The MLB Network is counting down the top 10 at every position in baseball heading into the 2025 season. They've already completed several positions and starting pitchers were done on Tuesday. As with all their lists, this one was controversial and was met with some backlash from fans.
When there are numbers and accolades involved, lists like these are often subjective. That leaves them open to criticism, which the MLB has gotten its fair share of on every reveal.
Here are its top 10 starting pitchers: Framber Valdez, Logan Webb, Gerrit Cole, Cole Ragans, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Paul Skenes, Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler.
The list drew a lot of negative comments.
"Logan Webb and Valdez have no business on this list others you can argue but those to no business even looking at the list," one fan said.
"So the 2 Cy Young winners aren’t 1 and 2? Ok that definitely makes sense," another fan wrote.
"I guess the Mariners starting rotation doesn’t exist," one fan commented.
"Not a universe where Valdez is better than Yamamoto," another fan wrote.
Fans were particularly miffed that no Seattle Mariners starter made the cut. They also can't believe that a non-Cy Young winner was atop the list. In their eyes, there were a ton of snubs and mistakes in this list.
How the fans voted for the top 10 MLB starting pitchers
Fans complained about how the MLB ranked the top 10 starting pitchers in baseball, although they also had their chance to vote. It didn't influence the reveal, but a separate list showed how fans felt.
This is the order from 10 to one: Shota Imanaga, Spencer Strider, Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler, Chris Sale, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Fans put more emphasis on players who were hurt last year but could likely be dominant again in 2025 like Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom and Atlanta Braves star Spencer Strider.