other people who can return to form as true aces: Shane Bieber, Sony Gray, Kevin Gorman, Lewis Castillo, Zack Gallen, Shohai Otani, and, surprisingly, Justin Verlander, Max Shelzer, Clayton Kerr show.
