2nd starting pitcher power rankings of 2024 postseason

Of those 11, nine saw their teams eliminated in either the Wild Card Series or Division Series. Just two remain, which leaves a lot of room for new faces as we enter the Championship Series round. Yes, these playoffs are down a bunch of aces. But that just opens the door for some less heralded pitchers to help take their clubs all the way.

For this final postseason edition of the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, our MLB.com panel voted on those who appear likely to be in the ALCS or NLCS rotations for the four remaining teams (the Dodgers, Guardians, Mets and Yankees).

1. Gerrit Cole, Yankees
A year ago, Cole won his first Cy Young Award, but the Yankees missed the playoffs. This year, Cole was limited to 17 mostly solid-but-unspectacular starts, but the Yankees won the AL East and are now four wins away from their first World Series trip in 15 years. Baseball is a funny game. Cole, who turned 34 last month, has not been quite the same dominant pitcher this year, reaching double-digit strikeouts in a game only once. He’s been plenty effective, though. Cole posted a 2.25 ERA and 2.62 FIP over his last 10 regular-season starts, and while his first ALDS start wasn’t sharp, he shut down the Royals in the Game 4 clincher (seven innings, one run).

2. Sean Manaea, Mets
In 2022, Manaea didn’t make the Padres’ postseason rotation, appearing only in a disastrous NLCS relief appearance. In 2023, he spent a significant portion of the season in the Giants’ bullpen. The lefty signed a one-year deal with the Mets looking to re-establish his value as a Major League starter, and boy, has he done that. He also has turned the tables on a nightmarish playoff history. Manaea entered 2024 with a 15.26 ERA in 7 2/3 innings across three different postseasons, but in two starts this time around, he’s allowed only three runs across 12 innings.

3. Jack Flaherty, Dodgers
If this were the Flaherty we saw with the Tigers earlier this season, third would probably be too low here. Through July, among pitchers with 100 innings, he ranked fifth in strikeout rate and seventh in walk rate. After a Deadline trade to the Dodgers, however, Flaherty did not bring the same elite level of efficiency, even if he still posted strong results and was a crucial reinforcement for a tattered Los Angeles rotation. He also struggled in a Game 2 NLDS loss to the Padres. With Flaherty starting Game 1 of the NLCS, he will have another opportunity to rediscover his peak form.

4. Jose Quintana, Mets
The veteran lefty has been nails this postseason, starting both of the Mets’ series-clinching victories and not allowing an earned run in either. He now has a 2.43 career postseason ERA across seven games (six starts). At 35, Quintana is in the “crafty lefty” phase of his career, getting by with ninth-percentile fastball velocity and an 18th-percentile K-rate. He mixes up five pitches and generally keeps the ball on the ground and his team in the game. Quintana won’t wow you, but he can get the job done.

5. Luis Severino, Mets
A Subway Series matchup in the Fall Classic would give Severino an opportunity to win a ring at the expense of his former team. First, he has to help the Mets get there. While Severino has not been the same electrifying presence he was before injuries stalled his career in the Bronx, he took the ball 31 times this year and consistently gave the Mets solid innings. It’s been more of the same in the playoffs, with Severino going 2-for-2 in quality starts (both exactly three earned runs in six innings and both on the road). The Dodgers lineup will provide another tough test.

6. Tanner Bibee, Guardians
Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year Award runner-up built on his strong debut in 2024, starting 31 games for Cleveland and posting a 3.47 ERA and 3.56 FIP. The 25-year-old struggled with his fastball this year (-11 run value, down from +10 as a rookie) but thrived with his slider, which ranked fourth in run value across MLB (+15). Batters hit .152 with just one home run and 58 strikeouts against it. Cleveland did not push Bibee hard in his two ALDS starts (a combined 8 2/3 innings and 140 pitches), but he allowed just two total runs, and the team won both games.

7. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers
From an MLB perspective, Yamamoto is a rookie, participating in his first postseason. But don’t get it twisted: This guy is no stranger to big games with big stakes. Yamamoto has delivered in the spotlight before, both in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and on the international stage, in the Olympics and World Baseball Classic. If there was any doubt about his toughness, that was put to rest in Game 5 of the NLDS. Yamamoto, after allowing five runs to the Padres in a Game 1 loss, tossed five scoreless innings to triumph in the winner-take-all rematch. He has the stuff to shut down any lineup, even if his innings are limited.

8. Luis Gil, Yankees
The Yankees didn’t use Gil at all in the ALDS but expect to start him at some point against the Guardians. The AL Rookie of the Year Award contender will head into his postseason debut after going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts over 151 2/3 innings during the regular season. If there was one significant wart on Gil’s season, it was his MLB-high 77 walks and seventh-percentile walk rate (12.1%). His ability to throw strikes could determine whether his first foray into October is a successful one.

9. Carlos Rodón, Yankees
After a brutal first season as a Yankee after signing as a free agent, Rodón’s 2024 resurgence was an underrated aspect of the club’s division title run. No, the 31-year-old lefty hasn’t been an All-Star and Cy Young contender like he was in 2021-22, but he took the ball 32 times, with an above-average ERA+ (104) and nearly 200 strikeouts. On the other hand, only JP Sears of the A’s allowed more barreled balls than Rodón’s 52, so when opponents made contact against him, it tended to be of the most damaging variety.

10. Kodai Senga, Mets
If Senga had been healthy this season, he no doubt would rank much higher here. But he started only one game, bookended by multiple injuries. Despite that, in a shocking twist, the Mets handed Senga the ball in Game 1 of the NLDS. While he wasn’t built up enough to go more than two innings, Senga looked good, allowing nothing after a Kyle Schwarber leadoff homer and striking out three. Once again, in the NLCS, Senga will take the ball in Game 1. Once again, his innings will be limited. But if Senga makes two starts in this series, his “ghost fork” is still enough of a weapon to squeeze him onto this list.

Others receiving votes: Matthew Boyd (Guardians), Walker Buehler (Dodgers), Clarke Schmidt (Yankees)