As teams look for an ace in free agency, there are a few players in the upper echelon of starting pitchers available. Amongst the bunch, long-time Houston Astros star Framber Valdez is considered the best.
He has tough competition from San Diego Padres standout Dylan Cease. Franchises won't complain if they're able to land either starter in free agency. Still, scouts around the league remain firm on Valdez being the No. 1 pitcher available, via Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic.
“Valdez, 32, boasts an impressive resume. Over the last 25 years, he is one of just three pitchers (Max Fried and Felix Hernandez are the others) to have at least four seasons with at least a 23 percent strikeout rate, a 50 percent groundball rate and a 3.50 FIP or lower over at least 130 innings,” the Athletic insiders wrote. “Since 2020, no one has logged more innings in the playoffs (85) than Valdez, who owns a 4.34 ERA in the postseason.”
“Valdez deserved to finish first in the poll, multiple scouts said, because of the combination of an elite groundball rate, a low walk rate, an ability to rack up strikeouts and the ability to tackle a healthy workload,” they continued. “Perhaps that is no surprise. After all, Valdez is the highest-ranked pitcher on The Athletic’s Free Agent Big Board (No. 5 overall). Of the 78 pitchers with at least 500 innings over the past five seasons, Valdez ranks No. 1 in groundball rate and No. 3 in homer rate.”
Over his eight years with the Astros, Valdez put up a 3.36 ERA and a 1,053/389 K/BB ratio. He was named an All-Star in both 2022 and 2023, earning no fewer than 169 strikeouts since that 2022 campaign.
During his 2025 season, Valdez recorded a 3.66 ERA and a 187/68 K/BB ratio. While his ERA numbers were a bit inflated, the left-hander had the 20th-most strikeouts in the MLB. Looking deeper into his numbers, Valdez remains one of the most feared pitchers in MLB.
There will be plenty of teams bidding for his services. Whoever lands him will be signing the No. 1 free agent pitcher to help lead their rotation.
