Arguably the most important position group comes playoff time, and the regular season is starting pitchers who can make or break a team’s year. Let’s look at which teams have the best pitching rotations this year.
Milwaukee Brewers
The top pair of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff has been underrated for far too long. This duo rivals any one-two punch in the MLB and has the command and movement to dominate late into games, saving the bullpen for the three through five starters.
Not the most dominant three through five starters, Eric Lauer, Freddy Peralta, and Wade Miley will definitely need Burnes and Woodruff to pitch up to their ability for this team to make their season successful.
Look for Burnes or Woodruff to be in the Cy Young conversation again this year, and a combined 25 wins between the two. Overall the Brewers will be carried by their pitching as they look to dethrone the Cardinals in the NL Central.
New York Yankees
The signing of Carlos Rodon solidifies what already was one of the top 10 starting rotations in baseball. Headlined by the great Gerrit Cole, the rest of the group has shown they can handle the bright lights of New York.
Nestor Cortes was the breakout player last year and will look to build off of that to become one of the best third starters in the league. The electrifying Luis Severino could be the horse that makes this unit special.
Topping the radar gun at 97-99 mph and a knee-buckling slider could easily make him the best number four in the league. Overall, if injuries stay away from this stuff, the Yankees could see the World Series for the first time since 2009.
New York Mets
Easily the oldest starting rotation in the league, it might also be the only unit with a better one-two punch than the Brewers. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander reunite after both experienced dominating success outside of Detroit, winning a Cy Young and World Series.
Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco are very streaking pitchers that could benefit from facing other teams’ number three and four starters, with Verlander and Scherzer doing the heavy lifting. Like the Brewers, the ability to save the bullpen for Quintana’s and Carrasco’s starts will significantly help this unit.
With an enormous payroll for the starting rotation, Mets fans expect nothing short of a Cy Young season from Verlander and Scherzer. For the Mets to finally take down the Braves in the NL East, this unit will need to be their strength this season.
Baseball Is No Longer a Timeless Game… and That’s Good
