1. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Todd Wellemeyer – Giants
2. Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Vicente Padilla, Hiroki Kuroda, Charlie Haeger – Dodgers
3. Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jorge De La Rosa, Jason Hammel – Rockies
4. Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, Edwin Jackson, Billy Buckner, Ian Kennedy – Diamondbacks
5. Chris Young, Kevin Correia, Jon Garland, Clayton Richard, Mat Latos – Padres
The strength of Lincecum and Cain are enough to earn the Giants the first slot. As great as they are, the rest of the rotation is pretty solid as well. Zito got better as the season went on last year, possibly showing that he’s finally settled down after being such a disaster when he first arrived. Sanchez threw a no-hitter (remember that?) and has great strikeout potential.
The Dodgers and Rockies are close, but I’ll give the slight edge to the Dodgers. Kershaw has the stuff of not only team ace, but league ace as well. A lot of their success will depend on Billingsley and his ability to bounce back from a horrible second half. Padilla has definitely enjoyed his time with LA, and they’ll need more big innings from him. Kuroda quietly is an effective pitcher.
The Rockies are a team on the upswing, and their pitching is a big reason why. Jimenez is just like Kershaw: young, hard throwing, and just ridiculously talented. Francis won 17 games in 2007, but is again battling injury problems. They need him to be at his strongest. De La Rosa gets a ton of strikeouts and finished the year strong. Cook will give them plenty of starts, but so-so numbers with it.
The Diamondacks could have been higher on the list, but once again Webb’s shoulder is a major problem. He’s looking at months off, and that’s a big blow. You know you’ll get great results from Haren, and Jackson should be a nice addition. But without Webb, there’s really only two starters to fear, and that’s it.
Young will be the key for the Padres. If he can be healthy and start 30 games, he’ll produce good results. Garland will give them innings and steady, but not spectacular, numbers. Correia is on the upswing, as he was one of the lone bright spots for them last year. Latos is looked at as the future, though he doesn’t seem like a major prospect.
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