Best pitching rotations in MLB: Where Dodgers' group led by Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto ranks

Best pitching rotations in MLB: Where Dodgers’ group led by Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto ranks originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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After the Los Angeles Dodgers finally landed Tarik Skubal following more than a year of trade rumors, the rest of Major League Baseball was put on notice as the league’s best team added one of its best pitchers.

The Dodgers now have as many combined Cy Young and MVP awards on their roster (10) as the rest of the National League combined. However, Los Angeles isn’t the only team with an elite starting rotation.

Four other clubs rank among the top five starting pitching staffs in baseball, while several strong rotations just missed the cut.

Here’s a look at the MLB teams with the best starting rotations following the Skubal trade.

MORE: Tracking news and rumors from the 2026 MLB trade deadline

Best pitching staffs in the MLB

1. – Los Angeles Dodgers

• Tarik Skubal
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• Shohei Ohtani
• Blake Snell
• Tyler Glasnow

When at full strength, no team comes close to matching this Dodger lineup 1 through 5. For most teams around the MLB, any one of these pitchers would be their ace. With Snell and Glasnow still on the IL, the Los Angeles pecking order has featured Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, along with the occasional bullpen game.

Prior to Skubal’s arrival on the team, the Dodgers had the league’s fourth-best team ERA at 3.60, according to ESPN. Hitters bat on average .216 against the Los Angeles entourage, which is the MLB’s lowest mark, along with only 414 total runs against (2nd). With yet another deep playoff run looking imminent in the City of Angels, their pitching is a key reason why. Anything other than a World Series trophy hoist for the third year in a row would be a colossal failure for this group.

MORE:Full details of Dodgers’ trade for Tarik Skubal

2. – New York Yankees

• Max Fried
• Cam Schlittler
• Gerrit Cole
• Carlos Rodon
• Will Warren

Coming in at the second spot in the MLB’s best starting pitching lineups is the New York Yankees. While outfielder Aaron Judge has the biggest name in the Yankee organization, their pitching room is among baseball’s best. The AL powerhouse has a league-low 3.30 cumulative ERA, along with the third-lowest opponent batting average of .225.

Since returning from Tommy John Surgery, Gerrit Cole picked up right where he left off. In his last seven starts, the right-handed flamethrower has pitched at least five innings and notched five or more strikeouts. In front of him stand Max Fried and young phenom Cam Schlittler. The Yankees are widely thought to be the American League’s top contender despite currently sitting 3.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East’s No. 1 spot.

MORE: Who did the Yankees trade for IF Luis Garcia Jr.?

3. – Milwaukee Brewers

• Jacob Misiorowski
• Brandon Woodruff
• Kyle Harrison
• Logan Henderson
• Brandon Sproat

While the Brewers seem to fall short every year despite a stellar regular season, they’ve consistently had a strong group of starting pitchers to put them in contention. This year, Jacob Misiorowski has put his name on a pedestal as one of the sport’s top arms. The 24-year-old currently tops the MLB charts with 190 strikeouts through 21 games (nine per game), along with throwing a large portion of the fastest pitches in the modern era.

Brandon Woodruff has again fallen victim to injuries, with his latest being a season-ending shoulder surgery. Kyle Harrison is set to return soon after a stint on the 15-day IL with left forearm tightness. Logan Henderson and Brandon Sproat, a young pitcher who was landed in the Freddy Peralta trade with the New York Mets, round out a fine lineup that has a high likelihood of propelling the Brew Crew to another deep postseason run.

4. – Tampa Bay Rays

• Drew Rasmussen
• Shane McClanahan
• Freddy Peralta
• Nick Martinez
• Griffin Jax

While the Tampa Bay Rays have been without Ryan Pepiot for the duration of the 2026 season, Shane McClanahan has picked up another injury after missing the entire 2024 and 2025 campaigns with Tommy John surgery and another elbow procedure. Regardless, Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez have held down the fort before the team added Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Mets.

While Griffin Jax was one of Team USA’s brightest spots at this year’s World Baseball Classic, the 31-year-old struggled to begin this season as a bullpen option. He was eventually moved into one of the team’s starting positions and has since recovered well. In his last four outings, Jax has gone more than five innings and recorded six or more strikeouts. Tampa Bay currently boasts the sixth-lowest ERA across the majors (3.68), along with the fourth-lowest opponent batting average (.228).

MORE: Grading the Tarik Skubal trade

5. – Boston Red Sox

• Garrett Crochet
• Sonny Gray
• Ranger Suarez
• Payton Tolle
• Jake Bennett

Rounding out the MLB’s top pitching staffs is the Boston Red Sox. Despite Garrett Crochet being on the IL since April 29 with left shoulder inflammation and still not having a throwing timetable, the Red Sox have ranked quite well in pitching statistics for the 2026 season. Boston currently has the third-lowest team ERA in the MLB (3.53), along with a league-low 410 runs allowed.

Outside of Crochet’s misfortunes, Sonny Gray has been nothing short of stellar this season. The journeyman has rekindled the potential from his early MLB career and has tallied a 13-2 record as of August 2, second only to Philadelphia Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez. Behind Gray stands offseason acquisition Ranger Suarez, who has had an up-and-down 2026 season (4-3, 3.15 ERA, 105 K’s), and the young duo of Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.30 ERA, 110 K’s) and Jake Bennett (6-4, 2.74 ERA, 46 K’s).