bdj610's 2012 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams...The Starting Pitchers

Yesterday, I named the bullpens for each of my 2012 End of the Year All-Star Teams. Now it's time to name the starters.

To recap, here is my American League relief corps:

• Ryan Cook, Athletics
• Jim Johnson, Orioles
• Joe Nathan, Rangers
• Fernando Rodney, Rays
• Rafael Soriano, Yankees

and the National League bullpen:

• Mitchell Boggs, Cardinals
• Aroldis Chapman, Reds
• Craig Kimbrel, Braves
• Jason Motte, Cardinals
• Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies

So, who would they be relieving???

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

• Matt Harrison, Rangers (18-11. 3.29 ERA, 133 K's)
• Felix Hernandez, Mariners (13-9, 3.06 ERA, 223 K's)
• David Price, Rays (20-5, 2.56 ERA, 205 K's)
• Chris Sale, White Sox (17-8, 3.05 ERA, 192 K's)
• Justin Verlander, Tigers (17-8, 2.64 ERA, 239 K's)
• Jered Weaver (20-5, 2.81 ERA, 142 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to (meaning, if I had more space, I'd would have added) Hiroki Kuroda (16-11, 3.32, 167 K's), Max Scherzer (16-7, 3.74, 231 K's), Yu Darvish (16-9, 3.90, 221 K's), Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.23, 165 K's), and CC Sabathia (15-6, 3.38, 197 K's). Teams cringe just thinking about facing just one of these six aces, imagine if they were all on the same team.  Pitching numbers were lower across the board in 2012, but this starting rotation screams still 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:

• Matt Cain, Giants (16-5, 2.79 ERA, 193 K's)
• Johnny Cueto, Reds (19-9, 2.78 ERA, 170 K's)
• R. A. Dickey, Mets (20-6, 2.73 ERA, 230 K's)
• Gio Gonzalez, Nationals (21-8, 2.89 ERA, 207 K's)
• Cole Hamels, Phillies (17-6, 3.05 ERA, 216 K's)
• Clayton Kershaw, Giants (14-9, 2.53 ERA, 229 K's)

Honorable mentions go out to Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA, 143 K's), Mat Latos (14-4, 3.48 ERA, 185 K's), Yovani Gallardo (16-9, 3.66 ERA, 204 K's), Tim Hudson (16-7, 3.62 ERA, 102 K's), and probably the toughest cut to make, Lance Lynn (18-7, 3.78 ERA, 180 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, five 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