Of all the positions on the field there is none more debated as the greatest on any season than the pitcher. A team can live or die by their star gunslingers and it becomes an especially difficult task to rank them on the basis that their statistical complexities fall into a different scale between any other position. So, you may like my picks or you might hate them, but based on the numbers and how they performed in tough games determined how these chips fell.

1. Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers

Back in 2011 when Kershaw won his first of many Cy Young awards to come, he did it the same way that Jake Peavy did it back in 2007 with the San Diego Padres, with the triple crown. In 2013 Kershaw has two of the three categories locked up, the most important and self-determined ones at that: ERA (1.88) and strikeouts (224). Kershaw’s record on the season (15-9) is weighed heavily upon the lack of run support he was given from his fellow Dodgers as well as his rough go of things in innings one and two. Aside from that, the Texas native was lights out and may be the key component for the Dodgers’ postseason run.

2. Max Scherzer Detroit Tigers

In a time when sabermetrics has pretty much eliminated the “win” category as a legitimate stat, Scherzer clearly didn’t let that get him down as his 21 wins on the season bested anyone else in the Major Leagues. Some would argue that his 2.90 ERA is a bit too high to be taken seriously as a CY Young contender; however, his 240 strikeouts (second-best in the Majors) and 0.97 WHIP prove that he can dominate a game by himself, a quality that all top-tier pitchers need to embody.

3. Adam Wainwright St. Louis Cardinals

Wainwright is the only other pitcher in the National League who might be able to contest with Kershaw for the Cy Young. His 18 wins are the most in the league and his 214 strikeouts second to Kershaw. The only downside is that his ERA is a little bit higher at 3.01 as is his WHIP at 1.08 which is also 16 points higher than Kershaw’s 0.92. Nonetheless, Wainwright is a tremendous pitcher with a lot in his arsenal and the grit to be able to go deep into games. He is by far one of the most productive pitchers to ever come back from Tommy John surgery in Major League history.

4. Cliff Lee Philadelphia Phillies

This pick may come as a surprise, but Lee had a tremendous rebound of a season despite the fact that he really didn’t have anyone to help get him run support. His 14-7 record probably should have been worse, or possibly better if he were on a playoff-caliber team. Those numbers aside, the truly impressive stats that he posted are his 209 strikeouts (fourth-best in the NL) and his 1.03 WHIP which is a little bit better than Wainwright’s on the grounds of Lee giving up 31 less hits and two less walks, but also pitching in three less games. Regardless, he was a bright spot in an otherwise mediocre Phillies squad.

5. Matt Harvey New York Mets

It’s only small technicalities which land Harvey this low on the list. Harvey has the makings of potentially being the next Tom Seaver in New York. His 191 strikeouts, 2.27 ERA and ridiculously amazing 0.93 WHIP are tell-tale signs of this being true; however, Harvey’s only problem at the moment is that he hasn’t really proven himself in innings seven through nine. Yes, he did have one complete game shutout and yes he did have a few no-hitters going into the sixth or later, but he got rocked hard as soon as he gave up the first hit. In time he’ll be able to overcome these little blips, but for now he’s still got a little bit of work to do.

6. Jose Fernandez Miami Marlins

Realistically Fernandez should be in a tie with Harvey at the five spot; however, Harvey’s edge on walks is what put him above. This isn’t to say Fernandez did a bad job, he did only walk 58 guys and allow 111 hits for a 0.98 WHIP; however, Harvey only gave up 31 walks and 135 hits. Some could look at that as a push, but the reality of this debate lies within the control and the fact that it takes one more pitch to walk a guy than to pop them out, ground them out, strike them out, etc. Nonetheless, Fernandez was the only bright spot for the Marlins in an otherwise train wreck of a season. He struck out 187 batters and his ERA stuck at 2.19. It’ll be a shock if he doesn’t win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

7. Hisashi Iwakuma Seattle Mariners

This pick might be a wee bit high on the list compared to others’, but it’s the right call. Iwakuma tied for the ninth-best in the American League with 185 strikeouts, but it was his 14-6 record, 2.66 ERA and 1.01 WHIP that push in to the top. The one thing that Iwakuma has going against him is that he played for a less than offensive happy Mariners team; however, he did tie for pitching in the most games as a starter with 33 which makes his numbers all that more impressive.

8. Yu Darvish Texas Rangers

The only thing that pushed Darvish this low on the list is his control. Sounds crazy right? Well, like a lot of Hall of Fame strikeout artists sometimes the Ks come with quite a few walks, and Darvish was near the top with 78 on the season. But even with that many walks Darvish still kept his WHIP at an impressive 1.07 while also maintaining a 2.82 ERA. Darvish did also have several games of 10 strikeouts or more along with a near-perfect game bid into the ninth in his first start of the season as well as two other no-hit bids, but like Harvey above things unraveled a bit afterward in the latter two starts. Still, his Major League-leading 269 strikeouts are truly impressive.

9. Chris Sale Chicago White Sox

This is a circumstance where wins and losses truly don’t matter as Sale’s 11-13 record only go to show how unimpressive the White Sox offense was in 2013. The former Florida Gulf Coast University star electrified the AL with 221 strikeouts (fourth-best in the Majors), a 1.05 WHIP and a decent 2.97 ERA. Sale was able to keep his walks down to a stellar 45; however, the amount of hits and runs he gave up were a little bit over Cy Young-caliber. This one hiccup of a season shouldn’t spoil his bright future.

10. Stephen Strasburg Washington Nationals

This was a tough choice as his teammate, Jordan Zimmermann, was right on the cusp for the 10-spot. While Zimmermann’s 19-9 record and 40 walks is quite a bit sexier than Strasburg’s 7-9 record and 54 walks, Strasburg eats up Zimmermann’s 161 punch-outs with 187 of his own in 33 less innings of work. Strasburg’s 1.05 WHIP and 3.02 ERA are also much more appealing to the eyes.