Free agency officially started on November 2, giving Major League teams the chance to upgrade in preparation for whatever is in store next season. This year’s market of starting pitchers includes several high-profile starting pitchers, with one clearly standing out amongst the rest.

Best starters available this winter

10. Robbie Ray
11. Clay Holmes
12. Michael Soroka
13. Matthew Boyd
14. Trevor Rogers
15. Nick Pivetta
16. Sonny Gray
17. Michael King
18. Freddy Peralta
19. Tarik Skubal

No one will dispute where Tarik Skubal belongs on this list. He’s a two-time Cy Young winner, the undisputed best power pitcher amongst the crop of starting pitchers, and a high-end left-hander who should be paid handsomely.

Skubal will also get the benefit (although it won’t matter too much, in his case) of being immune to a qualifying offer. Since he was traded midseason by the Tigers, Skubal isn’t eligible. Nor is Freddy Peralta, who was shipped out by the Mets in August. Sonny Gray, Nick Pivetta, and Michael King all received one in the past, which makes them ineligible, too.

Both King and Pivetta have the chance to do well, although both have their downsides. For Pivetta, it’s twofold. One, Pivetta is highly susceptible as a four-seam-heavy power pitcher to the home run ball, even though that mindset did also result in a lot of strikeouts. Second, he did miss most of 2026. But he pitched well when healthy.

As for King, he’s a groundball-heavy pitcher who didn’t strike out a ton of batters in 2026. But he did in 2024, a career season for King that saw him post a career-best 201 strikeouts. What also works in King’s favor? His ability to generate weak/sawed-off contact, something that was very evident in the 2026 MLB Postseason.

Sonny Gray, sandwiched in between King and Pivetta on our list, was an 18-win pitcher in 2026 and yet again kept hitters off balance with the Red Sox.

But Peralta is the one right behind Skubal on our list. Peralta was one of baseball’s best power pitchers for years with the Brewers before he joined the Mets. It didn’t work out well in New York but he was sensational in both the regular season and playoffs for the Rays.

Tampa Bay was a near-perfect landing spot for Peralta. The right-hander worked better off the fastball by using the changeup more often. But that fastball saw a significant uptick in velocity, especially in the postseason. Peralta regularly flirted with and hit 99 MPH in the comfy confines of Tropicana Field, benefiting from an environment friendly to pitchers like him.

Two other pitchers with significant upside are Trevor Rogers and Michael Soroka.

Rogers offers, perhaps, the biggest opportunity for clubs that won’t want to spend the big bucks to land a prolific starter. The left-hander had an otherworldly season in 2025, before he suffered from the loud contact in the first half of this past season. But in the second half, Rogers struck out 88 over 79.1 IP and posted the third-lowest BB/9 (.9) in the Majors among starters.

Only Chris Sale (.8) and fellow free agent Nick Martinez (.9) had lower rates. It wasn’t so much him pounding the zone, either. Rogers had one of the top 10 Chase% in the second half last year, and second-highest behind Payton Tolle.

Soroka, who signed with the Diamondbacks in December 2025, missed some time thanks to a glute strain. The right-hander struck out 114 over 116 innings and pitched very well in the first half, his second season of sustained success as a starter since mixing up how he attacks with the fastball.

As for Matthew Boyd, Clay Holmes, and Robbie Ray, all three are veterans who have their downsides and pluses. Boyd and Holmes both had very low strikeout rates down the stretch for the Cubs, while Ray had his moments as a San Diego Padres pitcher.

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