2023 MLB playoffs - Ranking the top starting pitchers - ESPN

Now that we're just a few days away from the start of the 2023 MLB playoffs, it's time for a postseason update to my in-season ace rankings.

This edition is a projection of who I'd want most for this year's playoffs, with career postseason performances as a tiebreaker (here's last year's list). Only healthy starters from teams projected to make the playoffs — sorry, Cubs and Mariners — qualify for this list.

That means that pitchers who just miss due to these two conditions include (deep breath) Justin Steele, Max Fried, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Shane McClanahan, Jacob deGrom, Walker Buehler, Eury Perez, Sandy Alcantara, Max Scherzer and Dustin May. All of those players would fit on this list if healthy and/or in the playoffs.

After removing starting pitchers for teams that aren't in the playoff race, only three of the 10 preseason aces are alive for this exercise, beginning with the two top pitchers from the same division.

1. Spencer Strider, RHP, Atlanta Braves

Strider finished second to teammate Michael Harris II in Rookie of the Year voting last year. In his second full season, he's second in baseball in pitcher WAR with the best strikeout rate in the majors and should have a top-five NL Cy Young finish even if his 3.81 ERA is almost a run higher than his peripherals suggest. I paused about putting him at the top spot since he's only thrown 2⅓ playoff innings, but the potential for postseason dominance is too much to ignore.

2. Zack Wheeler, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

Philly's ace has only appeared in one postseason, but he threw 35⅔ innings with a 2.78 ERA over six starts. He was dominant for most of last October and still had solid peripherals in a rough 2022 World Series appearance. Wheeler