1. Washington Nationals
Mandatory Credit:
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Was this even a surprise? The Nationals’ rotation can be described in one word — stacked!
GM Mike Rizzo decided to pull the trigger on Max Scherzer, signing him to one of baseball’s most lucrative contracts ever at seven-years and $210 million. This will help build on one of baseball’s most consistent starting rotations from 2014 that led baseball in team ERA at a 3.04 mark. The Nats have enough rotation depth to essentially send an ace out every game of the week.
Unless the Nationals are looking to move Stephen Strasburg, the odd man out of the starting five will most likely be Tanner Roark, who had numbers strong enough(15-10, 2.85) to headline a variety of other rotations in baseball last season. With firepower at the front of the rotation, the back-end features baseball’s most recent model of consistency. Doug Fister‘s 1.09 WHIP with only 24 walks in 2014 is an great example of a pitcher with command.
Impressive numbers across the board, the Nationals look to use their pitching to back a solid offense in hopes of a 2015 National League pennant.
Nationals starting rotation:
- RHP Max Scherzer
- RHP Jordan Zimmermann
- RHP Stephen Strasburg
- LHP Gio Gonzalez
- RHP Doug Fister