The 5 Best Pitching Rotations of the Last Decade

2013 Detroit Tigers

23.6 WAR (2nd)
3.32 xFIP (3rd)
3.37 SIERA (3rd)

Making a second appearance are the Detroit Tigers, this time, for the 2013 season.

Max Scherzer was the ace of this rotation, posting a 6.7 WAR and winning the AL Cy Young award. Scherzer went 21-3 for Detroit that season, threw 214.1 innings, and led the league with a 0.97 WHIP. Scherzer struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings and owned a 2.74 FIP and a 144 ERA+.

Anibal Sanchez was the team’s number-two guy, but he pitched like an ace for Detroit in 2013. Sanchez went 14-8, with a 2.57 ERA and a 2.39 FIP over 182 innings.

Both his ERA and FIP were the best on the team while his WAR of 6.3 trailed just Scherzer. Lastly, Sanchez set a career high with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Justin Verlander and Doug Fister made up the middle of the Tigers’ rotation in 2013 and performed quite similarly. Verlander threw 218.1 innings while maintaining a 1.32 WHIP while Fister logged 208.2 with a 1.31 WHIP.

Also, Verlander’s FIP of 3.28 is nearly identical to Fister’s 3.26 FIP. Both pitchers finished with more than 4 Wins Above Replacement, with Verlander at 4.6 and Fister at 4.1.

Rounding out the rotation was Rick Porcello, who made 29 starts for the 2013 Tigers. He went 13-8 and finished the year with 2.4 WAR. Both Porcello’s 3.53 FIP and 1.28 WHIP were solid.