Much has been made of pitching in baseball over the past few seasons. The game has seen a shift from more dominant power-hitters to more shutdown pitchers since the “steroid era” “ended.”

While there are still many bona fide power hitters in the majors (Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, etc.), building a strong pitching rotation has become more of a prominent priority for successful teams. Just last season (2011), baseball had a pitcher, Justin Verlander, win both the MVP award and the CY Young award in the American League. Pitching has always been important to America’s pastime but now it’s more crucial than ever.

Here is my third installment, breaking down each team’s potential starting rotation for the 2013 season with the average Earned Run Average (we know averaging an average isn’t scientifically sound, but we’re doing it anyway…): This time, the spotlight is on the AL West…

Oakland Athletics:

1. Brett Anderson (4-2 2.57 ERA, 25 Strikeouts)
2. Jarrod Parker (13-8, 3.47 ERA, 140 Strikeouts)
3. Tommy Milone (13-10, 3.74 ERA, 137 Strikeouts)
4. A.J. Griffin (7-1, 3.06 ERA, 64 Strikeouts)
5. Bartolo Colon (10-9, 3.43 ERA, 91 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.25

Texas Rangers:

1. Yu Darvish (16-9, 3.90 ERA, 221 Strikeouts)
2. Derek Holland (12-7, 4.67 ERA, 145 Strikeouts)
3. Matt Harrison (18-11, 3.29 ERA, 133 Strikeouts)
4. Alexi Ogando (2-0, 3.27 ERA, 66 Strikeouts)
5. Martin Perez (1-4, 5.45 ERA, 25 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 4.12

Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim:

1. Jered Weaver (20-5, 2.81 ERA, 142 Strikeouts)
2. C.J. Wilson (13-10, 3.83 ERA, 173 Strikeouts)
3. Tommy Hanson (13-10, 4.48 ERA, 161 Strikeouts)
4. Joe Blanton (10-13, 4.71 ERA, 166 Strikeouts)
5. Jason Vargas (14-11, 3.85 ERA, 141 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.94

Seattle Mariners:

1. Felix Hernandez (13-9, 3.06 ERA, 223 Strikeouts)
2. Hisashi Iwakuma (9-5, 3.16 ERA, 101 Strikeouts)
3. Erasmo Ramirez (1-3, 3.36 ERA, 48 Strikeouts)
4. Blake Beavan (11-11, 4.43 ERA, 67 Strikeouts)
5. Hector Noesi (2-12, 5.82 ERA, 68 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 3.97

Houston Astros:

1. Lucas Harrell (11-11, 3.76 ERA, 140 Strikeouts)
2. Bud Norris (7-13, 4.65 ERA, 165 Strikeouts)
3. Jordan Lyles (5-12, 5.09 ERA, 99 Strikeouts)
4. Phillip Humber (5-5, 6.44 ERA, 85 Strikeouts)
5. Alex White (2-9, 5.51 ERA, 64 Strikeouts)

Average Combined 2012 ERA: 5.09

Felix Hernandez will be the best pitcher once again in the American League West. By Keith Allison on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Don’t forget, the A’s (not the Angels or Rangers) are the reigning champs of this division after shocking the baseball world and making a historic run to enter the postseason. But I think that the lack of a “star” pitcher will hurt the A’s this season, as they will no longer be running under the radar like last year. But as for the Angels, I believe that although they may have lost three fifths of the starting rotation they put on the field last year, they did a pretty decent job filling the holes. Tommy Hanson and Jason Vargas are good alternatives for Zack Greinke and Ervin Santana. Joe Blanton had his moments with Greinkes’ new team, the Dodgers last year after being dealt. Look for them to all have decent years.

As for the rest of the division, I do believe that the AL CY Young winner will come from this division in the form of Mariner pitcher Felix Hernandez. He will be the bright spot in what is shaping-up to be another disappointing season for Seattle. The division will be a three team race between the Angels, A’s and Rangers, ultimately with the Angels coming out on top, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either the Rangers or A’s sneak into one of the wild card spots. The Angels have had huge spending off seasons consecutively and this will be the year that it pans out and they reach the postseason.

The Yankees are standing pat on what they currently have, as there hasn’t been a deadline in recent memory where baseball’s top spending franchise has failed to bolster themselves in even the slightest amount.  They were in the Hiroka Kuroda sweepstakes along with the Chicago White Sox, but Kuroda ultimately held the trump card in the form of the no-trade clause built into his contract.

The biggest splash of the deadline had to be the San Francisco Giants acquiring Carlos Beltran from the New York Mets in exchange for the top pitching prospect in their minor league system, Zach Wheeler.  General Manager Brian Sabean was quoted as saying that the team owed the move to their fans, noting that the the Major League Baseball championship-winning window is a small one.

Almost a decade ago, Beltran was traded at the deadline to the Houston Astros from the Kansas City Royals and proceeded to put up the best August and September by a deadline acquisition in recent memory, only rivaled by Manny Ramirez’s late-season clip when he was traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers a few years ago.  While Beltran isn’t that same player he was even five years ago, he does have the offensive ability to help the anemic Giants offense significantly.

The Atlanta Braves are contenders in the NL East as well as front-runners in the wild card standings.  The addition of Michael Bourn will bring much needed outfield speed at the top of the lineup, something Atlanta has severely lacked in recent years due to the ineffectiveness of Nate McLouth and the trading away of Melky Cabrera.

Ubaldo Jimenez will strengthen the Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff, as they actually have a realistic shot at the playoffs.  You would expect nothing less with a move like this from a team that is having a dream season after more than a decade of futility.  Jimenez hasn’t had his usual dominating season thus far, but his veteran presence and Cy Young-potential talent will bring some much needed stability and leadership to a young clubhouse.

The reigning Senior Circuit champions, the Philadelphia Philles, did not sit on their full house – they decided to try and draw to a straight flush.  The addition of Hunter Pence will help balance an attack that is left-handed heavy, and will only improve an already elite offense.  Getting closer Ryan Madson healthy will be the key to the Phillies running away with the East again, as having a stable finisher is something that is key for a team like Philadelphia, who depends on winning a lot of close, low to middle-scoring, station-to-station, National League-style games.

The Milwaukee Brewers bolstered their bullpen with Francisco Rodriguez, a great backup plan if their young closer, John Axford, happens to falter down the stretch. This move is by far better than anything the St. Louis Cardinals ended up doing at the deadline, and with the Brew Crew already holding a 3.5 game lead over the Cards, they have to be the distinct favorite in the Central as the finish line approaches.

The Pittsburgh Pirates added first baseman Derek Lee in an attempt to inject some run-production with runners in scoring position.  You have to admire the Pirates for being proactive, but their brutal schedule down the stretch coupled with their inexperience makes a playoff berth in the tightly-contested National League Central a prospect that looks to be futile at best.

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded away arguably their top outfield prospect in Trayvon Robinson, who has seen limited action at the major league level while bombing 26 home runs thus far this season in Triple-A.  As a Dodgerfan, this move baffles me, due to the fact that they only received two average minor-league arms and a minor league catcher who has only hit 7 homeruns so far this season in return.

The Dodgers franchise is not only selling out its fans, but now they are starting to even sell out their best players.  The sad fact that one of the greatest and most storied franchises in sports continues to get dragged deeper and deeper through the mud and filth is as disgusting as “owner” Frank McCourt’s existence as a region-wide punchline.  Dodgerfans seem to be almost numb to the debacle as it gets worse and worse.  This is a true testament to how low the franchise has sunk.  But, a brighter day is hopefully around the corner.  What brighter day?  The day that the inevitable happens – McCourt buys a one-way ticket on a flying sourdough bowl of chowder and flys his ass back to New England for good.

Having said that, one should digress this time of year no matter how bad your favorite team happens to be navigating the treacherous waters of the vast sea that is the baseball season. Regardless of the gravity of the moves that are made every trade deadline, the underlying fact always remains – some moves end up resulting in pennants and some moves blow up in a general manager’s face.

Who will end up wearing  the egg and who will end up wearing the ring?  Its about to unfold.