Ranking baseball's pitching rotations for 2019

The 2018 Indians rotation was the first in history to boast four pitchers with 200 strikeouts each. Corey Kluber has won fewer than 18 games only once in the past five years and has finished in the top three in AL Cy Young Award voting in each of the past three seasons. Carlos Carrasco remains one of the more underrated hurlers in the game, and Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger enjoyed breakout seasons a year ago. Shane Bieber could be the next standout to emerge in Cleveland’s rotation.

Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg lead the way for a powerhouse rotation that has long been among the NL’s best. As if the Nationals rotation wasn’t potent enough, the team added the top available free-agent starter in the offseason (Patrick Corbin). He gives the Nationals a trio of arms who have finished in the top three of NL Cy Young Award voting the past two years.

Pitching depth remains the Dodgers’ greatest ally, despite trading Alex Wood over the winter. The team counts heavily on the continued emergence of Walker Buehler, as injuries have again besieged Clayton Kershaw this spring. The presence of Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Hyun-jin Ryu ensures that L.A. will have excellent pitching.

The Red Sox kept the band that won the World Series together -- David Price stayed, Nathan Eovaldi re-signed and ace Chris Sale's contract was extended. The staff has even greater upside in 2019, with Rick Porcello seemingly back on track and Eduardo Rodriguez continuing to mature. The big question: Will Sale remain healthy for a full season? He posted a 6.8 WAR and 237 strikeouts in 2018 despite missing most of August and September.

The 2018 Astros set a MLB record for team strikeouts, with Justin Verlander (290) and Gerrit Cole (276) leading the way. The duo must carry even more of the load this season, with Charlie Morton now in Tampa Bay, Dallas Keuchel remaining unsigned and Lance McCullers Jr. out for the year because of Tommy John surgery. The club will turn to a veteran trio of Wade Miley, Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh. The game’s top pitching prospect, Forrest Whitley, waits in the wings.

Jacob deGrom is coming off a historically significant Cy Young season (10-9, 1-70 ERA), and Noah Syndergaard (13-4, 3.03 ERA) looks poised to take a massive step forward. The pair is arguably the game’s top pitching duo. Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz and Jason Vargas add to a deep rotation.

The Cardinals staff offers a glimpse at the past, present and future. After returning from Japan, where he spent the three previous seasons, Miles Mikolas enjoyed an All-Star season (18-4, 2.83 ERA) in 2018; Michael Wacha was on pace for an All-Star appearance of his own before injuries curbed his season. Alex Reyes, Dakota Hudson and Jack Flaherty represent a trove of young talent. In his rookie season in 2018, Flaherty led the team with 182 strikeouts. Former aces Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright provide depth, although each has questionable health.

The Braves boasted the second-best starter team ERA a year ago, led by Mike Foltynewicz’s 2.83. Elbow issues, however, make him questionable to start the season. Julio Teheran must take the lead. Starter Kevin Gausman and Sean Newcomb give the staff plenty of upside. But Atlanta's greatest strength comes from the game’s top collection of pitching prospects: Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka and Luis Gohara are poised to make an impact this year.

Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer are headliners for an impressive Pirates staff that has a chance to make Pittsburgh a sleeper NL contender. Trevor Williams aims to build on a highly productive second half of last season (1.38 ERA after break). Joe Musgrove was also an underrated contributor, accounting for a 1.1 WAR in his third year.

Despite the undeniable name recognition of Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish, Cubs pitching was a bit of disappointment last year. The biggest catalyst obviously would come from Darvish, who accounted for only one win in Year 1 of a six-year, $126 million deal. 

If Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray are healthy and in good form, they could give the Diamondbacks the best rotation in the West that doesn’t reside in L.A. Ray has averaged 12 strikeouts per nine innings since 2017, and Greinke remains one of the game’s more consistent pitchers. He won 15 games last season, pitched his most innings (207.2) since 2015 and finished one strikeout shy of 200.

Cy Young winner Blake Snell, 26, ascended toward the elite ranks with a 21-win, 1.89 ERA campaign. Following a surprising 95-win season, the Rays doubled down on their starting staff, signing Charlie Morton to the biggest free-agent deal in team history. With Tyler Glasnow, Yonny Chirinos and Ryan Yarbrough as well as top prospect Brent Honeywell returning from Tommy John surgery — and any number of relievers called up for the "opener" role — the Rays have one of the more flexible staffs in MLB.

Aaron Nola emerged as a bona fide ace in 2018, accounting for an eye-popping 10.0 WAR, with a 17-6 record, 2.24 ERA and 0.975 WHIP over 33 starts. Jake Arrieta remains an above-average No. 2 option, and Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin round out what could be a great staff.

The Yankees have plenty of depth, something that was ensured by trading for James Paxton in December, resigning J.A. Happ and getting CC Sabathia back for a final season. However, their potential took an early hit, as ace Luis Severino is struggling with rotator cuff issues that will keep him out until May. Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka must step up in his absence. Yankee starters must do just enough to prop up their dominant offense and deliver leads to their elite bullpen.

Kyle Freeland posted the best season effort in Rockies history in 2018, winning 17 games and posting an 8.4 WAR. Most impressively, Freeland had a 2.40 ERA at Coors Field, the lowest by a player who worked over 150 innings. German Marquez averaged 10.56 strikeouts per nine innings, also a Rockies record. If Jon Gray can recapture his previous form, this could be the best staff in Colorado history.

Jose Berrios, one of MLB's top pitchers, isn’t talked about nearly enough. He made his first All-Star Game in 2018 and set career-bests in ERA (3.84), innings pitched (192.1) and complete games (2). Kyle Gibson and Jake Odorizzi join him on what could be a strong staff. Michael Pineda and Martin Perez could push this group over the top.

There is no singular standout on the Brewers staff, although the performance of Jhoulys Chacin (15-8, 3.50 ERA) was extraordinarily underrated in 2018. The Brewers count on starters to throw five to six quality innings. Then they turn to a dominant bullpen. This could be a risky way to go about business, but the formula helped them win the NL Central in 2018. 

Although they dealt ace James Paxton to the Yankees, the rotation shows promise. Marco Gonzales, Mike Leake and Wade LeBlanc provide a solid baseline, and Japanese free agent Yusei Kikuchi could provide frontline impact as well. If Felix Hernandez can capture his old magic and Justus Sheffield, the centerpiece in the Paxton trade, contributes, Seattle’s staff could be sneaky good.

The Reds successfully revamped their stagnant starting staff in the offseason. Sonny Gray, Alex Wood and Tanner Roark are a significant veteran upgrade and should provide much-needed quality innings. If Luis Castillo can take the next step in his development, the Reds staff could finally stop being a thorn in Cincy’s long rebuilding effort.

Madison Bumgarner is entering the most pivotal season of his career, ready to put two years of injuries in the rear-view mirror in a contract year. Although he could be one of the bigger names as trade bait at midseason, he is unquestionably the club’s ace. The starting staff is mostly a mix of big contract struggles (Jeff Samardzija) and vets trying to re-establish their value (Derek Holland, Drew Pomeranz).

The White Sox need significant improvement from a rotation that posted the fourth-worst rotation ERA in the American League last year at 5.07. Chicago hopes Reynaldo Lopez picks up where he left off in the second half last season (.219 batting average against). A major bounceback season from Lucas Giolito would help, too. Veterans Ivan Nova, Ervin Santana and Carlos Rodon steady the rotation. 

It seems the A’s annually turn a staff that is low on sizzle into a pretty solid steak. That will be the task again in 2019, as Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada and Brian Anderson lead a collection of castoffs. The absence of Sean Manaea and Jharel Cotton and a worrisome injury to top prospect Jesus Luzardo could be troublesome for Oakland. 

Marcus Stroman looks to rally from a major step back last season, when he posted a 5.54 ERA while dealing with shoulder issues. But how he goes, the Blue Jays go. The rest of the rotation consists of Anibal Sanchez, Matt Shoemaker, Clayton Richards and Clay Buchholz. Uninspiring, at best.

The Angels face 2019 without the exciting option of Shohei Ohtani, who will be unavailable on the mound because of offseason Tommy John surgery. Instead, Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill will lead an Angels staff that also hopes for a healthy season from former first-round pick Andrew Heaney. 

Brad Keller and Jakob Junis lead a Royals staff that has no singular standout performer. Danny Duffy is the closest KC has to such a talent, but shoulder issues have him on the injured list to open the season. Meanwhile, the team’s highest-paid player, struggling Ian Kennedy ($16.5 million), will open the year in the bullpen.

The loss of Michael Fulmer for the year to elbow surgery further complicates things for a Tigers staff that counts on significant improvement from everyone. Jordan Zimmermann is one of the worst signings of the past decade; Matthew Boyd, Tyson Ross and Matt Moore probably won't be much better than they were in 2018.

The Rangers hope for strong seasons from multiple reclamation projects. Edinson Volquez and Drew Smyly missed 2018, and Shelby Miller posted a 10.69 ERA over five games. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn round out first-year manager Chris Woodward’s staff.

Although the Padres again spent heavily on everyday talent, they opted for bargains on the mound. No projected Padres pitcher is arbitration-eligible yet. Joey Lucchesi (eight wins, 4.09 ERA in 26 starts) leads the rotation.Padres pitching prospects will probably get a chance to prove themselves in the majors this season -- that's not a promising proposition.

Jose Urena headlines a predictably underwhelming staff on South Beach. Such is the condition of the Marlins staff that the team’s top-paid pitcher, Wei-Yin Chen, has been moved to middle relief. The wild card in the mix is hard-throwing Sandy Alcantara, who has the potential to be the best pitcher on the Miami staff by season’s end.

Orioles starters posted the worst ERA (5.48) in MLB in 2018 and allowed league-highs in average against (.284), home runs allowed (159) and OPS (.850). The bad news is that not much has changed, as three of the top four starters from a year ago return in Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner. The trio combined for a 17-46 record, a 5.21 ERA and quality starts in only 37 percent of their outings.