BEST STARTING ROTATIONS IN BASEBALL

Depth. That’s been the Dodgers’ biggest strength during their 8-year division title run, culminating with their 2020 World Series championship. And when it comes to depth in the starting pitching, the rich keep getting richer.

The best team in baseball just signed the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner and the best free agent starting pitcher, Trevor Bauer, to a 3-year deal with player options after the first two years. This means Bauer can opt out of his deal if he chooses after 2021 or 2022. Until then, though, Bauer will help bolster a rotation that was already arguably the best in the majors.

Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Trevor Bauer, David Price, Julio Urías. 3 Cy Young Award winners and 2 young stars. It is not inconceivable to believe Buehler (26 years old) and Urías (24 years old) can win Cy Young’s in their careers as well. Heck, this tandem alone would be the ace and number 2 on most major league teams. All of these pitchers are competitors, and the names speak for themselves. In my eyes, there really isn’t a team close to the Dodgers at the starting pitcher position.

Yeah, the Padres have made some moves, acquiring 2020 NL Cy Young runner-up Yu Darvish and 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. They have Dinelson Lamet, who had a great 2020 season, Joe Musgrove, and Chris Paddack to fill out the rest of their rotation. This group will win a lot of ballgames and, honestly, Snell and Darvish alone give this team a fighting chance in a short series against the Dodgers. The questions for the Padres are: Can Lamet repeat his 2020 performance for a full-length season, and Will Paddack pitch like he did during his rookie season?

Another team with a strong starting rotation is surprisingly the New York Mets! Led by 2-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, the Mets’ rotation features Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, and Carlos Carrasco. The fifth man is yet to be determined but will likely be filled by David Peterson, a young starter who had a solid 2020 season, or Joey Lucchesi, former Padre and a solid #5. If Syndergaard and Stroman can replicate their All-Star performances, the Mets will be formidable throughout the year, but especially during the playoffs, when runs come at a premium and preventing them from scoring is crucial.

All in all, the Dodgers have, by far, the best rotation in baseball when we look at the potential 5-man rotations for the 2021 season. If we dig deeper, we’ll see how well they’re prepared to overcome inevitable injuries or lackluster play from these starters. Feel free to comment on who you think has the best starting rotation in baseball!