MLB Power Rankings: The best and worst starting rotations in baseball this season
By Tim Boyle
20. MLB Power Rankings: San Francisco Giants
One must buy into everything the San Francisco Giants did this offseason fully in order to have a strong belief in their starting rotation. Logan Webb is heading in the right direction. Behind him, we have a bunch of veterans who have been very good in some seasons and not so much in others. Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling are two newbies. The Giants have room to have one of the better rotations in the league. However, none of the new guys replace Carlos Rodon nor should we get too excited about Alex Cobb or Alex Wood putting together a sensational season. The Giants have a rotation that may benefit most from the ballpark they play in.
19. MLB Power Rankings: Chicago Cubs
How good will the Chicago Cubs be in 2023? Their starting rotation may have some input. Veterans Jameson Taillon and Marcus Stroman will lead the way with young up-and-coming starting pitcher Justin Steele ready to take another step of his career. The Cubs rotation is rightfully rated around the middle of this week’s MLB Power Rankings. It’s good, not great. The ceiling isn’t too incredibly high but it is up there.
18. MLB Power Rankings: Cleveland Guardians
Shane Bieber to make some fans a “Belieber” in the Cleveland Guardians and their starting pitching staff. Triston McKenzie is coming along nicely and Cal Quantrill gives them three credible starters for the coming year. It’s the last two spots where questions arise. It takes more than five starting pitchers to get through an MLB season. Right now, it looks like the Guardians have three they can count on.
17. MLB Power Rankings: Chicago White Sox
Like much of the Chicago White Sox roster, the starting rotation is a bit of a mystery. Lucas Giolito had a horrendous 2022 season while Dylan Cease entered ace territory. Injuries, bad performances, and doubts are already plaguing the White Sox roster as a whole. The rotation is no exception. They replaced Johnny Cueto on the roster with Mike Clevinger which was a poor baseball decision. It got worse when Clevinger became the subject of an ongoing investigation into an accusation against him for domestic abuse.
16. MLB Power Rankings: Arizona Diamondbacks
Any starting staff with Zac Gallen on it deserves some attention. The Arizona Diamondbacks ace is quickly becoming one of the best arms in the game. Madison Bumgarner has seen better days, but Merrill Kelly looks like a nice complimentary piece in the middle of the rotation. A lot of the positive attention on the Diamondbacks this season will be on Gallen and their young hitters. Starting pitcher options such as Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson can win some of that goodwill.