First Look: 2013 AL West Starting Rotations

A quick look at the AL West starting rotation. All rotations are my initial projections.

Houston:

1. Lucas Harrell (R)
2. Bud Norris (R)
3. Jordan Lyles (R)
4. Phil Humber (R)
5. Erik Bedard (L)

The main problem for the Astros during their 2012 campaign was the starting pitching. Not much has changed entering 2013 other than the reality that these pitchers will now face more dangerous American League lineups. Among the five players listed here in my projection, Lucas Harrell had the best season of them all. However, the high walk rate is pretty concerning. Bud Norris is probably the best bet for a turnaround season considering his nearly 1:1 strikeout to inning pitched ratio. Jordan Lyles was the Astros first round pick in 2008, but he hasn't shown much promise yet. Still...he'll only be 22 entering next season and has a chance to turn it around. Humber and Bedard will likely have to earn their spots in camp, and neither can be counted on to finish the year in the rotation.

Los Angeles:

1. Jered Weaver (R)
2. C.J. Wilson (L)
3. Tommy Hanson (R)
4. Joe Blanton (R)
5. Jason Vargas (L)

The Angels had a busy off-season reworking their starting rotation. After having lost Zach Greinke to the Dodgers and Dan Haren to free agency, the Angels did their best to try to piece together the back end of this rotation. Tommy Hanson was acquired from Atlanta in a deal that sent releiver Jordan Walden to the Braves. Hanson was once considered the prize of the Braves organization, but shoulder issues prevented him from having a succesful 2012 campaign. He also lost quite a bit of velocity on his fastball. If he can regain a little of what he once had, he could turn things around in Ahaheim. Joe Blanton is nothing more than an innings eater for the Halos in his return to the AL West and the same can be said for Jason Vargas. However, the Angels still have two aces in the front of their rotation. Combine that with a potent offense and this staff should be plenty good enough for them to win a lot of ballgames.

Oakland:

1. Jarrod Parker (R)
2. Brett Anderson (L)
3. Tommy Milone (L)
4. Bartolo Colon (R)
5. A.J. Griffin (R)

The A's relied on a lot of rookies to carry them to their 2012 AL West title. They are going to have to rely on those same players to continue their success in 2013. Jarrod Pakrer, Tommy Milone, and A.J. Griffin should continue to grow as the season goes on. The A's will also benefit from having a full season from their staff ace, Brett Anderson. Bartolo Colon will miss the first 5 games of the season continuing his suspension from performance enhancing drugs. However, the reason the A's brought him back was because he can throw strikes and eat up innings. If any of the above pitching falters, the one thing the A's seem to have more than anybody is depth. Top prospect Dan Straily is waiting for his chance, while prospects Brad Peacock and Sonny Gray are close to the majors as well. 

Seattle:

1. Felix Hernandez (R)
2. Hisashi Iwakuma (R)
3. Erasmo Ramirez (R)
4. Blake Beavan (R)
5. Hector Noesi (R)

Felix Hernandez is the most dominating pitcher in the game and should once again anchor the Seattle rotation. After Hernandez though, there are quite a bit of question marks. Hisashi Iwakuma looked good after being converted from the bullpen to the rotation in the middle of last year. Iwakuma will look to have a solid year after spurning guaranteed cash from Oakland two seasons ago. Erasmo Ramirez looked soild in 8 starts last year for the Mariners, and the M's have to hope that Ramirez, along with Blake Beavan, can each contribute enough to keep the team competitive. Both are 23 with decent upside. Noesi is my guess for the fifth spot, but that's not very encouraging. Acquired last year from the Yankees, Noesi has been nothing but a disappointment so far.

Texas:

1. Yu Darvish (R)
2. Derek Holland (L)
3. Matt Harrison (L)
4. Alexi Ogando (R)
5. Martin Perez (L)

The Rangers will have to go with somewhat of a makeshift rotation in 2013 after both Colby Lewis and Neftali Feliz went down with elbow injuries. If the team is lucky, Lewis will be back by July, while Feliz probably wouldn't be available until September. It will be interesting to see what this group is able to do. Darvish had a breakout rookie year last season and Matt Harrison had the best year of his career as well. However, Derek Holland was very inconsistent. Alexi Ogando has generally been a decent pitcher for the Rangers, but injured himself last year in a spot start during interleague play. Meanwhile, Martin Perez was the Rangers top pitching prospect, but had a horrible 2012 campaign which will cause there to be some competition in camp. Still though, without Lewis and Feliz, the Rangers lack depth.

Los Angeles:

1. Jered Weaver (R)
2. C.J. Wilson (L)
3. Tommy Hanson (R)
4. Joe Blanton (R)
5. Jason Vargas (L)

The Angels had a busy off-season reworking their starting rotation. After having lost Zach Greinke to the Dodgers and Dan Haren to free agency, the Angels did their best to try to piece together the back end of this rotation. Tommy Hanson was acquired from Atlanta in a deal that sent releiver Jordan Walden to the Braves. Hanson was once considered the prize of the Braves organization, but shoulder issues prevented him from having a succesful 2012 campaign. He also lost quite a bit of velocity on his fastball. If he can regain a little of what he once had, he could turn things around in Ahaheim. Joe Blanton is nothing more than an innings eater for the Halos in his return to the AL West and the same can be said for Jason Vargas. However, the Angels still have two aces in the front of their rotation. Combine that with a potent offense and this staff should be plenty good enough for them to win a lot of ballgames.

Didn't the Angels lose Ervin Santana as well?

Any particular reason you list Jarrod Parker as the A's #1 and Brett Anderson as the #2 instead of vice-versa?

Didn't the Angels lose Ervin Santana as well?

Yup. Traded him to the Royals. It's great news for the A's as Santana was an A's killer.

Any particular reason you list Jarrod Parker as the A's #1 and Brett Anderson as the #2 instead of vice-versa?

Not really. I think Parker may get the nod on opening day and I really think it's more or less 1 and 1a rather than a clearcut ace with the A's.

M's signed Joe Saunders today. Looks as if Noesi is now out of the fold. M's rotation has some decent upside. Just unproven outside of Felix.

Darn, an A's-killer back in the division! Maybe it'll produce an instance where we'll win via a walk-off HR by Car...uh, I mean via a walk-off single by Lowrie!

Oh, well, on a positive note, the frequency of facing Ervin Santana has lessened.