bdj610's 2010 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my End of the Year All-Star Teams. Now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my American League relief corps:

• Daniel Bard, Red Sox
• Neftali Feliz, Rangers
• Mariano Rivera, Yankees
• Joakim Soria, Royals
• Rafael Soriano, Rays

and the National League bullpen:

• Mike Adams, Padres
• Heath Bell, Padres
• Carlos Marmol, Cubs
• Billy Wagner, Braves
• Brian Wilson, Giants

So, who would they be relieving???

Starting with the American League six-man rotation, we have (in alphabetical order):

• Trevor Cahill, Athletics (18-8. 2.97 ERA, 118 K's)
• Felix Hernandez, Mariners (13-12, 2.27 ERA, 232 K's)
• Jon Lester, Red Sox (19-9. 3.25 ERA, 225 K's)
• David Price, Rays (19-6, 2.72 ERA, 188 K's)
• CC Sabathia, Yankees (21-7, 3.18 ERA, 197 K's)
• Justin Verlander, Tigers (18-9, 3.37 ERA, 219 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Clay Buchholz (17-7, 2.33, 120 K's), Ervin Santana (17-10, 3.92, 169 K's), Phil Hughes (18-8, 4.19, 146 K's), Carl Pavano (17-11, 3.75, 117 K's), Cliff Lee (12-9, 3.18, 185 K's), and probably the toughest cut to make, since he and King Felix had totally similar numbers, Jered Weaver (13-12, 3.01, 151 K's). This starting rotation screams dominant. I could have plugged any of the honorable mentions onto this rotation, and it probably wouldn't miss a beat.

In the National League, my All-Star six man rotation includes:

• Roy Halladay, Phillies (21-10, 2.44 ERA, 219 K's)
• Tim Hudson, Braves (17-9, 2.83 ERA, 139 K's)
• Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies (19-8, 2.88 ERA, 214 K's)
• Josh Johnson, Marlins (11-6, 2.30 ERA, 186 K's)
• Tim Lincecum, Giants (16-10, 3.43 ERA, 231 K's)
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals (20-11, 2.42 ERA, 213 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Chris Carpenter (16-9, 3.32 ERA, 179 K's), Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.76 ERA, 193 K's), Clayton Kershaw (13-10, 2.91 ERA, 212 K's), Ryan Dempster (15-12, 3.85 ERA, 208 K's), and Bronson Arroyo (17-10, 3.88 ERA, 121 K's). Imagine how powerful a team could be if they had all of these guys in one rotation. Unstoppable comes to mind.

So the pitching staffs are done. Next, we'll get to the position players. The first step is to ensure that every team has a representative, regardless of what position he plays. At this point, six AL teams and eight teams from the NL need to have a player. I have a few people in mind. Who will they be? Tune in some time tomorrow and find out.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama