Could this years Jays Rotation be better than last year?

[jalenrose#5]

Barring injuries and depending on whether the injured pitchers come back to their previous forms, I think the Jays could have a better rotation than last year. I know Doc is gone, but I think 2 thru 5 this year, they will be better.

Reasoning...

Marcum- back to the rotation, probably our no. 1
Romero- A year's worth of experience under his belt, hopefully last year was just the start.
Morrow- A full year as a starter, has filthy stuff, needs to learn control
McGowan- If healthy, probably has the best arm on the team
Zep- Another year under his belt, could help him..or possibly make him worse, we'll see.
Litsch- I don't know the health situation right now.

vs

Doc
Romero
Richmond
Tallet
Cecil/Zep/Purcey

Thoughts on the potential rotation

[xAIRNESSx]

Am I crazy for thinking that Rzepczynski is going to be a stud someday? I just love his demeanor.

[Randle McMurphy]

No. The downgrade from Roy Halladay to whoever replaces him as the #1 will be immense.

That said, it's still an average to above-average rotation compared to most teams in the majors.

[evilRyu]

there's way too many question marks.. We don't know how Marcum/McG is going to respond after coming back from surgery.. same goes for Litsch.. Will Romero/Zep go through the sophomore slump? However, if everything goes well, I agree that this could be an above-average rotation

[squeekysneakers]

So far the rotation looks good this spring. Morrow, Marcum, Rzepchinski, and Romero have thrown the ball well. If McGowan comes back into form I think the rotation will actually be surprisingly competent this year. Losing Halladay is going to be a tough adjustment, but I like that Anthopolous has strengthened the bullpen a great deal. Downs, Frasor, Gregg are lockdown type pitchers out of he pen and could, theoretically give you an inning each every other day. Tallet is in there as well as Accardo. I mean this team has potential to really surprise some teams out there.

I don't think we are going to be as bad as people think we are going to be. Spring Training doesn't mean anything of substance but these pitchers could definitely surprise some people.

[kavan]

Better overal maybe get as many if not more wins yes. A go to shut down guy like DOC, we will have to see who has the best year. I honestly think we will contend in games but will not have a guy that can hold a team to Zero and be a for shore win like Doc was. Then again you never know when guys spring out and have career years.

[fliszt25]

The 4 that I like thus far are: Marcum, Morrow, Rzep, and Romero. Marcum has the potential to be lights out as long as he is healthy. I still remember the days when he would give up just about one long ball every contest and still handily dominate! Rzep is underated in my opinion and quietly did well last year.

The guy I DO NOT want starting is Tallet. I don't know if I'd even call him overated as a starter, just over-considered. He's good for middle relief and even in that role, I've never thought he was a clutch guy in the pen. Hopefully, either Cecil or Mills or even Drabek make some strides to challenge for the 5th spot/others if the above get injured or don't pan out. Even a guy like Robert Ray impressed me a bit throughout some of his trial starts.

As for the bullpen, there are concerns. I'm kinda glad that AA signed alot of guys because anyone could see that guys like Carlson were degrading. Thus, bring on the Merkins, the Broadways and the Registers! The only signing I'm not crazy about is Gregg. Maybe he'll pan out but that is way too much money.

Anyways, I do believe that our starting staff has increased in depth relative to last year. The addition of Morrow if he pans out is one reason. Plus, Kyle Drabek is a good prospect. Finally, who knows what will happen with McGowan.

[satyr9]

If you got the old Marcum, the old McGowan, and a fixed Morrow you might be a marginally better rotation overall, but there's not a snowball's chance in hell you get all three of those at the same time. Without that large a confluence of events, the loss of Doc is way too huge. I'm just hoping to see enough out of Morrow, Romero, Cecil, and Rzep to feel like there are some quality starters around for the next couple years.

And I don't know where I'd put them in the whole AL, but it's 4th at best in the East. If Tillman and Matusz pitch well, it could very quickly be the clear cut bottom of the division, but I'm not expecting the O's young guys to just dominate from the get go.

[dennistokyo]

I've read that next year's draft class is unusually strong. If that's the case, I wouldn't be overly bothered with a last place finish. This year's rotation won't be better than the one last year but everyone is young and cheap so it'll be fun to watch. I'll be happy if three of them establish themselves with solid seasons--and that's asking a lot.

[CapeCrusader]

Loosing Doc his a huge blow...but if McGowan can get back to the right track with his health. Him along side Marcum and Romero as our 1-3 will be good.