Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal was ranked as the number-one true ace in Major League Baseball's 2026 starting pitcher rankings. Skubal, who will become a free agent after the 2026 season, topped a list of nine pitchers.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was ranked second, followed by Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet at number three. Crochet's fastball velocity increased by 0.5 mph at the start of the 2026 season compared to the 2025 season. Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched a maximum of 173⅔ innings in MLB in 2025 after topping 190 innings twice during his career in Japan, was ranked fourth.

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez rounded out the top five. Sanchez established himself as a major league starter in 2023 and posted a 3.32 ERA over 181⅓ innings in 2024 before posting a 2.50 ERA across 202 innings in 2025. His 2025 season featured a one-mile-per-hour increase in fastball velocity and three additional inches of sink on his sinker compared to 2024. Sanchez signed a six-year, $104 million contract extension in spring 2026.

Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown was ranked sixth. Brown pitched 155⅔ innings in 2023, 170 innings in 2024 and 185⅓ innings in 2025, when his walk rate was under three per nine innings. In the 2025 playoffs, Brown posted a 1.65 ERA over 16⅓ innings.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease was ranked seventh after signing a seven-year, $210 million contract during the 2025–2026 offseason. Cease averaged a fastball velocity between 95 and 99 mph during the 2025 season with the San Diego Padres. In his first start for the Blue Jays in 2026, his fastball velocity was 1.6 mph higher with 1.2 inches more lift compared to the previous season.

San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb was ranked eighth. Since 2022, Webb has led MLB in innings pitched with 820 innings, ahead of Framber Valdez's 767⅔. Webb ranks second in pitcher WAR over that span at 19.1, behind Zack Wheeler's 19.5. Webb's sinker velocity was down 1.4 mph and his sweeper velocity was down 1.3 mph at the start of the 2026 season.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale was ranked ninth. Sale missed part of the 2025 season due to a fractured rib cage. In his first outing of the 2026 season, Sale's average fastball velocity was 95.9 mph, matching his best season-long average since 2011. Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson remain the only pitchers to have won three consecutive Cy Young Awards.