High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Ranking MLB's Top Starting Pitching Trios; Phillies Clearly Number 1?

Episode Date: May 22, 2024

Joe Giglio ranks the top starting pitching trios in Major League Baseball and assesses the gap between the Phillies and everyone else. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It's WIP Daily with Joe Giglio. Welcome on in. WIP Daily. Joe Giglio with you. A pretty different list. It's describing follow the podcast or YouTube feed, of course. Check it out there. 94 WIP.

What a night at Citizens Bank Park. And what a Phillies team. Rangers Suarez goes out there. Ten strikeouts, dominates the Texas Rangers. Even the one run they got across against them, you know, not a bunch of loud contact, couple hits, and that's it. I mean, Ranger Suarez is on a different level right now. And you wake up today and he is third in the NL Cy Young voting and he's catching up to Zach Wheeler. It really puts it in perspective here.

You know, we know how good this Phillies pitching has been, but I was listening to Dave Dabrowski, who was on a podcast with Joel Sherman and John Hammond, the show, and he was asked about this team and this pitching rotation, and he was talking about their big three and really why it gives them a chance in any postseason series and why he's going to feel good. This team is in October and obviously they're going to be in October with these top three.

And it got me thinking, where is this Phillies team right now? And where do they rank among the best top threes in all of baseball? And I think the easy reflex is they're number one. And as I go to the list, they are. They're the number, they're the best. This is the best top three in all of baseball. But I just thought for kind of an exercise sake, who's even else? Like who are we competing against here when we put the Phillies at number one and say they have

the best one, two, three punch in Major League Baseball, especially when we kind of look forward to the postseason where a lot of these teams that the Phillies will be facing have one, two, threes that are going to be good too, right? That's the nature of the postseason. Now, a couple of things before I get to the list that I think kind of impacts the list as it is today and how it might evolve over the course of the season. Obviously, Spencer Strider's out. If Spencer Strider was still going and going at the level that he was anticipated to go as this preseason Cy Young favorite in the NL, well, then I think the Braves would have their very, very fair stake to be number one over the Phillies. Because they'd have Strider, Chris Sale is pitching at a level he hasn't in years, and of course Max Freed. But they don't have Spencer Strider.

Then, of course, there's the Yankees. And the Yankees have had a really good rotation this year. But it's hard for me to parse between one through five. Now, if Garrett Cole is there, just pick two out of the next five, and I would probably take that and say that's one of the better top threes in baseball, but Garrett Cole's not there. They're all kind of the same. Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, Cortez, they're good pitchers,

but I think they're pitching probably a little bit above their head. And no one is standing out above. So I don't have the Yankees on this list. There's probably a couple teams in there you might say, man, how did they not make it to top three? Maybe they will by October. Maybe by October, Arizona gets themselves together and you have a Zach Gallen and a Jordan Montgomery. That's certainly possible. But right now, they haven't pitched like that yet.

So here's the list I put together. I'll quickly roll through 10 through six, and then we'll get to the top five and why I have the Phillies right now at number one. All right. 10 through six. And this was not easy. There's a lot of good top threes in baseball right now. But I had Minnesota at number 10. Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober. Number nine, and a surprise one, I had the Kansas City Royals. Cole Reagans has really become one of baseball's best left-handed starter. Seth Lugo. I mean, what a story with Seth Lugo being kind of a swing starter.

I always thought he could start when he was with the Mets, but he never really did. I wanted him here at one point. And then, of course, now he's bounced around a little bit, but ends up at Kansas City. And the guy has been phenomenal. I'm pitching double-digit strikeout games and tons of innings. So I put the Kansas City Royals have been a very big surprise this year at number nine. Reagan, Singer, Brady Singer, and Seth Lugo. Number eight, kind of a situation like the Yankees where there's not

like who's the third guy you definitely put in there because there's been some injuries. But I went with Boston. Tanner Houck, who's been arguably up there as the most valuable starter in baseball, Cutter Crawford, and Nick Pavetta. Boston's rotation has been outstanding in a sense, a lot like the Yankees has been this year. Really good rotation. And, you know, obviously the Phillies are, you know, top to bottom a good rotation. But in top three, I went with Hal Crawford Pavetta in Boston. All right, number seven. And this one, and I'm willing to do it right now after just a couple starts.

I went Pittsburgh with the top three of Paul Skeens, Jared Jones, and Mitch Heller. Yes, Paul Skeens after two starts. That guy is as good as I've seen a young pitcher in a very long time in Major League Baseball. I mean, that's Steven Strasburg debut kind of stuff. That is Kerry Wood, 98 at Wrigley kind of stuff. The stuff he brought to the mound last week for the Pirates. I was tuning in last week into the Pirates and the Cubs to watch Paul Skeets. I had them at 7. At 6, I have the Orioles with Corbin Burns, Grayson Rodriguez, and John Means, who just returned.

So there's your 10 through 6. Twins, 10. Royals, 9. Red Sox, 8. Pirates, 7. Orioles through 6. Twins, 10. Royals, 9. Red Sox, 8. Pirates, 7. Orioles at 6. Top 3. Now here's how I went with the top 5.

And what I think is interesting is we're going to see these matchups in October in almost any way the bracket shakes out. The Phillies could see more than one of these teams. Number 5, I put the Braves even without Strider and I have Chris Sale, Max Reed, and they've gotten a ton out of Reynaldo Lopez. A Seth Lugo kind of situation where it was like reliever, starter,

starter as a kid, and then he bounced back to the bullpen with the White Sox, but the Braves signed him to stretch him back out and then they needed to because the Strider injury, and man, is he big good. They're at number five.

Number four, I went with the Pad Padres now the numbers aren't quite there full season yet for Michael King but he's had some some really big starts including one against the Dodgers cease still and cease Michael King you Darvish that's a good top three one I think would be dangerous in October number three the Seattle Mariners you might pick to face the Phillies in the World Series before the season started. Their pitching is held up there under the bargain. They actually, like some of these other teams, Boston, the Yankees, the Phillies, they have more than just three. So they're going to have pitching depth all year. I went with their top three of Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby.

And I think those guys are excellent strike throwers and durable big-time pitchers. At number two, I went with the Dodgers. Now, this Dodgers iteration could change. Right now, I have it at glass now. Yamamoto and the returning Walker Bueller, who missed a lot of time and just returned here a couple weeks ago. Now, by the end of the season, that could be Clayton Kershaw in the third spot. It could be Bobby Miller in the third spot, who was on the I.L. recently.

It could be someone we don't know, but they could trade for a starting pitcher. But I have them at number three. At number one, and I didn't have much debate in my mind, it's the Phillies. Zach Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Aaron Noah. This is the best top three in baseball, and I will take this top three against any top three in the major leagues when we get to October. Like you line them up and the Phillies, I think, I think there's a real chance that they see on their path to the world series, the other top five rotations. Like, you know, they could see the Padres in after a wildcard round and they could see the Dodgers in the NLCS

and then they could see the Mariners in the World Series. That is all possible based on how the bracket might shake out, how these teams are, how good the Phillies are, maybe potentially a number one seed in the National League. It all could happen. But I have the Phillies as the best top three in baseball. And when you look at all three of them individually, it really checks out., some of these other teams are having good years, but they're not all having great years or two of them are having great years. And then one guy's numbers aren't as great, but you know, he's talented. It's, it's rare to find a team that has had all three guys healthy from the start

to finish this season. That's why the Dodgers have not because Bueller just really got back the Mariners. I think very highly of, but all their areas are in the threes. We're not talking about ones and twos. The Braves are really good, but there's still a question mark about Reynaldo Lopez because he's transitioning from the bullpen. The Padres, I mentioned, very talented, but King's numbers, the area is closer to five than it is three.

The Pirates won. They're all good, but Polsky just got to the big leagues. I mean, J is three. Okay, the Pirates won. Look, they're all good. But Paul Ski just got to the big leagues. I mean, John Dean just got off the IL in Baltimore. All these teams have a claim to be very high on this list. But none of the Phillies right now. None have the number one and three pitchers in terms of Cy Young odds in their league, in their rotation.

The Phillies do. With Zach Wheeler at number one and Ranger Suarez at number three. I mean, just look at these guys individually. Wheeler, 2.52 earn run average and the NL Cy Young favorite. Ranger Suarez is 9-0 and doing things we haven't seen a pitcher do in Major League Baseball in 100 years. And then Aaron Nola, who's quite clearly been the third best Phillies starting pitcher this season. And like, and I think by a gap too, has a 3.05 ERA and is already thrown 65 innings, is as durable as any starter in baseball, has a complete game shut out on his record this

year against the New York Mets. Like that's their three. That performance, the NOLA performance this year would lead many rotations of baseball. It would be the lead story in a lot of rotations of baseball here. He's obviously number three, far down in comparison in the Cy Young voting. And look, we have a long way to go between now and October. And keeping these guys healthy is going to be paramount. And of course, hitting enough and playing defense behind them and clutch hitting and bullpen work is all going to be a major factor. But the Phillies have something right now that any team in baseball, I believe, would swap for. If you say your top three or mine, I get first pick and then we're going to go play the games. I think every team would choose the Phillies top three over their top three. And that

includes some of the really good ones like the Mariners and of course like the Dodgers and the Padres and the Braves. These teams can boast we have top five, top threes. We have one of the handful of best one, two, three punches to start a playoff series of anybody in baseball, but they're not the Phillies right now. And really the big difference is the emergence of Ranger Suarez, who has gone from clutch, interesting before the season, I called him, he reminded me of Del Duque. He was the pitch for the New York Yankees and the White Sox, a champion, a really good big game pitcher, but I didn't put him in the category of Cy Young type of guy. And then last week we've had the Ranger discussion and I said, you know, he could absolutely win the Cy Young now. I mentioned David Wells as a comp.

And, you know, David Wells, you know, kind of got lost in some rotations because he was around greatness and he was rubbing shoulders with greatness and champions and in a league at the time with a lot of special pitchers, you know, like Pedro Martinez and Mike Bucina and Randy Johnson. I mean, you go back during that time, there was a lot of great pitchers running around. I mean, obviously the Braves guys with, with Smoltz and Glavin and Maddox and David Wells, you know,

didn't throw 98 and he didn't look the part of super athlete. Now I agree. He looks more of an athlete than Boomer Wells did, but he didn't look the party. super athlete. Now, I think Ranger looks more of an athlete than Boomer Wells did, but he didn't look the part. And with David, he bounced around on a lot of teams. Ranger's just been here. But it was like, he's really good. Yeah, that's great.

And then he got top three votes in Asai Young, and people started to realize, oh, he's better than that. He threw a perfect game, and oh, he's better than that. And I feel like that's happening now with Ranger, to where it's like you're adding him to Wheeler and Nola. Like this team made it to a World Series two years ago. And Ranger helped a lot. And he was a good pitcher in the playoffs and obviously came out of the bullpen to save game five against the Padres to put him there.

What Castellanos catch last out in right field. But he really wasn't that guy yet. And I thought last year he had some really good moments, but then he fell off and he wasn't quite as good. The ERA was way higher than where you think it should be for a guy as good as Ranger Suarez. Then the playoffs rolled around and I thought he pitched some big games, especially against Atlanta. And he showed that moxie that he has always brought to the mound in a big spot. Now we fast forward to this year and look, he got the VZ issues sorted out there. He got himself two spring training on time. No world baseball classic, no injury in better shape.

And you're seeing now what a guy like Rangers Suarez is capable of when it's all clicking. You know, we've seen this in spurts before, but not like this. I mean, you know, it's his next start is going to be right around Memorial day and he could go to 10 and 0. I mean, you know, his next start is going to be right around Memorial Day. And he could go to 10-0. I mean, we could be talking about something very rare. You know, we had a call on the Midday Show two weeks ago with someone saying he's going to be the first 25-game winner in Major League Baseball since Bob Welch of those old A's teams when Tony La Russa was there. And, you know, I'm at the point you don't even think about win-loss record anymore because that's not how pitchers are evaluated. I mean, the Grom won a Cy Young with like 11 wins.

And, you know, Felix Hernandez, the same thing. And we move so far past that because that's more of a team dependence stat than a pitcher stat. But it does pop. I mean, it does pop with these three guys because they go deep into the games. They strike batters out. They don't walk batters. They control the game. The Philly starting pitchers with Wheeler and Nola and Suarez control the game.

They are the best top three in Major League Baseball. And that formula by itself, if you tell me when we get to October they have that, they've got a real chance. It doesn't matter who the matchup is, what they're throwing out. If you have that, you've got yourself a real, real chance to go win the World Series. Again, my top 10, one, two, three punches across Major League Baseball rotations. Number 10, Twins, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Over. Number nine, the Royals, Cole Reagans, Brady Singer, Seth Lugo.

Number eight, the Boston Red Sox, Tanner Howe, Cutter Crawford, Nick Pavetta. Number seven, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skeens and Jared Jones and Mitch Keller. Number six, the Baltimore Orioles, Grayson Rodriguez, Corbin Burns, John Means. Number five, Braves, Chris Sale, Max Freed, Reynaldo Lopez. Number four, the Padres with Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Hugh Darvish. Number three, Mariners, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby. Number two, had to have them high, the Los Angeles Dodgers right now with Glassnell, Yamamoto, and Walker Bueller. And number one, the number one top three in all of baseball, Zach Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola. That is the best top three in

the sport. Appreciate it. And listen, subscribe and follow WIP Daily. We'll talk soon. Have a great day.