Pessimistic Players: SP Preview

Just like with the offense, I tried to add some "new blood" to the rotation. The starting pitching can be broken down into a few distinct tiers.

Tier 1(Cy Young Tier): Chris Carpenter and Johan Santana are perennial Cy Young candidates. Johan is the best starter in baseball, and Chris Carpenter is one of the best SPs in the NL. I gave up a few good players to get Carpenter, but I was more than willing to do so in order to have him start every 5th day.

Tier 2 (All-Star Starters): The next tier of starters consists of established starters who could all have outstanding seasons. Dontrelle Willis, Aaron Harang, and John Lackey are the primary arms in this tier. Harang is probably the least well known guy out of this group, but he really came on strong last season (16-11, 3.76ERA, 216K, 1.27WHIP). All of these guys are capable of winning 18-20 games, posting low ERAs, and piling up strikeouts. While they aren't in the same category as Johan and Carpenter, they are definitely capable of putting together a Cy Young season and jumping into that tier.

Tier 3 (The "Up-and-Comers"): Jonathan Papelbon established himself as one of - if not the - best closer in baseball last season. But, to lessen the stress on his arm, he has been moved into the rotation. There is no reason to believe he won't succeed in this role. I acquired Daniel Cabrera for Brad Penny this offseason because of his phenomenal potential. He is dominant when he's "on", but he needs to be "on" more consistently. Leo Mazzone says D-Cab has a changeup now. If he cuts down his walks, he could jump up to Tier 2 this season.

Tier 4 (The Youngsters): Matt Garza, Ian Snell, and Tom Gorzelanny make up this tier. All 3 of these guys have massive potential, with Garza leading the way in that category. The 2 Pirates starters - Snell and Gorzelanny - showed last season that they belong in the big leagues. If these guys live up to their potential, Tier 2 & 3 will get a lot more crowded this season.