It has always been. The starting pitcher has ruled the day. Let’s face it, selling tickets to see Roki Sasaki is not going to be a problem. When you look to go to a ballgame, it’s the first thing you look at. Who’s pitching today?
There’s a fear that those days are slowly coming to an end. Only four pitchers tossed two hundred innings last season. Ten years ago it was thirty four. Bullpens have taken over the game, if you go five, fine.
Luckily there are still great arms to carry on the tradition. Two exploded into prominence last season and there’s more on the way.
Skubal and Skenes
Paul Skenes, coming off winning NL rookie of the year while finishing third in Cy Young voting, is working on not one, but two new pitches for the 2025 season:
Paul Skenes’ 2024 Pitching Mastery: 98.8 MPH FB w/ 18” rise, 62% whiff slider, 24” curve drop. Chart shows UNREAL movement (RHP+). Can he break MLB records in 2025? 🔥 #Pirates #MLB pic.twitter.com/U04nxjLzJn
— JB (@J3M2B) March 4, 2025
Skenes (22) went 11-3, 1.96 ERA but was held to 133 innings during his rookie season. In sixteen of his twenty-three starts he went at least six innings.
Tarik Skubal (28) won the AL Cy Young award, getting better and better through his fourth season. 18-4, 2.39 with a league leading 228 strikeouts. He averaged better than six innings a start.
Tarik Skubal, who didn't throw his first career 100 mph pitch until last May, now popping an easy 100.1 in Spring Training pic.twitter.com/X93ndNAI9H
— David Adler (@_dadler) February 26, 2025
Skubal and Skenes look to have company with some young pitchers that could hit big this season.
Garrett Crochet
December 11, 2024: Traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox for Wikelman Gonzalez (minors), Chase Meidroth (minors), Braden Montgomery (minors) and Kyle Teel (minors).
After missing all of 2022 and tossing only twenty-five innings in 2023, Crochet was a starter for the first time as a pro. The White Sox didn’t let him get past the fourth inning in his last fourteen starts. That will change now that he heads Boston’s rotation.
Roki Sasaki
Sasaki, the twenty-three year old Japanese superstar signed with the Dodgers after four pro seasons in his home country. He is the number one prospect overall at any position heading into 2025 and he looks ready:
Roki Sasaki strikes out 5 in his #SpringTraining debut. pic.twitter.com/RWUPHApuFS
— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2025
Still more coming
There are more ready to make their way into your consciousness. The Tigers Jackson Jobe is a top five prospect (#3 overall draft choice in 2021) and he’s already seen post season action.
Big things are expected of the Phillies Andrew Painter, He missed two full seasons. Phils GM Dave Dombrowki can’t wait, but he will:
“I’m very excited. I think he is one of the best young pitchers in baseball,” Dombrowski said. “I think he’s going to be a tremendous Major League pitcher, we just have to be careful with him this year.
The Pirates will soon have a full rotation of top prospects. Skenes and Jared Jones are already there. Another future ace will arrive this year in Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington will follow after him.
By the way, there were twenty-eight complete games in all of MLB last season. Back in 1980 the A’s Rick Langford had that many by himself. So while they’re not disappearing, they ain’t what they used to be
