10) Danny Salazar RHP CLE: Salazar has been a breakout player in the AL over the last few years for the Tribe. He was a major reason why the Indians have ascended from cellar dwellers to quite possibly the best team in the AL Central, if not the entire AL. Salazar himself is a player that is getting better as the years go, and I think that continues.
9) Jordan Zimmermann RHP DET: It is easy to dismiss Zimmermann because he has been hurt and not in the AL long, but I still believe he is a great pitcher and well deserving of a spot here. A healthy Zimmermann is a very dominant pitcher.
8) Yu Darvish RHP TEX: Since coming to the states, Yu Darvish has been interesting. He's been incredible but hurt a lot. It's almost as if he is the Stephen Strasburg of the AL. Good when healthy but not healthy enough to be top 5.
7) Chris Archer RHP TB: Chris Archer is super under appreciated, in my opinion. His stuff is incredible and he's been doing incredible things his whole career. Sure he hit a bump in the road a bit in 2016 but then fixed it. He's been durable and great for Tampa Bay.
6) Cole Hamels RHP TEX: Hamels is a veteran that has been around the block quite a few times. His reputation as an ace is certainly there, and he's been that his entire lengthy career. He had earned a spot as one of the top pitchers in this league for sure. So much so that sometimes we forget about him because we expect it.
5) Jose Quintana LHP CHW: Quintana has ascended the last handful of years as one of the best in the AL but has been overshadowed by his old teammate Chris Sale. Jose Quintana will finally get the opportunity to be an ace for the White Sox, if he's not traded.
4) David Price LHP BOS: Price signed a massive deal with the Red Sox but struggled a bit in 2016. However, his incredible track record and it all being in the AL still places him in a great spot amongst the best in the American League and pretty easily up there.
3) Justin Verlander RHP DET: Just a few short years ago, we were putting Verlander in the Kershaw class, and we also did similar with Arrieta before finding out nobody is in the class that Kershaw is. But back to Verlander, he slipped up in 2015 and people were wondering was it the beginning of the end for him. However, he bounced back strongly and even garnered up the most first-place votes in the AL Cy Young vote in 2016 but lost in overall votes, thus losing it to Porcello in MLBs version of the electoral college. In any case, I think Verlander is back to stay.
2) Corey Kluber RHP CLE: Kluber has been amongst the best pitchers for quite awhile now but his reputation got a massive boost for what he did in the 2016 playoffs for the Indians and how well he performed in adverse circumstances in the World Series to pitch as much as he did. He's an incredible pitcher that is now reaching the upper levels of best pitchers in the league.
1) Chris Sale LHP BOS: Sale is the pedigree of the AL. He is "the guy" of that league, and there is no denying why. This dominate lefty that is in his late 20s arrived on the scene a few years ago and hasn't stopped dominating. He is an electric pitcher and has talents on the rubber most others wish they had and could only dream of. The Red Sox gave up a massive haul to get him in December, but to get an arguably top 5 pitcher in all of baseball, it's easy to see why such a trade for him would be made.
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