Yankees Preseason Pitching Matchup- The Rest of the AL East

Previously, we took a look at how the Yankees pitching compared with the Boston Red Sox; now we look at the rest of the AL East division.

Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore finished last season with a team ERA of 4.22 and WHIP of 1.36, which ranked 19th out of 30 teams in MLB. The Yankees finished 15th in this same category last season. This offseason, the Orioles traded Yovani Gallardo, who had his worst season last year, to Seattle. The Orioles also let Vance Worley walk in free agency, though there is a chance they re-sign him.

Without Gallardo or Worley, the Orioles starting rotation is projected to feature Kevin Gausman, Chris Tillman, Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez and Dylan Bundy. Gausman, 26, posted a 3.61 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP last season, but only went 9-12. Tillman put up similar numbers with a 3.77 ERA and a WHIP of 1.28. However, he fared better in the win-loss column going 16-6.

Miley split time with both the Mariners and Orioles last season but did much worse with Baltimore. With Seattle, he logged a 4.98 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Upon the trade, he went the rest of the season with a 6.17 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP, only going 2-5 with the Orioles. Jimenez went 8-12 with a 5.44 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP last season. Bundy pitched in 16 appearances going 10-6 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Orioles could also go with Logan Verrett or Mike Wright as starters should Bundy not hold down the spot.

Orioles Bullpen

Speaking of the bullpen, the Orioles could turn to Verrett or Wright for bullpen duty. They also have veteran Brad Brach, Oliver Drake, T.J. McFarland, Jason Garcia and Darren O’Day as relievers. Setup man Mychal Givens, who put up a 3.13 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP, will also be featured in the ‘pen. Closer Zach Britton will be looked to for putting away games. He had a .54 ERA and .84 WHIP last season, which was the MLB’s best among closers.

Because the Yankees and Orioles’ starting rotation are very similar to what they had last season, I would give the starting advantage to the Yankees since that’s how it turned out last year. However, I would give the bullpen advantage to the Orioles because Britton does make a huge difference with those numbers. Alternatively, the Yankees may pull ahead with high contributions from Chapman and Betances.

Toronto Blue Jays

Shifting to Toronto, the Jays have a very promising starting rotation as compared to the Orioles. Aaron Sanchez, who had a great season in 2016 after going 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA, will most likely start the pitching off. Following close behind will be veteran J.A. Happ, who went 20-4 last season and posted a 3.18 ERA. The obvious question is whether or not he can win that many games again as he had never done that before. And then there’s Marcus Stroman, who struggled pretty badly last season. He only went 9-10 and put up a 4.37 ERA, which was the team’s highest ERA amongst starting pitchers.

Fortunately for Toronto, Stroman is still very young, and his ceiling is still very high. Fourth in the rotation will be Marco Estrada. He put up a 3.48 ERA and broke even with a 9-9 record, but he did have a 1.12 WHIP. He will be looking to have a bounce-back season and contribute with more wins.

Rounding out the rotation is Francisco Liriano, who was traded to the Blue Jays from the Pirates at last season’s trade deadline. After being dealt, he only went 2-2 and a 2.92 ERA and a WHIP of 1.46. The Jays have to hope Liriano can put up better numbers within a larger sample size of starts. Toronto let 42-year-old pitcher R.A. Dickey walk to the Braves this offseason. He did struggle quite a bit last season so it may have been smart for them not to re-sign him.

Blue Jays Bullpen

As for the bullpen, the Blue Jays have many options. They have former starter Mike Bolsinger, Bo Schultz, Aaron Loup, Ryan Tepera and Dominic Leone. They also have two setup men they can turn to in Joseph Biagini and Jason Grilli. Looking to close games out is Roberto Osuna, who has been fantastic in his young career so far. Toronto let both relievers Brett Cecil and Joaquin Benoit walk in the offseason as well, so there are fewer options.

The Blue Jays have a strong starting rotation on paper and may give the Red Sox a run for their money in that category if everyone has a strong season. Because of this, they do have a distinct advantage over the Yankees’ starters. For bullpens, I would give the Yankees the edge because this is where the Jays have their weak spot. Although Osuna is great, the relief pitching is still a bit iffy for Toronto.

Tampa Bay Rays

Arguably, the weakest team in the AL East is the Tampa Bay Rays. Their starting pitching, while promising, has never quite panned out. Many of their starters have been predicted over the last few seasons to be traded, yet that hasn’t come to fruition yet. Chris Archer is one of them. He will lead to the rotation so long as he hasn’t been dealt to a competing team. He went 9-19, his worst record ever, and had a 4.02 ERA, which was his highest since he came into the league in 2012. But, he did have a 1.12 WHIP.

Following Archer is another long-time trade target, Jake Odorizzi. He had a more promising record at 10-6 and a 3.69 ERA. Alex Cobb came off of a Tommy John surgery in 2015 and only went 1-2 in 2016 with an 8.59 ERA. He has also been a much-rumored trade target by teams with starting pitching needs. Following him is Matt Andriese who evened out at 8-8 and a 4.37 ERA with a good 1.22 WHIP. Finishing out the rotation is youngster Blake Snell who posted a 6-8 record and a 3.54 ERA. The Rays recently traded starter Drew Smyly to the Mariners. They also acquired Dodgers prospect Jose De Leon who could find himself in the Majors if he does well enough during Spring Training.

Rays Bullpen

Tampa has been keen on bolstering their bullpen for quite a while now. This offseason, they signed ex-Ranger Shawn Tolleson for relief duties. They have 3 starters in their ‘pen in Erasmo Ramirez, Jacob Faria and Eddie Gamboa. The Rays also have Brad Boxberger and Enny Romero as viable relief options. They have two setup options in Danny Farquhar and Xavier Cedeno. Their closer, Alex Colomé, has been the talk of many trade rumors as of late but will most likely be there for the start of the 2017 season. He had a 1.02 WHIP and a 1.91 ERA last season.

Next: Yankees' Frazier Ranked Among Outfield Prospects

The Rays’ starting pitching is unpredictable because some of their starters may not be around for most, if not all of the Rays’ season due to trade speculation. While none of the rumored pitchers have actually been traded, it’s certainly possible they will be at some point.

The Rays do have talented starters but the lack of talent to support them and get them wins is a big problem. I would say just based on the ERAs of the Rays’ starters that the Yankees have the advantage in starting pitching. And while the Rays have upgraded their ‘pen, the Yankees also have the upper-hand in relief pitching. The Rays were a last place team in the division last year for a reason.

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Yankees Preseason Pitching Matchup: The Rest of the AL East

By Robert Husby | Jan 29, 2017