The 10 best rotations for 2022

Last season, 396 different human beings took the mound as the starting pitcher in a major league game. Yes, it’s a record, well above the old mark of 368 set in 2019, a reality partially attributable to changing pitcher usage patterns and also the spate of injuries after the brief 2020 season. .

With this, what we mean is that there are limitations when it comes to evaluating with certainty who will be the “five starters” of each team for the 2022 season. These “short” training sessions also represent another challenge for the novenas. We may never see an average of 13.2 starters per club again, but we could get very close to that figure.

Either way, it’s always fun to see who has the best starters. And after analyzing the top 10 lineups in MLB, that’s what we’re going to do with this Top 10 rotations.

Jacob deGrom, RHP
Max Scherzer, RHP
Chris Bassitt, RHP
Carlos Carrasco, RHP
Taijuan Walker, RHP

With Scherzer and deGrom, the Mets have one of the most successful starting duos in major league history, with five Cy Young Awards and 11 years finishing in the top five between them. Adding Bassitt, who had an ERA+ of 142 the past two years, gives the group more depth. The secret here is that they stay healthy, which is no guarantee considering Scherzer’s age and deGrom’s and Carrasco’s injury histories.

Brandon Woodruff, RHP
Corbin Burnes, RHP
Freddy Peralta, RHP
Eric Lauer, LZ
Adrian Houser, RHP
Aaron Ashby, LZ

We could very well put the Brewers over the Mets. Queens fans would be very upset, but it would be justifiable. The Brewers have reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Burnes and fifth-place finisher Woodruff. Last year, each of the five members of this quintet had an ERA+ of 132 or better, or 32% better than the league average, and there aren’t many questions surrounding the health of this rotation.

Jose Berrios, RHP
Kevin Gausman, RHP
Hyun Jin Ryu, LZ
Alek Manoah, RHP
Yusei Kikuchi, LHP

Even after the departure of reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, the Blue Jays could potentially have a better rotation than the one that finished sixth (3.79) in ERA in the majors last season. This time, they would have a full campaign from Puerto Rican Berríos, whom they acquired in the middle of last year (ERA+ of 120 in the last three seasons) and in the winter they signed Gausman (ERA+ of 138 in the last two years).

Lucas Giolito, RHP
Lance Lynn, RHP
Dylan Cease, RHP
Dallas Keuchel, LHP
Michael Kopech, RHP

The AL’s best rotation in 2021 (3.57 ERA) will have to deal with the loss of Carlos Rodón via free agency, and much of its success will depend on once-great prospect Michael Kopech making an easy transition from the bullpen to the rotation after pitching just 69.1 innings the past two years.

Justin Verlander, RHP
Framber Valdez, LZ
Luis Garcia, RHP
Jose Urquidy, RHP
Cristian Javier, RHP/Jake Odorizzi, RHP

The Astros’ 3.63 ERA last season was second-best in the American League and fifth-best in the Major Leagues. And that was despite veteran Zack Greinke – now in Kansas City – stepping back, and Verlander going all year. How Verlander returns remains to be seen, but his return potentially makes this rotation better. However, there are also questions surrounding the health of Lance McCullers Jr.

Logan Webb, RHP
Carlos Rodon, LHP
Anthony DeSclafani, RHP
Alex Wood, LHP
Alex Cobb, RHP

San Francisco entered the offseason with Webb as the only pitcher signed for this year, after the team’s rotation had the third-best ERA (3.44) in the majors in 2021. The Giants ended up re-signing DeSclafani and Wood and Despite losing Gausman, they might have made their group even stronger with the additions of Cobb (119 ERA+ last year) and Rodon (183).

Walker Buehler, RHP
Clayton Kershaw, LHP
Julio Urias, LZ
Tony Gonsolin, RHP
Andrew Heaney, LHP

The only constants here have been Buehler, whose 2.82 ERA over the past four seasons is fourth-best among qualified pitchers, and Mexico’s Urías, who triumphed in his first full season as a starter with a 2.69 ERA and ERA+ of 138 last year. Kershaw appears to be on the mend from his elbow problems and the arrival of Heaney and Tyler Anderson gives them depth, after Scherzer’s departure, Dustin May’s injury and Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave.

Max Fried, LZ
Charlie Morton, RHP
Ian Anderson, RHP
Kyle Wright, RHP
Huascar Ynoa, RHP

The Braves have most of the top performers back from the group that had the seventh-best ERA (3.84) in the majors in 2021. Assuming Morton will be unimpaired after breaking an ankle in the World Series, this should be a Very effective quintet, with Fried coming off his best season and Anderson’s career (ERA+ of 138 in 160.2 innings) in full swing.

Gerrit Cole, RHP
Jordan Montgomery, LHP
Luis Severino, RHP
Nestor Cortes, LZ
Jameson Taillon, RHP

We have decided to call this group “Cole and the Question Marks”, a five piece band with a great singer but the other members change quite a bit. It’s always been difficult to pin down the Yankees’ rotation in a ranking, because Cole so much (positively) affects any projection. The Yankees are probably still in the market for more help, but “Cole and the Question Marks” look good enough to deserve a spot here.

Zack Wheeler, RHP
Aaron Nola, RHP
Ranger Suarez, LHP
Kyle Gibson, RHP
Zach Eflin, RHP

There are questions to be answered in this rotation, starting with how healthy Wheeler is, but there are reasons for optimism. Nola’s peripheral numbers (including an expected 3.37 ERA), Wheeler’s phenomenal 2021, Suarez’s (second-best expected ERA, 2.60, among pitchers who allowed at least 250 hits last year) and a full year of Kyle Gibson are the main reasons to believe in this quintet and place it in our ranking.