- 10. Atlanta Braves - The Braves have a lot of potential in their staff this year. Always durable Tim Hudson will lead a staff which contains righties Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, and Brandon Beachy. Young lefty Mike Minor slots in as the fifth starter for the Braves. Look for one of the game's top pitching prospects Julio Teheran to take Beachy's rotation spot after a short dominant stint in the minors to open the year.
- 9. St. Louis Cardinals - The World Series winners lost Edwin Jackson this offseason, but they got back a man with a career 2.97 ERA named Adam Wainwright. Wainwright, along with former Cy Young award winner Chris Carpenter form a great one-two punch. If Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, and Jake Westbrook can be decent, the Cards will finish in the top 10 in ERA in the MLB this upcoming year.
- 8. Arizona Diamondbacks -Cy Young finalist Ian Kennedy, along with Daniel Hudson and Trevor Cahill form a quite decent top 3. Joe Saunders and Barry Enright finish off the rotation with the potential of a mid-year call-up of a young man named Trevor Bauer. Bauer was perhaps the most skilled player to come out of last year's draft, going 3rd overall. He could help the DBacks in Arizona after a few months in Triple-A to start off 2012.
- 7. Washington Nationals - Young righties Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann are joined by phenomenal lefty Gio Gonzalez to form a very talented and very young (all 26 or younger) top 3. Veteran Chien-Ming Wang and quietly solid LHP John Lannan close out a starting staff which possesses extreme potential in 2012. If the team chooses to swap Lannan for a bat in a deal, look for lefty Ross Detwiler to become the no. 5 starter.
- 6. Detroit Tigers - AL MVP Justin Verlander, durable starters Doug Fister and Max Scherzer, along with young-guns Rick Porcello and Justin Turner form the top rotation in the AL Central. GM Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland have some special talent here.
- 5. New York Yankees - In a span of 2 hours, the Yankees went from an average team to AL East favorites. They acquired Michael Pineda and signed Hiroki Kuroda to join CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and Ivan Nova in an already very skilled staff. The Yanks desperately need to find a taker for AJ Burnett as EVEN the deep-pocketed Yankees cannot afford to pay him 16.5 Million to ride the pine.
- 4. Tampa Bay Rays - The Rays have one of the best up-and-coming rotations in the American League. Young power arms like Matt Moore, David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson are outstanding. James Shields, the veteran on the staff, helps mentor and guide these young phenoms. The rotation finishes off with either Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis.
- 3. San Francisco Giants - Two-time Cy Young award winner Timmy Lincecum, ace Matt Cain, young lefty Madison Bumgarner, slowly emerging Ryan Vogelsong, and extremely over-paid Barry Zito form the 3rd best starting staff in the Major Leagues. Not much else needs to be said.
- 2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - With the acquisition of hometown boy CJ Wilson, the Angels rotation improved immensely. The Ranger's ace becomes the Angels third best starter behind Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Their rotation closes out with a superb starter in Ervin Santana and an OK Garret Richards or Jerome Williams.
- 1. Philadelphia Phillies - How can you go wrong with the Phils? A rotation that consists of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Vance Worley is just flat-out dangerous. Their top 3 guys fit in nicely with the top 15 arms in the entire Majors. Managemant and fans expect victories game in and game out from these guys, and, rightfully so.
Honorable Mentions: Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers
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