Ranking the postseason rotations

It's difficult for opposing teams to match L.A.'s top three of Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and Hyun-Jin Ryu, plus manager Dave Roberts can choose among some great options with Rich Hill, Tony Gonsolin and Julio Urias in the fourth spot. The Dodgers 3.15 starter ERA as of the final week of the season easily led the league. There is some slight concern that Ryu has worn down, as he struggled over the final month and was given extra rest.

Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are the top two Cy Young candidates in the AL, and the trade deadline addition of Zack Greinke made the Astros that much more formidable. That trio has a wealth of experience in the playoffs. Wade Miley has had a good season, but his late-season struggles could force the Astros to use Jose Urquidy or a committee approach when they need a fourth starter.

Max Scherzer is healthy after missing an extended period with back issues. In his absence, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin picked up the slack and helped the team stay in the playoff hunt. Anibal Sanchez proved last year's resurgence wasn't a fluke, with a 3.85 ERA through 30 starts. Washington ranked second in the NL in starter ERA despite major issues filling the fifth spot this season.

All five of the Cardinals starters had sub-4.00 ERAs after the All-Star break, with ace Jack Flaherty leading the way with a 1.05 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 85.1 innings. Dakota Hudson, Miles Mikolas and veteran Adam Wainwright should slot in nicely behind Flaherty, as they helped the team rank third in starter ERA in the NL this season.

Tampa Bay's pitching staff has as much talent as any team in the playoffs but is in a state of flux with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow building up stamina after arm injuries. Charlie Morton still presents a strong No. 1 option, and Ryan Yarbrough had a great second half of the season with a 3.68 ERA.

Atlanta's rotation got better as the year progressed, both due to Dallas Keuchel's addition and the late-season return of Mike Foltynewicz. However, the headliner of the rotation this season has been Mike Soroka, with a 2.60 ERA over 28 starts. Julio Teheran and Max Fried also had excellent years, helping Atlanta rank 10th in starter ERA in MLB.

A reliable starting five helped the Twins make the playoffs, but the blocks started to collapse late in the year. Michael Pineda will miss the playoffs due to a PEDs suspension, and Jake Odorizzi suffered a hamstring injury in the final week of the season. Ace Jose Berrios was able to get on track in September, but the same can't be said for Kyle Gibson or Martin Perez.

Even when the advanced metrics would have indicated otherwise, the A's rotation was able to hang in this season. Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson and Chris Bassitt all sported ERAs hovering around 4.00 late in the year, and Homer Bailey had a string of strong starts late in the season. However, Sean Manaea's return from shoulder surgery is the biggest reason for optimism, with a 1.14 ERA in his first four starts.

The return of Luis Severino from injury late in the season is reason to be optimistic about a starting rotation that's left much to be desired this year, barely ranking in the top half of MLB in ERA. James Paxton has also had a strong season and Masahiro Tanaka has been mostly reliable, but the team took a big hit when Domingo German was placed on administrative leave. The performances of J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia this season shouldn't breed confidence in the No. 4 spot of the rotation.

Milwaukee has reason to be more optimistic in its rotation now that Brandon Woodruff is back from an oblique injury, but it's still lacking much upside or ability to miss bats. Manager Craig Counsell has needed to pull his starters early in games on an almost nightly basis, with Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Gio Gonzalez sporting ERAs above 4.00 during the second half. The X-factor could be trade deadline addition Jordan Lyles, who has a surprising 2.35 ERA in 10 starts since joining the team.