AL East Pitching Rankings - Rotation and Bullpen

We go over the 5 American League East teams and assign grades to both their starting rotation and their relief pitchers.

Baltimore Orioles
Rotation = D, Bullpen = B-

Baltimore had one of the best bullpens in baseball last season, but there are some warning signs here that should make them worse off in 2013. This young team won't have the starting pitching they need with their group of Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta, and the bullpen won't be able to pick up the slack of severe overwork this time around. Last season's top-end production from the bullpen after too many innings shouldn't be expected to be the norm.

Boston Red Sox
Rotation = B+, Bullpen = A-

The Red Sox dealt with big injuries to their pitchers throughout the entire 2012 campaign and should have much better luck this time around. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are #1 starters who should be better and healthier this year, while Ryan Dempster and perhaps John Lackey at the back of the rotation should win some key games for the Red Sox. Boston added former Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan who has been one of the best in baseball for a while and he'll team with Andrew Bailey, Koji Uehara, Daniel Bard, and Alfredo Aceves to form one of the most reliable bullpens in baseball.

New York Yankees
Rotation = B+, Bullpen = B

The Yankees will be decidedly better with their starting pitching past the mid-way point when Michael Pineda gets healthy, but for now they still have aces C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Andy Pettite around to win games. Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova are a bit iffy at this point but the offense should put up enough runs to win games no matter who starts at the back-end. Mariano Rivera returns as the Yankees closer but it's tough to tell how effective he'll be after missing a big chunk of action last season, but the rest of this bullpen looks good with David Robertson, Boone Logan, and Joba Chamberlain all capable of getting key outs.

Tampa Bay Rays
Rotation = B+, Bullpen = A-

Tampa Bay is a team that wins because of their pitching and this squad always sports an excellent bullpen no matter how poorly the guys they acquire pitched in previous seasons. I've learned to just given Tampa Bay an A- or better every year and not even bother looking into the names since this team always produces. The starting rotation should be phenomenal with David Price, Jeremy Hellickson, and Matt Moore all possessing #1-type stuff. Roberto Hernandez (once known as Fausto Carmona), Alex Cobb, and Jeff Niemann make up the rest of what should be one of the best statistical rotations in baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays
Rotation = B-, Bullpen = C+

Although some MLB experts are high on the Blue Jays this year, I see lots of guys who are going to regress. R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, and Mark Buehrle are all National League pitchers who will take a big step back now that they are in the AL East, while Brandon Morrow still hasn't developed consistency. The bullpen was one of the worst statistically last season but should improve now that Toronto has starters that are capable of going deep into games.