Dear players, want to know how to play more exciting games in MLB The Show 26? We'll now discuss the best starting pitchers in MLB 26, showing you all the pitchers worth using and those to avoid. We believe the performance of excellent pitchers will not disappoint you. Let's take a look!
First, let's be clear. For players playing All-Star and lower difficulties, the game is largely batter-driven, and pitchers are easily overpowered, even top-tier cards. Using the right cards can increase your advantage.
S-Tier Must-Use Pitchers
If you have any of S-tier pitchers mentioned here, don't hesitate, use them immediately. There's even a free card among them.
Tarik Skubal is perhaps the best pitcher in the game besides Randy Johnson, with almost no weaknesses. Use him without hesitation.
Next, a recommended pitcher is a free card: Al Leiter. His pitch speed difference is excellent, making him a very effective and virtually flawless free card. If you don't have many MLB The Show 26 stubs, then using him as a pitcher is a no-brainer.
Clayton Kershaw's rating dropped slightly this year, not as good as last year, but he still performs very well, especially his forkball, which is absolutely unbeatable.
Like Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester also throws an excellent forkball. Currently, his rating isn't high enough, but a stronger version should be released in the future.
Theoretically, Randy Johnson should be the strongest pitcher in the game because his card stats look very strong, and he can indeed dominate opponents.
The last S-tier pitcher I can recommend is Felix Hernandez. He's mentioned last because his pitch speed difference isn't very large, making him vulnerable in All-Star mode and Hall of Fame mode. He's only slightly better in Legend mode.
A-Tier Powerful Pitchers
Pitchers ranked A-tier have some minor flaws, but overall they're still worth using.
Johan Santana is probably the best pitcher in A-tier, very close to S-tier, and works well overall.
Emerson Hancock's shots are always unpredictable, working well against unfamiliar opponents, especially on All-Star difficulty. However, his effectiveness diminishes after playing against him before. He likely has high potential.
Jacob deGrom is quite good, but the lack of Outlier this year somewhat limits him.
Next, Satchel Paige's performance is somewhat dependent on difficulty. He might perform better on higher difficulties.
Corbin Burnes is even more pronounced than Satchel Paige; he's completely ineffective on low difficulties but very strong on high difficulties. He's highly polarized. Therefore, he's only recommended for high difficulties.
Finally, Anibal Sanchez might be a slightly overrated card. If it weren't for Legendary difficulty level, he'd be easily overwhelmed and somewhat lacks distinctiveness.
However, Amaury Telemaco is the pitcher players really need to pay attention to; he's an underrated pitcher. He's just less well-known, but actually quite good.
B-Tier Pitchers with Obvious Weaknesses
B-tier pitchers are still capable of playing with confidence, but there's a clear gap compared to S-tier and A-tier pitchers.
Shohei Ohtani's new release angle makes his pitches easy to predict, but his pitch variety is limited, lacking diversity, so he's not particularly intimidating.
Pitchers like Nolan McLean and Cristober Sanchez have good pitch combinations, but they often get inexplicably overwhelmed. Their consistency is a bit poor.
For Paul Skenes, his Live Series version isn't strong enough; he gets overwhelmed easily with frequent use.
Roger Clemens' upgraded pitch speed is decent, but his control is worrying, and he doesn't have the large speed difference of Al Leiter.
Finally, you can use Michael Lorenzen and Ranger Suarez with confidence, but they won't offer much of a surprise, lacking the confidence of S-tier and A-tier pitchers.
C-Tier Only for Temporary Rotation
Pitchers in this category can be used occasionally as substitutes, but they are prone to misplays and are not recommended for long-term use.
Chris Sale lacks one pitch type, making his shot too predictable. Experienced players can easily punish him after one or two at-bats. Unless you're playing on Legend difficulty and have excellent pitch selection.
One of the most disappointing cards is Yusei Kikuchi. His shot is too predictable and lacks any highlights.
Gerrit Cole is probably the easiest pitcher to deal with in the game right now. He lacks Outlier and fastball, and his shot is also easy to recognize.
The following pitchers are similar: Justin Verlander, Zack Wheeler, and Logan Webb. They can occasionally fool opponents, but are mostly easy to identify.
Even though Eduardo Rodriguez is the best C-tier pitcher, he's been seen too many times and is easily hit.
F-Tier Pitchers You Should Never Use
Okay, it's that cruel. Here's a list of pitchers players should absolutely avoid, for reference only.
Bill Foster, Leon Day, and Cool Papa Bell—these three have abysmal stats and terrible pitches.
Luis Gil's control is only 48, making him completely unusable on higher difficulties. The ball flies wildly, and he only has four pitch patterns.
Greg Maddux might get a better version in the future, but for now, he's bad at everything.
If you're using Seth Hernandez, don't expect to score. You can easily predict his pitches just by watching his hands; his shooting motion is too easy to read.
These are the recommended starting pitchers for MLB 26. Choose your players based on your actual performance in the game. Good luck!
