With pitchers and catchers reporting to training camps, the annual battle for roster spots has officially begun. To help you properly assess the situation, we present a special two-part series breaking down how the major-league starting rotations stack up. We start this week by taking a look at the American League:
Anaheim Angels: The defending champions' rotation is basically set. Jarrod Washburn, Ramon Ortiz, Kevin Appier and John Lackey will hold down the top four spots. Washburn has emerged as the team ace and should be a solid draft option in any scoring format. Appier and Ortiz will be more useful in AL-only leagues. Lackey pitched well during the second half and could be the sleeper of the staff. Don't be surprised if he is moved to the top of the rotation before the end of the season. The Angels would like for Aaron Sele to pitch in the final rotation spot, but his health status is still uncertain. If healthy, Sele should be a viable Fantasy option. Mickey Callaway, Scott Schoeneweis and Matt Wise will contend for the fifth spot if Sele is not up to the task. The three aren't worth drafting but could emerge as a useful sources later.
Baltimore Orioles: Rodrigo Lopez, Omar Daal and Sidney Ponson will be the top three starters. Lopez is coming off a sensational rookie season in which he won 15 games, but he remains a risk despite his success. He struggled a bit toward the end of 2002 but is still worth taking a chance on in the later rounds of a draft or auction. Daal had some success as a spot starter for the Dodgers, but his switch to the AL makes him a bit of an unknown factor. He pitched briefly for Toronto back in 1997 but has had very little experience in the AL. Nevertheless, he is still worth drafting in AL-only leagues. Ponson was sidelined briefly in 2002 with a shoulder injury but should be at full strength for the 2003 season and might be useful in AL-only leagues. Recent acquisition Rick Helling will likely fill the fourth spot but is risky to use. He is a fly ball pitcher and will have limited room to work with in hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Jason M. Johnson will compete with Scott Erickson and Pat Hentgen for the final spot. Johnson is the favorite but is not a recommended starter. Erickson has a partially torn labrum and will likely begin the season rehabilitating. Hentgen is still recovering from 2001 "Tommy John" surgery.
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox have been unsuccessful in their attempts to add another starter during the offseason, but they aren't done trying. The Chicago Tribune reports they are one of the few teams that still have interest in free agent Kenny Rogers. More important, Boston has the flexibility to add Rogers. The rotation will be formidable even if Rogers is not added. Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe provide one of the best 1-2 combinations in the AL. Both should be heavily pursued in any scoring format, even though Lowe is still relatively inexperienced as a starter. Tim Wakefield and Casey Fossum are slated to fill the next two spots, while veteran John Burkett will hold down the No. 5 slot. Wakefield should be useful in Roto leagues. Fossum is a risk but is worth taking a chance on if you can add him in the later rounds of a draft. Burkett was erratic last season and shouldn't be relied on as anything more than a pitcher to fill out the final spots of a roster.
Chicago White Sox: Bartolo Colon, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Danny Wright will fill out the top four slots. Colon had arguably his best season in 2002 and has emerged as a No. 1 Fantasy starter in any format. Buehrle proved his 2001 season was no fluke by winning 19 games last season and should also be very useful. Garland and Wright were effective last season but were also inconsistent. They will be best used in AL-only leagues. The final spot in the rotation will be decided during spring training. Esteban Loaiza , Jon Rauch, Joshua Stewart and Jon Adkins will all compete for the final slot, but none is a recommended Fantasy pitcher.
Cleveland Indians: C.C. Sabathia is the only pitcher that is locked into the starting rotation, but his Fantasy value isn't exactly a sure thing. Sabathia was erratic last season and is risky to use for mixed leagues, but he is definitely worth gambling on in AL-only leagues. Brian Anderson, Jason Bere, Cliff Lee, Ricardo Rodriguez, Brian Tallet and Billy Traber will compete for the remaining spots. Rodriguez throws hard and might be the sleeper out of the bunch, so consider making a $1 bid for him. None of the other rotation candidates are worth drafting outside of AL-only leagues.
Detroit Tigers: The Tigers' rotation isn't exactly a model of order. The entire rotation will likely be settled during spring training. Veteran Steve W. Sparks must earn a spot, even though he is the most experienced candidate. After Sparks, Mike Maroth is next on the experience ladder, but he might not be the most talented. Young pitchers Andy Van Hekken, Nate Cornejo, Shane Loux , Gary Knotts and Adam Bernero will also compete for rotation spots. Veteran Steve Avery will also get a look. If things get any worse, the Tigers might have to throw pitching coach Jack Morris into the rotation. One of these pitchers might emerge as a decent pickup later, but avoid drafting Tigers pitchers this year.
Kansas City Royals: Manager Tony Pena recently declared that all the rotation spots are open, but Jeremy Affeldt, Miguel Asencio , Chris George, Runelvys Hernandez and Darrell May will likely round out the rotation. All of the Royals candidates are inexperienced, but Affeldt, George and Hernandez have the best stuff. The rotation prospects are worth late-round fliers, but don't expect them to be anything more than roster fillers.
Minnesota Twins: The Twins are expected to go with a rotation of Brad Radke, Joe Mays, Eric Milton, Kyle Lohse and Rick Reed. But injuries might shake things up once again during spring training. Radke, Mays and Milton were all injured at one time or another in 2002. Mays recently declared that his surgically repaired elbow feels fine, but that remains to be seen. He had bone spurs removed from his elbow in November. Lohse emerged as a quality Fantasy pitcher but had minor knee surgery during the offseason and is still not quite 100 percent. The starters are risky pitchers to use in mixed leagues, but are definitely worth pursuing in AL-only leagues. Spot starter Johan Santana will move into the rotation if one of the projected starters is not ready for the season, and he might emerge as a sleeper. Consider adding Santana as a reserve if you draft one of the other Twins starters. Santana throws extremely hard and was a strikeout machine last season, fanning 137 batters in 108 1/3 innings.
New York Yankees: While the "Bronx Bombers" might be best-known for their hitting prowess, they might also have the best group of starting pitchers in baseball. Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina , Andy Pettitte and David Wells are projected to be the top four starters. Jeff Weaver, one of the best young pitchers in baseball, currently has the edge for the final spot. However, he will have to fend off Jose Contreras for the job. Sterling Hitchcock will also get some looks for a starting spot but is not a recommended Fantasy pitcher. Age and injuries have many wondering if Clemens can still be productive, but most of his struggles can be attributed to leg injuries. Look for Clemens to have another strong season if he can remain healthy. He is too risky to use as a No. 1 Fantasy pitcher but should be a quality second or third option. Mussina told Newsday that his struggles in 2002 were due to mechanical problems that led to a loss of velocity, but he claims that he's over them and primed for a strong season. The Moose should be a good second or third Fantasy starter. Pettitte was slowed by an elbow injury last season but expects to be at full strength for spring training. He should only be used at the back end of a Fantasy rotation in mixed leagues, but might be slightly more useful in AL-only leagues. Wells is coming off one of his best seasons ever and should be a solid second or third Fantasy starter. Weaver and Contreras are worth using as well, but try not to spend more than $10 apiece.
Oakland Athletics: Barry Zito and Mark Mulder will hold the first two spots and should be quality No. 1 Fantasy starters in most scoring formats. Tim Hudson will be third in the rotation and should be a decent No. 2 Fantasy starter in most leagues. Ted Lilly is slated to be the No. 4 starter but is not a recommended Fantasy player. It remains to be seen if he can survive a full season. Shoulder weakness limited him to five starts for Oakland in '02, and he has never made more than 21 starts in a season. John Halama, Aaron Harang, Eric Hiljus and Ed Yarnall will compete for the final spot. Harang is the one you want. Consider picking him up in the later rounds of a draft. He has shown the most potential of the three and might be very productive in the strikeout category.
Seattle Mariners: Freddy An. Garcia, Jamie Moyer and Joel A. Pineiro are slated to be the top three starters and should be useful in any scoring format. Ryan Franklin will be the fourth starter but is relatively unproven and is not a recommended starter. Ken Cloude, Gil Meche and Jamey Wright will compete for the final spot. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Wright has the inside track on the job, and he might actually be the sleeper of the bunch. His career record of 50-67 doesn't sound too impressive, but it might not reflect his true talents. Wright has had the misfortune of pitching for the Rockies and Brewers, throwing most of his games in hitter-friendly parks. He might be able to reverse his fortune as a member of the Mariners, where he would pitch most of his games at pitcher-friendly Safeco Park. Wright was 2-0 in three starts for the Cardinals last season. Consider picking him up in the late rounds of a draft.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The Devil Rays have historically had one of the worst rotations in baseball and rarely have a starting pitcher that is of any use to Fantasy teams. Don't expect much to change this season. Joe Kennedy is the only lock in the rotation and will probably be the ace. Even if he is solid in all the other pitching categories, Kennedy probably won't receive the offensive and defensive support necessary to win. He will likely be a roster filler in AL-only leagues. The rest of the rotation spots are up for grabs. Rookie Dewon Brazelton has a good chance of making the rotation and might emerge as a sleeper, but don't count on it. If Brazelton does manage to dominate, he will likely suffer the same fate as Kennedy and have his efforts stanched by poor defense and run support. Delvin James, Jim Parque, Steve Parris, Dan Reichert, Jason Standridge and Victor Zambrano will also compete for rotation spots, but none of these pitchers should receive much Fantasy attention.
Texas Rangers: Chan Ho Park will likely be the staff ace and is the only Rangers pitcher worth drafting in a Fantasy league. Park struggled last season but might be more effective now that he is more familiar with the AL. He should be a solid late-round draft pick but might be more useful in AL-only leagues. John Thomson and Ismael Valdes are expected to fill in the next two spots but shouldn't receive much Fantasy attention. Hard-throwing Joaquin Benoit is expected to hold down the fourth spot, even if visa issues prevent him from being punctual for the start of spring training. Benoit might be useful later in the season but doesn't warrant a draft selection. Doug Davis and Ryan Drese will compete for the final spot in the rotation, but neither is worth using in a Fantasy league.
Toronto Blue Jays: The addition of Cory Lidle should give Toronto a solid No. 2 starter to use behind ace Roy Halladay, but it remains to be seen if Lidle can be effective pitching in a dome. After all, he struggled during the first half of 2002 while pitching in pitcher-friendly Network Associates Coliseum. Hold off on selecting Lidle until the late rounds of a draft. There are fewer question marks surrounding Halladay. He emerged as one of the best young pitchers in baseball last season and might very well be a 20-game winner. Don't hesitate to select him in the early rounds of the draft. Tanyon Sturtze will be third in the rotation, but is only worth using as a fourth or fifth Fantasy starter in AL-only leagues. Mark Hendrickson , Justin Miller, Pete Walker and Doug Linton will compete for the final two spots. Hendrickson is the one you want. He went 3-0 in four starts last season with a 1.04 ERA. Consider picking him up in the late rounds of an AL-only draft.
