Every major league team used at least eight starters last season. But all two (Stars and Flints) used at least 10. Eight used 15 or more. The 18-year-old Rays … had the same level of resistance that sometimes screamed chaos, but in this particular case, it was simply a recent playoff team, given its height.
That is, there is no telling who will stay the whole year and who will be healthy. And since we are not blessed with predictive powers, we can all assess what is ahead of us by ranking the top 10 rotations in MLB (following our notes on the best lineups and the best relief).
Because the concept of a true, lasting “starting quintet” is long dead, we’re going to list six pitchers who are going to make a splash at any point in the season, or even immediately. And of course most of the nine probably need a lot more than that.
1) Mets
Maximilian Scherzer, LD
Justin Verlander, LD
Kodai Senga, LD
Charles Carrasco, RHP
David Peterson, LZ
Joseph Quintana, LHP
A starting rotation with Scherzer and Verlander deserves to be on this list, just as a starting rotation with Scherzer and Jacob deGrom deserved to be on last year’s list. But as we saw last year with the same Mets, even the best 1-2s can happen. Between Scherzer and deGrom, we’re just starting 34. The Mets hope history doesn’t repeat itself this year.
2) Brewers
Corbin Burns, LD
Brandon Woodruff, LD
Freddy Peralta, LD
Eric Lauer, LZ
Wade Miley, LZ
Adrian Houser, LD
The Brewers’ roster will look a little different on Opening Day in 2023 than it did a year ago, but their biggest strength — Burns and Woodruff at the top of the starting lineup — remains intact. Both are under contract through the end of 2024, and trade rumors will continue if they let go of the Brewers’ slow start.
3) strong
Max Fried, LZ
Spencer Strider, LD
Kyle Wright, LD
Charles Morton, LD
Jared Shuster, LZ
Michael Soroka, LD
While the Braves don’t have two Cy Young studs at the top of the rotation like the Mets do, their NL East rivals do, which doesn’t matter if the Braves stay healthier. Fried finished second in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award last year and has established himself as an ace, thanks to a 2.68 ERA and 159 ERA+ (59% better than average) over the past three years.
4) sauce
Jacob de Grom, LD
Martin Perez, LZ.
Nathan Eovaldi, LD
Jon Gray, LD
Andrew Heaney, LZ
Jake Odorizzi, LD
No team improved their rotation better than the Rangers. Last year, Texas ranked 25th in the MLB in career batting average by its starters (4.63). Health permitting, and this is a big “if” here, as in any other stock, the sauce will rise substantially in this order.
5) Phillies
Zack Wheeler, LD
Aaron Nola, LD
Ranger Suarez, LZ
Taijuan Walker, LD
Bailey Falter, LZ
Andrew Painter, LD
The Phillies have one of the best 1-2 combinations in the game with Wheeler and Nola, as either season should be matched by a Cy Young-worthy pitcher. Nola is entering his contract year and coming off 2022 in which he posted a career-best 0.96 ERA in 205 innings. Wheeler’s 149 ERA+ over the past three seasons is fifth-best in MLB among those arms with at least 400 strikeouts.
6) Yankees
Gerrit Cole, LD
Charles Rodon, LZ
Nestor Cortes, LZ
Louis Severinus, RHP
Clarke Schmidt, LD
Dominicus Germanus, LD
If Francelis “Frankie” Montás hadn’t been sidelined after shoulder surgery in the spring, the Yankees would have had an excellent case for the No. 1 pick. 1. If Rodón (left hand) and Severinus (singular side) had not had their own. A personal injury scare this spring, but you still put the Yankees there. But as it stands, the Yankees will start the new year the way they left off last year, relying on Cole and Cortes and counting on their options inside.
7) Parents
Yu Darvish, LD
Blake Snell, LZ
Joseph Musgrove, LD
Michael Wacha, LD
Nick Martínez, LD
Seth Lugo, LD
The Padres got a monument that said “You can never shoot too much!” And they signed Wacha in their first spring training … sixth choice starter? Almost immediately afterwards, Musgrove dropped weight on his foot, as if to prove the point immediately, although he quickly recovered.
8) Astros
Framber Valdez, LZ
Cristian Javier, LD
Joseph Urquidy, RHP
Luis García, LD
Lance McCullers Jr., LD
Hunter Brown, LD
Getting on this losing list of the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner (Verlander) is quite a gimmick. But while Valdez is clearly capable of being the leader of the rotation after finishing fifth in the Cy Young voting, Javier has a 2.54 ERA in 30 starts and a stellar performance in the World Series, more so with Garcia and Urquidy already solid and – at times – proving. – Excellent middle rotation options, the Astros should be fine in this post-Verlander era.
9) Tiles
Alek Manoah, LD
Kevin Gausman, LD
Joseph Berrios, RHP
Christopher Bassitt, LD
Yusei Kikuchi, LZ
Hyun Jin Ryu, LZ
Manoah (third) and Gausman (ninth) got some love on the Cy Young ticket last year. Among all pitchers with MLB ERA titles, Manoah’s 174 ERA+ ranks fifth and Gausman’s mark of 116 ranks 24th. To this, the Blue Jays added Bassitt, who would be 27th on the list with 113. If Kikuchi’s awesome spring in which he has set his sights is any indication of what he can bring to the table, Toronto will be much better. But it was a great game.
10) Angels
Shohei Ohtani, LD
Patrick Sandoval, LZ
Tyler Anderson, LZ
Reid Detmers, LZ
Joseph Suarez, LZ
Tucker Davidson, LZ
Much has been written and said about the questions surrounding the Angels’ turnaround beyond Ohtani last year, but it was really the offense, not the primary, that let them down. With Ohtani earning his first Cy Young vote as an ace, the Angels ranked sixth in the MLB in rotation ERA (3.67). Sandoval had a 2.91 ERA and a 138+ ERA, while Detmers and Suarez were slightly better than the league average.
10) (ic) Sailors
Louis Castle, RHP
Robbie Ray, LZ
Logan Gilbert, LD
George Kirby, LD
Marcus Gonzales, LHP
Christopher Flexen, LD
The full-time signing from Castle – acquired before the 2022 trade deadline – has the potential of a crew group from good to great. To reach the ceiling of his rotation, Ray will have to pitch closer to what he showed when he won the Cy Young Award in 2021 with the Blue Jays, just in the middle of his first year in the league in Seattle. But this partnership resulted in the excellent pairing of Castle and Ray leading to the potential of Gilbert and Kirby, who pioneered the first generation of sailors.
