Misiorowski remains atop MLB starting pitcher power rankings as Luzardo, Sánchez climb

MLB’s latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings update, released for its 10th installment, puts Jacob Misiorowski back at the top and frames the rest of the list as a chase rather than a dethroning. MLB’s voting panel used the time since its previous poll at the end of July to measure what pitchers have done most recently, and in that window Misiorowski delivered numbers that are hard to match in any rotation context.

According to MLB’s rankings update, Misiorowski has been “otherworldly” in his most recent stretch. Since the end of July, the right-hander has posted a 2.16 ERA with 31 strikeouts across 25 innings in four starts. The combination of run prevention and strikeout volume is the core of what keeps him positioned above the rest of the field heading into another slated appearance.

The rankings story is not only about what Misiorowski has done, but also about what his lead would take to overturn. MLB’s update explicitly notes there is “no unseating” The Miz, even as the rest of the class reshuffles. That framing matters because starting pitcher power rankings are a proxy for who teams can reasonably lean on to stabilize games, especially as a season moves deeper and matchups narrow in importance.

Alongside the continuing supremacy of Misiorowski, MLB points to Jesús Luzardo and Sánchez as two pitchers who “rise” in the latest update. While MLB’s preview does not provide their exact rank movements or specific stat lines here, the use of the word rise indicates that their recent performances have changed how the panel views their current form relative to the rest of the league.

Misiorowski is also positioned with immediate scheduling context. MLB’s update says he will “climb the mound again” on Thursday night against the Mets at Citi Field. That kind of proximity to a next start is typical of power rankings coverage, because it turns a retrospective list into a short-term storyline: who looks best right now and how quickly that picture can shift after the next time out.

The broader value of a Starting Pitcher Power Rankings release is how it captures the shape of pitching quality in a way that complements team standings and playoff positioning. Even without claiming it predicts outcomes, the rankings highlight who is producing at a premium level in the portion of the season where run prevention and strikeouts become especially leverage-heavy in close games.

Looking ahead, the most important watch item is whether Misiorowski can keep the same profile after this next outing, since MLB is effectively inviting readers to test whether his gap is resilient or simply the product of a recent hot spell. Meanwhile, Luzardo and Sánchez have been elevated in the conversation, so the follow-up question becomes whether they can sustain enough form to keep moving upward as the rankings move from this late-summer snapshot toward postseason expectations.

For now, MLB’s message is clear: Misiorowski remains the anchor of the list, backed by a defined stretch of results since the end of July, while Luzardo and Sánchez are the notable challengers gaining momentum in the middle of the pack-to-top tier shift. As the season tightens, that separation between “stable excellence” and “rapid ascent” is the storyline to monitor each week.