Ranking the 10 best pitchers in the National League East

The National League East is loaded with some of the best pitching talent in baseball. The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves sit in the top six in all of baseball in ERA while the Phillies sit in tenth. Even the fourth place Marlins who are 17 games under .500 sit in the upper half of the league in team ERA.

The pitching in this division is so good, established starters like Charlie Morton, Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker don't sniff the top ten. Pablo Lopez, a really good young pitcher doesn't crack the top ten.

The ten best pitchers in the division were hard to decide on because of how talented this division is.

10) Best pitchers in the NL East: Spencer Strider

Yes, it's early. No, I don't care. Spencer Strider is already turning into an elite arm which is frightening for Mets fans. I do get that the Mets have fared well against him, but pretty much the entire rest of the league has not.

Strider has some of the best stuff in baseball. He averages 98.2 mph on his fastball and can hit triple digits. That puts him in the 97th percentile in fastball velocity according to baseball savant. Strider also has a wipeout slider to go with this fastball that has a 52.8% whiff rate.

Strider began the season as a reliever, but since he moved to the rotation he's been dominant and the Braves have taken off as well.

As a starter, Strider has gone 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 15 starts. He has an impressive 1.022 WHIP and an absurd 13.4 K/9. Jacob deGrom last season when it felt like he was striking everybody out had a 14.3 K/9. What Strider is doing is extraordinary.

Eventually the Braves will need Strider to go deeper into games but as the years go on and once his changeup improves I'm sure that will happen. The 22 year old is just getting started and it's frightening for Mets fans.

9) Best pitchers in the NL East: Kenley Jansen

This past offseason, the Braves signed an elite closer to replace the shaky Will Smith. This came after they won the World Series with Smith still on the team. Kenley came to Atlanta after 12 years of dominance with the Dodgers. Since arriving to Atlanta he's had some ups and downs, but has been really good overall.

Jansen has a 3.11 ERA in 46 appearances for Atlanta. He's converted 28 of his 32 save opportunities.

Jansen used to be a guy who threw virtually only cutters. With some diminished velocity, he's incorporated a sinker and a slider that have allowed him to remain dominant.

Hitters are still struggling against his cutter as they've hit .172 against it, but his slider has turned into a really good pitch as well, as hitters hit just .179 against that pitch.

Jansen gives the Braves security in the ninth as he's one of the best closers of all time. He has 378 career saves with many more coming. Jansen also comes with a lengthy postseason history as the Dodgers make the playoffs pretty much every year.

Jansen has a 2.13 career ERA on the big stage and has converted 19 saves in 22 opportunities.

Jansen has given the Braves exactly what they signed up for thus far, and despite his age, he's still one of the better relievers in the game and the second best reliever in this division.

8) Best pitchers in the NL East: Chris Bassitt

This past offseason, the Mets traded pitching prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller to the Athletics in exchange for Chris Bassitt. The Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball all season in large part due to their pitching. The only consistent starting pitcher who has not had to miss time due to injury is Chris Bassitt.

Jacob deGrom has only made four starts. Max Scherzer missed seven weeks. Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker are hurt right now. Tylor Megill has missed months. Bassitt is the guy who has held this rotation together by giving the Mets length and quality innings virtually every time he pitches.

Things didn't start super well for Bassitt as he had rough starts particularly against the NL West. Since June 14th, in a span of 11 starts, Bassitt has been one of the best pitchers in the National League.

He's gone 7-3 with a 2.11 ERA in 72.2 innings pitched. He's lowered his ERA from 4.48 to 3.26. He's gone at least six innings in every start but one, and in that one start he didn't allow a run in five innings against the Phillies.

Bassitt was coming off of a year where he finished tenth in the AL Cy Young Award voting, and he would've finished higher if he wasn't hit in the face with a line drive.

Bassitt is one of the more underrated pitchers in the game because he doesn't have the triple digit fastball that deGrom and Strider have. He's a control pitcher who mixes up his pitches so well to keep hitters off balance. He's been the perfect third starter for this Mets team and I'd put him up against any other third starter in a playoff game.

7) Best pitchers in the NL East: Aaron Nola

The Phillies have two workhorses at the top of their rotation with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. With the rest of their rotation being pretty average, they've needed Nola and Wheeler to carry the load, which they've done extremely well this season.

Nola burst onto the scene in 2018 finishing third in the National League Cy Young balloting. In a lot of other years, Nola would've won with the season he had.

Since then, things have been pretty up and down for the 29 year old but he's in the midst of his best season since that 2018 campaign.

Nola has gone 8-10 with a 3.25 ERA in 24 starts. The win-loss record doesn't represent how he's pitched at all. In a game against the Mets just a couple of weeks ago Nola gave up one run in eight innings but lost the game 1-0.

He ranks second in all of baseball in innings pitched. He has a WHIP under 1.000 and has allowed just 0.9 HR/9. What makes Nola special is his command. He's walked just 1.3 batters per nine, which is so impressive considering his innings pitched. Nola strikes out 9.9/9 and his 7.91 K/BB ratio is the best in the National League.

Nola has a 2.77 FIP which ranks sixth in baseball. This suggests he's been a bit unlucky pitching in front of a bad Phillies defense. Overall, Nola has been the ace the Phillies have needed and is re-solidifying himself as one of the better pitchers in the game.

5) Best pitchers in the NL East: Zack Wheeler

I'd say a majority of the Mets fanbase wanted Zack Wheeler to stay with the Mets following the 2019 season. While he hadn't quite put it together for a full season, Wheeler's second halves in 2018 and 2019 proved that he was so close to being that ace Mets fans imagined. Unfortunately, the Mets let him walk and sign with their rival down the Turnpike.

Since signing with the Phillies, Wheeler has been nothing short of extraordinary. He had a sub 3.00 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. He then followed that up with his best season as a pro. He went 14-10 with a 2.78 ERA in 32 starts. He led the National League in innings (213.1) and strikeouts (247).

He finished second in the Cy Young voting, which I actually disagreed with. Wheeler pitched in almost 60 more innings than the winner Corbin Burnes, which was overlooked by the voters.

Regardless, Wheeler established himself as one of the game's best pitchers last season. In a season where the Mets pitching was derailed by injuries, Wheeler would've been so helpful.

This season, Wheeler has backed up what he did in 2021. He's gone 11-7 with a 3.07 ERA in 23 starts. He's dealt with some injuries which have limited his workload, but when he's been healthy he's been the same workhorse he was last season for Philadelphia.

Wheeler's ERA actually jumped from 2.63 to the current 3.07 thanks to two rough starts against the Mets. Before those starts, he had thrown a quality start in seven of his previous eight outings.

The Phillies appear likely to make the Wild Card round which is bad news for other opponents. Facing Wheeler and Nola in a three game series is very hard to beat.

4) Best pitchers in the NL East: Edwin Diaz

You know a pitcher is having an absurd season when it's shocking that the opponent puts a ball in play. Or even fouls a ball off. The season Edwin Diaz is having is one I have never seen before and might never see again.

I am used to watching Jacob deGrom blow hitters away start after start. I am not used to a closer being as lock down as Diaz has been this season for the Mets.

This season, Diaz has gone 2-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 49 appearances. He's pitched in a couple of different roles. He's the primary closer, but has also served as the guy who's tasked with getting the best hitters on the opposing team out, even if it isn't the ninth inning.

Diaz did just allow a run but before that, had not allowed a run to score since June 18. He has not blown a save since May 24th. Diaz has been pretty much unhittable all season long.

What has made Diaz's season so special is the rate he has struck batters out. His 17.7 K/9 not only leads the majors by a wide margin, but it also ties Aroldis Chapman for the all-time K/9 record in which a pitcher has thrown a minimum of 15 innings.

It's gotten to the point where it's shocking if Diaz only strikes out one or two batters in an inning. His slider has been untouchable, generating a whiff 54.8% of the time.

When Diaz locates, it's impossible for the opposition to do anything but flail at his pitches. Edwin should and will get Cy Young votes. The only question is where will he finish.

3) Best pitchers in the NL East: Sandy Alcantara

The Marlins are not a good baseball team. They don't score many runs at all and have underperformed expectations drastically this season. They do however have excellent starting pitching. Guys like Pablo Lopez, Braxton Garrett, and even Trevor Rogers despite his disappointing season figure to be part of a rotation that should be one of the league's best for years to come.

But the ring leader for this young and talented rotation is Sandy Alcantara. The 26 year old is the front runner for NL Cy Young right now and for good reason.

Alcantara has gone 11-6 with a 2.19 ERA in 25 starts. He leads the league by 19 innings in innings pitched. His 6.3 bWAR is much better than second place Max Fried's 4.9 bWAR for pitchers. Sandy is second in the NL in ERA just .07 points behind Tony Gonsolin, and leads all of baseball with three complete games.

Wheeler was the workhorse of baseball last season, and Alcantara has been that this season. He has gone at least seven innings in 17 of his 25 starts including a stretch of 13 in a row that extended over two months.

His ability to get deep into games is something not many pitchers can do consistently nowadays.

It's unfortunate that he gets very little recognition because he's been doing this for years now. He threw over 200 innings last season with an ERA just over 3.00. Alcantara has been and will continue to be dominant for years to come with the Marlins (until they trade him).

2) Best pitchers in the NL East: Max Scherzer

This past offseason, the Mets signed Max Scherzer to form the best 1-2 punch in a rotation potentially ever. Unfortunately this plan didn't get off the ground on Opening Day as deGrom missed the first four months of the season. Scherzer missed substantial time as well but when he's pitched, he's been Max Scherzer.

The 38-year-old has pitched like the three-time Cy Young Award winner that he is which is amazing considering his age and career workload.

The right-hander has gone 9-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 17 starts this season. He's allowed three runs or less in all but two of his starts, one of which had three runs given up by Adam Ottavino in Atlanta.

Scherzer has been the same pitcher he's always been, even with some diminished velocity. He doesn't walk anyone (1.7 BB/9), doesn't allow home runs (0.7 HR/9), and strikes out a ton of batters (11.1 K/9).

An argument can be made for Scherzer being the second best pitcher in the game. The Mets are very hard to beat with deGrom and Scherzer headlining a rotation in any given playoff series because it's almost guaranteed dominance.

Scherzer has been the big game pitcher the Mets signed him to be, with outstanding starts against teams like the Braves, Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals. I can't wait to see him pitch down the stretch and in October in orange and blue.

1) Best pitchers in the NL East: Jacob deGrom

I don't care that he hasn't been fully healthy since 2019, Jacob deGrom is still the best pitcher in all of baseball. Despite spending 13 months on the sidelines, deGrom has picked up right where he left off in the midst of a historic 2021 season.

Before he got hurt, deGrom was on pace to have one of, if not the best pitching season ever. He had an absurd 1.08 ERA in 15 starts with 146 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched. 14.3 K/9 for a starting pitcher is unheard of. deGrom finishing in ninth in the NL Cy Young balloting despite missing the entire second half tells you all you need to know about the season he was having.

Before that, he was still the game's best pitcher. He won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2018 and 2019 and finished third in the truncated 2020 season. He was on his way to winning another Cy Young and potentially an MVP last season.

This season, even with injury concern, deGrom has been just as good as he was. He's able to hit triple digits with his fastball consistently to go along with his wipeout slider that generated just two foul balls out of the 33 thrown in his second start back against the Braves.

In that same start, deGrom retired the first 17 men to face him, 12 via strikeout. Yes, in his first home start after missing 13 months with injury, deGrom faced the reigning World Series champions and struck out 12 of the first 17 batters faced while retiring all 17.

It's unfathomable to think that deGrom would be just as good if not better than he was before getting hurt but that's where we are right now. He's striking out the same 14.3/9 that he did last season. He's walked just one batter in 23.1 innings pitched, and that one batter was at the end of that second start where he had appeared to be tiring.

What deGrom is doing has never been done before and I hope not only for Mets fans but for baseball fans that this guy can remain healthy. Nobody is throwing 96 mph sliders consistently, and nobody is as good as Jacob deGrom is right now in this division or in baseball.