MLB: Power Ranking All 30 Major League Starting Rotations

With spring training over, the 2015 Major League Baseball season is here. In preparation, we’ve taken the liberty of power ranking all 30 starting rotations.

It’s been five long months since the San Francisco Giants were crowned World Champions following a Game 7 World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals. Led by World Series MVP and 24-year old ace Madison Bumgarner, the Giants won their third title in five seasons on the strength of top notch starting pitching. The Royals also rode a quality pitching staff all the way to their first playoff appearance (let along their first American League pennant) in 30 years.

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But as good as the Giants and Royals were on the mound last season (with team ERAs of 3.50 and 3.51, respectively), thanks to an aging roster (Giants) and the loss of a top of the rotation star (Royals), neither even ranks among the top five Major League starting rotations heading into 2015. 

With spring training is in the books and all 30 big league clubs have packed up and headed north to begin the 2015 season, each and every club is certain they have improved their starting five over the past five months. All Stars are better than ever, youngsters and overlooked veterans are ready to break out and rookies are finally ready to step up as a difference maker on the way to the postseason.  

So who has the best rotation in baseball? Is it the Los Angeles Dodgers and their historic one-two duo of reigning National League Cy Young Award and MVP Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke? The Washington Nationals and their start-studded group of starters headlined by the newly acquired ace Max Scherzer? Or perhaps the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners or Detroit Tigers?

For our rankings, only the top five projected starters were considered. The only exceptions are pitchers expected to begin the 2015 season on the disabled list but return to the rotation in April. Past performance was paramount in our rankings, though the potential to improve or disappoint could obviously not be ignored.

Next: 30. Minnesota Twins