Lincoln Zdunich
Seattle Mariners
- Bryan Woo
- Logan Gilbert
- Luis Castillo
- George Kirby
- Bryce Miller
With probably the best rotation in the entire American League (and definitely the best in the AL West), the Mariners are seeking a return to the postseason after they got closer than they ever have to entering the Fall Classic for the first time in club history. Rallying behind an historic offense, and superstar catcher Cal Raleigh, the pitching staff went somewhat unsung.
But that’s not because they weren’t producing, they were dominant over opponents all year. With Woo and Gilbert sharing co-ace duties alongside Castillo as a fantastic third slot. Kirby and Miller factor in as back end options, who (in most other clubs) would be front end options in the rotation.
Houston Astros
- Hunter Brown
- Tatsuya Imai
- Mike Burrows
- Cristian Javier
- Spencer Arrighetti
- Lance McCullers Jr.
The Astros lost long-time ace Framber Valdez to the Detroit Tigers in free agency. But the emergence of Brown as a legitimate ace that can anchor a rotation helps things for Houston. Their one big free-agent pickup this offseason was top international pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
Everyone else is returning to Houston apart from Mike Burrows who was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason. They’ve talked about a possible six-man rotation to lighten the workload of their starters, which makes sense. There’s not a whole lot of inspiring pitching outside of those first two options. The Astros need to do anything they can to help out the back end of that rotation (and keep Brown and Imai healthy).
Athletics
- Luis Severino
- Jeffrey Springs
- Aaron Civale
- Luis Morales
- Jacob Lopez
The Achilles heel of the Athletics, the starting group is rough. Headlined by Severino and Springs, it’s an uninspiring group. The young offensive core certainly makes up for that and will make for some interesting back-and-forth at Sutter Health this year.
Morales had a strong rookie campaign after being signed out of Cuba in 2023. Hopefully he can build on that and blossom into a dominant force to shorten games for the A’s.
Texas Rangers
- Nathan Eovaldi
- Jacob deGrom
- MacKenzie Gore
- Jack Leiter
- Kumar Rocker
This rotation is shocking elite. After having the lowest team ERA in baseball last season, the Rangers thought that it wasn’t enough and traded for Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore. In doing so they gave up five prospects to Washington but got a young, controllable starter who can slot behind Eovaldi and deGrom.
Rocker struggled a bit in his second year in MLB. He pitched a career-high 64 1/3 innings, and put up a 5.74 ERA. If he can find his stride and take the mound consistently, the Rangers will have the problem every team hopes to have: too many good pitchers.
Los Angeles Angels
- Yusei Kikuchi
- José Soriano
- Reid Detmers
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Alek Manoah
It’s not looking great for the Angels, but there is hope! Trading outfielder Taylor Ward for the young prospect Rodriguez gives some hope for the pitching squad’s future. The rest are returning apart from Manoah who was an offseason low-risk, high-reward pickup. He has largely struggled this spring but the Halos don’t have many other options and will need to scrape together whatever they can to make a pitching staff.
