Rating the potential AL playoff rotations
- USA TODAY Sports sizes up the potential playoff rotations
- Power pitching wins in the postseason, and the Tigers have a lot of it
- Rangers' Yu Darvish will be on the big stage
If pitching truly rules the postseason, consider these playoffs a crapshoot. The five teams likely to comprise the field in the American League include several with rotation mysteries. USA TODAY Sports' Paul White take a crack at sizing them up (statistics through Sunday):
1. Tigers
Projected rotation: Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez
Forecast: Strikeout artist Scherzer has been shut down with shoulder fatigue but hopes to be back in time. But he could easily slide to fourth in this rotation. If it's one game you need to win, Verlander is the man. But Fister is 18-10 with a 2.89 ERA since joining the team in the middle of last season. Power pitching wins in the postseason, and Detroit starters have the highest strikeout rate among playoff teams.
2. Rangers
Projected rotation: Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison,Ryan Dempster, Derek Holland
Forecast: Now is the time for Darvish to live up to his big contract. Everyone else in this rotation has big-time moments they can point to, but Darvish — 221 strikeouts in 191.1 innings — is the one capable of dominating. He's the only one without major league playoff experience but has plenty of big-stage exposure, winning the World Baseball Classic and the Japan Series. He has been sharper recently after a mediocre midseason stretch.
3. Yankees
Projected rotation: CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes
Forecast: Sabathia has the career credentials, but Kuroda has been the team's most consistent pitcher. The Yankees will need both to pitch well if they're to last long in the postseason. Counting on Pettitte's postseason track record is a gamble as he comes back from a year off and had physical issues during the season. At least he should be rested.
4. Athletics
Projected rotation: Brett Anderson, Tom Milone, Jarrod Parker, Dan Straily
Forecast: Getting Anderson back from a strained side muscle — no sure thing — would keep Oakland from an all-rookie rotation (Travis Blackley would be the other option). The differing looks of the A's kids have helped baffle opponents, especially in Oakland's spacious home ballpark, but there's no telling how they'll react in the spotlight and after a long season. Milone and Parker have had especially effective stretches, but manager Bob Melvin also is quick to go to the bullpen to keep them from being overexposed.
5. Orioles
Projected rotation: Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, Miguel Gonzalez, Joe Saunders
Forecast: No team is more in need of avoiding the one-game wild-card playoff, where a proven ace is almost a necessity. The closest thing to an ace in this group is Hammel, but he's at the team's instructional league site in Florida trying to hurry back from a knee injury. The rotation has been in such flux for weeks that manager Buck Showalter has felt comfortable naming his starters a couple of days in advance.