Cubs Ace Gets Disrespectful MLB Ranking After All-Star Campaign

It’s safe to say Matthew Boyd was a huge benefit to the Chicago Cubs last season.

Signed to a two-year contract last offseason, the left-hander turned in the best season of his career. He went to the All-Star Game for the first time, helped the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and made his third appearance in the MLB playoffs.

It was a watershed season for the 35-year-old and should set him up and the Cubs up for a bigger 2026. Based on performance last season, he qualifies as Chicago’s ace.

But, in Bleacher Report’s new rankings of aces for the 2026 season, Boyd received what feels like a disrespectful ranking of No. 19 out of 30 teams.

Matthew Boyd’s ace ranking

Team USA pitcher Matthew Boyd throws a baseball. — Team USA pitcher Matthew Boyd. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Boyd went 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA last season. He struck out 154 and walked 42 in 179.2 innings while setting a single-season career mark in wins. He also hadn’t thrown that many innings since 2019 in Detroit, when he threw 185.1 innings.

The writer, Tim Kelly, cited Boyd’s injury history and age for the lower ranking. “Given the history and that he's in his mid-30s, it's fair to have some skepticism about Boyd's ability to match his workload from a year ago,” he wrote.

Boyd has dealt with injuries the past several seasons that have limited him to fewer than 100 innings in each season from 2020 to 2024. The 2020 season was shortened to 60 games due to COVID-19.

Those injuries are part of what led the left-hander to bounce around after he left the Detroit Tigers in 2021. He joined the Seattle Mariners in 2022, returned to the Tigers in 2023, and then moved to the Cleveland Guardians in 2024.

Matthew Boyd | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The NL Central aces ranked ahead of Boyd were Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes at No. 2 and Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott at No. 17. The article accounted for Hunter Greene’s surgery for bone chips in his throwing elbow, which will keep him out for three months.

Cubs fans can take solace in something — their ace wasn’t ranked as the worst ace in the division. That honor fell to their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. Left-hander Matthew Liberatore was ranked No. 28.

Plus, Milwaukee — which won the NL Central over the Cubs last year — saw its ace ranked behind Boyd. Brandon Woodruff was ranked No. 24 as the Brewers traded Freddy Peralta in the offseason.

He was also ranked ahead of Chicago’s south side rivals, the White Sox, as Shane Smith was ranked No. 27.