Where does the young Marlins rotation rank?

With much movement this off-season especially in the pitching market, many have started to debate the best pitching rotations in baseball. The Chicago Cubs signed Jon Lester and Max Scherzer signed a 7-year deal with the Nationals. Along with numerous trades, teams’ rotations are starting to form for the upcoming season.

Where do the Marlins rank in all of this?

In the NL East, the pitching has improved in a big way. The Nationals now have a true number one arm in Scherzer with Strasburg, Zimmerman, Fister, and Gonzalez filling out the rest of the rotation. The Nationals already had one of the top rotations in baseball without Scherzer, but now they are arguably the best in MLB. They led last season with the best starters ERA in not only the division but in all of baseball.

The next best rotation in the NL East? That could bring up a huge debate. The battle of the young arms between the Mets and the Marlins will determine that.

The Mets currently have six starters in Matt Harvey, Bartolo Colon, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee. Gee is expected o be traded which would clear space for all five starters. Harvey is coming off a Tommy John surgery this past year but has shown great progress and steps toward being ready for 2015. Last season, the Mets were 8^th in starters ERA in the NL as well as 4^th in strikeouts. Jacob deGrom won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2014 and impressed many in his first season.

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If you go by statistics from last year, the Mets have a better rotation than the Marlins.

Until Jose Fernandez returns, Miami will go with Henderson Alvarez, Mat Latos, Jared Cosart, Dan Haren, and Tom Koehler. Now the team has troubles in Dan Haren, as there is still a chance he gets traded. If he does, Koehler could be bumped up and a battle between David Phelps and Brad Hand, could determine the number five spot. Also, there is still the possibility of the Marlins acquiring James Shields. If this does happen, there is no debate. The team will have the NL East’s second best rotation and would be in the conversation for one of the best in baseball.

Unfortunately, as it stands now the Marlins fall short of the Mets. Miami was 12^th in starters ERA in the NL, and had the third worst opponents’ batting average. They were tied with the Dodgers for the third most shutouts with 16, but overall last year’s staff fell right in the middle of the pack.

Do not get me wrong, the rotation does have humongous upside. Nevertheless, pitchers would have to be more consistent. The stats from last season can be head shaking as those included starts from many different starters. With the addition of Latos, a full year of Cosart, and the mid-season return of Fernandez, the will have consistency in the rotation, which will hopefully equate to more wins.

Until then, as of right now the team has the third best in the division and maybe sneaks in to the top 15 in baseball.

Next: Mat Latos Rumors: Doubtful Marlins Extend Latos