MLB is rolling into the 16th week of the 2026 season with the All-Star Game just a week away, and the starting-pitching picture is crowded with names that have earned their way onto the stage. The league has already announced its All-Star teams, and while plenty of deserving arms made the cut, a few were left waiting. At the top of the list sits Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who has put together the kind of first two seasons that now come with a second All-Star nod and the chance to start the game for the National League.
Misiorowski has been the standard-bearer so far. Entering the week, he leads all MLB starting pitchers in strikeouts and WHIP, a combination that explains why he’s sitting at No.
- Right behind him is Cam Schlittler of the Yankees, who has been just as tough to square up.
Schlittler ranks third in strikeouts and fourth in WHIP among MLB starting pitchers and can be the starter for the American League in the All-Star Game.
Cristopher Sanchez has forced his way into the NL Cy Young Award conversation with a season that has been impossible to ignore. He enters the week tied for second in strikeouts among MLB pitchers and will be an option to start the All-Star Game for the National League.
Chris Sale, meanwhile, keeps doing what he has done for years: dominate. The Braves veteran is tied for fifteenth in strikeouts among MLB pitchers and will represent the National League in the All-Star Game.
Shohei Ohtani remains in his own lane. He’ll represent the NL All-Stars as the team’s starting designated hitter, and he also enters the week among MLB’s top starting pitchers in WHIP and ERA. That two-way impact keeps him squarely in the upper tier of this ranking.
The next group is loaded with pitchers who have taken control of their rotations. Chase Burns, now in his second season, has overpowered hitters and become the ace in Cincinnati.
He’ll be a member of the NL All-Star team. Drew Rasmussen has been just as effective for Tampa Bay, with a dominant season that has him third in WHIP among MLB starting pitchers and on the AL All-Star roster.
Zack Wheeler continues to be a steady force in Philadelphia’s rotation. He has the best WHIP in the Phillies’ starting rotation, but despite that production, he was left off the NL All-Star roster.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has also kept rolling for the Dodgers, and he enters the week second among MLB starting pitchers in WHIP. He, too, will be on the NL All-Star team.
At No. 10, Max Meyer has emerged as the Marlins’ ace.
He leads Miami in many starting-pitcher categories and has earned a spot on the NL All-Star team. That’s the kind of climb that rounds out a top 10 built on dominance, consistency and a few notable omissions.
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Dodgers Still Have One Lineup Problem That Could Haunt October
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Roberts has acknowledged there may be a mental side to the job, with hitters feeling the weight of batting directly behind Ohtani, though he stopped short of saying he knows that for certain. The Dodgers are still weighing options for later in the season, including a possible look at Will Smith when he returns from injury, and the answer could matter more in October than it has in the regular season if this one spot continues to lag. [Read more 🡒]