Having a big-time starting pitcher leading the rotation or a big-time bat in the heart of a team’s lineup is a prerequisite for success in baseball.
It’s the teams who have both that are the most successful.
This isn’t the MLB All-Star Game, where every team must be represented.
No, we are on a quest to find the best pitcher-hitter combinations in baseball—and then figure out who truly is the best of the best.
Basement-dwellers need not apply.
Detroit’s Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera made the cut (obviously), but do they sit atop our rankings? Or have they met their match in perhaps a younger, up-and-coming combination?
There’s only one way to find out.
*Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and are current through games of May 31.