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MLB Playoffs 2024: Ranking all the starting lineups of the postseason teams, from the Guardians to the Phillies

The MLB regular season is a marathon. The postseason tournament is a sprint.

To emerge from the six-month battle, a team typically needs at least six capable starting pitchers. With 162 games to play, depth is paramount. Injuries inevitably derail the best-laid rotation plans of competitors.

In October, things are very different. With starters entering games less successful than ever, a team can make it through the playoffs with just three or four starting pitchers. A year ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the World Series with a quartet consisting of two experienced starters (Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly), a rookie (Brandon Pfaadt) and a bullpen day.

As the saying goes, you're only as good as the pitcher starting that day. With the 2024 postseason just around the corner, let's narrow down the discussion and rank all of the playoff rotations from least to most impressive.

Note: All teams included are currently only two games away from a playoff spotand this exercise only includes the projected starting rotations. Of course, the strength of a particular bullpen is just as important to a team's success. For example, the Cleveland Guardians, who rank last in this ranking, have by far the best relief corps in the MLB.

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Starting pitchers have been a strength of Cleveland over the past decade, but injuries to the three likely best players, Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen, have kept that rotation undermanned all season. Manager Stephen Vogt's team has still done well, thanks in large part to a phenomenal defense and a great bullpen.

But October will test this Guardians staff. Bibee, only 25, is more solid than dominant. Boyd and Cobb were stopgap midseason picks who performed admirably. Williams can go from ace to disaster in the space of one start. The shortened October schedule means Cleveland can use its bullpen extremely aggressively, but that only matters if those pitchers can keep games close.

It's been a strange season for López, who struggled a lot in April and May. But the Minnesota star has pulled himself together, posting a 2.35 ERA in his last 15 starts. Ober has taken a nice step forward this year, but probably won't start in a top rotation until Game 3 or 4.

Behind that duo are three rookies who have all had their ups and downs. Woods Richardson has been the most consistent. Like Cleveland, this team relies heavily on its bullpen.

That wasn't the plan. Not even a little bit. John Means, Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish all had elbow surgery midseason. New addition Trevor Rogers has been a disaster. Grayson Rodriguez hasn't pitched since late July and probably won't return in time to start a playoff game.

That leaves Baltimore with a razor-thin group behind star player Corbin Burnes, who has rebounded from a bad August, and traded-acquired Zach Eflin. Suárez, a 34-year-old migrant who pitched overseas for five years, was a great story but is undervalued as a potential Game 3 starter. The same goes for Kremer, who had to start Game 3 in last year's ALDS and was penalized for it. Burnes and the lineup have to carry this club.

The Tigers, considered underdogs, have stayed in the postseason thanks to outstanding performances from AL Cy Young favorite Skubal and a collection of anonymous pitchers. Montero has not allowed a single earned run in his last 15 innings, and Hurter, who was used as a bulk reliever after an opener, pitched a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Orioles last week.

If Detroit makes the playoffs, the pitching staff will be well prepared for the unpredictability of October.

The Brewers traded Corbin Burnes in February and are higher on this list than the team that signed him. Sure!

Peralta is a true frontline player. Montas has taken a leap forward since being traded at the deadline. Myers has the third-lowest ERA among rookies with 100 innings this year, only Paul Skenes and Shota Imanaga are better. Civale is a kitchen sink artist, battling through a lineup twice and handing the ball off to Milwaukee's powerful bullpen.

If three-quarters of that group hadn't worked deep into the madness of last October, they would have been ranked behind the Brewers. But experience counts. Gallen, Kelly and Pfaadt were all great in 2023 but were injured, disappointed or both throughout the regular season. Rodriguez and Montgomery, Arizona's big winter signings, have both thoroughly disappointed. Nelson is currently out with a shoulder issue but could throw big innings if Arizona makes a run.

Losing Tyler Glasnow for the rest of the year was a big blow for the Dodgers, who have as many pitchers as an All-Star team on the injured list. Flaherty has pitched well since arriving at the deadline. Yamamoto has made just two four-inning starts since returning and will remain strictly limited through October. Games he pitches will require more help from an already overworked Dodger Bulldog. Buehler has struggled at times in his first year back from elbow surgery, but he pitched well last weekend in Atlanta and could be back in form soon.

Beyond that trio, everything is pure speculation. Stone and Kershaw are both on the injured list but could return for the playoffs. Even if Shohei Ohtani makes a heroic return to the mound, it's unlikely he'll emerge in a starting position.

No rotation has accumulated more starting rotation WAR this season than the Royals, which is quite an accomplishment considering their history as a pitcher graveyard. The club was surprisingly aggressive in free agency, bringing Lugo and Wacha into the rotation. Both veterans are enjoying career years, while Ragans has proven that his electrifying second half of last year was no fluke. Singer didn't make the jump, but is a sturdy, non-offensive fourth starter.

The upstart Grimace Mets have the third-lowest rotation ERA in baseball since Aug. 1. Severino and Manaea were both signed as free agents last winter at a bargain price and have performed excellently. Peterson has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his last 10 starts. Megill has increased the use of his sinker in his last few appearances, with great success. Senga coming off the injured list and providing a surprise boost would be the icing on the cake for the Mets.

There are a whole lot of cooks in that kitchen. Stroman was moved to the bullpen last week after Schmidt came off the injured list. Schmidt has been solid, if unspectacular, in his two starts back and could cede a possible Game 4 start to Cortes, who has been great as a starter since being moved to the bullpen and back earlier this month.

No starter walks more batters than Gil, who still somehow finds a way to avoid danger. Rodón has a 3.18 ERA in his last 10 starts, but is still pretty prone to home runs. And then there's Cole, the team's star, who has looked his usual self for most of the last two months. If there are no aftereffects from The Intentional Walk Heard 'Round The World (and there shouldn't be), he's a sure-fire candidate for Game 1.

All season, the beleaguered Braves' motto has been: If they can just make the playoffs, they can go far with their sensational starting pitchers. They're currently two games out of the final NL wild-card spot, but if they can make up that difference… well… those pitchers are still a big deal.

Sale has been the best pitcher in MLB this season and will deservedly win the first Cy Young Award of his potential Hall of Fame career. Fried is an October star who enters the postseason much healthier than he was in the previous two seasons. López is on the IL with a shoulder issue, which is scary, but Schwellenbach (a rookie with a 3.73 ERA) and Morton (a 40-year-old with a 4.01 ERA) are superior to most teams' starters in Games 3 and 4. Still, a healthy López would have moved the Braves up a spot or two on this list.

With Musgrove and Darvish performing well since returning from the injured list, the Padres' rotation has gone from stagnant to a real strength. Cease has been one of the NL's best pitchers in the second half and King has made the Juan Soto trade easier to digest with a 3.04 ERA in 29 starts.

Aside from Valdez and maybe Kikuchi, that order is something of a gamble. Brown has the third-lowest ERA in baseball since he started throwing sinkers in late May. Blanco, with a 2.88 ERA but well above his career high in innings, is likely to move to the bullpen in October. Verlander, 41, has been more inadequate than inspiring since returning from injury. Arrighetti has recently gone through a rough patch after a great August.

No team, not even the club ahead of Houston on this list, can boast such a combination of depth and elite power. The only things holding the Astros back are Verlander's inadequacy and the general inexperience of the personnel outside of him and Valdez.

If you've watched a postseason baseball game in the last few years, you probably know this group. Wheeler, the NL Cy Young runner-up, has a 2.48 ERA in 10 career starts in October for the Phillies. Nola allowed just six runs in four postseason starts in 2023. Sánchez has had a breakout season this season with a 3.24 ERA in 29 starts.

Suárez is the real X-factor. The burly Venezuelan was a Cy Young Award candidate in the early months of this season, but injuries and inconsistency have marred his final months. He's an October monster with a slow heartbeat, but whether he does better this year than in previous fall will depend on whether he can recapture his form from the spring.

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