Arizona Diamondbacks: Setting Arizona's All-Time Starting Rotation

The Arizona Diamondbacks may be the youngest team in baseball, but the 14-year-old club has already seen some tremendous pitchers pass through the desert in its brief history.

With Ian Kennedy recently coming so close, yet so far, to winning the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, it is time to take a look at Arizona's pitchers.

When GM Kevin Towers met with the media earlier in November, he stated that the Diamondbacks will not be big spenders this offseason. Though the team could use "more veteran pitching...our primary focus has been veteran infielders," he said.

So let's open that up—the part about more veteran pitching.

Let's take it to the extreme and go all the way back to 1998 and the first season of the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was the year of pitchers Brian Anderson, Andy Benes, Willie Blair, Omar Daal, Amaury Telemaco and Jeff Suppan.

The Diamondbacks finished dead last in the NL West their inaugural season, winning only 65 games. Since that first season, the Diamondbacks have had some wonderful names on their pitching staff.

Let's use some of Arizona's greatest starting pitchers over the past 14 seasons to compose an all-time starting rotation made up of veteran Diamondbacks.

No. 1: Randy Johnson

Name: Randy Johnson

Throws: Left

Years with Arizona: 1999-2004, 2007-08

MLB Career Stats: 303-166, 3.29 ERA, 4,875 K

This list would not be dramatic as a countdown—Randy Johnson is quite simply the best pitcher the Arizona Diamondbacks have ever seen.

A 10-time All-Star—five with Arizona—and winner of the 2002 NL Triple Crown while with the Diamondbacks, Johnson won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in Arizona from 1999 through 2002.

When the Diamondbacks won the 2001 World Series, he was named the Series MVP in a landslide.

From 17-9 with a 2.48 ERA and 364 strikeouts in 1999, Johnson came full circle to pitch a perfect game on May 18, 2004. Johnson struck out 13 Atlanta Braves during this game and became the oldest pitcher to pitch a perfect game at the age of 40.

He also became only the fourth MLB pitcher to reach 4,000 career strikeouts—and that was five years before he retired in 2009 with 4,875 K.

Johnson is the best pitcher the Diamondbacks have ever known and is an easy choice for the No. 1 spot.

No. 2: Curt Schilling

Name: Curt Schilling

Throws: Right

Years with Arizona: 2000-03

MLB Career Stats: 216-146, 3.46 ERA, 3,116 K

When Randy Johnson won the 2001 World Series MVP for Arizona, he had to share his award with Diamondbacks No. 2 starter Curt Schilling.

2001 was a tremendous year for Schilling, as he was named to his fourth All-Star team and won every award from TSN Pitcher of the Year to the Babe Ruth Award and the Roberto Clemente Award.

With a 22-6 record and 2.98 ERA, Schilling was a serious Cy Young Candidate, losing out in the end to who else but Johnson.

He followed up his 2001 effort with a 23-7 record with 316 strikeouts in 2002, including a 17-strikeout performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 7.

Again, Schilling finished second in the Cy Young race to Johnson, and that's exactly where he finishes in the Diamondbacks' all-time starting rotation.

No. 3: Ian Kennedy

Name: Ian Kennedy

Throws: Right

Years with Arizona: 2010-present

MLB Career Stats: 31-18, 3.65 ERA, 409 K

The first thing you notice about Ian Kennedy's career stats is that most of his wins came in 2011.

After making his debut with Arizona in April of 2010, Kennedy improved drastically, winning his first game on April 29, striking out a career-high 12 batters in a one-hit effort against San Diego on August 26 and ultimately finishing his first full D-Backs season with a 9-10 record and 3.80 ERA.

In 2011, Kennedy finished with a National League-high 21 wins and was a serious contender for the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, losing out to Los Angeles Dodgers ace and NL Triple Crown winner Clayton Kershaw.

Kennedy is a young 6'0" and still has a lot to look forward to with the Diamondbacks.

This list accounts for future possibility just as it recognizes past greatness, and for this reason Kennedy is the No. 3 starter.

No. 4: Brandon Webb

Name: Brandon Webb

Throws: Right

Years with Arizona: 2003-09

MLB Career Stats: 87-62, 3.27 ERA, 1,065 K

When Brandon Webb made his 2003 debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he pitched his way to Baseball America's Rookie of the Year Award and was a third-place finisher for MLB's NL Rookie of the Year Award.

After rough seasons in 2004 and 2005, Webb began 2006 with an eight-game win streak, finally losing his first game on June 10 to the Mets.

He was named the 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner after posting a 16-8 record with a 3.10 ERA and finished the 2007 season with an impressive 42.0 scoreless innings streak, which included three complete-game shutouts.

He improved upon his 2006 streak in 2008, winning his first nine games of the 2008 season. Though his 22-7 record was best in the NL, he lost the 2008 Cy Young to San Francisco Giants star Tim Lincecum.

Injuries ultimately sidelined Webb during his later years with the club and deprived the three-time All-Star of continuing to improve upon an already stellar pitching career.

Webb's years of service from 2006-08 are why Webb is the No. 4 all-time starter for the Diamondbacks.

No. 5: Dan Haren

Name: Dan Haren

Throws: Right

Years with Arizona: 2008-10

MLB Career Stats: 107-84, 3.59 ERA, 1,443 K

When Dan Haren was traded to the Diamondbacks by the Oakland Athletics prior to the 2008 season, he brought with him a 2007 season that saw Haren record 15 wins, a 3.07 ERA and 192 K.

In 2008, Haren was selected to his second consecutive All-Star team before finishing the season with a 16-8 record, 3.33 ERA and 206 strikeouts.

He was named an All-Star again in 2009 and increased his career-high seasonal strikeout total to 223, while lowering his ERA to 3.14.

Haren was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in July 2010 for Joe Saunders and several prospects, including top-rated Tyler Skaggs.

His stint with the Diamondbacks was brief, but he showed a lot of promise during his 2.5 years with the club, putting up numbers that any team would be proud to see out of its fifth starter.