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2024 MLB season: Pitching staff rankings

The 2024 MLB season is right around the corner and that means it's time to figure out which team has the best pitching rotation, the worst and everything in between.

There was a lot of movement in free agency along with plenty of recent trades, so let’s go through all 30 teams and rank each pitching staff.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers were one of the most active teams in the offseason. Signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan was one of the most important moves, but that wasn’t all.

The Dodgers traded for Tyler Glasnow from the Rays and also signed James Paxton to join Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller as an elite staff.

2. Atlanta Braves

In a shocking move, the Red Sox parted ways with Chris Sale this offseason. Sale was sent to the Braves to join Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Bryce Elder.

If Fried stays healthy, this is a dominant rotation.

3. Seattle Mariners

Seattle’s starting rotation is very young, but also very talented.

It’s the same rotation the Mariners ended last season with: Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo. That’s several Cy Young candidates in one rotation.

4. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies’ rotation was in danger with Aaron Nola hitting free agency, but Philadelphia didn’t take long to sign him to a new contract and extend Zack Wheeler.

Those two aces will join Ranger Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, and Taijuan Walker to create a top 5 rotation in baseball.

5. Minnesota Twins

The Twins lost Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda in free agency, but they still have Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober as the top three.

Plus, Chris Paddack is back from injury and Minnesota acquired Anthony DeSclafani to be the 5th starter. 

6. San Diego Padres

The Padres had a mediocre rotation until Wednesday night when they traded for Dylan Cease.

Although San Diego gave up a lot of prospects for the ace, he will headline a rotation with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, and Jhony Brito. 

7. Miami Marlins

Miami might have one of the youngest rotations in baseball, however, they will be missing their ace Sandy Alcantara this season.

Fortunately, they will have Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Eury Perez, Braxton Garrett, and Trevor Rogers to create an above-average rotation. 

8. New York Yankees

The only reason the Yankees aren’t higher on this list is because of the news regarding Gerrit Cole.

New York’s ace will miss 1-2 months with an elbow injury, but the Yankees still have newly acquired Marcus Stroman to lead a rotation made of Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Clarke Schmidt. 

9. Toronto Blue Jays

The x-factor for the Blue Jays in 2024 will be Alek Manoah. The superb pitcher had an horrendous 2023 season and is looking to bounce back.

The rotation already has Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jose Berrios. Toronto is a veteran-savvy team. 

10. Cincinnati Reds

Last season, the Reds pitching was terrible and dealt with a lot of injuries. In preparation for 2024, the Reds signed Frankie Montas to round out a rotation with Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo. 

11. Arizona Diamondbacks

Fresh off their World Series run, the Diamondbacks are ready for another postseason run. Arizona strengthened their rotation by signing free agent Eduardo Rodriguez to pair with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt.

12. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs made a big splash in the offseason by signing Shota Imanaga from Japan. The lefty will join a staff headline by Justin Steele, who has become a rising star in the league. Chicago also has Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon, and Jordan Wicks.

13. Houston Astros

It’s unusual to see the Astros so low on a pitching rotation ranking, but the truth is that Houston’s rotation is a box of chocolates.

Ace Justin Verlander is dealing with an injury, so that leaves Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier as the top 2 followed by Hunter Brown and Jose Urquidy. 

14. Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore made a blockbuster trade in acquiring Corbin Burnes from the Brewers to be the new ace. Unfortunately for the Orioles, their rotation is also beat up as Kyle Bradish and John Means are dealing with injuries in Spring Training.

Still, the O’s have Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer.

15. Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland’s starting rotation is anchored by Shane Bieber, but he’s now followed by Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen. It’s a young, but solid rotation.

16. Detroit Tigers

The year hasn’t even started yet and Tarik Skubal is already getting mentioned for the Cy Young. Detroit also signed Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda to join Casey Mize, Reese Olson, and Matt Manning in a now stacked rotation.

17. San Francisco Giants

The good news is the Giants still have Logan Webb. The bad news is that the rest of the starting rotation is young and inconsistent. If rookie Kyle Harrison can have a big year, the Giants rotation could be better than expected.

18. Kansas City Royals

The Royals were one of the most active teams in the offseason. They added Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo to their rotation which already had Cole Ragans and Brady Singer.

19. Boston Red Sox

The second half of the list starts to go downhill fast. Boston traded away Chris Sale to get rid of his large salary and lost newly-signed Lucas Giolito to injury before the year started, so that leaves Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck.

20. Texas Rangers

The bad news for the Rangers is that Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are both hurt. The good news is they still have Nathan Eovaldi, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, and Andrew Heaney.

21. Tampa Bay Rays

It’s been a quick downfall for the Rays who were once an elite force in the American League,

Tampa Bay lost Tyler Glasnow and Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane Baz are injured. But they did acquire Ryan Pepiot to go with Zach Eflin, Aaron Civale, and Zach Littell.

22. Milwaukee Brewers

Last season, the Brewers had arguably the best 1-2-3 punch in the league with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta.

However, they traded away Burnes and lost Woodruff to injury. That leaves Peralta, Jakob Junis, Wade Miley, and Colin Rea.

23. St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals made an excellent move by acquiring Sonny Gray, but that was about it. Otherwise, they added the aging veterans Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson to go with Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz.

24. Los Angeles Angels

The big storyline for the Angels this season is the loss of Shohei Ohtani. That means their pitching rotation is now made up of Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Tyler Anderson, and Griffin Canning.

25. New York Mets

Instead of adding a big name star in the offseason, the Mets added Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser, and Luis Severino to their rotation. It’s going to be an interesting season.

26. Pittsburgh Pirates

Mitch Keller is a star and headlines a weak Pirates rotation. Other than Keller, the Pirates have Marco Gonzales, Martin Perez, Roansy Contreras, and a bunch of prospects ready for their chance.

27. Oakland Athletics

Although the Athletics might be the worst team in baseball, they don’t have the worst rotation. JP Sears is the ace of the rotation, and he is followed by Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, and Ross Stripling. 

28. Washington Nationals

It’s been a long last few seasons for the Nationals. The rotation is one of the worst in baseball, but it does have some potential with Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore.

29. Colorado Rockies

Pitching in Colorado isn’t easy, but it’s been even harder for the Rockies’ pitching staff recently. Right now, Colorado’s rotation is made up of Kyle Freeland, Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Feltner.

30. Chicago White Sox

After trading Dylan Cease away, the White Sox have the worst rotation in baseball. Plus, Michael Kopech has been moved to the bullpen, so that leaves Erick Fedde, Michael Soroka, and Chris Flexen as the top three guys.

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