Mets promise to end Nationals' run of NL East misery this summer
Apparently the Cubs couldn't help themselves with the added depth in their rotation. They just had to sell a piece of it off in Tom Gorzelanny.
The Nats added him to their rotation, but he's relatively worthless for fantasy owners outside of a stopgap when the matchups are right in a two-start week. After all, he's no Stephen Strasburg, who won't be there to help us in fantasy this year either.
Nationals pitchers not named Strasburg -- he will be throwing soon -- just don't carry much wait in fantasy. Strasburg reportedly will be brought along slowly and not be allowed to pitch in the majors this season. Bummer.
But, hey, we have Gorzelanny to look forward to, right? Maybe not.
The Nationals have plenty of depth in their rotation, even if it isn't really fantasy-worthy.
Washington Nationals outlook
Projected lineup
1. Nyjer Morgan CF 2. Ian Desmond SS 3. Ryan Zimmerman 3B 4. Jayson Werth RF 5. Adam LaRoche 1B 6. Ivan Rodriguez C 7. Roger Bernadina LF 8. Daniel Espinosa 2B
Top bench options
R Mike Morse OF R Rick Ankiel OF R Jesus Flores C
Projected rotation
1 Livan Hernandez RH2 John Lannan LH3 Jordan Zimmermann RH4 Jason Marquis RH5 Tom Gorzelanny LHALT Chien-Ming Wang RHTop bullpen arms
CL Drew Storen RHSU Tyler Clippard RHRP Sean Burnett LHRP Doug Slaten LHRP Ross Detwiler LH
The Nats say now Wang (shoulder) is going to be 100 percent going into spring training. If that is the case, Gorzelanny might not even be able to crack the starting five. Marquis has a contract almost guaranteeing him a spot, while Hernandez pitched too well to not throw out there. The young arms Lannan and Zimmermann might be the best on the staff.
So much for Gorzelanny being a draft day sleeper. He is more of an in-season waiver pick-up now. Wang could actually be the late-round sleeper all over again.
Behind those six starters named above, there is rare depth in Washington with Detwiler and Cuban rookie Yunesky Maya. Retreads J.D. Martin, Luis Atilano, Collin Balester and Craig Stammen have started games, too.
It is mostly those names that have created the stigma of the Nationals starter. Perhaps this year will be different. Free-agent additions Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche might be an upgrade for an offense that lost Adam Dunn.
The Nats at least won't be the last pick in the NL East. Because ...
No team did less to upgrade this winter than the Mets. It makes them a dangerous locale to harvest fantasy picks, especially if you're looking for power and run production. No one has proven capable of slaying the CitiField beast, save for David Wright last season.
New York Mets outlook
Projected lineup POS
1. Jose Reyes SS 2. Angel Pagan CF 3. David Wright 3B 4. Carlos Beltran RF 5. Jason Bay LF 6. Ike Davis 1B 7. Ronny Paulino C 8. Luis Castillo 2B
Top bench options
R Daniel Murphy UTLR Willie Harris OFR Josh Thole C
Projected rotation
1 Mike Pelfrey RH2 Jonathon Niese LH3 R.A. Dickey RH4 Jenrry Mejia RH5 Dillon Gee RHALT Johan Santana LHTop bullpen armsCL Francisco Rodriguez RHSU Bobby Parnell RHRP Taylor Buchholz RHRP Chris Capuano LHRP Oliver Perez LH
The Mets have potential, but their offense is slowed by age and a pitching-friendly park. And their pitching staff doesn't even look as good as the Nats, if you include the bullpen.
Santana, like Strasburg, is nearly ready to throw, but unlike Strasburg there is some hope he will contribute for fantasy owners this season. Santana is recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his shoulder. Shoulder injuries are far more difficult to come back from than elbow ligament replacements, but the target date to return is June.
Santana is worth a late pick -- more than Brandon Webb or Wang were last year -- because at least his issue wasn't the labrum or rotator cuff. The Mets will try to get by with a spare parts rotation behind developing Pelfrey and Niese. Save for the surprising knuckle-balling Dickey, it didn't work out in the second half last season.
Andy Pettitte reportedly is telling the Yankees to not count on him this season, as he is leaning toward retirement still. Boy does that make moving Joba Chamberlain back to the rotation a lot more necessary now.
The Yankees didn't have as quiet of an offseason as the Mets, but it was close. They retained their Hall of Fame shortstop, but lost out on Cliff Lee and actually considered free-agent starter Kevin Millwood -- yeah, the one that couldn't stick in the O's rotation with his 5.10 ERA.
Millwood would actually become a viable late-rounder with the Yankees -- or the Mets -- because those teams each have a far better history of making something out of nothing with pitchers in fantasy.
But the Yankees did do something recently that makes re-inventing the Joba Rules a consideration, if not a likelihood. They bought a bullpen in former Rays closer Rafael Soriano and former Mets lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano. Chamberlain is far less of the Pitch-22 now. (Pitch-22 is the catch-22 of pitchers: Good enough to start, but too valuable in relief.)
New York Yankees outlook
Projected lineup
1. Derek Jeter SS 2. Nick Swisher RF 3. Mark Teixeira 1B 4. Alex Rodriguez 3B 5. Robinson Cano 2B 6. Jorge Posada DH 7. Curtis Granderson CF Top bullpen arms8. Russell Martin C 9. Brett Gardner LF
Top bench options
R Ramiro Pena UTL R Francisco Cervelli C
Projected rotation
1 CC Sabathia LH2 A.J. Burnett RH3 Phil Hughes RH4 Joba Chamberlain RH5 Ivan Nova RHALT Sergio Mitre RHTop bullpen armsCL Mariano Rivera RHSU Rafael Soriano RHRP Pedro Feliciano LHRP David Robertson RHRP Damaso Marte LHThat bullpen will still be good without Joba, while the rotation would look far more tantalizing to fantasy owners if two of Nova, Mitre or Millwood don't have to occupy the last spots. Chamberlain four and Millwood five would make the Yankees a five-deep fantasy-worth rotation in standard leagues. There are very few of those around.
That lineup is aged, but Cano has become the fantasy star of the bunch, passing even Big Tex and A-Rod in the first round this spring. It is that run production that makes having those Yankees starters -- whoever they may be -- so important.
And which Cub picks up for Gorzelanny?
We still cannot figure why the Cubs decided to do away with some starting pitching depth for a pack of prospects -- although Michael Burgess can be a pretty good, multi-category fantasy outfielder in a few years.
Perhaps, the talk of moving lefty James Russell into the rotation a la Ryan Dempster is more than just a thought. It might be a reality.
We already looked at the Cubs last week, but here is an updated peek:
Projected rotation
1 Carlos Zambrano RH2 Matt Garza RH3 Ryan Dempster RH4 Carlos Silva RH5 Randy Wells RHALT James Russell LH
Top bullpen arms
CL Carlos Marmol RHSU Kerry Wood RHRP Sean Marshall LHRP Andrew Cashner RHRP Jeff Samardzija RH
It now appears Wells, Russell, smoke-throwing prospect Cashner, Samardzija and perhaps even retread left Marshall will compete for the final rotation spot. All of them figure to make the roster out of spring training, save for the long-term guys like Cashner or Samardzija.
Cashner has the best stuff and most potential of that bunch with his mid-90s heat, but the jury is still out on whether he will be a late-inning reliever or starter. Perhaps trading Gorzelanny opens the door for him.
Eric Mack writes contributes weekly for SI.com. You can mock him, rip him and (doubtful) praise him before asking him for fantasy advice on Twitter @EricMackFantasy. Hit him up. He honestly has nothing better to do with his free time.
