Starting Pitching

• Yankees: C+

The one area the Yankees will find a struggle with comes in the starting rotation. Currently as a unit, the rotation is yielding 4.24 earned runs per game which places them in the lower-third of MLB.

When looking for an ace, there really isn’t one.

In theory Masahiro Tanaka should be that guy, but the struggle to stay healthy for the 26-year old Japanese import is a serious one. Besides, his 5-3 record to go along with a very paltry 3.63 ERA is nothing to howl at the moon about.

Michael Pineda has made tremendous strides this season, but even Big Mike is prone to missing time (13 games started in 2014).

The real issue lies in the No. 5 spot, C.C. Sabathia. If Joe Girardi wants to stay away from pitching C.C. in Game 4 of the ALDS, then nothing better happen to Tanaka, Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Ivan Nova from now until October.

• Mets: A+

Lets call it like it is. The only reason the Mets enjoy a five-game buffer above the .500 mark is due to this phenomenal crop of young talented arms in the starting rotation.

A starting rotation that some have already dubbed the “Phenom-Five,” and others (namely John Smoltz) have called better than the 1990s Atlanta Braves staff.

For good reason too.

Only Bartolo Colon possesses an ERA over four (4.46). The wins surely aren’t there, but everything else is. Power, movement and plain filthy stuff is spread throughout the top-four young guns.

Despite not lighting the 2015 world on fire, Matt Harvey is still doing his thing. A 3.11 ERA and 109 strikeouts (K) in 111.1 innings-pitched (IP) is nothing to sneeze at.

Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz have added fuel onto the pitching prowess in Queens, but the reason reason to get excited comes from the Mets lone MLB All-Star, their other ace.

Jacob deGrom enjoyed the best outing of any All-Star pitcher on Tuesday night. His striking out the side with just 10 pitches boggled the minds of everyone who laid witness. Combining his filthy ways with the competitive attitude of Harvey is what nightmares are made of for batters, especially down the stretch in a pennant race.

.@JdeGrom19 wanted some #whiff – and he wanted it quick: http://t.co/czoPdTGlyt @HeadShoulders pic.twitter.com/XZFQY2nY4x

— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2015

Imagine the potential danger this rotation presents for opponents during a five or seven game series. They’ll have the ability to throw Harvey, deGrom, Matz and Syndergaard (in that order).

Straight nasty, and that’s exactly why this unit is the only in this story to garner an A+ grade.