We’re two months into the 2024 Major League Baseball season. By now, what you see is starting to become what you get. So, we’ve already begun taking stock of what happened, and now it’s time to react. The All-Star Game is a month away, and the usual cast of characters will be around.
But perhaps they’ll be joined by some surprises. On the pitching side, a few names have emerged this year that not only stand as breakout candidates but also as some of the best pitchers in the entire league thus far.
Here are four surprises that have caught our eye this season.
Cole Ragans, Royals
Former first-round pick Cole Ragans might not have taken the path some expected to, but eight years after his first appearance in Rookie Ball, Ragans is lighting it up. The Kansas City Royals acquired Ragans last year in a trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to Texas. It’s fair to say that even though the Rangers won the World Series last year, the Royals might be winning that trade.
In 73.0 innings this season, Ragans has posted a 3.21 ERA with a 2.26 FIP. He’s posted an astounding 10.97 K/9, showing a tremendous punchout ability. This is the second year that he’s posted a K/9 of over 10, so this might be the kind of pitcher he is. If that’s true, the Royals will make out pretty well here. The stifling lefthander has been one of the best pitchers in the league this year, to the ROyals’ surprise perhaps, and that’s been tremendous for them. KC is 36-26 thus far, owning one of the AL’s Wild Card spots.
Luis Gil, Yankees
When Gerrit Cole got injured, the New York Yankees probably felt their pitching might be in danger. All that’s happened since then is that the Yankees have put together one of the best starting rotations in MLB this year. Luis Gil has been phenomenal himself, emerging out of the pack. The 26-year-old right-hander had limited big-league experience before this year. But Cole’s injury has led to the Yankees throwing him into the fire.
He’s excelled at extinguishing it! Gil has posted an 8-1 record through 69.1 innings and 12 starts. What’s more, he’s posted an ERA of a minuscule 1.82. That mark leads the American League by 0.03 over Boston Red Sox starter Tanner Houck, who’s also been outstanding this year. His 11.03 K/9 leads the Yankees and continues a trend of him throwing good stuff. In 102.2 innings at the MLB level, Gil’s posted a K/9 of 11.27. He’s been a fiery addition to the Yankees’ staff and a surprising one, as he’s helped keep them afloat without the 2023 Cy Young winner.
Shota Imanaga, Cubs
While Yoshinobu Yamamoto corraled much offseason hype, fellow Japanese-born pitcher Shota Imanaga has turned around and put together an excellent start to his MLB career.
Imanaga still has an ERA under 2.00 in June. The Cubs hurler has posted a 1.88 ERA through 62.1 innings. His 5-1 record looks great, and so too does his 9.39 K/9. He’s shown many positive signs for the Cubs that have many very excited about what his big league career in the Windy City could be.
Shota has already gotten plenty of new fans behind him. He even has a cool T-shirt now (thanks to Obvious Shirts). Imanaga has been one of the best pitchers in MLB this year. That was probably under your radar just as much as ours.
Ranger Suarez, Phillies
Finally, we have Ranger Suarez. The 28-year-old southpaw has been a staple of the Phillies’ staff since 2018. He’s never totaled more than 155.1 innings pitched in a season, but at this point in the year, he’s been arguably the hardest pitcher to beat this season. Suarez has posted a 9-1 record with the Phillies in 74.0 innings, but his dominance is well beyond the W-L mark. He leads all of baseball with an ERA of just 1.70. His peripherals don’t indicate he’s overperforming either, so what Suarez is doing should have your attention.
With the Phillies owning the NL’s best record, Suarez should continue to get plenty of attention.
