3 Pitchers I "Like" for 2025

Pitchers are athletes too. Here are three I'm very high on for the upcoming season

It was a lot of fun breaking down a few hitters I “like” for the 2025 MLB season, so I had to throw love to some pitchers, too — shoutout to Foolish Baseball, who (once again) inspired me to start this tradition.

Throughout every 162-game grind, many players fizzle out, while a few dozen break out. Digging deep and predicting those true talents is damn near impossible, but so tempting to try.

Disclaimer: I am not a biomechanical specialist, nor a predictive model savant. I wish I was knowledgeable about IVB, arm angles, or pitch shapes, but I’m not. However, I have been playing this game since I was five, and pitch in college today.

Photo via The Houston Chronicle

1. Spencer Arrighetti — Astros

Is this because I witnessed him strike out 13 Red Sox hitters over seven innings of two-run ball in person last summer? Possibly. Either way, I’m buying the dip on Arrighetti.

During the 25-year-old’s inaugural season in 2024, this right-hander posted a 4.53 ERA, with 171 strikeouts over 145 innings. His terrific final two months are what got me going.

In August, Arrighetti threw 32.1 innings, allowing just seven earned runs while striking out 47. His ERA was 1.95, and opponents hit just .168 against him. The Albuquerque, NM native wasn’t as stellar in September but still pitched to the tune of a 3.92 ERA over 20.2 innings.

My point is, his strikeout stuff plays. Arrighetti’s second-half K-BB% was 14th best among MLB (21.4%), with the walk rate significantly decreasing as he got more comfortable. His curveball is the true plus pitch, as he struck out Luis Arraez with it and netted a 42.4 whiff rate with a .156 xBA.

Hurling with the Crawford Boxes in Houston makes me a bit nervous, but the youngster is right-handed and will get plenty of opportunities on an Astros rotation that always seems to be above average.

Photo via New York Post

2. Clarke Schmidt — Yankees

Schmidt is the second pitcher I “like” for the 2025 season. Already 29 years old, the righty was nasty last year, yet dealt with a lat injury that kept him throwing just 85.1 innings.

Across 16 starts, the South Carolina product collected a 2.85 ERA, with 93 strikeouts and a 29.4 whiff rate. Along with generating swing and miss, his 5.9 barrel% graded out in the top 81st percentile, an encouraging mark.

The Yankees starter won’t blow hitters away, so he uses his impressive arsenal to adapt and fool them. Schmidt throws five pitches and favors his cutter the most (35% usage rate in 2024). His sweeper may be his deadliest pitch; batsmen clubbed just .210 across 70 PA vs. it last year.

I’m high on Schmidt because his on-field product was great a season ago. The biggest question mark will be his health, and he seems to have nothing but an achy back entering 2025.

In a loaded Yankees rotation that features Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman… Schmidt may be Boone’s most important x-factor.

Photo via Nationals.com

3. Mike Soroka — Nationals

Soroka made history last season for the wrong reasons. No pitcher since Terry Felton in 1982 had 10+ losses without winning a single ballgame until the Canadian did it with the White Sox in 2024. It is perhaps my riskiest pick of all, but I believe in him.

For starters, the Nationals don’t dish out money like nothing — I hypothesize they paid him nine million dollars for a reason this winter. There is little doubt that Martinez and the company view him as a starter.

It’s been five years since Soroka was that 21-year-old kid who finished 6th in the NL Cy Young race, but his stuff is still sharp. He pitched well in the White Sox bullpen and wowed many with his slider after moving there in May.

With a 37% usage rate, the slider became Soroka’s main pitch. It graded out elite across 79.2 innings, he chucked it 527 times, letting up just 17 hits. Combine that with its 41.7 whiff rate and .168 BAA, he can more than likely start games with it.

Across seven spring innings, Soroka currently holds a 1.29 ERA with nine strikeouts and is sitting 94-95 mph on his fastball. I’m not sure I believe in him so much because I want him to succeed, but he’s made my list.