Most Underrated Pitchers in Baseball
There are hundreds of pitchers in Major League Baseball at any given moment. You know the biggest names for a reason, but who are the most underrated guys to take the hill on a regular basis? Here's a list of five who deserve more attention.
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Dylan Cease
5-3, 2.68 ERA, 1.284 WHIP, 13.1 K/9
While the White Sox have struggled this season, Dylan Cease has excelled. Coming off a season where he started 32 games and led MLB in strikeouts per 9 innings, he's been even tougher this year. He struck out a career-high 13 over the weekend. He's gotten better every season since he debuted in 2019 and is on the brink of making his first All-Star team at 26.
Shohei Ohtani
6-4, 2.90 ERA, 1.010 WHIP, 11.9 K/9
The reigning AL MVP? Underrated? Yes. Because if you're talking about his hitting, it should always be remembered that he's a pitcher and when you talk about his pitching, it should always be mentioned that he's also hitting every day. He hit 46 home runs last season and led baseball in triples. And he has struck out 90 batters in under 70 innings so far this season.
Shane McClanahan
7-3, 1.81 ERA, .854 WHIP, 12.1 K/9
McClanahan, 25, is in his second season in the majors and he leads baseball in strikeouts, ERA and WHIP after his first 14 starts of the year. An adjustment to his changeup has taken him from good to really good very early in his career.
Devin Williams
2-0, 2.22 ERA, 1.024 WHIP, 14.6 K/9
After an incredible Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020, Williams' numbers more resembled those of a human pitcher in his second season, but were still great. He's having another great campaign as the Brewers' eighth-inning man, but has already racked up a career-high five saves midway through the season as he mostly clears the way for All-Star closer Josh Hader.
Tony Gonsolin
9-0, 1.58 ERA, 0.820 WHIP, 8.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9
At the start of the season, Tony Gonsolin was projected to be the Dodgers' fifth starter behind Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Haney. Injuries have hit a few of the guys ahead of Gonsolin, but opponents have not. Midway through the season Gonsolin is 9-0 and has as many quality starts as Julio Urias, who won 20 games last season.