Going back to the start of the 2018 season, there is one pitcher in all of MLB who’s in the top 10 in ERA, WHIP, FIP, walk rate and strikeout rate minus walk rate. Care to make any guesses?
Jacob deGrom? Nope. He’s one of four pitchers to come up short in only walk rate, along with Chris Sale, Max Scherzer and Blake Snell. How about Justin Verlander? He, too, checks four of the five boxes, subbing in walk rate for FIP. Clayton Kershaw and Gerrit Cole both hit three, while Trevor Bauer and Patrick Corbin are included in two, but just one starter finds himself among all five top 10s from the start of last year through Friday.