There's no surprise that Tarik Skubal is back on top of the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings. The real surprise is that he wasn't already there.
That's a testament to the other great starters in the Majors -- breakout Astros flamethrower Hunter Brown topped our last power rankings -- but the reigning American League Cy Young and Triple Crown winner has forced his way back to No. 1 on our list of aces.
These rankings are based on a formula constructed by MLB.com’s data team, which considers performance over the past 365 days but places greater weight on season-long and recent performance.
Here are the latest Starting Pitcher Power Rankings. (All stats are through Tuesday's games unless otherwise noted.)
1. Tarik Skubal, Tigers (Previously: 2)
Skubal is an unstoppable force on the mound. He just pitched one of the most dominant games in recent history -- a 13-strikeout shutout on fewer than 100 pitches (aka a "Maddux"), which he finished off with a 102.6 mph K that's the fastest strikeout pitch by any starting pitcher since pitch tracking began in 2008. And he has a 2.26 ERA on the season with 99 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings. Skubal is rolling toward a second straight Cy Young Award and he's back on top of the power rankings.
2. Zack Wheeler, Phillies (4)
Wheeler is coming off a tough start against the Braves, but right before that, he'd delivered three straight scoreless outings to beat the Guardians, Pirates and A's. And overall it's been business as usual for the Phillies ace, who has a 2.96 ERA and 94 K's in 76 innings as he seeks his elusive first Cy Young Award.
3. Paul Skenes, Pirates (8)
Skenes is starting to get on a roll that looks like the one he went on as a rookie in 2024. He hasn't allowed more than one run in any of his last five starts, with a 1.04 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings over that span. That brings Skenes' ERA to 2.05 this season, second-best in the NL, over an MLB-high 83 1/3 innings pitched.
4. Hunter Brown, Astros (1)
Brown is tied for the Major League lead with eight wins, and he ranks third in the American League with a 1.83 ERA and fourth with 84 strikeouts. He's allowed one run or fewer in eight of his last 10 starts. Skubal took over the No. 1 spot from him in the rankings, but Brown continues to look like one of the best young pitchers in the big leagues.
5. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox (7)
Crochet is a strikeout machine. The Red Sox southpaw is coming off back-to-back double-digit strikeout games, with 12 K's against the Braves in his last start and 11 against the Brewers before that. That brings him to 101 strikeouts for the season, tied with the Nationals' MacKenzie Gore for the most in MLB before Gore took the mound on Wednesday. Crochet has also lowered his ERA to 1.98 and leads the AL with 82 innings pitched.
6. Kris Bubic, Royals (6)
Bubic's surprise season shows no signs of slowing down. The Royals' breakout lefty leads the Majors with a 1.43 ERA and hasn't allowed more than one run in a game since his last start of April. In the six starts since then, Bubic has a 0.69 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings.
7. Max Fried, Yankees (3)
Fried got knocked around by the Dodgers his last time out, but even the best pitchers might give up a couple of home runs when they face Shohei Ohtani. That doesn't change Fried's ace-caliber season for the Yankees -- he's now 7-1 with a 1.92 ERA in 12 starts.
8. Framber Valdez, Astros (Not ranked)
Valdez might be flying a little under the radar with his teammate Brown's emergence this season, but the longtime Astros workhorse is pitching great baseball right now. Valdez just finished off a complete game victory over the Rays in his most recent outing, and over his last five games, he has a 1.70 ERA while averaging over seven innings a start.
9. Andrew Abbott, Reds (Not ranked)
The Reds rotation has been the team's strength in 2025 and Abbott is a big reason why. The 26-year-old left-hander had allowed one run or fewer in eight of his nine starts this season entering Wednesday, when he was knocked around a bit by the Brewers for five runs. Still, that only pushed his ERA to a very respectable 2.18.
10. Carlos Rodón, Yankees (Not ranked)
Rodón looks better and better with each passing start and forms a formidable 1-2 punch atop the Yankees rotation alongside Fried. Rodón is tied with Brown for the MLB lead in wins with eight, and he's racking up strikeouts, with 98 in 79 2/3 innings. Rodón ranks third in the AL in K's behind only Crochet and Skubal and second in innings pitched behind Crochet.
Honorable mentions: Jacob deGrom (Rangers), MacKenzie Gore (Nationals), Drew Rasmussen (Rays), Robbie Ray (Giants), Chris Sale (Braves), Kodai Senga (Mets), Logan Webb (Giants), Bryan Woo (Mariners)