Another Look at SP ... Koufax

With all of the bidding craziness at hand, I thought a more detailed look into aspects of rosters was needed.  I've taken alot of information from various stat sources and have come up with my own ranking on how things might turn out.  This is my opinion and things can/will change.  There are quite a few SP out there that will help shape up DBA rotations.  I'm going to look at each team's top 4 FT SP and their relation to the rest of the SP out there.  My shorthand will be in the following form ... Overall Rank / Home Rank / Road Rank ... Each of those are adjusted ranks on how well the SP should overall, or with the majority of starts on the road or at home.  With the rankings, your #1 starter should be in the top 20, #2 in the top 40, #3 in the top 60 and #4 in the top 80.

Cleveland (CLE) -- Hudson (8/37/13), Baek (49/97/46), Hochevar (66/102/66), ???

Hudson has the best overall SP numbers in the division and will be a great #1 for CLE, especially on the road.  Baek falls into a #3 SP role.  Hochevar will fit in nicely as a #4 starter.  CLE needs to fill the #2 slot with someone of high quality.  They also have very limited starts and will need to piece together a 7-9 man rotation this year.  Fourth staff in the division.

Elkhart Lake (ELR) -- Bush (29/45/39), Burnett (36/41/51), Weaver (60/31/86), Lannan (72/44/97)

Bush is the third best #1 starter, just slightly out of the 1-20 range, but will be very tough.  Burnett is the second best #2 SP in the division and will be very good results as well.  Weaver is the best #3 starter, but will have to watch his usage.  Too many road starts will spell disaster.  And Lannan clocks in as the second best #4 SP in the division.  Overall, this is the best starting staff in the division.  

Ottawa (OTT) -- Guthrie (37/23/64), Owings (62/57/80), Vazquez (69/47/90), Kazmir (70/72/5)

Guthrie checks in well below #1 standards.  Owings, while having the second best SP numbers on the team, will most likely see the bullpen, as OTT has already made moves to solidify the rotation.  Cain would slide into Owings spot at #2, upgrading.  Vazquez is a servicable #3 and Kazmir is a nice #4, especially on the road, where he turns into the ace of the staff.  OTT holds on to the third best rotation in the division.

Ridgecrest (RID) -- Pelfrey (39/91/36), Lester (53/42/12), Lilly (63/130/47), Looper (83/68/104)

This staff has the potential to dominate, or to be just average, depending on usage.  Pelfrey a below average #1 starter and has a huge home downside.  Lester is a slightly below average #2 starter with huge upside on the road.  Lilly is an above average #3 starter, with a monsterous downside at home.  Looper is an average #4 across the board.  In all, its a solid staff.  RID holds onto the #2 spot in the division, but just barely.  This rotation will take some creative thinking.

West Huron (WHW) -- Verlander (47/33/73), Contreras (61/88/69), Eveland (82/64/57), Silva (125/137/124)

Verlander checks in as a well below average #1 SP with the upside of an average SP at home.  Contreras checks in as a decent #3, Eveland a good #4 and Silva well below average.  WHW needs to upgrade with a #1/#2 SP in order to move into the top half of the division.  Otherwise, this rotation will always be one step behind.

Y-D (YDL) -- Santana (10/9/19), Beckett (34/24/60), Zito (98/87/44), ???

Santana has the second best SP numbers in the division and will be a stellar #1.  Beckett follows with the best #2 numbers, making a great 1-2 punch for Y-D.  However, Zito is a bad #5 and he's slotted in at #3 right now. The Landfish will be shopping at the SP Mart this off-season; looking for deals but paying millions.  5th staff in the divison right now; 2nd staff potential.