Ranking MLB's 30 Pitching Staffs in June (2024)

A week ago on B/R, we ranked all 30 MLB lineups, with the New York Yankees, led by the duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, claiming the top spot.

This week, it's time to examine where all 30 starting rotations are in June. It's worth pointing out that while these rankings are largely based on what's happened to this point, there is definitely some projecting on how likely a staff is to maintain what it has done to this point. Additionally, the staff includes the entire bullpen, not just the five pitchers in the starting rotation.

With all that in mind, here is June's ranking of all 30 MLB pitching staffs.

30. Colorado Rockies

Cal Quantrill has a respectable 3.43 ERA, but the rest of the starting staff is all north of 4.25. 2024 is the 31st season of the Rockies organization, and they don't feel any closer to figuring out how to build a competitive pitching staff while playing their home games in the elevation of Coors Field.

29. Chicago White Sox

Both Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde are going to be popular trade candidates, which may make this ranking seem a bit low. However, when you consider that those two might be the only pitchers, starter or reliever, who have thrown the ball well this year for manager Pedro Grifol, this ranking starts to make more sense.

28. Los Angeles Angels

It's turned into yet another lost season for the Angels, who didn't have enough pitching to compete when Shohei Ohtani was in their starting rotation, let alone after his departure. The Halos are 28th in team ERA, and even some veteran relievers the team had hoped would be effective before the season, such as Matt Moore, Luis Garcia and Hunter Strickland have struggled.

De-facto ace Tyler Anderson is a trade candidate, but he's also 34, and his 4.69 FIP suggests his 2.58 ERA isn't sustainable, so he's not going to fetch much of a return.

27. Miami Marlins

Closer Tanner Scott has been one of the best relievers in baseball since the start of the 2023 season, and in his walk year, he is already drawing interest from multiple contenders. It's pretty wild to think about how bad Miami's pitching will be after the trade deadline.

Sandy Alcántara and Eury Pérez both will miss the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery, with Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers on the injured list as well. The only saving grace for the 2024 pitching staff might be that Jesús Luzardo has pitched badly enough that president of baseball operations Peter Bendix could hold on to him beyond the July 30th deadline, rather than sell low.

26. Oakland Athletics

Mason Miller is one of the best shows in baseball, with Michael Kelly, T.J. McFarland, Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg all having pitched well enough to give manager Mark Kotsay a respectable bullpen.

However, there's a possibility that the bullpen looks entirely different after the trade deadline, and all six pitchers who have made seven or more starts for the A's this year have ERAs over 4.10, so it's hard to put them any higher than this.

25. San Francisco Giants

As per usual, Logan Webb has been excellent, with Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison giving you glimpses of what could be an impressive rotation the next few seasons.

The problem is that reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell is on the injured list for the second time and has a 9.51 ERA in his first six starts with the Giants. Closer Camilo Doval also has taken a step back, as he has a 4.71 ERA.

24. Tampa Bay Rays

Like Florida's other team, the Rays' pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries this season, with Shane McClanahan out for the year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and both Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen working their way back from elbow procedures of their own.

If Tampa Bay decides this isn't its year, Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander is going to receive quite a bit of interest in Zach Eflin, Pete Fairbanks and Garrett Cleavinger, among others.

23. Arizona Diamondbacks

If you're wondering why the Snakes have been so disappointing after winning the NL pennant last year, both Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen are on the injured list, and spring training signee Jordan Montgomery has an unsightly 6.00 ERA to show for 11 starts with Arizona.

If there's any silver lining, it's that both Ryan Thompson and Paul Sewald have been dominant out of the bullpen. But the starting rotation has been a massive letdown.

22. Minnesota Twins

This is a group that should be much better but has multiple expected top arms like Pablo López (5.33 ERA), Bailey Ober (4.81) and Jhoan Durán (4.90 FIP) who have underperformed. That's only exacerbated the loss of last year's AL Cy Young Award runner-up, Sonny Gray, in free agency this past offseason.

21. Houston Astros

If Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly get back on track, the Astros are going to have as good of a bullpen as there is in baseball, given the results that Seth Martinez, Bryan Abreu and Tayler Scott have gotten this season.

There's much less certainty in the starting rotation, with 41-year-old Justin Verlander scratched from his most recent scheduled start with neck discomfort, and José Urquidy, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier all lost for the season as they recover from Tommy John surgery.

Ronel Blanco has had a breakout season, but the Astros definitely need to add another starting pitcher before the July 30 trade deadline if they hope to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

20. New York Mets

Luis Severino and Sean Manaea have thrown the ball well enough that each will likely draw trade interest before the July 30 deadline. Unfortunately for the Mets, Kodai Senga hasn't pitched all season, reliever Brooks Raley was lost to Tommy John surgery and the veteran trio of Edwin Díaz, Jose Quintana and Adam Ottavino have struggled enough for the Mets to look like potential sellers, even if they're still in playoff contention.

19. Toronto Blue Jays

Even with Alek Manoah lost for the season, Kevin Gausman's 3.39 FIP suggests better results are coming, which would give the Blue Jays an impressive quartet of starting pitchers with José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi and Chris Bassitt.

Toronto, though, is really dragged down by its bullpen. Closer Jordan Romano has been on the injured list with right elbow inflammation since late May and had a 6.59 ERA prior to going on the IL. Génesis Cabrera, Nate Pearson and Tim Mayza all have ERAs above 4.20 as well.

18. Texas Rangers

Bruce Bochy's squad is 20th in team ERA, but some reinforcements are on the way. Max Scherzer's season debut is imminent, and the Rangers are still hopeful to get Jacob deGrom and/or Tyler Mahle back in a starting rotation where Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Lorenzen and Jon Gray have all pitched well.

Where it's fair to be concerned is the bullpen. Kirby Yates and David Robertson have both been tremendous, but the former is 37 and the latter is 39, so there's some skepticism about how they'll hold up late in the season. Texas badly needs last year's World Series hero José Leclerc to get his season back on track.

17. St. Louis Cardinals

The average age of St. Louis' starting rotation is 35 years old, so it was largely a Band-Aid when it signed Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson last offseason, although those two have been effective. As has Sonny Gray in the first season of a four-year deal. However, both Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz have been bad, and Gray is the only pitcher in this rotation worthy of potentially starting a postseason game.

Ryan Helsley, JoJo Romero, Ryan Fernandez and John King have all pitched well out of the bullpen, but the Cardinals will need improved results from Matthew Liberatore as they try to overcome an underwhelming offense to be a playoff team.

16. Washington Nationals

Mercifully, Patrick Corbin is in the final season of a six-year deal that's been a disaster since the second the 2019 World Series ended. But outside of Corbin, Washington's starting rotation has been really solid in 2024, with the young trio of MacKenzie Gore, Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin all pitching at high levels. Additionally, veteran Trevor Williams is on the injured list with a right flexor muscle strain but had a 2.22 ERA over 11 starts.

In theory, relievers Kyle Finnegan and Dylan Floro would be popular trade targets, but the Nationals have pitched so well this year that they're very much in the picture for one of the three wild-card spots in the NL.

15. Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee's bullpen has received excellent contributions from Trevor Megill and Bryan Hudson, and can look forward to getting All-Star closer Devin Williams back at some point after the All-Star break.

But while the Brewers have made it work to this point, there are serious questions in the starting rotation. Post-Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta hasn't pitched like an ace, and he's really the only pitcher the Brewers have with a track record of pitching 130-plus innings consistently.

To hold onto their lead in the NL Central, general manager Matt Arnold will probably need to add two starting pitchers this summer, which would probably be a worthwhile investment given that he has a strong lineup and bullpen in place.

14. Chicago Cubs

Led by Shota Imanaga's dominant rookie season, the Cubs' starting staff has been largely excellent. Javier Assad is having something of a breakout campaign, while Jameson Taillon has rebounded from a brutal first year in Chicago and Justin Steele has thrown the ball well since coming off the injured list.

The reason Craig Counsell's staff isn't in the top 10 is that outside Hayden Wesneski, the bullpen has largely been a disaster. Adbert Alzolay is on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm strain and had been awful prior to his placement, as he had a 4.67 ERA in 18 games.

Héctor Neris and Mark Leiter Jr. also have ERAs north of 4.00, so if the Cubs hope to dig themselves out of a hole and compete for a playoff spot, the bullpen should be their No. 1 concern.

13. San Diego Padres

Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron have all pitched well, but the success of that trio is offset to some degree by what's been a disastrous season for Joe Musgrove, who, like Yu Darvish, is on the injured list.

Robert Suarez has been dominant for manager Mike Shildt in replacing Josh Hader, while Adrián Morejón and Jeremiah Estrada have also pitched well. Unfortunately, Yuki Matsui, Stephen Kolek and Enyel De Los Santos have left a lot to be desired.

So the Padres' pitching is fitting for a team built by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller—there's some star-level performers, but you're not sure how much better than average the group is as a whole.

12. Cincinnati Reds

This is a difficult group to figure out, because the trio of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott has pitched very well, but offseason signee Frankie Montas has disappointed with a 4.62 ERA while Graham Ashcraft struggled so much that he was optioned to Triple-A Louisville this month.

If one of Montas and Ashcraft turns his season around, and the Reds get better results from closer Alexis Díaz, they have a shot to overcome what's been a disappointing start and be a playoff team.

11. Pittsburgh Pirates

The trio of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones is must-watch. Colin Holderman is having a season out of the bullpen that's worthy of All-Star consideration. However, the two former All-Star relievers Pittsburgh was counting on, David Bednar and Aroldis Chapman, have had bad seasons.

It's fair to think at least one of those two will turn things around, though, which may allow the Buccos to climb up this list as the season goes along.

10. Detroit Tigers

Tarik Skubal is a contender for AL Cy Young, and the Tigers hit on Jack Flaherty when they inked him to a one-year, $14 million deal in the offseason. The question then becomes, what do the Tigers do with Flaherty?

He would be a coveted trade candidate if the Tigers sell but is still only 28 years old. Shouldn't the Tigers be trying to build around the pitching core of Skubal, Flaherty and Reese Olson?

9. Kansas City Royals

The job that general manager J.J. Picollo has done in acquiring two front-line pitchers relatively cheaply over the last year in Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo doesn't get enough attention.

The Royals will be a tough out because of those two early in the postseason. Heck, Brady Singer and Alec Marsh have pitched well too. The Royals need to make an upgrade over James McArthur at closer, but Ángel Zerpa and John Schreiber have both pitched really well, so it's not all negative when evaluating Matt Quatraro's bullpen.

8. Cleveland Guardians

With former AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber out for the season, it's fair to question the staying power of a rotation that Ben Lively leads in ERA. With that said, Emmanuel Clase has anchored one of the best bullpens in baseball, as both he and Tim Herrin have ERAs under 1.00, while setup man Hunter Gaddis is at 1.65.

Whether there's enough starting pitching to do damage in October is a real question, but the bullpen has the weapons to get them there.

7. Atlanta Braves

Losing ace Spencer Strider for the season was a blow, but Chris Sale, Max Fried and Reynaldo López have still been formidable. There are durability questions here, though, because López is a full-time starter for the first time since 2019, while both Sale and Fried have injury histories.

Outfield is the most pressing need for president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, but he needs to add another front-line starter to avoid another early postseason exit.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers

In a previous draft of this list, the Dodgers were in the top five. But then Yoshinobu Yamamoto (strained rotator cuff) joined an injured list that already included Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May, and only recently just saw Bobby Miller depart.

Can Tyler Glasnow hold up? Will Kershaw be effective whenever he pitches this season? What should you make of Walker Buehler? The ceiling of this rotation is very high, but there are too many question marks on health for them to be any higher than this. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman probably needs to make a major addition.

Starters

1. Tanner Houck

2. Kutter Crawford

3. Brayan Bello

4. Cooper Criswell

5. Nick Pivetta

Top Relievers

1. Kenley Jansen

2. Justin Slaten

3. Brennan Bernardino

Boston Red Sox fans are understandably frustrated with ownership's sudden unwillingness to spend like they are the Boston Red Sox, but supporters should feel really good about how the pitching staff has looked in the first year under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and with Andrew Bailey as the pitching coach.

Tanner Houck is among the league leaders in virtually every category, a drastic improvement from the 5.01 ERA he posted across 21 starts a year ago. Kutter Crawford has also pitched very well, even if his 3-6 record wouldn't lead you to think that.

As the Red Sox hover above .500 in a crowded AL East, it will be interesting to see what direction Breslow goes before the July 30 trade deadline. If the Red Sox sell, closer Kenley Jansen and starter Nick Pivetta are among the impending free agents who contending teams would be interested in.

Rotation

1. Corbin Burnes

2. Grayson Rodriguez

3. Kyle Bradish

4. Cole Irvin

5. Dean Kramer

Top Relievers

1. Craig Kimbrel

2. Jacob Webb

3. Yennier Cano

Kyle Bradish once again having UCL problems may force general manager Mike Elias to make a big move for a starting pitcher this summer. Luckily for him, he's sitting on a wealth of position playing prospects who would make the O's the favorites for any arm they desire.

That incredible pipeline is how the Orioles got Corbin Burnes, who looks like he could make a run at becoming the eighth pitcher in MLB history to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues.

Both the fact that he's 36 and has a history of running out of gas in the postseason suggest that the Orioles shouldn't rely on Craig Kimbrel to be their closer in October. However, there are plenty of worse options to tide them over until the trade deadline, as Kimbrel has converted on a bulk of his save opportunities this season. And again, Elias has the prospect capital to acquire any reliever he sets his sights on.

Starters

1. Logan Gilbert

2. Luis Castillo

3. Bryce Miller

4. George Kirby

5. Bryan Woo

Top Relievers

1. Andres Munoz

2. Trent Thornton

3. Austin Voth

The Mariners have one of the poorer lineups in baseball, which president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto needs to correct so that Seattle doesn't waste one of the best pitching staffs the sport has to offer.

Logan Gilbert is pitching at an All-Star caliber for the Mariners, and he leads a rotation that would be well set up to be a problem in a three-, five- or seven-game series in the postseason.

Andrés Muñoz will likely be at the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career this season and has been one of baseball's best relievers since the start of the 2022 season.

Again, this is a pitching staff capable of winning a World Series. Whether the lineup is capable of fending off the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros in the AL West is less clear.

Starters

1. Gerrit Cole

2. Luis Gil

3. Marcus Stroman

4. Carlos Rodon

5. Nestor Cortes

Top Relievers

1. Clay Holmes

2. Luke Weaver

3. Ian Hamilton

The Yankees lead baseball in ERA and opponent's batting average. With reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole set to rejoin Aaron Boone's staff this week, you can definitely make the case that the Yankees should be No. 1.

Where it's fair to be concerned about this rotation is how it will hold up as the season goes along. Luis Gil has been as good as any pitcher in baseball but has already tossed 80 innings, and as a veteran of Tommy John surgery, is going to have limitations as the year goes on.

Marcus Stroman hasn't made 30 starts in a season since 2021. Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes also have injury histories of their own. And it's fair to still have some skepticism about Cole's health, although the Yankees seem to have managed his recovery from right elbow inflammation very well.

New York deserves to be at least this high based on how it has pitched this season. It's just a matter of how it will look when October rolls around. General manager Brian Cashman would be wise to add another starter capable of pitching in a postseason game before the July 30 trade deadline.

Starting Rotation

1. Zack Wheeler

2. Ranger Suárez

3. Aaron Nola

4. Cristopher Sanchez

5. Taijuan Walker

Top Relievers

1. José Alvarado

2. Jeff Hoffman

3. Matt Strahm

Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have been MLB's most durable duo for some time now, but neither has been the best pitcher on the Phillies in 2024. That title belongs to Ranger Suárez, who leads baseball in wins (10), ERA (1.77), ERA+ (227) and WHIP (0.88).

José Alvarado leads the Phillies in saves, but it's been Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm who have been the most dominant arms coming out of Rob Thomson's bullpen. You can make an argument that Hoffman (0.89 ERA) and Strahm (0.96 ERA) have each been among the five best relievers in baseball this season.

The Phillies could put their bullpen over the top if they acquired an elite closer, but they have good overall bullpen depth, particularly if Seranthony Domínguez continues to turn his season around. As is, this is a pitching staff ready to make a deep October run.