Do the Jays have the most underappreciated rotation in baseball?

Question

This is the companion question to the bullpen one.

Roy Halladay--Enough said

AJ Burnett--Dominant when healthy.....could opt out after this season, so he will be pushing for a big season

Shaun Marcum--4.15 ERA means NOTHING. He was arguably the best pitcher in the rotation for a good 2 months...first season as a full time starter and got fatigued in September.

Dustin McGowan--Loads of talent eventually paid off, threw a one hitter, struggled early but dominated late, posting a 4.08 ERA

Jesse Litsch--Called up from AA, played strong all season, ending with an ERA of 3.81 in 20 starts.

Roy Halladay--Enough said

AJ Burnett--Dominant when healthy.....could opt out after this season, so he will be pushing for a big season

Shaun Marcum--4.15 ERA means NOTHING. He was arguably the best pitcher in the rotation for a good 2 months...first season as a full time starter and got fatigued in September.

Dustin McGowan--Loads of talent eventually paid off, threw a one hitter, struggled early but dominated late, posting a 4.08 ERA

Jesse Litsch--Called up from AA, played strong all season, ending with an ERA of 3.81 in 20 starts.

***NOTE***
By underappreciated I mean how they did last season, not how they have performed over a few years. For example, yes, Marcum has only 39 career starts (38 last season), but he also accumulated a lot of his ERA in the bullpen. He started last season there and got shelled, then moved into the rotation and took off.

***NOTE***
By underappreciated I mean how they did last season, not how they have performed over a few years. For example, yes, Marcum has only 39 career starts (38 last season), but he also accumulated a lot of his ERA in the bullpen. He started last season there and got shelled, then moved into the rotation and took off.

Answer 1

They had the second-best ERA in the American League last season, but they get little credit for it. I'm biased as a Jays fan, but I think they are definitely undervalued.

If Burnett is healthy, then he and Halladay form a 1-2 punch as good as any team has. If Marcum can repeat his performance form this year, even with the late swoon, he's still a good mid-rotation guy. McGowan is a future number 1 or 2 starter, and should have a very good 2008 season. I'm not sold yet on Litsch, but he definitely impressed me in the fifth spot. I'm just worried that it was a one-season thing like a 1985 Tom Filer, but hopefully he proves me wrong.

The problem for the Jays is that they need to score runs. I know pitching wins games, but you do at least some offense, and they were only 10th in runs last season. If they can improve that (Eckstein should help, but they need more), then they could do well this season.

Answer 2

Underappreciated is not the word.....unproven is. Halladay & Burnett are a great 1-2 punch WHEN HEALTHY. Neither have proven they can go a season and a half straight without getting nicked up. Until last season, the same was said about Josh Beckett, so you never know. The other 3 got a good taste of the majors this past season, and it should help them this upcoming season. IF all 5 can hit 28-32 starts this year, they will be really good and they can compete with the Yanks and Red Sox, but especially the Yanks. I say that because of the Yanks 3 rookie "saviors", Hughes was banged up most of the season, Joba was used primarily as a reliever, & Kennedy didn't see that much action. The Yanks 3 have more upside, but for this season I would take Marcum, McGowan, & Litsch.

Answer 3

I don't know about underappreciated, but still good.

Roy Halladay is on of the top 10 pitchers in baseball - top 5 in the AL. He's good for 15 wins, a 3.20 ERA and 120+ Ks a year. More wins and Ks if healthy for the whole year.

A.J. Burnett would be the ace on some teams, but they still don't have as good of a 1-2 punch as the Red Sox have. If he stays healthy he could get 13+ wins, his usual ERA in the 3s and a ton of Ks.

If Dustin McGowan continues his improvement he will be good. He should be a number 2 so that is good considering it is unlikely that Halladay and Burnett both stay healthy. The still don't have the kind of 1-2-3 punch that the Sox have.

If Shaun Marcum keeps improving and Halladay and Burnett stay healthy the Jays will have one of the best 1-4 rotations in baseball.

I don't know about Jesse Litsch. If he is good than yes he is underappreciated. He doesn't get much pub.

Answer 4

I think that you are a bit premature with your question. Yes, Halladay is one of the best, but I have issues with your other four.

Burnett has one of the best arms in the game, but he is hardly a sure thing when he takes the mound. He has pitched a no-hitter, and can strike out ten batters a game, but he can also take the mound and get hammered or walk 8 batters in four innings.

Marcum, McGowan, and Litsch all have bright futures, but let them have a couple of good years before you call them "underappreciated". Marcum has only 39 career starts and his career ERA is 4.29. McGowan has great stuff, but he has only 37 career starts and was awful in two short-season trials in '05 and '06. As for Litsch, he has a bright future, but he had only 20 starts as you say.

To be underappreciated, these guys have to be good for a few years, it's not like they have been great for a long time without anyone noticing. If they have a full season of 30 or more starts and have solid years, and no one recognizes how good they are, then I think underappreciated will be the word for them.

Unfortunately, they won't be able to compare with the Yankees "Big Three" of Chamberlain, Hughes, and Kennedy, who with the exception of Kennedy, are 3-4 years younger than McGowan and Marcum, and both are younger than Litcsch as well. Kennedy just turned 23, so he is the old man of the group, and just 3 months older than Litsch.

Answer 5

The Jays could win the AL Wild card if Halladay and Burnett are both healthy. 35 - 37 wins right thier.

They have a above average rotation. I would call it underapprecaited since last year they had the 2nd best ERA in the AL and noone talked about it at all.

Note : If Wells and Burnett are healthy they could have a 86 game winning team.

Answer 6

I wouldn't say the rotation is underappreciated. I heard a lot of people talk last year about how we may have one of the best pitching rotations in baseball. Maybe a lot of fans dont recognize it, but I heard from a lot of broadcasters and sports commentators about our good rotation.

But I live in Toronto, so I guess I hear it more often than most. I still havent bought into Jesse Litsch tho.

Answer 7

I think they have the most under appreciated team because they are in the AL East with Boston and New York Yankees the two power houses in all of sports...