Legendary Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement from Major League Baseball Sept. 18. The decision wasn’t a surprise — Kershaw had been mulling hanging up the glove for a while — but for Dodgers fans, it’s likely that no forewarning could mitigate the announcement’s impact.
To call Kershaw a cornerstone of the Dodgers franchise would be an utter disservice to him. For 18 years, Kershaw was the franchise. When he joined the Dodgers as a rookie in 2008, the team was mired in mediocrity, burdened by albatross contracts and a pitiful lack of star power relative to the fabled squads of yore.
By 2014, the Dodgers had rocketed to the top of the standings thanks to Kershaw, who won his third Cy Young award in four years as the league’s premier pitching talent. He also captured the National League MVP award — the first for an NL pitcher since 1981. No one-way pitcher has managed to win the award since Kershaw.
With every possible individual accolade in his pocket at just 26, Kershaw’s sights were solely set on bringing the World Series trophy back to LA for the first time since 1988. And while playoff season often spelled doom for Kershaw and the Dodgers, the team finally broke through to win two World Series championships in 2020 and 2024. It may be that Kershaw — who has maintained an elite level of play to the present day — has simply run out of feats to accomplish.
The same could be said for Kershaw’s pitching contemporaries in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, although the trajectories of their careers have differed heavily from his. While Kershaw entrenched himself as an LA lifer, Verlander and “Mad Max” are now more akin to baseball mercenaries, playing for a combined nine teams over the course of their careers. The only consistency this duo cares about is that of their skill on the mound, and they have succeeded in this endeavor with magnificent aplomb, sporting myriad individual and team accolades. Despite the varying paths of their respective careers, Kershaw, Verlander and Scherzer will be indelibly linked to each other as they enter the Cooperstown National Baseball Hall of Fame with the distinction of being the 21st century’s premier pitching trio.
As these heroes of the baseball diamond put the finishing touches on their careers, MLB fans will begin to wonder when the next legendary crop of pitchers will arise. As it turns out, they may already be here.
A new crop of aces have already begun their reign of terror. While many names could be included in the group, perhaps the most deserving of this recognition are the young Pirates phenom Paul Skenes and Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal — two men who have shown they’re a cut above the rest in either league. Going forward, these names may be the most exciting to watch as velocity, precision and swing and miss exist as the make or break factors for MLB starters.
Skenes burst onto the scene in 2024 as one of the most highly anticipated pitching prospects of all time. A College World Series champion and National Pitcher of the Year for LSU in 2023, Skenes has never been a stranger to the big moment. Despite the Pirates’ struggle to field a competitive baseball team, they decided to give 22-year-old Skenes the call May 11. Since then, Skenes has dominated MLB hitters with relative ease. After practically walking away with the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2024, Skenes is a lock to win his first Cy Young of many in 2025. Skenes is set to finish with an MLB leading 2.17 ERA while racking up a National League leading (three players tied for first) 216 strikeouts. In a season where Skenes put up a monstrous 7.6 WAR (wins above replacement), he relied heavily on a fastball that regularly sits above 100 miles per hour. With a lethal mix of precision and power, Skenes will make hitters look silly for years to come.
In the American League, Tarik Skubal has solidified himself as the head honcho over the past two seasons. At the ages of 27 and 28, Skubal has led the AL in several major pitching categories. Skubal was untouchable in 2024. The big lefty bulldozed his way to a pitching triple crown, leading the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts — taking home the AL Cy Young with ease. Though Skubal’s numbers are largely similar in 2025, new Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is putting up a fight for the AL Cy Young. Skubal is the heavy betting favorite to take home his second consecutive Cy Young despite Crochet’s best efforts in a monster first year in Boston. Skubal also relies on a fastball that touches 100, but effectively mixes in a devastating changeup. Precision and limiting walks is also key for Skubal, something that could be heavily affected by a new change coming to MLB in 2026.
Starting next year, MLB will be implementing the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System. The ABS system will allow the batter, pitcher or catcher to tap their hat or helmet to automatically challenge a ball or strike using a digital strike zone powered by T-Mobile. ABS takes a vital aspect out of the defensive game — the framing catcher. In prior years, catchers have been able to effectively steal strikes for their pitcher by pulling balls out of the zone back over the plate to get the strike call. With ABS, the art of framing will be conquered by hitters with a sharp eye for the zone. The system endured a full year of trial in the minor leagues this year, and has been voted in by the MLB Joint Competition Committee. After several rule changes in 2023 (pitch clock, larger bases, banning of the shift), the addition of ABS will also look to prioritize pace of play and player control of the game. Unlike the rule changes in 2023, the ABS system may not be unanimously supported by the players.
For some catchers whose values are largely dependent on their defensive ability, their careers may be in jeopardy. Pitchers will be getting a smaller and more accurate zone, potentially shifting the advantage from the man who holds the ball to the man who holds the bat. As MLB tries to create a more offense-friendly environment, even the most untouchable pitchers will have to battle harder and rely more heavily on swing and miss stuff. As new star pitchers look to write the next chapter of the MLB history books, their journeys will no longer be defined by umpires.
Contact Mac Ribner at ribner@oxy.edu and Ben Petteruti at petteruti@oxy.edu
