New Rankings Expose Chasm Between San Francisco Giants Ace, Rest of Staff

The San Francisco Giants have one starting pitcher throwing at an elite level right now and rankings show a huge gap with the rest of the rotation.

Aug 18, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) throws a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell is pitching like a two-time Cy Young winner these days, and a recent ranking of starting pitchers proves it.

The more interesting piece of the puzzle was the gap between Snell and his teammates and how losing him in free agency could put San Francisco in a really tight spot.

The Athletic recently ranked the Top 150 starting pitchers in baseball, an exercise it goes through at various times during the season. With the final month approaching, Snell is among the best in baseball.

These rankings had Snell at No. 12, up from No. 24.

The site used a number of stats, including Stuff+, future projections, strikeout-minus-walk rate, recent performances and the expected future schedule for the final month.

Snell has been climbing these rankings lately. He started the season horribly and spent most of the first half of the season on the injured list. He was not pitching like himself but wouldn’t blame the late start he got in spring training due to protracted contract negotiations.

Since he returned from his last stint, he’s been the ace of the staff. He threw a no-hitter in his first start after the trade deadline. He’s 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA in his last seven starts, with 64 strikeouts and 19 walks.

While his 2-3 record this season doesn’t look great, there is every expectation that Snell will opt out of the second year of his deal with the Giants and test free agency again. His second half is helping him build up quite the case for the long-term deal he didn’t get last offseason.

If the Giants lose him, it’s a big drop to rookie Hayden Birdsong, who was No. 74. Even though he climbed up from No. 107 and recently graduated from prospect rankings, he has a ways to go before he could be considered an ace.

Another youngster, Kyle Harrison, moved up to No. 77 from No. 92, while veteran Robbie Ray took a big drop from No. 73 to No. 105.

The Giants are hosting Miami this weekend before a three-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After that, San Francisco hits the road for a quick three-game series at San Diego.

The final month is filled with series against teams that are either in tight divisional races or have a legitimate path to a wild card berth.

After a homestand that features three-game series with Milwaukee and San Diego, the Giants go on a three-city road trip with stops in Baltimore, Kansas City and Arizona. The season concludes with a home series against St. Louis.