top 5 most underrated pitchers of the 2016 season

in a follow-up to my previous articles i thought i would give the pitchers a shout out. now the hitters article might have been a hit (cheesy dad joke). But i feel as if you pitchers are truly what makes a team because you can’t have a good offense without a good defense. so without further adieu here are the top 5 most underrated pitchers of the 2016 season ( note i am also going to put in closers)

1.  New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka: you know what time it is its #TanakaTime. Yup its time for me to talk about one of my favorite Yankees Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka is coming off his best season in 2016. Masahiro started in 31 games in 2016 for the yankees and got a 14-4 record in 2016. His most impressive stat was his 3.07 ERA which was the 12th best in the MLB out of any pitcher in the 2016 season. He had the 7th best WAR (wins above replacement player) out of any pitcher in 2016 with a 5.4 WAR in 2016.

He also had a 1.08 WHIP in 2016 which is the 11th best in the MLB in 2016. He also had a 165 strikeouts in 2016. Mashairo has been named the opening day starter for the Yankees on april 2nd against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana field in tampa bay florida this will be his third consecutive opening day start for the yankees and he will be the one key starter for the yankees in 2017

2.  Washington Nationals Starting pitcher Tanner Roark: If you were to look up the words underrated or underappreciated in the dictionary you would find Tanner Roark name in the definition of each word. Tanner is 30 years old and has been in the MLB for 4 years now making his rookie debut back in 2013 for the washington nationals the team he has played for his whole career.  I mean Tanner had a killer season in 2016.

He pitched in a total of 34 games for the Nats and started in 33 of them pitching a total of 210 innings in 2016 and faced a total of 855 batters in 2016. He got a 16-10 win loss record in 2016. Tanner also had the 6th best ERA in 2016. The 6th best with a 2.86 ERA in 2016. Tanner also had the 6th best WAR in 2016 with a 5.5 WAR rating and a 1.17 WHIP. Tanner also managed to get a 172 strikeouts in 2016. Not to shabby right but unfortunately with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in you’re starting rotation it is easy to get under looked but baseball is just around the corner and i feel an all-star game.

3.  Chicago White Sox Starting Pitcher José Quintana: Hip Hip Jose Quintana. Jose is 27 years old and has been in the MLB since 2012 playing his whole career with the Chicago White Sox. 2016 was a good year for Jose he made the all-star team for the first time in 2016. He also pitched in and started in a total of 32 games in 2016.  He managed to pitch a total of 208 innings in 2016 and face a total of 837 batters. Jose got a 13-12 win loss record in 2016. Jose got a 3.20 ERA in 2016 along with a 1.16 WHIP and a 5.2 WAR as well in 2016 (the 11th best in the MLB in 2016). Jose even managed to squeeze in a 181 strikeouts in 2016. Jose has definitely come along way since his pitching in the Venezuelan summer league for the Venezuelan Mets to now pitching in america in the MLB for the Chicago White Sox.

4.  Miami Marlins Starting Pitcher Dan Straily: With a beard that legendary you know every batter is shaking in their boots (or cleats) when they go up to face him. All jokes aside Dan Straily is an amazing player for the Miami Marlins. A just recent Miami Marlin i should add since he was traded to the Marlins by the reds on january 19th for three top minor league prospects from the Miami Marlins organization. Dan has been in the MLB for 5 years now starting in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics and then going to the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and then going to the Houston Astros in 2015 and then his most recent team the Cinncanti reds in 2016.

Dan pitched in a total of 34 games in 2016 and started in 31 games pitching a total of 191 innings in 2016 and facing a total of 792 batters. Dan got a 14-8 win loss record in 2016. He also got a pretty impressive 3.76 ERA in 2016 as well as a 1.19 WHIP and a 4.3 WAR. Dan also had a pretty mediocre strikeout number getting a 162 strikeouts but he did have a decent number of strikeouts per 9 innings getting on average 7.62 strikeouts per every 9 innings pitched in 2016. I have a feeling dan is a natural shoo in for the 2017 Miami Marlins starting rotation and i know 8 pitchers will be duking it out in spring training to make one of the 5 roation spots but i have a feeling dan will get it.

5. 5. Cleveland Indians Relief Pitcher Cody Allen: Cody had a pretty good year last season with the tribe and he made it to the world series but unfortunately he did not win. Cody is the first relief pitcher on this list. I said i was going to put in relief pitchers on this list so i feel i should. Cody is an unsung hero for the indians in the bullpen but unfortunately he was outshined by the august trade from the New York Yankees Andrew Miller who dominated in the end of the season and in the post season for the Indians in 2016. Cody has been with the Indians since 2012.

He appeared in 67 games in 2016 and pitched a total of 68 innings and faced a total of 264 batters. Cody managed to get 3 wins in 2016 and 5 losses. He also snuck in an amazing 2.51 ERA and an amazing 87 strikeouts (the 17th most out of any MLB relief pitcher in 2016) and he also had the 11th most saves out of any relief pitcher in 2016 with 32 saves in 2016. Cody also pitched in 4 postseason games in 2016 and got 12 strikeouts and 1 save.