Season Schedule
OffSTRegASGRegPostWSOff
Road to Playoffs
Open board →
Playoff odds, bubble teams & races — 30 clubs
4in the bubble
MLB · Top Players · 2026

Top Players season 2026Pitchers

Who are the top MLB pitchers in 2026 — and are their mega-contracts worth it? This board tracks Shohei Ohtani, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Framber Valdez and every other qualified star on a $10M+ deal: Spotrac average annual value (AAV) vs WAR, ERA, cost per WAR, and our Peer Value Index (1–10 vs peers on this page). The scatter chart and tabs show who looks overpaid and who is a bargain among baseball's biggest names. Updated daily during the season.

238
Qualified
2026
Season
$46.1M
Top AAV
0.51
Median WAR/$1M
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Contract vs performance

Dashed line = fair deal at league median WAR per $1M.

Better valueOverpaidFair deal0.01.53.04.56.0$0M$10M$20M$30M$40M$50MWARAAV (CONTRACT)
Green ring = best value on chartFair deal lineRed ring = overpaid vs peers

Sorts the player cards and table below — the chart above always shows everyone.

1
Shane Bieber
TOR · P
$13.3M AAV
WAR 0.2
ERA 4.53
Peer VI
3.5
WAR/$M
0.02
2
$18.5M AAV
WAR 0.5
ERA 5.08
Peer VI
3.7
WAR/$M
0.03
3
Tatsuya Imai
HOU · P
$18.0M AAV
WAR 0.5
ERA 5.32
Peer VI
3.8
WAR/$M
0.03
4
$11.0M AAV
WAR 0.3
ERA 4.08
Peer VI
3.8
WAR/$M
0.03
5
$27.0M AAV
WAR 0.9
ERA 3.22
Peer VI
3.9
WAR/$M
0.03
6
Aaron Nola
PHI · P
$24.6M AAV
WAR 0.9
ERA 5.12
Peer VI
4.0
WAR/$M
0.04
7
Sean Manaea
NYM · P
$22.0M AAV
WAR 0.8
ERA 4.31
Peer VI
4.0
WAR/$M
0.04
8
Robbie Ray
SD · P
$21.8M AAV
WAR 0.8
ERA 3.20
Peer VI
4.0
WAR/$M
0.04
10
$17.3M AAV
WAR 0.8
ERA 4.99
Peer VI
4.2
WAR/$M
0.05

Better deals nearby

Monthly ERA trend

Most overpaid contracts

#PLAYERTEAMAAVWARERAPEER VI ▾WAR / $1M
1Shane BieberShane BieberTOR$13.3M0.24.533.50.015
2Chris BassittChris BassittBAL$18.5M0.55.083.70.027
3Tatsuya ImaiTatsuya ImaiHOU$18.0M0.55.323.80.028
4Adrian HouserAdrian HouserSF$11.0M0.34.083.80.027
5Carlos RodónCarlos RodónNYY$27.0M0.93.223.90.033
6Aaron NolaAaron NolaPHI$24.6M0.95.124.00.037
7Sean ManaeaSean ManaeaNYM$22.0M0.84.314.00.036
8Robbie RayRobbie RaySD$21.8M0.83.204.00.037
9Framber ValdezFramber ValdezDET$36.6M1.54.354.10.041
10Luis CastilloLuis CastilloCWS$17.3M0.84.994.20.046

Showing 10 of 42 filtered players

Team payroll vs performance

Includes every team with at least one qualified player in the current filter.

EfficientOverpaidCombined WARFair efficiency0371013$0M$60M$120M$180M$240M$300M$360M$420MSPOTRAC PAYROLL (CBT)

Top MLB pitchers & contract value — what this page shows (2026)

People search for top MLB players — Shohei Ohtani, Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Max Scherzer and the rest of the league's stars — and want to know who is worth their paycheck. This is a contract value board: we take Spotrac average annual value (AAV) for every qualified pitcher on a $10M+ deal and compare it to on-field output (WAR, ERA, dollars per WAR).

Peer Value Index (1–10) scores each player against other $10M+ pitchers on this page — not the whole league. Seven or higher means strong value for the salary; below five means the contract is lagging production. Use the scatter chart (salary vs WAR), Overpaid / Best value tabs, and Better deals pairs to see who looks overpaid.

Season stats refresh once per day from our database sync; Spotrac contract amounts update weekly. Adjust filters for minimum innings pitched, team, or AAV tier.

Teams Standings · All pitchers