Even after losing Jacob deGrom and adding Justin Verlander in his place, the top of the New York Mets’ rotation is still being viewed as one of the very best in baseball heading into the 2023 season.
David Alder of MLB.com recently released his top pitching duos in the game for this season, and the Mets’ one-two punch of Verlander and Max Scherzer headlines that list.
“Out with deGrom, in with Verlander. The Mets still have the best pair of aces in baseball in 2023. Scherzer and Verlander have six Cy Young Awards between them. Yes, Verlander is 39 and Scherzer is 38, but they’re still two of the most dominant pitchers in baseball,” Alder said.
In his first season in orange and blue, Scherzer posted a 2.25 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and struck out 173 batters across 145.1 innings of work. His walk (4.2 percent), chase (34 percent), and K-rates (30.6 percent) all finished around or above the 90th percentile in baseball.
After having to undergo Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2021 season, Verlander returned and took home the American League Cy Young Award. He leads the AL with 18 wins, a 1.75 ERA, and 0.82 WHIP, while striking out 185 batters atop the Astros rotation.
It’s certainly going to be a sight to see watching the former teammates go back-to-back on the bump again.
The rest of the top-five, in order, includes; the Rays’ Shane McClanahan and Tyler GlasnowBrewers’ Corbin Burnes and Brandon WoodruffAtlanta’s Max Fried and Spencer Striderand Philly’s Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler.
The Yankees’ duo of Gerritt Cole and Nestor Cortes also made the list at No. 9.