Wednesday Rockpile: Comparing NL West starting rotations from the last six seasons

St. Louis Cardinals v Colorado Rockies — Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Colorado Rockies news and links for Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Starting pitching has been a focal point of messaging for the Colorado Rockies for several years. Since reaching the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018 on the backs of a young rotation, the team has consistently said things in the realm of, “If our rotation is healthy and gets back to where we know they can perform, then we’ll be in good shape.”

Unfortunately, that type of “if-then” statement hasn’t exactly panned out for the Rockies as they have lost six consecutive seasons due in part to their rotation. Injuries, inconsistency, and sometimes ineptness have defined the rotation despite some bright spots. Heading into 2025 the messaging is once again the same as the team holds onto that “if-then” while also laying out their ideals of the young starting depth knocking on the door.

Colorado Rockies v Philadelphia Phillies

The faces have largely been the same for the Rockies since that 2018 playoff season. Kyle Freeland, Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela are still expected to be staples in 2025, with the latter two trying to rebound from Tommy John surgery. Add in Austin Gomber who has been a rotation regular since 2021 and Ryan Felter who turned in a breakout season in 2024.

Three-fifths of the rotation is the same as it was in 2018. In fact, from 2019 to 2024, the Rockies have used 35 different starting pitchers (including openers), of which only six count as qualified starters per FanGraphs. The list includes the five projected members of the 2025 staff and Jon Gray who left the team after the 2021 season. Of the six only Márquez and Gray have an ERA under five.

The 35 starters have combined for a 5.41 ERA and 5.00 FIP in 4,447 innings with a 17.5% strikeout rate and 8.0% walk rate. Additionally, there have been 299 quality starts, six complete games — four of which belong to Márquez — and three shutouts to go along with a lone All-Star appearance. As a whole, the rotation has a 195-351 record. The Rockies have always praised their loyalty and commitment to the players who made their biggest impact in 2018, but things have not exactly panned out since that season. They point to injuries and other things endured, but how does their rotation compare to the other National League West teams?

Los Angeles Dodgers

Let’s start with the top dog in the division, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over the last six seasons, the Dodgers have used a total of 51 different starting pitchers, only four of which have thrown enough innings to be qualified starters. Until 2024, The main constant since 2018 has been future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw who owns a 2.86 ERA over the last six seasons.

Their rotation has ebbed and flowed as injuries have hit the Dodgers over the years and both young and old faces have made stops in the rotation alongside the use of openers. Still, the team has compiled a 3.48 ERA and 3.87 FIP in 4,483 innings with a 24.4 K% and 6.7 BB%. The group has produced 10 All-Stars nominations to go along with 343 quality starts of their 870 starts, with six complete games, three shutouts and a 330-170 record.

The Dodgers have constantly tinkered with their rotation and 2025 will be no different as they have added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to join 2024 additions Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto who join familiar faces Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Oh, and Shohei Ohtani will start pitching at some point again.

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants have been interesting when it comes to their starting rotation. It has mainly relied on a blend of notable stars and aging veterans that find a new life pitching in San Francisco’s advantageous home park. Recently they have started to blend in more youthful talent but are still operating with the hopes of using black magic of some kind to turn back the block on some aging arms.

Since the start of the 2019 season, the Giants have utilized 50 starters to the tune of a 4.11 ERA and 3.89 FIP in 4,251 innings for a 227-265 record. The results have fluctuated by for the most part the rotation has been generally effective, particularly at home, as they also own a 22.9 K% and 7.2 BB%. They have 280 quality starts, 11 complete games, six shutouts, and currently have one of the top arms in the league in Logan Webb.

It’s quite telling that the Giants have only three qualified starts over the last six seasons with Webb and his 3.43 ERA as the only one still with the team. The team has had no shortage of talent over the years but has had a tough time getting some of the star pitchers to stick around long-term. Snell was the latest example of the team signing a notable pitcher on a short-term deal with a high AAV, only to see them opt out and sign the huge deal elsewhere (see Sean Manaea, Carlos Rodon, Kevin Gausman, etc.). The 2025 rotation will mostly be the same as 2024, only with the addition of Justin Verlander looking to bounce back in his age-42 season.

San Diego Padres

Since 2019, the San Diego Padres have generally seen plenty of success with their starting rotation. There have been 44 individual starters used over the last six seasons, headlined by Yu Darvish’s 100 starts. The transformation of the rotation truly began in 2020 after the team saw the likes of Chris Paddack and other homegrown talent start to produce results. However, while they were doing well enough, the Padres desired more and so in 2021 swung deals to acquire Darvish, Snell, and Joe Musgrove.

Those four pitchers are the only qualified starters for the organization since 2019. Only Musgrove and Darvish remain but injuries have bitten them over the last couple of seasons. Still, as a unit, the rotation owns a 4.06 ERA and 4.07 FIP in 4,472 innings with a 264-275 record. They own a 24.2 K% and 7.8 BB% with 337 quality starts, four complete games, and four shutouts. Snell also one the Cy Young Award in 2023.

As it stands, the 2025 rotation will be much of the same from 2024 pending any trades concerning Dylan Cease and perhaps even Michael King, but Darvish is the longest-tenured starter returning since Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss 2025. The team did make a play for Sasaki as well, so pitching has been a major priority for them.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Finally, we have the Arizona Diamondbacks who can relate the Rockies in the fact they have used just 41 individual pitchers since the start of 2019. The results contrast greatly, however. That 2019 season was the beginning of the makings of their current roster as Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen appeared with the team for the first time and have remained staples ever since. They have seen a mix of notable veterans like Zack Greinke and Madison Baumgarner cycle through along with Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery most recently in 2024.

Otherwise, the team has filled in the mix with homegrown talents to mixed results. Still, the rotation as a whole over six years has posted a 240-286 record with 4.61 ERA in 4,514 ¹⁄₃ innings, the most starting innings of any team in the NL West. They own a 21.4 K% and 7.9 BB% alongside 288 quality starts, four complete games, and four shutouts.

Their 2025 rotation largely stays the same from 2024, leaving it intact for one more season, but the team added Corbin Burnes to the rotation in a surprising move, giving them a legitimate ace that complements an exciting young core of position players.

Why does this matter?

Long story short, something to be noticed in the NL West is that each team has tinkered with their rotations and they all look drastically different than that 2018 season. There have been one or two staples to carry through, but none of the other four teams constantly roll out the same rotation simply hoping they do better. You can do that for a few seasons, but after six years it’s time for the Rockies to seriously consider shaking up that rotation with new, fresh talent and stop holding out hope that Freeland, Senzatela and Márquez will all magically turn back the clock to 2018.

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