Pitchers and catchers have arrived to their respective camps. Some of them have a coupe of days, maybe even weeks in camp. Monday is the official beginning of Spring Training for a lot of these guys though and this a fresh start for a lot of these teams. Check out the Top 5 pitching rotations in baseball.
5. Detroit Tigers
Their numbers from last season weren't all that impressive as they finished 88-74. However, the acquisition of Anibal Sanchez gave the Tigers a heavy boost late in the season. The Tigers should return hungry after getting swept in the World Series by the San Francisco Giants.
The Tigers' rotation is headed by baseball's ace, Justin Verlander. Max Scherzer and Doug Fister are the middlemen in the rotation while it appears that Drew Smyly and Rick Porcello will battle for the last spot in the pitching rotation. Porcello has been a member of the Tigers for a while now. If he slips up, don't the Tigers will hesitate to bring in their young lefty, Smyly, into the rotation.
4. Atlanta Braves
Young pitching anchored by a crafty veteran, that's the best way to describe the Braves' pitching rotation. With the rise of Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, the team was able to trade Tommy Hanson, who was one of their biggest prospects in recent years. Beachy is out for a good part of the season, but guys like Paul Maholm, Mike Minor and Tim Hudson as the ace, the Braves look set to make a push in 2012.
They will depend on their youngster Julio Teheran to fill in the final spot in the rotation, at least until Beachy returns. These group of guys pitched together last year and really dominated the league.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The acquisition of Zack Greinke will give the Dodgers a stingy pitching rotation. Though Greinke is getting the money, this is still Clayton Kershaw's rotation or at least it should be. His ERA has never been above 3.00 when making at least 30 starts at the major league level. Greinke is a great No. 2 starter who will give the Dodgers more consistency as Chad Billingsley as never really able to pull it together in a season.
Josh Beckett will ground the back-end of the pitching rotation and the Dodgers have a bunch of guys who can fill out the final spot as Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang and Ted Lilly are all still with the ball club.
2. Tampa Bay Rays
They are missing their big man, James Shields, but the Rays always have pitching talent to spare. They had the lowest ERA in 2012 including both starting rotation and bullpen, but their young arms return in 2013 with three guys that are young not easy to hit against.
David Price is the big dog in this team's starting rotation. Jeremy Hellickson should come back stronger in his third year in the majors while Matt Moore should improve on a decent first complete year in the majors.
Alex Cobb and possibly James Niemann will fill out the remainder of the pitching rotation in Tampa Bay.
1. Washington Nationals
It all depends what happens with Gio Gonzalez, but the Nationals have set themselves up with a great rotation as they look to repeat as N.L. East champions. The acquisition of Dan Haren gives them an inning eater at the middle of the rotation. Stephen Strasburg should return to form and hopefully can get more work in.
Jordan Zimmerman and Ross Detwiler will round up the pitching rotation and both guys are coming off solid seasons for the Nationals.
