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The seventh week of the MLB regular season is almost here, and the aces of the league have been truly dominating thus far. By now, it's reasonable to assume that many of these hurlers will challenge for the Cy Young awards in their various leagues. Here's which pitchers have performed the best through seven weeks of the season.
MLB Pitcher Power Rankings: Listing top 5 starting pitchers as week 7 end approaches
#5) Dylan Cease
The San Diego Padres were hoping for this version of Dylan Cease when they traded for him, and Cease has a 10.95 K/9 rate and a 2.19 ERA this year. He is also 5-2 for a team that has hovered around .500 this season. A 2.29 FIP is also a great mark, as is his 0.36 HR/9 rate. The Chicago White Sox didn't see this version of Cease in 2023 and will be watching with some frustration.
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#4) Tyler Glasnow
Tyler Glasnow has been everything the Los Angeles Dodgers could have asked for in their trade. He has a 1.7 fWAR, an 11.53 K.9 rate, a 2.53 ERA and FIP, and a 0.79 HR/9 rate. He's not giving up home runs and he's striking almost everyone out. His expected metrics are right in line with his actual results, so he hasn't been lucky, Glasnow has just been that good.
#3) Tanner Houck
Tanner Houck has been one of the MLB's best pitchers for long enough this season to assume that it's not a fluke and that he is simply that good. The Boston Red Sox starter is worth a league-high 1.8 fWAR and has a 2.24 ERA and a 2.18 FIP. What was deemed a major weakness for Boston has been a surprising strength thanks to the arrival of Houck as a true Cy Young candidate.
#2) Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal was a dark-horse Cy Young candidate in spring training, but he has officially arrived. His 1.8 fWAR is tied for the league lead and he has a 2.02 ERA, 11.02 K/9 rate, and a 2.06 FIP. He's been positively dominant thus far, posting a 5-0 record as well. The Detroit Tigers, even with their dismal offense, are above .500 and Skubal is a major factor in that. He has carried them thus far.
#1) Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler continues to cement himself as arguably the best pitcher in the game. With Gerrit Cole out to injury, Wheeler has taken that mantle and his consistency over the last few seasons is good backing to that claim. This year, he's been worth 1.8 fWAR, has a 1.64 ERA, an 11.49 K/9 rate, and only gives up 0.55 home runs per nine innings.
