Major League Baseball

MLB Top 10 Active Starting Pitchers by Career WHIP

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:16 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Fansided, Matt Veasey/FanSided via Call to the Pen

MLB

Apr 29, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) throws to the New York Mets during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

In evaluating and comparing MLB pitchers, the WHIP statistic is an excellent tool, measuring hits and walks allowed per each inning.

There are many ways to evaluate the top MLB players of recent years, as well as down through the history of the game.

The statistic of WHIP, or "Walks + Hits / Innings Pitched", has become one of the more popular tools to make such evaluations. It is one of my personal favorites.

WHIP is fairly simply to calculate. You simply add the number of hits and walks that a pitcher allows, then divide that total by the number of innings pitched by the hurler.

This afternoon out in Los Angeles, two of the best current starting pitchers in baseball will be facing off. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the host Los Angeles Dodgers. For the visiting Washington Nationals, it will be right-hander Stephen Strasburg who toes the rubber.

This premier matchup got me to thinking, who exactly are the best starting pitchers of recent vintage? I have my opinion, but what do the stats show?

I decided to let the career Baseball-Reference WHIP rankings inform me. The pitchers on this list have been some of the toughest to beat over the last decade or so in Major League Baseball. They usually don't surrender many hits. They don't beat themselves most night by walking a bunch of batters.

Who are the currently active top ten starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, based on B-R career WHIP figures? One hint: the cover boy for this story, Strasburg does NOT make the countdown.

MLB

Apr 25, 2017; Detroit, MI, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hernandez (34) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Felix Hernandez

1.1849With a WHIP figure of 1.1849, "King" Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners has the 10th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This puts him at 114th on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #9

MLB

May 22, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Greinke (21) throws in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

zack greinke

1.1832With a WHIP figure of 1.1832, Zack Greinke currently of the Arizona Diamondbacks has the 9th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This places him at 110th on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history, just ahead of former New York Yankees lefty Ron Guidry.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #8

MLB

May 12, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Cueto (47) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

johnny cueto

1.1725With a WHIP figure of 1.1725, Johnny Cueto currently of the San Francisco Giants has the 8th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This leaves him in a tie with Roger Clemens for 95th on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #7

MLB

May 31, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Arrieta (49) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

jake arrieta

1.1693With a WHIP figure of 1.1693, Jake Arrieta of the world champion Chicago Cubs has the 7th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This puts him just ahead of Hall of Famer Robin Roberts into the 89th spot on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #6

MLB

October 6, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Hamels (35) before throwing in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game one of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

cole hamels

1.1607With a WHIP figure of 1.1607, longtime Phillies ace and currently injured Texas Rangers lefty Cole Hamels has the 6th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This pushes him just past Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley into 79th place on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #5

MLB

Sep 7, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Price (24) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

david price

1.1386With a WHIP figure of 1.1386, Boston Red Sox southpaw David Price has the 5th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This pushes him to just ahead of Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter and just behind former Bosox great Curt Schilling, ranking at 51st on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #4

MLB

May 26, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Scherzer (31) throws to the San Diego Padres during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

max scherzer

1.1322With a WHIP figure of 1.1322, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer has the 4th highest WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This ties him with 19th century pitcher Jim McCormick at 45th on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history.

Next: MLB active career top ten WHIP starting pitchers: #3

MLB

Apr 19, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Bumgarner (40) delivers a pitch in the first inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

madison bumgarner

1.0971With a career WHIP of 1.0971, currently DL'd lefty Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants has the 3rd highest career WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This leaves him among the Top 20 on the all-time list of pitchers across Major League Baseball history. At 20th, he is just ahead of Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, another Giants great.

Next: MLB active career WHIP top ten starting pitchers: #2

MLB

May 24, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Sale (41) delivers a pitch during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

chris sale

1.0553With a career WHIP of 1.0553, longtime Chicago White Sox and current Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale has the 2nd highest career WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. This places him among the Top 10 pitchers in Major League Baseball history. At #7, he currently sits right ahead of Christy Mathewson, just behind Pedro Martinez.

Next: MLB active career WHIP top ten starting pitchers: #1

MLB

May 17, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Kershaw (22) throws a pitch during the sixth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

clayton kershaw

1.0022With a career WHIP of 1.0022, LA Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw, has the 2nd highest career WHIP mark among active starting MLB pitchers. That mark also leaves him in 4th place on the all-time Major League Baseball WHIP rankings. The three pitchers ahead of him? Addie Joss (1), Ed Walsh (2), and Mariano Rivera in the 3rd spot. The first two are Baseball Hall of Famers. Mariano and Kershaw will surely be going into the Hall.

Next: Phillies controversy as Schmidt comments on Odubel Herrera

More from Call to the Pen

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball