Baseball’s best left-handed pitchers heading into 2021

Opening Day is less than two months away! While we wait for the MLB season to begin, let’s count down the five best left-handed pitchers in the game right now.

5. Dallas Keuchel

While he hasn’t been extremely consistent in his career, Dallas Keuchel has been a force to be reckoned with when on top of his game.

Keuchel showed flashes of his 2015 Cy Young-winning self in 2020 – his first year with the Chicago White Sox – when he went 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA and 1.089 WHIP. No one allowed fewer home runs per nine innings (0.3) than Keuchel did last season.

Chicago is hoping he can keep this going in the second year of his three-year, $54 million contract.

4. Hyun-Jin Ryu

Hyun-Jin Ryu didn’t lead the majors in ERA in 2020 like he did in 2019 (2.32), but he pitched well enough in his first year in the American League (5-2, 2.69 ERA) to finish in the top three in Cy Young voting for the second straight season.

The talent has always been there for the Toronto Blu Jays’ ace, but injuries have dogged him for most of his career. He averaged a mere 123.4 innings over six seasons prior to last year, and missed all of 2015 for shoulder surgery.

Blue Jays fans, who’ve had plenty to cheer about lately, hope that Ryu can stay on the field in 2021.

3. Aroldis Chapman

There are few relievers more feared in baseball right now than New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. That’s why it was so stunning to see “The Cuban Missile” allow the game-winning home run to the Tampa Bay Rays’ Mike Brosseau in Game 5 of the ALDS in what would be his final appearance of the 2020 campaign.

Chapman, who won the 2019 AL Reliever of the Year Award, contracted COVID-19 in July and did not make his 2020 debut until Aug. 17. He posted a 27.00 ERA in his first two appearances of 2020 but promptly found his stride, allowing just one earned run in his final 11 regular season outings.

There’s no reason to think Chapman won’t have another phenomenal season in 2021.

2. Josh Hader

Arguably the best relief pitcher in the game right now, Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader falls just one position shy in the lefty power rankings.

Hader’s ERA in 2020 was subpar by his standards at 3.79, but he still managed to lead the National League in saves (13). In just four seasons of work, Hader has won two NL Reliever of the Year Awards and made two All-Star games.

The sensational southpaw has a 2.54 career ERA and a 0.858 career WHIP while producing an absurd 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

1. Clayton Kershaw

There’s little doubt that Clayton Kershaw is the best left-handed pitcher in baseball right now.

The three-time Cy Young winner is fresh off one his best seasons in recent memory, going 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA and 0.840 WHIP. More importantly, Kershaw pitched extremely well in the postseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and finally got his long-awaited World Series crown.

There are very few teams who wouldn’t want Kershaw as their No. 1 starter for years to come.