seattle mariners
- brian woo
- logan gilbert
- luis castillo
- george kirby
- bryce miller
With perhaps the best rotation in the entire American League (and certainly the best in the AL West), the Mariners are seeking a return to the postseason after coming close to reaching the Fall Classic for the first time in club history. Running behind a historic offense and superstar catcher Cal Raley, the pitching staff became somewhat anonymous.
But that's not because they weren't producing, they just dominated opponents all year. Wu and Gilbert are sharing co-ace duties with Castillo serving as a formidable third base. Kirby and Miller factor in as back end options, who (at most other clubs) would be front end options in the rotation.
Houston Astros
- hunter brown
- Tatsuya Imai
- mike burroughs
- Christian Xavier
- spencer arigetti
- Lance McCullers Jr.
The Astros lost longtime veteran Framber Valdez to the Detroit Tigers in free agency. But Brown's emergence as a legitimate ace who can anchor a rotation helps things for Houston. One of their big free-agent pickups this offseason was top international pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
Everyone else is returning to Houston except Mike Burroughs, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason. They have talked about a possible six-man rotation to lighten the workload of their starting players, which makes sense. There's not much inspiring pitching outside of those first two options. The Astros need to do anything they can to help the back end of that rotation (and keep Brown and Imai healthy).
Exercise
- louis severino
- jeffrey springs
- aaron siwale
- luis morales
- jacob lopez
The Achilles' heel of athletics, the starting group is rough. Headlined by Severino and Springs, this is an uninspired group. The young offensive core certainly makes up for it and will make for some interesting back-and-forth at Sutter Health this year.
Morales had a strong rookie campaign after being eliminated from Cuba in 2023. Hopefully he can carry it forward and become a major force for the A's to shorten games.
Texas Rangers
- nathan iovaldi
- jacob degrom
- mackenzie gore
- jack ladder
- Kumar Rocker
This rotation is shocking to the elite class. After having the lowest team ERA in baseball last season, the Rangers thought it was not enough and traded for ace Mackenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals. In doing so they gave up five prospects for Washington but gained a young, controllable starter who can play behind Eovaldi and deGrom.
Rocker struggled a bit in his second year in MLB. He pitched a career-high 64 1/3 innings and posted a 5.74 ERA. If he can find his rhythm and take the mound consistently, the Rangers will have the problem every team expects: too many good pitchers.
Los Angeles Angels
- Yusei Kikuchi
- jose soriano
- reed detmers
- grayson rodriguez
- alec manoah
It's not looking great for the Angels, but there is hope! Trading outfielder Taylor Ward for young prospect Rodriguez gives some hope for the future of the pitching team. Everyone else is returning except Manoah, who was a low-risk, high-reward pickup in the offseason. He has struggled massively this spring, but the Halos don't have many other options and will need to put together whatever they can get to build a pitching staff.
