The prognostication game just gets harder and harder with each major pitching injury. Former Orioles ace Corbin Burnes had to leave his start after 14 outs and 70 pitches with what he described as elbow tightness. Hopefully it’s not the start of the all-too-familiar process that leads to Tommy John surgery.
It seems every day we lose another pitcher. Tigers just got Casey Mize back after about a 20-day stay on the injured list, but they still have Reese Olsen and Jackson Jobe down, too. The Royals just got back Seth Lugo but are still without Cole Ragans.
The Dodgers are the poster children of pitching injuries. They recently got Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May back, but they’ve lost Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow and a slew of bullpen arms.
The Rangers pay Jacob deGrom a boatload of money and pray every time he takes the mound that he’ll survive for another start. Now they’ve lost Nathan Eovaldi for an undetermined amount of time.
I probably could name a minimum of 20 other arms lost for all or part of the season.
So, what’s the point? Injuries are part of the game, but the continuing and never-ending spate of serious arm injuries has no end in sight. I think I understand the dynamic behind it, but who is really going to back off velocity? Who is going to back off on developing new pitches and grips that also can add to the stress on arms?
The money is worth the risk for the young pitchers who throw caution to the wind, but something serious is being lost along the way. It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt again and again.
Here are my latest MLB power rankings, with comments on the top 10.
1. Detroit Tigers (39-21, No. 1 last week): The scourge of pitching injuries has also hit the Tigers with Casey Mize, Reese Olson and now Jackson Jobe hitting the IL. Mize is back to joining Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty at the top of the rotation, but with Keider Montero the only depth piece up, look for Sawyer Gipson-Long to be up soon.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (36-23, No. 3): I’m not claiming to be a true scout, but I did a bit of a deep dive looking at who the Dodgers could give up for pitching. I don’t see how Andrew Friedman & Co are going to be able to spring deals unless they are taking a load of payroll on. Orioles starter Charlie Morton and reliever Andrew Kittredge will be due a combined $12.5 million for the final two months of the season if Baltimore doesn’t make some progress in the standings.
3. New York Mets (37-22, No. 6): The Mets sit at No. 3 having gotten nothing from Sean Manaea and a very disappointing two months from Juan Soto. Soto hit two homers on May 1 but is hitting just .211/.345/.411 since then. He has home runs in each of his past two games, though, so maybe he’s getting hot.
4. Chicago Cubs (37-22, No. 5): Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki both have more than 50 RBIs, Kyle Tucker has 39 and six more guys have more than 20 RBIs. But with Justin Steele out all season and Shota Imanaga on the IL, they need help in the rotation. Jake Arrieta, anyone?
5. New York Yankees (36-22, No. 4): Twenty-five RBIs by the beginning of June is a substantial number. Sure, Aaron Judge has 50 RBIs, but the Yankees are giving him plenty of help. Seven others are making substantial contributions.
6. Philadelphia Phillies (36-23, No. 2): Before they make a big trade for a closer, the Phillies are giving Taijuan Walker a shot to help out the ‘pen. They’re also bringing Mick Abel back up to take the place of Aaron Nola (ankle) in the rotation.
7. San Diego Padres (33-24, No. 8): It’s actually pretty amazing the Padres are hanging this tough with an offense that is firmly in the middle of the pack. It speaks to the sheer dominance of their bullpen once they get a lead. Jason Adam and Robert Suárez are as lockdown as it gets. The absence of Michael King (shoulder) is a real problem for the rotation.
8. St. Louis Cardinals (33-26, No. 9): This might be the Cardinals’ ceiling. They’re tied for ninth in the majors in runs scored (273) despite having no real big-time run producer. I expect them to slide back to the middle of the pack.
9. San Francisco Giants (33-26, No. 7): A pivotal week ahead for the Giants, who host the Padres for four and the Braves for three. They’ve gone 5-7 the past two weeks, so they need to stem the slide.
10. Houston Astros (32-27, No. 15): The Astros join the top 10 for the first time in 2025 buoyed by the strong starting performances from Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. They just lost Ronel Blanco to Tommy John surgery but have gotten a couple promising outings from Lance McCullers. They won’t get Spencer Arrighetti back until early to mid-July.
11. Seattle Mariners (32-26, No. 10)
12. Minnesota Twins (31-27, No. 13)
13. Cleveland Guardians (32-26, No. 12)
14. Kansas City Royals (31-29, No. 14)
15. Tampa Bay Rays (30-29, No. 16)
16. Atlanta Braves (27-31, No. 11)
17. Milwaukee Brewers (32-28, No. 23)
18. Toronto Blue Jays (31-28, No. 22)
19. Cincinnati Reds (29-31, No. 20)
20. Texas Rangers (29-31, No. 19)
21. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-31, No. 17)
22. Boston Red Sox (29-32, No. 18)
23. Washington Nationals (28-31, No. 24)
24. Los Angeles Angels (26-32, No. 21)
25. Baltimore Orioles (22-36, No. 27)
26. Athletics (23-37, No. 25)
27. Miami Marlins (23-34, No. 26)
28. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-38, No. 28)
29. Chicago White Sox (18-41, No. 29)
30. Colorado Rockies (9-50, No. 30)