College baseball ace rankings: The best starting p...
Key takeaways
- This list is more based on who I want to give the ball in a do-or-die game today more than who is the best long-term prospect.
- Compared to my latest draft rankings, the pitchers below will skew toward older, more proven players.
- Whitney walked off the mound after 89 pitches in his most recent outing against Hawai'i with tightness in his right arm.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
This list is more based on who I want to give the ball in a do-or-die game today more than who is the best long-term prospect. As you might guess, there's a lot of overlap in those two concepts: The top four in last year's list were top 15 picks in the 2025 MLB draft. In addition, one of the biggest arrow-up prospects since the draft (LSU/Red Sox RHP Anthony Eyanson) was ranked 10th.
Compared to my latest draft rankings, the pitchers below will skew toward older, more proven players. These pitchers have been excellent this season (i.e., avoiding a blowup outing to balloon their ERA), and the tiebreaker is their raw stuff. I've denoted players who are currently injured with an asterisk if their return to the mound is TBA; NC State RHP Jacob Dudan is out for the season, but he would comfortably make the top 20 if he was healthy.
Whitney walked off the mound after 89 pitches in his most recent outing against Hawai'i with tightness in his right arm. We don't know how serious that injury is yet, but Whitney is generally considered the best pitching prospect in college baseball. He had a late spring rise as a high school pitcher from Idaho who grew into one who generated late first-round interest in the 2024 MLB draft. The price will be much higher next July.