Chicago White Sox: Ranking them with the 10 best MLB rotations
The Chicago White Sox have one of the League’s best starting rotations.
The Chicago White Sox opened the offseason by trading for Lance Lynn which immediately slingshotted their rotation into the top tier of baseball. Where do the White Sox stack up with baseball best? MLB.com writer Anthony Castrovince ranked the top 10 rotations in baseball and ranked the White Sox seventh.
As the rest of the offseason rolls along at a glacial pace, the New York Mets finally added some excitement by acquiring Francisco Lindor. This obviously has major implications for the AL Central division with arguably its best player leaving. What many people overlook is the fact Carlos Carasco was included in the transaction. During his time with the Indians, Carasco has developed into one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. His presence in the Mets rotation paired with Jacob deGrom makes them even better.
However, they are not the only team that has upgraded their rotation this offseason. The San Diego Padres shocked the baseball world by adding Blake Snell. They followed that up by acquiring Yu Darvish in the same week!
The offseason is far from over. National League Cy Young Award winner, Trevor Bauer, is still on the open market. When he signs it is sure to rock the landscape of Major League Baseball. After the latest move by the Mets now is a perfect time to reassess his list.
The Chicago White Sox are a bit ahead of these two teams at the moment.
10. Minnesota Twins
The tenth spot on the list goes to the Minnesota Twins. They need to re-sign either Jake Odorizzi or Rich Hill in free agency but they have a great 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. That punch comes in the form of Kenta Maeda and Jose Berrios. Maeda was phenomenal in his first season in Minnesota. The former Dodger posted a 2.70 ERA and finished second in the American League Cy Young voting. Michael Pineda will also be back after serving a 60 game suspension last season. We are going to have to wait and see how the rest of the unit rounds out at the end of the offseason.
9.Oakland A’s
Fangraphs ranked the A’s as the seventh-best rotation in baseball last season. They need to fill some holes after the departure of Mike Minors and the likely departure of Mike Fiers via free agency. Despite the roster holes the A’s have a lot of talent in their rotation. It features Jesus Luzardo, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea, and flamethrowing Frankie Montas. Jesus Luzardo was a 22-year old rookie with electric stuff. He has struck out 59 batters over the course of 59 innings. But like most rookies, he was inconsistent and had a 4.12 ERA on the year. The A’s are going to have to find some veterans to replace the two Mike’s this offseason if both of them decide to take their talents elsewhere.
The Chicago White Sox should see everything about the Yankees as a measuring stick.
8. New York Yankees
The Yankees are the second New York team to crack the top ten. Having one of the top pitchers in the game in Gerrit Cole makes it easier. The Yankees ace is a three-time All-Star and owns an ERA title. In his first season in the Bronx, he had a 2.84 ERA with two complete games, one of them a shutout.
Unfortunately for the Yankees behind Cole is a whole bunch of question marks. Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and JA Happ have all hit free agency. They hope Luis Severino can return from Tommy John surgery so they can get at least half a season out of him. Deivi Garcia has also shown flashes of talent over the course of his young career.
Beyond that the cupboard is bare. Jordan Montgomery, Michael King, and Domingo German round out the rest of the rotation. They leave a lot to be desired. GM Brian Cashman has his work cut out for him this offseason if this team wants to remain a serious contender. The Yankees have the lineup to get them over the top but need more starting pitching depth. Luckily for him, there are still plenty of pitchers available. A Trevor Bauer perhaps?
The Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves have built their teams in a very similar fashion.
7. Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves flew under the radar with some early offseason moves. They needed to add some veterans to the rotation so GM Alex Anthopoulos wasted no time signing Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly. Morton, a finalist for the Cy Young in 2019, dealt with shoulder problems in 2020 but had a good showing in the postseason. He had a 2.70 ERA in 20 postseason innings. Smyly is a crafty veteran that has been in the league since 2012. He has a 3.42 career ERA.
The Braves will also get a boost from Mike Soroka returning. He was the runner up for rookie of the year in 2019 but suffered an Achilles injury and was lost for the year in 2020. Max Fried was forced to step up and fill in the void. He did not disappoint. Freid looked like an ace posting a 2.25 ERA.
The Braves also got help from Ian Anderson who was called up in September. He was near flawless in the regular season and only gave up two runs in four postseason starts. The Braves also have a veteran leader in Cole Hamels whose resume speaks for itself. The Braves pitching staff is rounding into form and could easily climb this list by year’s end.
The Chicago White Sox have one of the best rotations in the league.
6. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox rotation has the perfect blend of established starters and upside. At the top of the rotation is Lucas Giolito who is coming off the second spectacular season that saw him throw a no-hitter and dominate in his only playoff start. Behind him is former Cy Young and multiple Gold Glove winner Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel made a great first impression with his new club in 2020, finishing fifth in the Cy Young voting.
The White Sox decided to add Lance Lynn this offseason who finished one spot behind Keuchel in the AL Cy Young voting. Like Giolito and Keuchel, Lynn is also a former All-Star. All three pitchers also possess the ability to throw over 200 innings.
The fourth starter is Dylan Cease. On paper, his numbers are not that impressive. However, he has only made 26 major league starts. The White Sox are hoping that new pitching coach Ethan Katz can unlock some of his untapped potentials.
The White Sox also have a highly touted prospect named Micheal Kopech returning after a two-year absence. Both Cease and Kopech throw hard and have great stuff. If they can live up to their potential, the White Sox have a case for the best rotation in baseball. If not, it is going to be an uphill climb if they want to contend for a World Series.
The New York Mets and Chicago White Sox have dealt with a lot of the same in their histories.
5.New York Mets
Any rotation that has Jacob deGrom taking the ball every fifth day is probably pretty darn good. In the past three seasons, deGrom has taken home two Cy Young awards and been to two All-Star games. In 2018 he threw over 200 innings yet only had a 1.70 ERA.
When healthy this is a great rotation. Noah Syndergaard is a flame thrower who helped lead the Mets to reach the World Series in 2015. Marcus Stroman is a Gold Glove winner and a former All-Star. Unfortunately, Noah Syndergaard is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and Marcus Stroman missed all of last season with a torn calf muscle. The Mets needed to add another impact starter and they got one in Carlos Carrasco. Since 2014 Carrasco has had the fifth-best ERA in the American League.
Their fifth starter will likely be David Peterson who had a promising rookie season. He had a 3.44 ERA in 49 2/3 innings. The improved defense at shortstop should also help this rotation. On paper, the Mets have had good rotations the past couple of seasons. For whatever reason, they always seem to underperform. The blue and orange brigade have their fingers crossed that won’t be the case this season.
The Chicago White Sox know exactly how good Cleveland is at developing pitching.
4.Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians seem to have a pitching factory. They have already traded Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Carlos Carrasco yet they still managed to keep their rotation stocked with talent.
Their ace Shane Bieber took home the AL Cy Young last season. He was a former fourth-round draft pick. In 2020 he was an absolute monster. Beiber had a 1.63 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. which are just incredible numbers.
Behind him is a young hungry rotation. Zach Plesac had a 3.32 ERA in 29 starts. Aaron Civale had a 3.69 ERA in 22 starts and Triston McKenzie had a 3.24 ERA in 33 1/3 innings pitched. The Indians also acquired Cal Quantrill and Logan Allen in a trade with the Padres in an effort to bolster their depth. While there is a ton of upside in this rotation there is also very little experience.
With the farm system being light on major league ready pitchers, Cleveland needs their young arms to continue on their upward trajectory or they won’t be as high on the list for long. McKenzie is the best pitching prospect they have. If 2020 was any indication, they should have nothing to worry about.
The Chicago White Sox have already benefited from some good Washington Nationals pitching.
3.Washington Nationals
The Nationals rotations are anchored by a big three who go by the names of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin. All three of them are only two years removed from leading the Nationals to the World Series. Scherzer’s resume speaks for itself. He has three Cy Young awards, seven All-star appearances, and three top 10 finishers in the MVP voting. Strasburg’s career has been hampered by injuries but when healthy he is electric. He showed that on baseball’s biggest stage taking home the World Series MVP in 2019. Patrick Corbin also has two all-star appearances to his name.
While all three are talented some cracks in the armor appeared in 2020. Strasburg signed a seven-year $245 million contract following the 2019 World Series. Since then he has only pitched in five innings. Scherzer also dealt with back and neck issues in 2019. In 2020 it looked as if those issues caught up to him. His adjusted ERA+ was the worst it’s been since 2014. According to Statcast, he was also barreled up at his highest rate in 2020. Corbin is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career. He had a 4.66 ERA and the highest WHIP of his career.
The other concern is that there is not much help behind them in the rotation. Erick Fedde and Joe Ross occupy the last two spots in the rotation. GM Mike Rizzo may need to get busy before opening day.
The Chicago White Sox want to be the defending World Series champions like the Dodgers.
2.Los Angeles Dodgers
Any rotation headlined by Clayton Kershaw is likely near the top of any list. This season is no different. The Dodgers had the best ERA in the National League last season, finishing with a 3.29 mark. Kershaw looked like he found the fountain of youth in 2020. His command was much improved and his velocity was up.
Along with Kershaw they also have Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin. Of that group, only two of them are true starters: Kershaw and Buehler. The rest of that group was sprinkled in the bullpen as well. That won’t be the case for long as May and Urias appear to only be scratching the surface of their talent and should cement a place in the starting rotation this upcoming season.
Buehler, meanwhile, is only 26 years old and he already has finished in the top ten of the Cy Young voting, top three in the rookie of the year voting, an all-star appearance, and a World Series ring.
The Dodgers also have David Price, who opted out of the 2020 season and looks to be a contributor this upcoming season. If that is not enough, the Dodgers still have their number one prospect Josiah Gray waiting in the wings.
1. San Diego Padres
Last offseason the Padres added the best pitcher available during the trade deadline when they acquired Mike Clevinger. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to see the fruits of their labor pay off until 2022 due to Tommy John surgery. Yet, the Padres still project to be the best rotation in baseball.
Instead of resting on their laurels, the Padres were aggressive this offseason. They pulled off a blockbuster trade for former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell. They followed that up by adding Yu Darvish who is coming off his best season in 2020. They will join a rotation that already includes Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddock.
Paddock is a bulldog on the mound and Lamet burst onto the scene in 2020. A right elbow injury prevented him from fully establishing himself near the end of last season. They also have top prospect MacKenzie Gore waiting in the wings. Gore projects to be a future ace. If that is not enough they also have Adrian Morejon, and Ryan Weathers who like Gore and Paddock, have incredibly high ceilings.
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By adding Snell and Darvish, Padres general manager A.J Preller stabilized the top half of the rotation with two battle-tested veterans. They will help take some pressure off of their young talented arms in the Padres’ quest for the World Series.