Another year of baseball has come to pass. Another year in the books means another year of evaluation. The closing of 2017 has amped up the lists and opinions of who the top players were for all positions for the year. A more critical position, the pitcher, is a difficult category to break down to claim who the best was. Here is a list of pitchers that I believe were the top ten in Major League Baseball in 2017.
Clayton Kershaw – Dodgers
A popular name among best pitchers of the year and rightfully so. Kershaw suffered a short back injury but was back at it with the same enthusiasm he had before. He is projected to enter the Hall of Fame later in his career and continually shows that he is worth the consideration.
Max Scherzer – Nationals
Scherzer played an amazing year with the Nationals keeping a 31.5 percent strikeout rate. His strikeout rate was a career high for him and also ranked as the highest strikeout record pitched in 150 innings besides Jose Fernandez.
Noah Syndergaard – Mets
Syndergaard throws an impressive fastball at a speed of 98.2 MPH. That kind of speed has led him to some problems with his throwing arm that required surgery. The surgery did not affect his pitching skills, and we see constant improvement from the newbie each year.
Chris Sale – Red Sox
Sale, known for his funky delivery when pitching comes in at number four. Some skeptics say that his delivery won’t last him over the long haul, but his massive stack of games pitched at Chicago say otherwise. He recently moved to Boston where he will be getting better pitching and fielding advice to further his career.
Corey Kluber – Indians
Pitching over 200 innings in a season should be impressive enough to have a pitcher on the top 6 list. Critics talk about Kulber’s “off” year in 2016, but he still accomplishes some impressive feats. His curve/slider is a killer for players and is a promising prospect for upcoming seasons.
Madison Bumgarner – San Francisco Giants
Bumgarner pitched a four-hit shutout against the Mets in the NL Wild Card game which is one example of the skill he has to an all-time great. Bumgarner, now 28, is reaching the peak of his career and serves as a trustworthy pitcher for the Giants.