2012 MLB Free Agency: Projecting All 30 Teams' Opening Day Pitching Rotation

Coming out of this past week's winter meetings only a few of the top free agent pitchers had agreed to terms with new teams, with C.J Wilson headed to the Angels and Mark Buehrle following Ozzie Guillen down to Miami.

A number of free-agent signings and trades will no doubt take place before opening day in 111 days (not that I'm counting) but that doesn't mean that it's too early to take a look ahead at what teams will be throwing out there in 2012.

Here is an early look at what starting rotations could look like depending on how pieces fall into place ahead of spring training.

Arizona Diamondbacks

1. Ian Kennedy
2. Daniel Hudson
3. Trevor Cahill
4. Joe Saunders
5. Josh Collmenter

Along with the addition of Trevor Cahill in the Arizona rotation, it appears the Diamondbacks are planning on bringing back Joe Saunders for 2012 despite recently non-tendering him.

Atlanta Braves

1. Tommy Hanson
2. Tim Hudson
3. Brandon Beachy
4. Jair Jurrjens
5. Mike Minor

There was much speculation this offseason about the potential for the Atlanta Braves to part ways with Jair Jurrjens.

With no suitor coming forward with a substantial enough package, and health concerns in the Braves rotation, it's looking more likely that he could stay in Atlanta next season.

Baltimore Orioles

1. Jeremy Guthrie
2. Tommy Hunter
3. Jake Arietta
4. Tsuyoshi Wada
5. Zach Britton

The Baltimore Orioles newest addition to the pitching staff is Japanese starter Tsuyoshi Wada.

Wada maintained a 1.51 ERA this past season while striking out over eight batters per nine innings and walking less than two.

Boston Red Sox

1. Jon Lester
2. Josh Beckett
3. Clay Bucholz
4. Daniel Bard
5. Daisuke Matsuzaka

With Jon Lackey out of the rotation for most if not all of the 2012 season, the Boston Red Sox clearly have a hole to fill.

With the team not wanting to cross the league's luxury tax threshold, the Sox don't seem to have the room to sign a big name free agent. Instead, the team is planning on stretching Daniel Bard into a starting role.

Chicago Cubs

1. Ryan Dempster
2. Randy Wells
3. Matt Garza
4. Casey Coleman
5. Andrew Cashner

The Chicago Cubs have been dangling Matt Garza around as trade bait for a while now.

But since a number of free agent starter options are out there, and the Cubs seem to be asking too high a price for Garza, it's looking increasingly more likely that he'll be in a Cubs uniform next year.

Chicago White Sox

1. Gavin Floyd
2. Phillip Humber
3. Jake Peavy
4. Chris Sale
5. Zach Stewart

With Mark Buehrle out of the picture, the Chicago White Sox are clearly headed to a transition where they hope to rebuild.

Part of that process is making starting pitching available to potential suitors, most notably John Danks, who has garnered interest from the New York Yankees.

Cincinnati Reds

1. Johnny Cueto
2. Homer Bailey
3. Bronson Arroyo
4. Aroldis Chapman
5. Mike Leake

It should be an interesting season for the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff in 2012, as fireballer Aroldis Chapman heads from the bullpen into the starting rotation.

Cleveland Indians

1. Ubaldo Jimenez
2. Justin Masterson
3. Fausto Carmona
4. Josh Tomlin
5. Jeanmar Gomez

With a strong front half of the rotation in Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson, the back end of the rotation will likely see the only change for the Cleveland Indians.

Spring training could be the final determining factor, but it looks like Jeanmar Gomez could be getting a consistent chance to make starts for the Indians next year after posting a 9-8 record with a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts over the past two seasons.

Colorado Rockies

1. Jorge DeLaRosa
2. Jhoulys Chacin
3. Juan Nicasio
4. Hiroki Kuroda
5. Drew Pomeranz

The Colorado Rockies acquired former Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kevin Slowey for essentially nothing this offseason, but with Slowey going 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA last season, they may not be so quick to give him a spot in the rotation.

The team has expressed interest in Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda, and with Kuroda seemingly out in Los Angeles, there may be a door open to put him in a Rockies uniform.

Detroit Tigers

1. Justin Verlander
2. Max Scherzer
3. Doug Fister
4. Rick Porcello
5. Jeff Francis

With MVP and Cy Young award-winning Justin Verlander atop the Detroit Tigers rotation, the team has the best pitcher this league has seen in a while.

Beyond that, the Tigers have some formidable starters such as Max Scherzer and Doug Fister but could still look to bring in a back-end starter like Jeff Francis or Kevin Millwood after seeing less-than-spectacular results with the 2011 acquisition of Brad Penny.

Kansas City Royals

1. Bruce Chen
2. Luke Hochevar
3. Jonathan Sanchez
4. Kevin Millwood
5. Felipe Paulino

With the acquisition of Jonathan Sanchez from the San Francisco Giants, the Kansas City Royals have seemingly filled one of the open spots in their rotation.

They'll likely look externally for another starter who could come at a relatively cheap cost, with Kevin Millwood being tossed around as an option.

Houston Astros

1. Wandy Rodriguez
2. Bud Morris
3. Brett Myers
4. J.A. Happ
5. Henry Sosa

The Houston Astros toyed around with parting ways with Wandy Rodriguez a couple timed during past year or so, but no package offered has peaked the Astros' interest enough to pull the trigger.

As they head into 2012, it's unlikely he'll find himself anywhere other than Houston, unless they lower their asking price.

Los Angeles Angels

1. Jared Weaver
2. Dan Haren
3. C.J. Wilson
4. Ervin Santana
5. Jerome Williams

With the addition of the best free agent pitcher on the market this offseason, the Los Angeles Angels solidified their already outstanding rotation as possibly the best in baseball.

With a top three of Weaver, Haren and Wilson on the mound and Albert Pujols' bat in the lineup, the Angels will certainly be one of the favorites coming out of the AL in 2012.

Los Angeles Dodgers

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Chad Billingsley
3. Ted Lilly
4. Aaron Harang
5. Chris Capuano

Despite not having ownership in place, the Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to make a few moves to improve their starting rotation for the 2012 season.

Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano are new additions to the starting five, making it more likely Hiroki Kuroda won't be back with the Dodgers.

Miami Marlins

1. Josh Johnson
2. Mark Buehrle
3. Ricky Nolasco
4. Anibal Sanchez
5. Chris Volstad

After signing one of the best infielders and relievers on the free-agent market, the Miami Marlins continued their overhaul in signing Mark Buehrle away from the Chicago White Sox.

Buehrle will join Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco atop a rotation that looks to turn heads in the NL East next season.

Milwaukee Brewers

1. Yovani Gallardo
2. Zack Greinke
3. Shawn Marcum
4. Chris Narveson
5. Randy Wolf

After making a big rotation change prior to the 2011 season in acquiring Zack Greinke from the Kansas City Royals, it's unlikely there will be any changes next season.

Minnesota Twins

1. Carl Pavano
2. Scott Baker
3. Francisco Liriano
4. Edwin Jackson
5. Nick Blackburn

After a disappointing 2011 season all around, the Minnesota Twins have taken a step in addressing the offensive side of things in reportedly signing Josh Willingham to a three year deal.

They'll now turn their attention to the starting rotation, as they need to make serious improvements to contend in 2012.

The team has shown interest in Edwin Jackson, and after saving some money on acquiring Willingham instead of Cuddyer, they could make a push for his services.

New York Mets

1. Johan Santana
2. Jonathan Niese
3. Mike Pelfrey
4. Dillon Gee
5. R.A. Dickey

Jonathan Niese has been a constant trade topic over the past few weeks, but after a number of offers failed to impress the Mets organization, it seems the team may hold onto Niese in hopes he either becomes a more permanent part of the rotation or gains additional trade value.

New York Yankees

1. C.C. Sabathia
2. John Danks
3. Ivan Nova
4. Phil Hughes
5. Freddy Garcia

Other than extending the contract of ace C.C. Sabathia, the New York Yankees have yet to make a move to improve their starting rotation for 2012.

They'll surely make some sort of move, as the back end of their rotation is shaky with the enigmatic A.J. Burnett in place - although the team is listening to offers on him and could move him if they're willing to eat a substantial amount of the contract.

The team has shown interest in acquiring John Danks from the White Sox, and if they can part with the right prospect, it sounds like a deal could be made.

Oakland Athletics

1. Gio Gonzalez
2. Brandon McCarthy
3. Dallas Braden
4. Brett Anderson
5. Guillermo Moscoso

Gio Gonzalez's name has been thrown around as a probable trade target about as much as almost any name out there.

But with the Athletics' asking price apparently greatly exceeding any of the suitors out there, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him start the season in Oakland, even if he doesn't finish the season there.

Philadelphia Phillies

1. Roy Halladay
2. Cliff Lee
3. Cole Hamels
4. Vance Worley
5. Joe Blanton

The Philadelphia Phillies' biggest move in the starting rotation will probably be the subtraction of Roy Oswalt, as the team appears ready to let him move onto his next opportunity.

Even without Oswalt, the Phillies still have one of the most intimidating rotations in the league with Halladay, Lee and Hamels anchoring the staff.

Pittsburgh Pirates

1. Charlie Morton
2. Kevin Correia
3. Erik Bedard
4. James McDonald
5. Gerrit Cole

Putting Gerrit Cole in the end of the Pirates rotation on Opening Day does seem like quite a stretch considering it was only a matter of six months ago that he was drafted first overall by Pittsburgh.

He appears to be a fairly MLB-ready prospect however, and while Opening Day might be a stretch, it wouldn't be a total surprise to see him with the Pirates at some point in 2012.

San Diego Padres

1. Mat Latos
2. Tim Stauffer
3. Dustin Moseley
4. Corey Luebke
5. Bartolo Colon

Coming off a relatively disappointing 2011 season where he went 9-14, Mat Latos will look to rebound in 2012, as he leads the San Diego Padres rotation throughout the season.

San Francisco Giants

1. Tim Lincecum
2. Matt Cain
3. Madison Bumgarner
4. Ryan Vogelsong
5. Eric Surkamp

Having traded Jonathan Sanchez to the Kansas City Royals this offseason, the San Francisco Giants will look to Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong to anchor the back end of the rotation, as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain lead things off at the front.

Seattle Mariners

1. Felix Hernandez
2. Michael Pineda
3. Jason Vargas
4. Blake Beavan
5. Danny Hultzen

With Felix Hernandez leading the Seattle Mariners as their unquestioned ace, the rest of the rotation is a number of young pitchers who have potential to eat up quality innings.

Michael Pineda won nine games and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting this year, while Jason Vargas has been mentioned as a potential trade target and may not spend the entire season with the Mariners.

St. Louis Cardinals

1. Adam Wainwright
2. Chris Carpenter
3. Jaime Garcia
4. Rich Harden
5. Kyle Lohse

The St. Louis Cardinals experienced the high of a World Series championship this fall, as they knocked off the Texas Rangers in dramatic fashion, and are now experiencing a bit of a low, as franchise player Albert Pujols recently signed a 10 year deal with the Angels.

The Cardinals will still be competitive in 2012, but will certainly take on a different look on both sides of the game.

With one free agent pitcher likely to be signed at some point before spring training, the Cardinals could target a pitcher like Rich Harden as they look to repeat their most recent successes.

Tampa Bay Rays

1. James Shields
2. David Price
3. Jeremy Hellickson
4. Matt Moore
5. Wade Davis

There aren't expected to be many changes in the Tampa Bay Rays rotation, as James Shields and David Price will look to solidify the top end of the rotation.

Jeremy Hellickson will head into 2012 looking to build on his 13-win season this year in which he took home Rookie of the Year honors.

Texas Rangers

1. Derek Holland
2. Colby Lewis
3. Neftali Feliz
4. Yu Darvish
5. Alexi Ogando

With C.J. Wilson departing for division rival Los Angeles, the Texas Rangers will need to make a big move in the market to solidify their rotation.

With Joe Nathan entering the Rangers bullpen, it appears Neftali Feliz will have a permanent role in the rotation, while the team also appears to be on a list for the services of Yu Darvish

Toronto Blue Jays

1. Ricky Romero
2. Brandon Morrow
3. Henderson Alvarez
4. Brett Cecil
5. Dustin McGowan

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be working internally on their rotation, as their free-agent focus continues to be on other position player needs.

A 15-game winner in 2011, 27-year-old Ricky Romero appears poised to continue his ascent among the best young pitchers in the league.

Washington Nationals

1, Steven Strasburg
2. Roy Oswalt
3. Jordan Zimmerman
4. Chein-Ming Wang
5. Brad Peacock

The Washington Nationals have the best young ace in the league with Steven Strasburg, but appear eager to add a seasoned veteran to the top of the rotation along with him.

Roy Oswalt's desire for a three-year contract could prevent him from signing with the Nationals, but if concessions can be made on both sides, Oswalt could find a new home within the same division in 2012.