My top five NL pitchers

As we get closer to the All-Star Game in New York City, the debate over who should start on the pitcher's mound gets more heated.

A lot of people have been touting New York Mets ace Matt Harvey as their preference for earning the starter's role, but there are several equally qualified pitchers who should receive consideration. Therefore I give you my top five NL pitchers, any one of whom would make a great choice for the festivities at Citi Field.

Clayton Kershaw
Courtesy of bbwaa.com

1. Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles) -- With all due respect to Harvey, Kershaw has been the most dominant pitcher in the league. He owns a 1.93 ERA, has struck out 126 batters while walking only 27, and he's allowed only 28 earned runs in 130.1 innings. And when he's allowed runners to get into scoring position, opponents have batted .181 and have yet to hit a home run off of him.

2. Matt Harvey (New York) -- There is no doubt that Harvey is a top-notch pitcher. His 7-2 record for a pathetic Mets team, his 2.27 ERA and his league-leading 141 strikeouts speak to that fact. He does have a little trouble stalling rallies when he allows runners to reach base (opponents are batting .241 with runners in scoring position), which is why I'm ranking him slightly below Kershaw. But, Harvey's future looks bright.

3. Stephen Strasburg (Washington) -- Strasburg's record may not be very good (4-6) and his walk total might be a bit higher than expected (31), but he's quickly rounding into form. He's allowed two or fewer runs in his last nine starts (even with a two-week layoff for a strained lat muscle), and he's been great at striking out the first batter he faces each inning (62 K's in that situation).

4. Adam Wainwright (St. Louis) -- After missing the 2011 season and a bit of a struggle last year (14-13 record, 3.94 ERA), Wainwright has become dominant again. He's walked only 12 batters in 125.2 innings this year while striking out 114, and he's surrendered a total of four home runs. Granted, opponents are batting .303 against Wainwright when runners are in scoring position, but those moments represent only 25 percent of the total number of batters he's faced.

5. Patrick Corbin (Arizona) -- There are several pitchers I could have gone with at No. 5, but young Mr. Corbin impressed me the most. In his second season in the big leagues, Corbin has lowered his ERA from 4.54 to 2.49, and he's raised his strikeout total from 86 to 89. More importantly, he's tough on opposing batters with runners on base (.196 batting average). If he can learn not to walk batters with no one on base (20 free passes issued so far), Corbin could rise even higher on this list.

Tomorrow, I'll give you my top five American League pitchers.