Gio Gonzalez Traded: Re-Ranking All of the NL East Rotations After the Deal

The National League East is loaded with pitching.

From veterans like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Tim Hudson, to the young guns like Stephen Strasburg, Vance Worley and any one of the Braves young starters, the division definitely has stated its case as the strongest on the hill.

I think it's even safe to say that no other division has the type of pitching, top to bottom, that the N.L. East does.

With the recent acquisition of Gio Gonzalez by the Washington Nationals, the rankings of each of the division's starting rotations changes just a little bit.

Here's a look at how each team's entire rotation ranks in the division. These rankings will include a sixth starter because we know that no team's five starters go a full year without an injury. So, it's important to know who will be inserted should there be an injury.

5. New York Mets

You would think with all the money the New York Mets have spent lately, they would have a better pitching staff.

The problem is, they don't.

Their so-called ace, Johan Santana, has had only one good season in New York, and that was his first year in 2008. Last year, he was out with injury, so this year, it seems he has to prove again he has the stuff to be an ace.

Dillon Gee did impress in his first full season last year, going 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA and 114 strikeouts. However, a 1.38 WHIP is not something to be proud of. If Gee can avoid the sophomore slump, he should be a legitimate No. 2 starter for the Mets.

The rest of the rotation is full of pitchers that normally would be No. 5 starters on most other teams if they would make the starting rotation in the first place. Mike Pelfrey had a decent year in 2010, but has never had overly impressive stuff, as he's only had two winning seasons in his big-league career.

Jonathon Niese is at best a .500 pitcher that will get a decent number of strikeouts, but I wouldn't bet the farm on him doing too much.

At the No. 5 slot is R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer who fools hitters in the early innings, but usually gives up the farm by the midway point.

Chris Schwinden seems to be the long-reliever or the No. 6 guy who will spend time in Triple-A until a starter goes down.

This year, the Mets won't see much improvement from their rotation. However, next year will be a different story, as Zack Wheeler (acquired in the Carlos Beltran trade) and Matt Harvey are expected to hit the show. With those two, the Mets rotation will bring it back to respectability.

4. Florida Marlins

The Miami Marlins made huge strides this year with the free-agent signing of Mark Buehrle. The problem is, the Marlins still have a long way to go to reach the level of the other three teams in the division.

With Josh Johnson at the top of the rotation, the Marlins have a legitimate ace who can win 18-plus games and come close to 200 strikeouts.

After that, the Marlins have decent guys to fill their No. 2 and 3 spots in Buehrle and Ricky Nolasco.

Buehrle moves to the National League, so he should see his numbers improve since he doesn't have to see the designated hitters every game.

Nolasco tends to give up a lot of runs, so if his offense isn't clicking, then he's likely not going to pick up a win. With Buehrle coming in, this provides Nolasco with the opportunity to just settle in and pitch and not have to worry about being a No. 1 or 2 guy, depending on if Johnson can stay healthy.

Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad round out the Marlins rotation and are good bottom of the rotation guys.

Sanchez gets strikeouts—202 a year ago—but doesn't get the decisions. Volstad, on the other hand, went 5-13 last year, so he could find himself on the outside looking in, if Wade LeBlanc can show something during spring training.

What separates the Marlins from the top teams in the division is their lack of depth. When the No. 1 or 2 starter goes down with injury, there is a huge gap in their replacement. The best rotations don't have that.

3. Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals get better every year.

Last year, they improved the offense with the signing of Jayson Werth. This year, they acquired Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A's, although they had to give up a little bit of their depth to do so.

At the top of the rotation is the phenom Stephen Strasburg, who pitched a little last year, less than a year after having Tommy John surgery.

It's safe to say that Strasburg is the most exciting pitcher in baseball. He has the ability to strike out every hitter he faces. If his arm can stay healthy for a full season, then Strasburg could be a legitimate Cy Young candidate.

Gonzalez immediately moves into the No. 2 role for the Nats. He goes from a pitcher's park in Oakland to a more hitter-friendly park in Washington, but that shouldn't make too much a difference for him. He went 16-12 last year with 197 strikeouts and should see his numbers improve.

At the No. 3 spot is the veteran John Lannan, who will make 25-35 starts during the course of the year. He'll give you innings, but will age come into play this year?

Jordan Zimmerman is the biggest wild card of the bunch, as he has tons of potential. This year, he should see his record go above .500 with 140-plus strikeouts.

The No. 5 spot is up in the air at this point. Will it be Chien-Meng Wang or Ross Detwiler? The latter has the higher upside and should get the starting spot out of spring training, but don't be surprised to see if the veteran Wang wins the spot.

2. Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves have the deepest farm system in terms of arms that Major League Baseball has ever seen.

With nine guys that are ready to be a part of a big-league rotation, the Braves have no shortage of pitchers.

The one fallback for the Braves is that, other than Tim Hudson, they're still young.

Hudson will anchor the rotation and continue to be known as one of the most durable pitchers in all of baseball. The right-hander is expected to win 16-plus games each year and take the ball every fifth day.

After Hudson, the Braves have a bunch of No. 2 pitchers in Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and Brandon Beachy.

Hanson is coming off an injury, so there's a wild card with him, but once healthy, he should return to form and his big strikeout numbers.

Jurrjens is another wild card, as nobody is positive whether he'll be in the rotation to start the year. With all the trade rumors swirling around him, it's very likely he'll be in another uniform. If he's not, the Braves are hoping the get the first-half version of Jurrjens from last year. Had he continued his first-half form last year in the second half, the Braves' September collapse likely wouldn't have happened and the St. Louis Cardinals wouldn't be celebrating a World Series title.

Beachy has become a legitimate No. 2 starter, which is surprising considering he wasn't even considered as one of the Braves pitching prospects. But when an injury happened, Beachy took his opportunity and ran with it.

The No. 5 spot could go to one of many pitchers. It could go to Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino or even Kris Medlin. Nobody's sure what will happen.

If Jurrjens is traded, then that makes things a little easier, as Minor and Teheran would likely be the two put in the rotation, with Medlin being the long-relief guy. But eventually, the Braves are going to have to find a place for Delgado, Vizcaino and recent draft pick Sean Gilmartin, although Vizcaino could likely stay in the bullpen where he saw success last year.

Any way you look at it, the Braves are set in starting pitching for years to come. They have the potential to be as good as the rotation of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Steve Avery, but potential is one thing and performance is another.

1. Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of the top two rotations in all of baseball, so it's no surprise that they're at the top of the N.L. East.

With the two best pitchers in baseball in Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, the Phillies have made sure no offense gets a night off.

Both pitchers are aces and a Cy Young candidate, combining for 36 wins and 458 strikeouts. If that's not dominance, I don't know what is.

After Halladay and Lee is Cole Hamels, who has seen his own share of success. Last year, he was 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA and 194 strikeouts. He used to be the No. 1 starter in Philadelphia until Lee and Halladay came to town. But, is that really a problem for the Phillies? Having three No. 1-quality starters puts pressure on other teams every night.

At the No. 4 starter spot is last year's surprise pitcher, Vance Worley, who went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA last year. With no pressure on him in the No. 4 spot, Worley can concentrate on consistency and put wins up on the board for the Phillies.

The No. 5 spot will again be a battle between Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick. Whichever pitcher shows the best in Spring Training will get the nod, while the other will be relegated to the bullpen for long-relief.

Regardless, the Phillies will have no problem keeping their opponent's runs scored down.