MLB Starting Rotation Update: National League East

This week, along with looking at each team’s updated starting lineup, I wanted to take a look at each team’s updated starting rotation.

I will start in the National League East and go from there.

The NL East is home to perhaps the two best pitchers in baseball in Roy Halladay and Johan Santana. Not only are there superstar pitchers in this division, there are also some great young arms like Josh Johnson and Tommy Hanson.

Here are the updated starting rotations for each National League East team.

Philadelphia Phillies

1. Roy Halladay, RHP

2. Cole Hamels, LHP

3. Joe Blanton, RHP

4. J.A. Happ, LHP

5. Jamie Moyer, LHP

Quick Take: The Phillies made the big move this offseason trading for Halladay. In doing such, they had to trade playoff hero Cliff Lee. While I have no doubt Halladay will be a Cy Young candidate in 2010, this rotation will only be as good as Hamels is. They really need him to bounce back this year.

Atlanta Braves

1. Derek Lowe, RHP

2. Jair Jurrjens, RHP

3. Tim Hudson, RHP

4. Tommy Hanson, RHP

5. Kenshin Kawakami, RHP

Quick Take: This rotation has so much depth that the Braves were able to trade Javier Vazquez. I like this rotation because it’s a good mix of young studs (Jurrjens and Hanson) and experienced work-horses (Hudson and Lowe). If the Braves give him any run support, Jurrjens could be a Cy Young candidate in 2010.

New York Mets

1. Johan Santana, LHP

2. Mike Pelfrey, RHP

3. John Maine, RHP

4. Oliver Perez, LHP

5. Jon Niese, LHP

Quick Take: This rotation reminds me of those Boston Red Sox rotations back in the late '90s. They had Pedro Martinez and a bunch of question marks. This is a big year for Pelfrey. Perez reportedly got in the best shape of his life this offseason, so let’s see if that translates to his performance on the mound. So far this spring, it hasn’t.

Florida Marlins

1. Josh Johnson, RHP

2. Ricky Nolasco, RHP

3. Anibal Sanchez, RHP

4. Chris Volstad, RHP

5. Clay Hensley, RHP

Quick Take: This rotation is young, tall, and talented. Johnson leads this staff and is an early favorite to win the NL Cy Young award in 2010. It looks like Hensley has nailed down the fifth starter spot in the rotation. This staff also has top pitching prospect Andrew Miller waiting in the wings.

Washington Nationals

1. John Lannan, LHP

2. Jason Marquis, RHP

3. Scott Olsen, LHP

4. J.D. Martin, RHP

5. Garrett Mock, RHP

Quick Take: The addition of Marquis will help this staff, but overall, it’s still pretty weak. I really like Lannan. He is a good pitcher who unfortunately plays on the worst team in baseball. Of course, all eyes will be on the development of Stephen Strasburg. There is a chance he could join this staff by the end of April.

Tomorrow, I will take a look at the National League Central.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg