Rotation Rankings

Previous Rankings: Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Week Six
As of 5/12/11

For Week Six's Rankings, click here.

Week Five
As of 5/5/11

30. (LW: 30) Chicago Cubs (14-16, 5th NL Central)
This Week: 3-3, 5.08 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 49.3 GS, 1.59 K/BB, 6.23 K/9
Season (165.1 IP): 8-13, 5.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 45.6 GS, 2.25 K/BB, 7.95 K/9
A 5.08 ERA was actually an improvement for the Cubs' rotation this week, bringing their season mark down to 5.72. Possibly the worst start in MLB this season came on April 28 from Ryan Dempster, who gave up seven earned runs (on four hits and four walks) in only a third of an inning--a 185.29 ERA.

29. (LW: 23) Cincinnati Reds (15-15)
This Week: 0-3, 7.92 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 39.8 GS, 1.57 K/BB, 7/92 K/9
Season (162.2 IP): 9-10, 5.37 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 47.8 GS, 2.48 K/BB, 8.24 K/9
Two Reds' starters (Travis Wood and Mike Leake) failed to make it out of the fourth inning in the past six games, and the rotation pitched to a 7.92 ERA this week. Their 1.40 season WHIP is pretty bad, but the 5.37 ERA for the season is even worse.

28. (LW: 28) Arizona Diamondbacks (13-16, 4th NL West)
This Week: 2-2, 4.58 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 49.7 GS, 1.43 K/BB, 4.58 K/9
Season (172.1 IP): 9-13, 5.33 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 46.7 GS, 1.98 K/BB, 6.74 K/9
It might not have translated into a great week record-wise (3-3), but Diamondback starting pitching had a decent week. The average starter went almost seven innings in each of the games, although Barry Enright's poor start last night put a damper on the optimism overall. If Arizona can get the type of pitching they got this week for the rest of the season, they will be more than happy. Unfortunately, that's unlikely to happen, so the D-backs will just have to hope this kind of pitching continues for as long as possible.

27. (LW: 27) Kansas City Royals (16-14, 2nd AL Central)
This Week: 1-2, 6.27 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 40.3 GS, 0.76 K/BB, 4.36 K/9
Season (172.1 IP): 8-11, 5.17 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 45.4 GS, 1.81 K/BB, 5.38 K/9
The Royals' starting staff turned in another terrible week, with a 6.27 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in six games. Each of the last four starters walked at least four batters in their outings, leading to a staff K/BB ratio of only 0.76 this week.

26. (LW: 25) New York Mets (12-18, 4th NL East)
This Week: 0-4, 4.54 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 47.7 GS, 2.10 K/BB, 5.30 K/BB
Season (172.2 IP): 8-14, 4.75 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 47.3 GS, 1.75 K/BB, 6.21 K/9
Despite Chris Young's seven shut-out innings in Philadelphia, the Mets rotation only managed a mediocre 4.54 ERA this week while striking out only 5.3 batters per nine innings. Their 1.43 WHIP this week was actually an improvement on their season total, but it's still below-average for NL teams.

25. (LW: 26) Minnesota Twins (11-18, 4th AL Central)
This Week: 2-4, 4.39 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 44.7 GS, 1.00 K/BB, 3.14 K/9
Season (175.0 IP): 9-15, 4.73 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 47.8 GS, 1.67 K/BB, 5.40 K/9
Francisco Liriano's no-hitter Tuesday night saved the Twins' rotation from what otherwise would have been a down week. Carl Pavano and Nick Blackburn gave up 11 earned runs in 8.2 IP, for an ERA of 11.42.

24. (LW: 29) Houston Astros (12-18, 6th NL Central)
This Week: 2-2, 2.84 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 59.3 GS, 3.18 K/BB, 8.29 K/9
Season (177.0 IP): 6-13, 4.73 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 48.0 GS, 2.32 K/BB, 7.32 K/9
The 'Stros rotation just completed their best week of the season, with a 2.84 ERA and 1.08 WHIP this week. Wandy Rodriguez, Bud Norris, and rookie Aneury Rodriguez combined for 20.2 shutout innings, but the bullpen blew two of those fine outings.

23. (LW: 24) Pittsburgh Pirates (15-16, 4th NL Central)
This Week: 4-2, 3.67 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 50.6 GS, 1.60 K/BB, 5.18 K/9
Season (181.0 IP): 12-19, 4.43 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 48.3 GS, 1.46 K/BB, 5.37 K/9
Yesterday saw a second-consecutive strong start from Kevin Correia, who gave up only two earned runs in 12.2 innings pitched this week. Unfortunately for the Pirates, though, only one other pitcher (James McDonald) gave them a start with a game score above 50 this week.

22. (LW: 22) Toronto Blue Jays (16-14, 3rd AL East)
This Week: 2-2, 4.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 51.0 GS, 2.20 K/BB, 9.09 K/9
Season (168.2 IP): 8-11, 4.33 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 49.6 GS, 2.04 K/BB, 7.97 K/9
Mediocrity reigns supreme in Toronto, as the starters have been mostly struggling to string together consecutive quality starts. Brendan Morrow only let up three runs in 12.1 IP this week, but Kyle Drabek and Jesse Litsch let up 5 runs each in back-to-back losses against the Yankees on Saturday and Sunday.

21. (LW: 15) Chicago White Sox (11-21, 5th AL Central)
This Week: 1-6, 4.53 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 49.3 GS, 1.24 K/BB, 4.14 K/9
Season (207.0 IP): 9-17, 4.13 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.9 GS, 2.40 K/BB, 6.57 K/9
Despite their league-worst record (11-21), the White Sox rotation has actually been almost mediocre so far in 2011. They've pitched to a 4.53 ERA thus far, and their average game score is 49.29.

20. (LW: 10) Milwaukee Brewers (13-17, 3rd NL Central)
This Week: 0-4, 5.24 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 48.3 GS, 2.92 K/BB, 9.17 K/9
Season (177.2 IP): 9-9, 4.10 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 51.2 GS, 2.70 K/BB, 7.65 K/9
Zack Greinke's first start of the season last night did not go as planned for the Brewers, as the former Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs (four earned) in only four innings. Including Greinke, the last three Brewers starters (Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada are the others) have each pitched to an ERA of at least 9.00.

19. (LW: 20) Colorado Rockies (18-10, 1st NL West)
This Week: 2-2, 3.77 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 39.3 GS, 2.50 K/BB, 8.71 K/9
Season (165.0 IP): 15-6, 4.09 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 51.6 GS, 2.02 K/BB, 6.82 K/9
The Rockies only played five games this week (going 2-3), and their starters had a mediocre week. Ubaldo Jimenez had a poor start, going only four innings and giving up four runs against the lowly Pirates in a loss. Colorado did have a bright spot in Jhoulys Chacin, however, who went seven strong innings in both his starts this week, giving up a total of 5 runs in 14 innings.

18. (LW: 12) New York Yankees (17-11, 1st AL East)
This Week: 3-3, 3.97 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 49.9 GS, 2.80 K/BB, 8.34 K/9
Season (167.0 IP): 11-7, 3.99 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 51.3 GS, 2.28 K/BB, 7.11 K/9
More bad news for the Yankees this week as they find out Phil Hughes is out for the next 6-8 weeks with arm issues. Bartolo Colon has filled in admirably in his stead (2-1, 3.00 ERA), but Hughes represents the future in New York. Still, not a bad overall week--but not a great one either. The week's ERA looks good, but the WHIP and gamescores are not top-15 material.

17. (LW: 21) Detroit Tigers (14-17, 3rd AL Central)
This Week: 2-1, 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 56.3 GS, 2.29 K/BB, 7.52 K/9
Season (192.2 IP): 10-11, 4.07 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 52.2 GS, 2.20 K/BB, 7.30 K/9
An interesting week from the Tigers' rotation as they pitched to a 3.09 ERA despite a 1.31 WHIP this week. Last week, they had a 3.62 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Somehow, a rotation WHIP 51% higher this week led to a 15% decline in ERA. Go figure.

16. (LW: 7) Florida Marlins (19-10, 2nd NL East)
This Week: 2-0, 4.89 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 45.5 GS, 1.13 K/BB, 4.63 K/9
Season (174.0 IP): 11-4, 3.98 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.7 GS, 1.94 K/BB, 6.62 K/9
The Marlins manage to stay just one game behind the division-leading Phillies despite having easily the fourth-worst rotation in that division--that is, besides ace Josh Johnson (3-0, 0.88 ERA), who keeps the numbers in the "good" range by himself. Florida still somehow took two of three from the Cardinals this week despite getting gamescores of 33 or fewer in all three starts.

15. (LW: 4) St. Louis Cardinals (17-14, 1st NL Central)
This Week: 1-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 42.4 GS, 1.25 K/BB, 4.32 K/9
Season (189.2 IP): 13-4, 3.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.5 GS, 2.06 K/BB, 6.07 K/9
The worst start of the week for the Cardinals was made last Thursday by Kyle McClellan, who still got the win in beating Houston while letting up 5 runs in 5.2 innings. Interestingly enough, that "worst start" got the only win for the Cards rotation, as the next six starts all ended in "no decisions" against the Braves and Marlins.

14. (LW: 18) Baltimore Orioles (14-15, 4th AL East)
This Week: 4-1, 3.29 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 53.3 GS, 1.57 K/BB, 4.83 K/9
Season (165.2 IP): 11-11, 3.91 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 51.5 GS, 2.12 K/BB, 5.87 K/9
This makes two solid weeks in a row for the Baltimore staff, who are still held back a little by their 7.33 ERA back in week 2. The O's starters have gone 5-3 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over their last 12 starts, with a lot of very solid starts but no real great ones--no starter has recorded an out in the 8th inning since Jeremy Guthrie did on Opening Day.

13. (LW: 17) Los Angeles Dodgers (15-17, 2nd NL West)
This Week: 2-2, 3.23 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 58.3 GS, 3.50 K/BB, 8.08 K/9
Season (197.1 IP): 11-13, 3.88 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 53.0 GS, 2.88 K/BB, 7.34 K/9
Dodger starters had a respectable but unspectacular week, with every pitcher going at least six innings but none pitching more than seven. It didn't translate into the win column, however, as the Dodgers lost series to both the Padres and Cubs on their way to a 2-4 week. On the bright side, though, only one starter gave up more than three runs, signaling that the rotation is at least doing its part.

12. (LW: 14) San Francisco Giants (15-15, 3rd NL West)
This Week: 2-3, 3.24 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 56.9 GS, 2.53 K/BB, 10.37 K/9
Season (169.0 IP): 7-7, 3.78 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 53.4 GS, 2.26 K/BB, 8.68 K/9
The Giants had a 4-3 week, but starters have only two wins to show for it. Tim Lincecum pitched seven innings of five hit, scoreless ball tonight, and had a decent start against Washington last week wasted by San Fran's anemic offense. Ryan Vogelsong, on the other hand, didn't get out of the sixth inning in either of his two starts this week, including a dismal 4 IP, 5 ER performance yesterday.

11. (LW: 19) Texas Rangers (17-14, 1st AL West)
This Week: 2-2, 2.62 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 57.4 GS, 3.00 K/BB, 7.86 K/9
Season (191.2 IP): 15-8, 3.76 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 52.7 GS, 2.34 K/BB, 6.81 K/9
Texas played every day this week, and didn't fare too well in the process. The Rangers limped to a 2-5 record, allowing their early hold on the AL West to disappear completely. The pitching wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't good either. Matt Harrison had an awful start on Sunday, giving up four runs in only 1 2/3 innings against Oakland. But beyond that, Texas got mostly quality starts, culminating with CJ Wilson's complete game last night against Seattle.

10. (LW: 6) Tampa Bay Rays (16-14, 2nd AL East)
This Week: 2-2, 4.28 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 49.6 GS, 2.36 K/BB, 5.85 K/9
Season (193.1 IP): 11-12, 3.72 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 53.4 GS, 2.35 K/BB, 6.01 K/9
The week started off well, with Jeremy Hellickson and Jeff Niemann scoring wins in Minnesota, giving up four runs in 13.1 innings. Unfortunately, it was mostly downhill from there, except for James Shields getting screwed out of a win when he went 8 strong innings (1 run, 12 strikeouts) against the Angels on Saturday.

9. (LW: 11) Seattle Mariners (14-17, 4th AL West)
This Week: 3-1, 3.18 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 59.2 GS, 3.00 K/BB, 8.85 K/9
Season (190.0 IP): 11-13, 3.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 52.9 GS, 2.68 K/BB, 7.48 K/9
Seattle went 4-2 last week behind some good hitting and above average pitching. Keeping in mind that the Mariners were facing Detroit, Boston, and Texas, three powerful lineups, Seattle's starters did well for themselves. Every starter went at least 5.2 innings, and no one gave up more than four runs. And now that the Seattle offense has begun to show some signs of life, that is all this team needs to give itself a good chance to win.

8. (LW: 16) Washington Nationals (14-16, 5th NL East)
This Week: 4-3, 2.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 55.9 GS, 2.33 K/BB, 5.14 K/9
Season (184.1 IP): 12-13, 3.66 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 50.9 GS, 2.12 K/BB, 5.27 K/9
The Nationals rotation actually has been surprisingly solid this season. This week, helped by a complete-game shutout of the Giants by Jason Marquis (3-1, 3.66 ERA), Washington starters averaged seven innings per start, and put together a very solid week despite a 5 IP, 10 H, 7 R clunker by Marquis to end the week in Philadelphia.

7. (LW: 9) Cleveland Indians (15-8, 1st AL Central)
This Week: 2-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 58.8 GS, 3.11 K/BB, 6.00 K/9
Season (141.1 IP): 12-5, 3.76 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 52.7 GS, 1.98 K/BB, 5.92 K/9
The Indians continued their stellar start to 2011 with a 7-game winning streak that was only broken last night at the hands of the Oakland A's. As is necessary for any winning streak that long, the Tribe got some solid starting pitching, particularly from Fausto Carmona, who pitched 15 innings in two wins, giving up a total of only three runs, three walks and seven strikeouts. When these performances are added to the three other quality starts Indians starters threw this week, it should be no surprise the winning streak lasted as long as it did.

6. (LW: 13) Boston Red Sox (14-16, T-4th AL East)
This Week: 3-1, 1.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 58.0 GS, 1.72 K/BB, 6.70 K/9
Season (178.2 IP): 13-11, 3.53 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 54.1 GS, 2.00 K/BB, 6.95 K/9
A good week for everybody in the Boston rotation except for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who only went four innings in a start against the Mariners on Friday and then took the loss in relief on Wednesday in a 13-inning game against the Angels yesterday. The WHIP is high for such a low ERA, but the amount of baserunners were helped by a lot of walks (17).

5. (LW: 8) San Diego Padres (12-19, 5th NL West)
This Week: 1-3, 2.80 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 54.7 GS, 2.23 K/BB, 7.39 K/9
Season (182.0 IP): 5-13, 3.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 52.7 GS, 2.12 K/BB, 6.08 K/9
The Padres went 3-3 last week, but starting pitchers only factored in one win while taking all three losses. Only two of six starters pitched more than six innings, which is never a good sign. The week may have been slightly salvaged by Moseley's seven innings of three hit, shutout ball against the Dodgers on Sunday.

4. (LW: 2) Los Angeles Angels (17-14, T-1st AL West)
This Week: 1-2, 3.71 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 53.5 GS, 4.57 K/BB, 8.47 K/9
Season (195.2 IP): 13-8, 3.17 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 56.9 GS, 3.08 K/BB, 7.50 K/9
After last night's (sorry, this morning's) 13-inning, rain-delayed victory over Boston, the Angels were able to turn a poor pitching week into a reasonable 3-3 record. Ace Jered Weaver suffered his first loss of the season in his return from the stomach flu, ending his incredible 6-0 start to the season. The Angels' best performance of the week was, without a doubt, Joel Piniero's season debut (7 IP, 1 ER). If Piniero can come back successfully from the DL, the Angels will be set for the foreseeable future with a fairly deep rotation.

3. (LW: 5) Philadelphia Phillies (20-9, 1st NL East)
This Week: 4-0, 0.97 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 70.0 GS, 3.88 K/BB, 7.54 K/9
Season (189.2 IP): 15-6, 3.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 58.9 GS, 4.53 K/BB, 8.59 K/9
The star of the week for the Phillies was 23-year-old rookie righthander Vance Worley. Worley was called up for injured 5th starter Joe Blanton and went 2-0, throwing 12 innings and allowing just six hits and one earned run. Did we mention that both Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay threw complete games too?

2. (LW: 3) Atlanta Braves (17-15, 3rd NL East)
This Week: 3-0, 2.66 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 62.7 GS, 3.75 K/BB, 6.64 K/9
Season (200.1 IP): 13-10, 3.05 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 57.4 GS, 3.14 K/BB, 7.19 K/9
A very solid week by the Atlanta staff was capped off by a complete-game, one-hit shutout tossed by Tim Hudson (4-2, 2.86 ERA) in the second-game of a doubleheader sweep of the Brewers on Wednesday. Before him were a run of solid starts by Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens and company, including three gamescores over 60.

1. (LW: 1) Oakland Athletics (16-15, 3rd AL West)
This Week: 3-1, 2.61 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 53.2 GS, 1.73 K/BB, 6.16 K/9
Season (198.2 IP): 12-8, 2.49 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 56.8 GS, 2.75 K/BB, 6.84 K/9
The A's had a good week, going 4-2 against some pretty tough competition. Oakland took three of four from division rival Texas and has split the first two games against the ML-best Cleveland Indians, breaking the Tribe's seven-game win streak in the process. Trevor Cahill had yet another great week, improving his record to 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA with two more wins.

Week Four
As of 4/28/11

30. (LW: 27) Chicago Cubs (10-13, 5th NL Central)
This Week: 0-4, 9.26 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 34.6 GS, 2.00 K/BB, 8.49 K/9
Season (126.1 IP): 5-10, 5.91 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 44.5 GS, 2.48 K/BB, 8.48 K/9
When your rotation starts the week ranked 27th in Major League Baseball (by our illustrious, debate-ending rankings) and then throws a 9.26 ERA, there's pretty much nowhere to go except rock-bottom. The best thing to say about any start this week was "at least four of the five runs Matt Garza gave up in six innings on Tuesday were unearned."

29. (LW: 24) Houston Astros (9-15, 6th NL Central)
This Week: 0-4, 6.27 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 41.0 GS, 2.21 K/BB, 8.45 K/9
Season (139.0 IP): 4-11, 5.24 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 45.2 GS, 2.14 K/BB, 7.06 K/9
This Astros team actually has a pretty decent offense, not that you would know it by their record--all due to the play of their starting pitchers. J.A. Happ, just two years removed from a promising rookie year in Philadelphia (12-4, 2.93 ERA), has regressed to a 1-3 start with a 6.39 ERA in his first five starts.

28. (LW: 29) Arizona Diamondbacks (10-13, 4th NL West)
This Week: 2-4, 5.31 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 46.5 GS, 2.92 K/BB, 8.41 K/9
Season (133.0 IP): 7-11, 5.55 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 46.0 GS, 2.14 K/BB, 7.38 K/9
What's scary about this week is that, even as poor as those numbers are, the Diamondbacks had one of the best starts of the season this week--Ian Kennedy's complete-game shutout against the Phillies, a 91 gamescore. Four other starts this week were all gamescores under 36, including two in the 20s.

27. (LW: 16) Kansas City Royals (12-12, 2nd AL Central)
This Week: 0-5, 7.89 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 34.5 GS, 1.89 K/BB, 5.16 K/9
Season (139.1 IP): 7-9, 4.91 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 46.6 GS, 2.42 K/BB, 5.62 K/9
It was known coming into the season that the hopeful future for the Royals lie in their talented young hitters--Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and some guys that Royals brass are still grooming in the minors. The rotation just isn't good enough to cut it, especially in the better-hitting American League.

26. (LW: 25) Minnesota Twins (9-13, 4th AL Central) 
This Week: 3-1, 4.13 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 53.8 GS, 2.38 K/BB, 7.13 K/9
Season (132 IP): 7-11, 4.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 48.7 GS, 1.88 K/BB, 6.14 K/9
The Twins only played four games this week due to weather issues, which can't be a bad thing in Minneapolis as the Twins wait for the return of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. The rotation had three good starts balanced out by one poor one--Francisco Liriano going 3 IP, 7 ER against the Rays.

25. (LW: 30) New York Mets (11-13, 4th NL East)
This Week: 4-0, 2.58 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 55.8 GS, 2.20 K/BB, 5.17 K/9
Season (136.2 IP): 8-10, 4.81 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 47.2 GS, 1.69 K/BB, 6.45 K/9
The Mets, a week after it looked like their season might be done before the weather even got hot, won six in a row to surge back into...respectability? The WHIP is still 3rd-worst in the majors, and none of their current pitchers are blowing anybody away. R.A Dickey (1-3, 3.82 ERA) is a nice piece to have but he's their de facto ace for now, and that's just not a good sign.

24. (LW: 22) Pittsburgh Pirates (11-13, 4th NL Central)
This Week: 3-2, 4.96 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 47.5 GS, 1.79 K/BB, 6.89 K/9
Season (139.1 IP): 8-8, 4.65 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 47.6 GS, 1.42 K/BB, 5.43 K/9
It's been nine starts since Pittsburgh's had a starter throw 100 pitches (Kevin Correia threw 109 pitches on April 18th). We'd like to say that's because Pirates' starters have been effective in their pitch selection, but considering they only averaged a little over 5 innings per start this week, we'll just go ahead and say they're not pitching very well.

23. (LW: 28) Cincinnati Reds (13-12, 2nd NL Central)
This Week: 2-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 52.5 GS, 3.33 K/BB, 7.36 K/9
Season (137.2 IP): 9-7, 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 49.4 GS, 2.76 K/BB, 8.30 K/9
Weird week for the Reds. On April 22nd, against the Chicago Cubs, they managed to not have a starting pitcher appear in the game--Edinson Volquez was warming up in the bullpen when a thunderstorm hit, and by the time the game started, the Reds didn't want Volquez throwing again--and the bullpen officially pitched the entire game.

22. (LW: 20) Toronto Blue Jays (11-13, 3rd AL East)
This Week: 2-2, 3.97 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 51.8 GS, 3.33 K/BB, 7.94 K/9
Season (135.2 IP): 6-9, 4.31 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 49.2 GS, 2.00 K/BB, 7.70 K/9
A talented-but-young (average age=25) rotation in Toronto bounced back from a 1-4, 7.58 ERA week with a much more solid 3.97 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, which is exactly what you want to see from a group of young pitchers. Every starter did give up at least two earned runs, however, except for Jo-Jo Reyes--who gave up 6 runs in 2.2 IP on Wednesday, but they were all unearned!

21. (LW: 21) Detroit Tigers (12-12, 3rd AL Central)
This Week: 3-2, 3.62 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 59.0 GS, 4.83 K/BB, 8.07 K/9
Season (145.2 IP): 8-10, 4.39 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 51.0 GS, 2.17 K/BB, 7.23 K/9
The Tigers rotation worked around a poor 4.1 IP, 7 ER performance by Phil Coke on Tuesday by getting Brad Penny and Max Scherzer to combine for 15 scoreless innings against the White Sox. Penny was particularly impressive in his seven innings, giving up naught but a hit for a game WHIP of 0.143.

20. (LW: 17) Colorado Rockies (16-7, 1st NL West)
This Week: 3-1, 3.72 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 37.1 GS, 2.25 K/BB, 8.38 K/9
Season (134.0 IP): 13-4, 4.16 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 50.8 GS, 1.90 K/BB, 6.38 K/9
It's been a rough start to the year for former flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez (0-1, 6.75 ERA), the primary reason the Rockies are ranked this low early on in the season. Jorge De La Rosa managed not to walk anybody in his start on Wednesday, the first time all year a Rockies starter had avoided giving away a free pass.

19. (LW: 5) Texas Rangers (15-9, 1st AL West)
This Week: 3-2, 7.64 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 38.5 GS, 2.14 K/BB, 8.18 K/9
Season (147.0: 13-6, 4.10 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 51.3 GS, 2.16 K/BB, 6.49 K/9
The Rangers started off the week with a sweep of the Royals, but Holland, Ogando, and Lewis combined to give up 10 earned runs in 20 innings, for a "meh" ERA of 4.50. Problem was, once they faced a pitching staff that wasn't the Royals (the Blue Jays), those numbers switched to 18 and 13, respectively--and the Rangers didn't fare as well (1-2, somehow).

18. (LW: 18) Baltimore Orioles (10-12, 4th AL East)
This Week: 1-2, 3.48 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 54.0 GS, 3.13 K/BB, 7.26 K/9
Season (124.2 IP): 7-10, 4.12 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 51.0 GS, 2.32 K/BB, 6.21 K/9
The Orioles got quality starts in four out of five starts this game, but were one of those unfortunate teams failed to move up in the rankings because of other teams just being better. Unfortunately for those Baltimore fans, the teams who were better happened to be the most dangerous teams in their division...but for now, success from Zach Britton (6 IP, 1 ER, W vs. Boston) can put off those thoughts for another week.

17. (LW: 14) Los Angeles Dodgers (13-13, 2nd NL West)
This Week: 2-2, 4.26 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 49.8 GS, 2.29 K/BB, 6.50 K/9
Season (158.1 IP): 9-11, 4.04 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.7 GS, 2.74 K/BB, 7.16 K/9
None of the starters really have a poor ERA, save for Ted Lilly's 5.13--Chad Billingsley is still a bit high at 4.46, but that's not atrocious at this point in the season, and very much salvagable. This is one team we're definitely keeping our eyes on to move up the rankings, especially if they can get that WHIP a little further away from the 1.40 region.

16. (LW: 7) Washington Nationals (10-13, 5th NL East)
This Week: 1-4, 4.98 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 44.2 GS, 1.15 K/BB, 3.93 K/9
Season (135.1 IP): 8-10, 3.92 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 49.3 GS, 2.05 K/BB, 5.32 K/9
What, you were expecting a rotation featuring a 36-year-old Livan Hernandez and an any-year-old John Lannan to be ranked in the top 10 all season? It was nice of the Nats to think they could hang around for a bit, but until Stephen Strasburg returns, the rotation will be sorely lacking anybody with even a semblance of top-of-the-rotation talent.

15. (LW: 12) Chicago White Sox (10-15, 5th AL Central)
This Week: 3-4, 4.57 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 51.1 GS, 2.87 K/BB, 8.54 K/9
Season (161.1 IP): 8-11, 4.02 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 52.6 GS, 2.83 K/BB, 7.25 K/9
Gavin Floyd had a good week, winning both his starts to improve his record to 3-1 while giving up four earned runs in 14 innings. On the season, Floyd has a solid 3.60 ERA and a much more solid 1.09 WHIP...yet somehow he managed to be dropped by 10% of fantasy owners on ESPN.com this week.

14. (LW: 11) San Francisco Giants (11-12, 3rd NL West)
This Week: 0-3, 4.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 51.8 GS, 2.00 K/BB, 9.00 K/9
Season (127.1 IP): 5-4, 3.96 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 52.4 GS, 2.17 K/BB, 8.13 K/9
Jonathan Sanchez (2-1, 3.21 ERA) and Tim Lincecum (2-2, 2.70 ERA) have been doing their part to help the rotation, but Madison Bumgarner (0-4, 6.17) is holding them back from a top-10 slot. Barry Zito's suffering from a foot injury, so the Giants have to stick with the struggling Bumgarner--though he is still just 21 years old.

13. (LW: 23) Boston Red Sox (10-13, 5th AL East)
This Week: 4-2, 2.11 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 64.2 GS, 3.70 K/BB, 7.80 K/9
Season (137.0 IP): 10-10, 4.01 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 52.9 GS, 2.10 K/BB, 7.03 K/9
It was a good week for the powerhouses in the AL East in general, and the Red Sox really needed a strong week to push back into contention. Josh Beckett, "Dice-K" Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and John Lackey all put up 70+ gamescores in four wins against the Angels, though they did then drop two games against the Orioles to end the week.

12. (LW: 26) New York Yankees (13-8, 1st AL East)
This Week: 2-1, 1.49 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 67.5 GS, 3.13 K/BB, 6.19 K/9
Season (121.2 IP): 8-4, 3.99 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.7 GS, 2.09 K/BB, 6.66 K/9
The biggest jump in the rankings this week came courtesy of the Bronx Bombers, helped out by the unlikeliest of heroes...Bartolo Colon. The 37-year-old--who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2009--won his first two starts this season, going 14.2 innings combined against the Blue Jays and White Sox while giving up just 12 hits and three runs!

11. (LW: 19) Seattle Mariners (10-15, 4th AL West)
This Week: 4-1, 2.39 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 59.5 GS, 2.33 K/BB, 6.69 K/9
Season (150.1 IP): 8-12, 3.89 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 51.4 GS, 2.59 K/BB, 7.12 K/9
King Felix started to regain his crown this week after a rough start to the season, shutting out the Athletics for 7.2 innings on Thursday for his second win of the season. He followed that up with a solid six innings against the Tigers on the road, picking up his third win while allowing three runs (two earned).

10. (LW: 3) Milwaukee Brewers (12-12, 3rd NL Central)
This Week: 2-1, 6.29 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 45.5 GS, 3.22 K/BB, 7.60 K/9
Season (143.1 IP): 9-5, 3.83 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 52.0 GS, 2.64 K/BB, 7.28 K/9
Milwaukee clung onto a top-10 ranking despite a horrid performance from the rotation, but it'll take a quick turnaround to prevent a fall into the bottom half of the rankings--not to mention losing major ground in the NL Central. Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 5.70 ERA) has been a disappointment so far this year, as he's supposed to be hitting his prime years.

9. (LW: 9) Cleveland Indians (15-8, 1st AL Central)
This Week: 2-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 48.8 GS, 1.60 K/BB, 5.14 K/9
Season (141.1 IP): 12-5, 3.76 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 52.7 GS, 1.98 K/BB, 5.92 K/9
Heard the name Josh Tomlin? The 6'1" Texan righthander gave the Indians 13.1 IP in two starts this week, giving up three earned runs (2.03 ERA) on just ten hits while walking two, for a WHIP under 1.00 in just the 16th and 17th career starts for the 26-year-old.

8. (LW: 4) San Diego Padres (9-16, 5th NL West)
This Week: 0-5, 4.64 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 48.1 GS, 1.61 K/BB, 6.12 K/9
Season (146.2 IP): 4-10, 3.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 52.3 GS, 2.09 K/BB, 5.77 K/9
You have to feel bad for the Padres rotation, who managed to hold the Phillies to just 10 runs in their 25 innings, but still managed to lose the entire series. It's got to be incredibly frustrating to put up good numbers when your offense is so terrible, and that might account for the Padres slipping already--or it could just be a bad week.

7. (LW: 15) Florida Marlins (15-8, 2nd NL East)
This Week: 3-1, 3.35 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 58.7 GS, 2.11 K/BB, 7.49 K/9
Season (139.0 IP): 9-4, 3.76 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 53.4 GS, 2.20 K/BB, 7.12 K/9
Despite having an ERA that's 0.26 higher than the Padres, the 7th spot in the rankings this week belongs to the Marlins. Florida compares favorably to the Friars in every other category, and their last week was much better due to Anibal Sanchez's 123-pitch one-hitter against the Rockies in Miami.

6. (LW: 6) Tampa Bay Rays (12-11, 2nd AL East)
This Week: 3-1, 3.57 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 56.0 GS, 2.45 K/BB, 6.88 K/9
Season (153.1 IP): 9-10, 3.58 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 54.6 GS, 2.34 K/BB, 6.05 K/9
After the Rays' first start of the week, a 4.2 IP loss by Jeff Niemann in which he gave up five earned runs to the White Sox, you wouldn't think that Tampa Bay would managed to stay right near the top five. However, James Shields negated that with his complete-game shutout of the Blue Jays, and the rest of the rotation was pretty much par for the Rays course.

5. (LW: 13) Philadelphia Phillies (16-8, 1st NL East)
This Week: 4-2, 2.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 63.2 GS, 4.73 K/BB, 10.03 K/9
Season (152.2 IP): 11-6, 3.66 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 56.6 GS, 4.69 K/BB, 8.84 K/9
The Phillies' rotation continues to move towards where we thought they would be coming into the season, helped by a pitching domination of the Padres (who serve as a nice boost to any rotation's stats). In a four-game sweep in San Diego, the rotation went 3-0, throwing 29.2 IP with a 0.91 ERA and an average gamescore of 72.8.

4. (LW: 10) St. Louis Cardinals (12-11, 1st NL Central)
This Week: 4-0, 1.60 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 63.8 GS, 1.86 K/BB, 5.95 K/9
Season (148.0 IP): 12-4, 3.22 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 54.3 GS, 2.35 K/BB, 6.57 K/9
The best rotation ERA in baseball this week came courtesy of the Cardinals, helped out by 0-run performances from Kyle Lohse (7 IP @ Houston), Jake Westbrook (6 IP vs. Cincinnati), and Kyle Lohse again (9 IP vs. Washington). Even more impressive was that they managed to leap teams like the Phillies and Rays when facing half-decent offenses in the Astros, Reds, and Nationals.

3. (LW: 9) Atlanta Braves (13-13, 3rd NL East)
This Week: 4-0, 1.81 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 65.4 GS, 5.11 K/BB, 8.34 K/9
Season (159.2 IP): 10-10, 3.16 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 56.2 GS, 3.02 K/BB, 7.33 K/9
The Braves were solid top-to-bottom this week, with every starter going at least six innings while throwing gamescores of 58, 73, 62, 65, 59, 63, and 78. That's great consistency, helped by Tommy Hanson's 14 innings of one-run ball this week--he also happened to have 14 strikeouts against just one walk.

2. (LW: 2) Los Angeles Angels (14-11, 2nd AL West)
This Week: 2-3, 3.18 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 55.1 GS, 2.00 K/BB, 7.15 K/9
Season (161.2 IP): 12-6, 3.06 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 57.7 GS, 2.85 K/BB, 7.29 K/9
It's officially become the Jered Weaver show in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old is in the prime of his career, starting off the season 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA after his complete-game shutout in Anaheim on Tuesday. In addition to having half the rotation's wins, he's also the only Angels starter with double-digit strikeout games, of which he has two.

1. (LW: 1) Oakland Athletics (12-13, 3rd AL West)
This Week: 2-4, 3.59 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 51. GS, 2.50 K/BB, 5.27 K/9
Season (160.2 IP): 9-7, 2.46 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 57.7 GS, 3.13 K/BB, 7.00 K/9
The"worst" week of the A's rotation so far this week was a mixture of good (Brandon McCarthy's 8 innings, 1 ER loss against Seattle) and bad (5.1 IP, 7 ER by...Brandon McCarthy). However, each starter gave up only one walk in at least five innings in six out of the seven starts this week.