Depth Chart Analysis: Pitching in the AL East

Yankees		Rays		Red Sox		Blue Jays		Orioles
CC Sabathia	A	Scott Kazmir	B+	Josh Beckett	B	Roy Halladay	A+	Jeremy Guthrie	B-
AJ Burnett	B+	James Shields	B	Jon Lester	B+	David Purcey	C-	Koji Uehara	C
Chien-Ming Wang	B+	Matt Garza	B+	Daisuke Matsuzaka*	B	Rickey Romero	C	Mark Hendrickson	D
Andy Pettitte	C+	Andy Sonnanstine	C-	Tim Wakefield	C+	Brian Tallet	D	Adam Eaton	D
Joba Chamberlain	B-	Jeff Niemann	D	Brad Penny	D+	Jesse Litsch*	C+	Alfredo Simon	D-
Phil Hughes**	C-	David Price**	B	John Smoltz*	B	Dustin McGowan*	B-	Rich Hill*	C-
Ian Kennedy**	D	Jake McGee**	C-	Justin Masterson	C	Sean Marcum*	B-
Full Rotation Grade	B		B-		B-		C-		D-

*player currently on the Disabled List ** player currently serving as a backup option or in the minors

The New York Yankees - The Yankees lead off their staff with a man who has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the last 9 seasons, CC has the ability to win ball games, while going deep into them, to give your bullpen much needed rest. AJ Burnett is the wild card in this rotation, if he can remain healthy, he has the ability to become an A level starter as well. If he regresses back to his injury laden form, you will see his raking drop down to a C. Chien-Ming Wang has gotten off to a very difficult start this season, however many around the league expect him to regain form once he shakes the dust of his near 3 year layoff. Andy Pettitte has looked great in his first 2 starts of the season thus far, I think that it is very possible for Pettitte to have a bounce back season, and move back to the 15+ win range. While most managers have to struggle and create a patchwork team of 5^th starters all season long, the New York Yankees may very well have the best 5^th starter in all of baseball. How many 5^th starters can you think of, out dueled Josh Beckett last season? While the Yankees have a great rotation in the majors, they also have two very legitimate backup options, waiting in the minors incase anything goes wrong.

The Tampa Bay Rays - The rotation is led off by Scott Kazmir, who like Burnett, can move up to become an A level starter if he can remain healthy for an entire season. James Shields and Matt Garza showed great things last season, and should be able to grow into even better pitchers in 2009 when they get more innings under their belts. I have never been very impressed with Andy Sonnanstine, however, David Price is waiting in the minors to replace the first starter that begins to show that they cannot handle the heavy heat of the AL East. Jeff Niemann has been a pretty highly regarded prospect for some time now, however, he is feeling the pressure to ‘perform now or lose your job’. Niemann has never performed very well in the major league to this point in his short career, but could serve as a legitimate #5 option for the Rays.

The Boston Red Sox - This rotation is going to be one of the best in the league, or mediocre. Josh Beckett, again like previously mentioned AJ Burnett and Scott Kazmir can have his grade change by a grade or more in either direction depending on health. When on his game and healthy, Josh Beckett can be considered one of the best pitchers in the game, especially during a big game. However his health got him down last season, lets see how he rebounds. Jon Lester will be the rock of this rotation, after a healthy and dominant 2008, look for Lester to continue to improve and become the ace of this staff. Daisuke Matsuzaka, already on the DL in 2009, must learn to throw strikes and limit his pitch count if he is going to move to the next level. Tim Wakefield looks as if he can pitch 150 innings per season until he is 68 years old, however he can be very dominant or get crushed on any given game, never the less a great option at where he is seated in the rotation. I do not believe that Brad Penny will return to his previous All-Star form, however once John Smoltz returns to the game in June look out for this rotation, especially when the game in on the line. Smoltz is fierce competitor and will give the Red Sox a much needed push to be more competitive in this great division. With Daisuke Matsuzaka’s recent trip to the Disabled List, Justin Masterson has been asked to take his place in the rotaion. I was very impressed with Masterson last season, let’s see if he can improve on his efforts.

The Toronto Blue Jays - There really isn’t much more to say about Roy Halladay except wow. I believe that Roy Halladay and Johan Santana are the two best pitchers in the game. Both of these men should be placed in their own category of greatness when being compared to every other pitcher in the game. Not only does Roy Halladay provide great pitching every time out. He provides a young staff with leadership, and will provide the bullpen with relief when he decides to go the distance. As for the remainder of the Blue Jay rotation, the only word to use to describe them is ‘hurt’. The Blue Jays have been one of the hottest teams in the game thus far this season; it does not appear to be a result of their very injured rotation. Rickey Romero has been great so far in his first few starts, but he has a lot more to show the world before he can help carry the load of that rotation. Once Marcum, McGowan, and Litsch some back we can re-analyze this rotation.

The Baltimore Orioles - Jeremy Guthrie has been very consistant over the last few seasons, and Koji Uehara looked pretty good in 2 of his 3 starts so far this season, outside of those two guys, the rotation is among the league’s worst.